D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 21, r. 21-4102

Current through Register Vol. 71, No. 37, September 13, 2024

Rule 21-4102 - [Effective until 10/1/2024] CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

4102.1

CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (CAP)

(a) Participation in the Customer Assistance Program (CAP) shall be limited to a single-family or individually-metered Residential Customer that meets the following eligibility requirements:

(1) The applicant is responsible for paying for water and sewer services and/or the Clean Rivers Impervious Surface Area Charge (CRIAC); and

(2) The Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) has determined that the CAP applicant's annual household income meets the household income-eligibility requirements for the District's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), below sixty percent (60%) of the State Median Income (SMI) for the District of Columbia.

(b) An approved CAP customer shall receive the following benefits:

(1) Exemption from water service charges, sewer service charges, Payment- in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) fees and Right-of-Way (ROW) fees for the first Four Hundred Cubic Feet (4 Ccf) per month of water used. If the customer uses less than Four Hundred Cubic Feet (4 Ccf) of water in any month, the exemption will apply based on the amount of that month's billed water usage;

(2) Credit of one hundred percent (100%) off of the monthly billed Water System Replacement Fee; and

(3) Credit of seventy- five percent (75%) off of the monthly billed CRIAC.

(c) Upon DC Water's receipt of notice from DOEE that the CAP applicant meets the financial eligibility requirements, DC Water shall provide the CAP discounts to the CAP customer's account from the date that DOEE accepts a completed CAP application to the end of the fiscal year in which the application was submitted.

(d) To continue receiving CAP benefits without interruptions, the CAP customer must submit a renewal CAP application to DOEE in accordance with the Utility Discount Program renewal deadline. A CAP customer that submits their renewal CAP application after this period, and is subsequently approved by DOEE, will receive CAP benefits as of the date of the application.

4102.2

CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM II (CAP2)

(a) Participation in the CAP2 Program shall be limited to a single-family or individually-metered Residential Customer that meets the following eligibility requirements:

(1) The applicant maintains an active DC Water account and is responsible for paying for water and sewer services and/or the CRIAC; and

(2) DOEE has determined that the CAP2 applicant's annual household income is equal to or above the household income-eligibility limits for the District's LIHEAP, sixty percent (60%) of the SMI for the District of Columbia and below eighty percent (80%) of the Area Median Income (AMI) for the District of Columbia, not capped by the United States median low-income limit.

(b) An approved CAP customer shall receive the following benefits:

(1) Exemption from water service charges, sewer service charges, Payment-in-Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) fees and Right-of-Way (ROW) fees for the first Four Hundred Cubic Feet (4 Ccf) per month of water used. If the customer uses less than Four Hundred Cubic Feet (4 Ccf) of water in any month, the exemption will apply based on the amount of that month's billed water usage;

(2) Credit of one hundred percent (100%) off of the monthly billed Water System Replacement Fee; and

(3) Credit of seventy-five percent (75%) off of the monthly billed CRIAC.

(c) Upon DC Water's receipt of notice from DOEE that the CAP2 customer meets the financial eligibility requirements, DC Water shall provide the CAP2 benefits for not more than the entire fiscal year, beginning October 1st and terminating on September 30th, subject to the availability of budgeted funds.

(1) Approved CAP2 customers that submitted a complete application to DOEE before November 1st, shall receive CAP2 benefits retroactive to October 1st and terminating on September 30th of that fiscal year.

(2) Approved CAP2 customers that submitted a complete application on or after November 1st, shall receive CAP2 benefits as of the date of submittal and terminating on September 30th of that fiscal year.

(3) Customers shall reapply each year for CAP2 benefits to receive CAP2 benefits.

4102.3

Eligibility for the CAP and CAP2 Programs shall be determined by DOEE based on the income eligibility criteria provided in §4102.1(a)(2) and §4102.2(a)(2).

4102.4

DOEE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM III FOR SINGLE-FAMILY AND INDIVIDUALLY METERED HOUSEHOLDS

(a) DC Water shall apply DOEE Customer Assistance Program III (CAP3) benefits to an eligible single- family or individually- metered Residential Customer's account in accordance with the following:

(1) The applicant maintains an active DC Water account and is responsible for paying for water and sewer services and/or the CRIAC;

(2) DOEE has notified DC Water that the customer has met the requirements of applicable laws and regulations and is eligible to receive the CAP3 benefits;

(3) DOEE has notified DC Water of the amount of the CAP3 benefits to be applied to the CAP3 customer's account; and

(4) DOEE has transferred funds to DC Water for the benefits applied to the customer's account.

(b) DC Water shall stop applying CAP3 benefits to a CAP3 customer's account upon receipt of notice from DOEE that the customer is no longer eligible for the CAP3 benefits, or receipt of notice from DOEE regarding the unavailability of funds.

(c) If DC Water determines that the remaining budgeted funds are insufficient to provide CAP3 benefits, DC Water may:

(1) Suspend the process for accepting CAP3 applicants; or

(2) Suspend providing CAP3 benefits to CAP3 recipients.

4102.5

DOEE CLEAN RIVERS IMPERVIOUS SURFACE AREA CHARGE RELIEF PROGRAM FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS

(a) DC Water shall apply DOEE CRIAC Relief Program for Nonprofit Organizations (CRIAC Nonprofit Relief Program) benefits to an eligible non-profit organization's account in accordance with the following:

(1) The applicant maintains an active DC Water account and is responsible for paying for the CRIAC charges;

(2) DOEE has notified DC Water that the customer has met the requirements of applicable laws and regulations and is eligible to receive CRIAC Nonprofit Relief Program benefits;

(3) DOEE has notified DC Water of the amount of the benefits to be applied to the nonprofit organization's account each billing period; and

(4) DOEE has transferred funds to DC Water for the CRIAC Nonprofit Relief Program benefits applied to the customer's account.

(b) DC Water shall stop applying CRIAC Nonprofit Relief Program benefits to a customer's account upon notice from DOEE that the customer is no longer eligible for the CRIAC Nonprofit Relief Program benefits.

(c) If DC Water determines that the remaining budgeted funds are insufficient to provide CRIAC Nonprofit Relief Program benefits, DC Water may:

(1) Suspend the process for accepting CRIAC Nonprofit Relief Program applicants; or

(2) Suspend or adjust providing CRIAC Nonprofit Relief Program benefits to CRIAC Nonprofit Relief Program recipients.

4102.6

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to mean that the benefits provided through DC Water's CAP or CAP2 Programs or DOEE's CAP3 or CRIAC Nonprofit Relief Programs are an entitlement, continuing or otherwise.

4102.7

For the purposes of this section, the term "SMI" means the state median income as determined on an annual basis by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

4102.8

For the purposes of this section, the term "AMI" means the Area Median Income (AMI), alternately referred to as the HUD Area Median Family Income (HAMFI), determined on an annual basis by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

4102.9

DC Water Cares Emergency Relief Program for Low-Income Residential Customers:

(a) Participation in the DC Water Cares Emergency Relief Program (DC Water Cares) shall be limited to a single-family or individually metered low-income Residential Customer that meets the following eligibility requirements:

(1) The applicant maintains an active DC Water account and is responsible for paying for water and sewer services; and

(2) DOEE has determined that the applicant's annual household income is equal to or below eighty percent (80%) of the Area Median Income (AMI) for the District of Columbia, not capped by the United States median low-income limit.

(b) An approved customer shall receive the following benefits:

(1) Credit of one hundred percent (100%) off of the past due water and sewer bill balance; and

(2) The total amount of credits provided shall not exceed Two Thousand (2,000) dollars during Fiscal Year 2024, subject to the availability of budgeted funds.

(c) Upon DC Water's receipt of notice from DOEE that the applicant meets the financial eligibility requirements and subject to the availability of budgeted funds, DC Water shall provide the credits to the customer's account from the date that DOEE accepts a completed application and for future qualifying events that may lead to collection activities to the end of the fiscal year in which the application was submitted.

(d) The DC Water Cares Emergency Relief Program for Low-Income Residential Customers shall terminate on September 30, 2024 or as provided in §4102.9(f).

(e) Customer that received DC Water Cares benefits in FY 2023 must submit a renewal CAP or CAP2 application to DOEE to receive DC Water Cares benefits in Fiscal Year 2024.

(f) If DC Water determines that the remaining budgeted funds are insufficient to provide DC Water Cares for Low-Income Residential Customers benefits, DC Water may:

(1) Suspend the process for accepting DC Water Cares applicants; or

(2) Suspend or adjust providing DC Water Cares benefits to eligible recipients.

4102.10

[RESERVED]

D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 21, r. 21-4102

Final Rulemaking published at 46 DCR 5945 (July 16, 1999); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 47 DCR 320 (January 21, 2000); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 51 DCR 5033 (May 14, 2004); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 56 DCR 1060 (January 30, 2009); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 57 DCR 8419, 8420 (September 17, 2010); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 62 DCR 9798 (10/1/2015); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 64 DCR 2983 (5/1/2017); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 65 DCR 13956 (12/28/2018); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 66 DCR 12434 (9/20/2019); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 67 DCR 11100 (9/18/2020); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 2085 (2/19/2021); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 5438 (5/21/2021); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 13641 (12/17/2021); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 69 DCR 12878 (10/21/2022); amended by Final Rulemaking published at 71 DCR 910 (1/19/2024)

Authority: The Board of Directors of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (the Board), pursuant to the authority set forth in Section 216 of the Water and Sewer Authority Establishment and Department of Public Works Reorganization Act of 1996, effective April 18, 1996 (D.C. Law 11-111, §§ 203(3), (11) and 216; D.C. Code §§ 34-2202.03(3), (11) and 34-2202.16) , Section 6(a) of the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act, approved October 21, 1968 (82 Stat. 1206; D.C. Code § 2-505(a)) , and in accordance with Chapter 40 of Title 21 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).