531.1 Only the Department shall certify a Stormwater Retention Credit (SRC); and no SRC shall be valid and usable for the purposes of this chapter unless the Department certifies it.

531.2 The Department shall:

1. (a) Assign a unique serial number to each SRC; and
2. (b) Retain and track information about each SRC, including final sale price.

531.3 A gallon of retention capacity in a Best Management Practice (BMP) or land cover is eligible for SRC certification if it meets the following eligibility requirements:

1. (a) The gallon retained by the BMP or land cover shall:
2. (1) Be in excess of the Stormwater Retention Volume (SWRv) for a major regulated project or, for a site that is not regulated, in excess of pre-project retention;
3. (2) Be no more than the SRC ceiling; and
4. (3) Not be installed to comply with a stormwater management requirement of a statute, regulation, or court order, including for:
   1. (A) Reduction of Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) in compliance with the court-approved consent decree, including court-approved modifications, for reducing CSOs in the District of Columbia, except that retention capacity installed on an experimental basis as a requirement of the consent decree shall be eligible if a subsequent modification of the consent decree ends the requirement to maintain that retention capacity; or
   2. (B) Compliance with a Watershed Implementation Plan established under a Total Maximum Daily Load for the Chesapeake Bay.
5. (b) Design, installation, and operation shall comply with a Department-approved Stormwater Management Plan (SWMP);
6. (c) The Department's final construction inspection shall be successfully completed;

(d) A Department inspection shall be successfully completed within six (6) months before the Department decides to certify an SRC; and

(e) An executed maintenance contract or a signed promise to follow a maintenance plan for the period of time for which the certification of SRCs is requested, in compliance with the Department-approved SWMP for the BMP or land cover, shall be in place.

531.4 The SRC-eligible retention capacity described in Subsection 531.3(a) shall be calculated using the formulas in Chapter seven (7) of the Department's Stormwater Management Guidebook.

531.5 The Department shall begin accepting applications for SRC certification after this section is published as final in the D.C. Register.

531.6 A person submitting an application for SRC certification shall be the owner of the land with the SRC-eligible BMP or land cover or shall have been assigned the right to a SRC that is certified.

531.7 The Department may reject as premature an application for SRC certification if it is submitted more than three (3) months before the end of the preceding period of time for which the Department had certified a SRC for the retention capacity.

531.8 The Department shall not consider an incomplete application for SRC certification.

531.9 A complete application for SRC certification shall include:

(a) A completed Department application form;

(b) Documentation of the right to the SRC that would be certified;

(c) A copy of the Department-approved SWMP for the BMP or land cover with SRC-eligible retention capacity and the area draining into it;

(d) A copy of the as-built SWMP or the BMP or land cover with SRC-eligible retention capacity and the area draining into it, certified by a professional engineer licensed in the District of Columbia and meeting the requirements of this chapter;

(e) An executed maintenance contract or a signed promise to follow a maintenance plan for the period of time for which the certification of the SRC is requested;

(f) Other documentation that the Department requires to determine that the

eligibility requirements are satisfied, including documentation that a maintenance provider has the expertise and capacity to provide required maintenance for the time period of SRC certification; and

(g) A signed promise from the owner of the property on which the BMP or land cover is located to notify the Department if, during the period of time for which a SRC is certified, the property is sold or otherwise transferred to another person.

531.10 If the Department determines that a complete application meets the eligibility requirements, it shall certify up to three (3) years' worth of SRCs for each gallon of SRC-eligible retention capacity.

531.11 The Department shall not certify an SRC:

(a) For a period of time that overlaps with the period of time for which the Department has already certified an SRC for the same retention capacity;

(b) For a period that begins earlier than the date of the submittal of a complete application; or

(c) For ineligible retention capacity.

531.12 The Department may waive submittal of documentation required for a complete application if the Department has the documentation on file that reflects current conditions, except that the Department shall not waive submittal of a current maintenance agreement or maintenance contract for the BMP or land cover.

531.13 The Department may conduct an inspection of a BMP or land cover for the purposes of this section before certification of an SRC and after certification.

531.14 The Department may refuse to certify an SRC for a person:

(a) Who is currently lapsed in compliance with an obligation to fulfill an Off-Site Retention Volume for a property; or

(b) Who is an original SRC owner for another SRC and who is currently not maintaining the associated BMP or land cover as promised for the period of time for which the Department certified that SRC.

531.15 At the Director's discretion and to allow for the aggregation of SRCs, the Department may approve a SWMP that proposes aggregation of retention from small sites under a common design and that:

(a) Would not otherwise trigger a stormwater management performance requirement in this chapter;

(b) Proposes the use of a common design for multiple installations of a BMP;

(c) Specifies well-defined technical criteria for location and placement of each BMP;

(d) Specifies details for how multiple installations will be constructed, operated, and maintained;

(e) Contains requirements for inspection by the Department or a Department-approved third party;

(f) Demonstrates the technical capacity to locate, design, install, and maintain each BMP; and

(g) Demonstrates that the requirements of this chapter will be met.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 35 DCR 21 (January 1, 1988); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 60 DCR 10640 (July 19, 2013).