MURIEL BOWSER
MAYOR
January 2, 2025
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council
of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
Enclosed for consideration by the Council
is proposed emergency legislation entitled the "Climate
Commitment Clarification Emergency Declaration Resolution
of 2025", the "Climate Commitment
Clarification Emergency Amendment Act
of 2025" and the "Climate Commitment Clarification
Temporary Amendment Act
of 2025". This legislation will clarify that the Department of General
Services (DGS)
is allowed to repair and replace units and component parts of fossil fuel-based
heating and cooling systems and upon approval by Council be retroactively applicable
as of
January 1, 2025, the first effective date for the Climate Commitment Act.
The current law mandates that the District may not install fossil fuel-based space or water heating
appliances. The law
is intended to advance electrification, decreasing fossil fuel consumption
across the District. It
is unclear, however, how DGS will continue to maintain existing fossil fuelÂ
based systems without replacing each system through a modernization or planned whole system
HVAC replacement project. A modernization or whole system HVAC replacement project for any
site requires multiple years to formulate and request a budget; develop, solicit, and evaluate
proposals; perform design review; engage stakeholders; swing occupants to an empty building; and
build or install the project
--all of which must be strategically planned.
To date, the District has over 300 fossil fuel-based space heating appliances alone. There is
insufficient time, budget, and materials to switch every building to an all-electric system. There
would also be significant embodied carbon emissions associated with doing
so. Hundreds of fossil
fuel-based systems possess many additional years
of useful life to provide heating to the District
through the winter season and beyond.
To wisely steward the District government's limited resources and achieve the useful life
of
existing systems, DGS will replace fossil fuel-based systems with all electric once these systems
are beyond repair or when deemed fully inoperable and appropriate for HV
AC replacement.
Approval
of the enclosed emergency declaration and approval of the emergency and temporary
legislation will facilitate the ongoing maintenance
of existing fossil fuel-based systems throughout
the District.
I look forward to your prompt and favorable consideration
of this resolution. In order to facilitate a
response to any questions you may have, please have your staff contact Director Delano Hunter. Sincerely, 1
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A RESOLUTION
~
at the request of the Mayor
8 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
9
10
11
12 To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the District
13 Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005 to clarify that this act does
14 not apply to the repair, reconstruction or replacement
of components or units of existing
15 space heating and cooling or water heating systems that rely on the combustion
of natural
16 gas, oil, or other fossil fuels which will allow current heating and cooling systems reliant
1 7 on fossil fuels to be maintained until the system
is replaced.
18
19
20 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
21 resolution may be cited
as the "Climate Commitment Clarification Emergency Declaration
22 Resolution of 2025".
23 Sec.
2. (a) There exists an immediate need to amend the District Department of the
24 Environment Establishment Act of 2005 to clarify that the act does not prohibit District
25 government from repairing, reconstructing, or replacing components or units
of existing space
26 heating and cooling or water heating systems that rely on the combustion of fossil fuels. Without
2 7 existing system
maintenance, residents will be at risk of significant delays in repairs.
28 (b) The act currently does not distinguish between the installation of new fossil-fuel
29 systems and repairing of current fossil-fuel component parts or units of a system. Although the
30 District government intends to replace fossil fuel-based systems with all-electric systems
3 1 whenever feasible, District government must be able
to repair or replace component parts of a
32 current fossil-fuel system that are in disrepair.
1 33 ( c) As of today, there are approximately 117 District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS)
34 locations managed by DGS containing 162 boiler systems that need to be maintained throughout
35 the winter season and beyond to accommodate the health and safety
of students, staff, visitors,
36 and all residents. Other building clusters include the following number of boilers: 33 in
37 Department of Parks and Recreation; 10 in Department of Human Services; 22 in Fire and
3 8 Emergency Services; 20 in Metropolitan Police Department; and
28 in the Municipal cluster.
39 (d) Replacing fossil-fuel systems as part of a modernization requires that several key
40 variables be in place prior to making changes to the building.
41 (
1) First, DGS must ensure that energy efficient replacements are available within
42 the regional or designated marketplace, including ensuring that replacements are accessible to
43 source and ship within the construction timeline, and within applicable budget to acquire.
44 (2) Secondly, to manage the lifetime of maintenance, DGS must ensure that all
45 designated Boiler Plant Operators (BPO) and other Facilities Management Division (FMD)
46 personnel are sufficiently trained in how to maintain and operate all new equipment.
4 7 (3) Lastly,
as the construction environment, especially for our schools may not be
48 suitable for students and staff or other District employees, and residents, DGS must work with
49 client agencies to conduct community engagement to raise awareness of and coordinate swing
50 space locations. This process, without sufficient planning or budget formation, would cause
51 significant disruption to the operational environments across the District.
52 Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia finds that the circumstances in section 2
53 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that Climate Commitment Clarification
54 Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 be adopted after a single reading and retroactively
55 applicable
as of January 1, 2025.
2 56 Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
3