§ 8–151.06. Organization.

*NOTE: This section includes amendments by emergency legislation that will expire on February 22, 2026. To view the text of this section after the expiration of all emergency and temporary legislation, click this link: Permanent Version.*

The Director is authorized to establish administrative divisions within DOEE as the Director considers necessary to increase effectiveness and further the purposes of this chapter, which such divisions may include:

(1) An Energy Management and Air Quality Control Division, including the Office of Energy, to implement and administer clean air programs and initiatives, to administer programs to assist nonprofit, residential, commercial, industrial, and governmental consumers in becoming more energy efficient, and to be responsible for identifying and analyzing energy issues facing the District and its residents;

(2) A Natural Resources and Water Quality Division to set policy, regulate activities, and implement programs and initiatives to protect, restore, and enhance natural resources and the environment, such as:

(A) Conducting educational, outreach, and experiential programs and activities that promote understanding and conservation of natural resources;

(B) Implementing initiatives for greening neighborhoods through community education and provision of materials;

(C) Establishing tree, forest, and plant management policies, consistent with § 8-151.03(a)(12), and implementing tree, forest, and plant protection and promotion programs and activities;

(D) Regulating stormwater management, soil erosion, and sedimentation;

(E) Administering habitat, aquatic resources, and wildlife conservation and restoration programs;

(F) Regulating hazardous materials and toxic substances, excluding medical waste and low-level radioactive waste;

(G) Regulating underground storage tanks;

(H) Administering lead-based paint abatement and control programs;

(I) Regulating activities to prevent, control, and remediate water pollution;

(J) Regulating the wastewater and stormwater systems;

(K) Conducting and coordinating research, outreach, and rehabilitation efforts pertaining to the environment; and

(L) Regulating activity and administering programs and initiatives to conserve and enhance water quality in the District's groundwater systems and in the waters of, and adjacent to, the District;

(3) A Recycling and Solid Waste Management Division to establish policies and programs to support the District’s recycling initiative and to increase the efficiency of solid and hazardous waste management;

(4) A Brownfields Redevelopment Division to identify, evaluate, remediate, and provide support to the appropriate District agencies or instrumentalities to rehabilitate sites where development is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination;

(5) A Government Relations and Policy Division to analyze existing environmental legislation and policy and provide strategic direction for new policy initiatives, to liaison with the Mayor’s Office, other District agencies, and federal agencies to advise on environmental issues and their impact on the District, to monitor federal environmental legislation and regulations, advance inter-governmental or intra-governmental agreements, where appropriate, to create general environmental policy positions for the District of Columbia, and to provide a centralized point of contact for all of the DOEE divisions to ensure the coherent development and advancement of policy and legislation;

(6) A Community Programming and Education Outreach Division to increase public awareness of DOEE’s ongoing environmental, educational, and outreach initiatives by informing District residents about the programs DOEE offers and the importance of everyone’s contribution to protecting and enhancing the environment, to ensure knowledge and accessibility of DOEE programs to the diversity of the District’s residents through presentations and use of printed resources and materials; and

(7) An Emergency Response and Rail Safety Division to do the following:

(A) After DDOE has been designated as the state safety oversight agency under § 8-151.08a, implement and administer safety and security programs and initiatives for rail systems within the District, including the DC Streetcar;

(B) Coordinate and conduct emergency responses to spills and releases of substances and pollutants within the District and District waters;

(C) Enter into inter-governmental agreements with appropriate federal and state agencies to enhance the capabilities of the District to respond to emergencies and to oversee the safety and security of railroad operations within the District;

(D)(i) Conduct inspection, investigative, enforcement, and surveillance activities related to the safety and security of railroad operations within the District; and

(ii) If the Director determines that enforcement is permitted under 49 U.S.C. § 20113, the Director may refer a matter to the Attorney General for the District of Columbia for appropriate enforcement action in federal district court.