Washington, D.C. idling law: the 3-minute rule

What the law says

No person owning, operating, or having control over the engine of a gasoline or diesel-powered motor vehicle on public or private space… shall allow that engine to idle for more than three (3) minutes while the motor vehicle is parked, stopped, or standing, including for the purpose of operating air conditioning equipment in those vehicles…

20 DCMR §900.1

Who and what it covers

Section 900.1 names public vehicles for hire, buses seating 12 or more, and school buses or any vehicle transporting students, and its first exception, “to operate private passenger vehicles,” takes ordinary cars out. DOEE’s community enforcement program goes further and accepts citizen reports only for commercial trucks (including vans used mainly to carry property) and buses seating 12 or more passengers. The rule applies on private lots as well as streets. Since 2015, §900.2 also limits nonroad diesel engines, such as construction equipment, to three consecutive minutes.

Exemptions

• Private passenger vehicles (20 DCMR §900.1(a))
• Power take-off equipment, including dumping, cement mixers, refrigeration systems, content delivery, winches and shredders (§900.1(b))
• Up to 5 minutes to run heating equipment when it is 32°F or below (§900.1(c))
• Warming buses during a Cold Emergency Alert, if parked at least 50 feet from residential buildings, with clean-fuel buses such as CNG chosen first (§900.1(d))
• Nonroad diesel equipment: locomotives, generator sets, marine vessels, recreational vehicles, farm equipment, military training, emergency use and private non-compensated use are outside §900.2 (§900.3)
• Nonroad diesel equipment may also idle for safety, servicing or filter regeneration, under 15 minutes in a working queue, for inspections, and up to 5 minutes for heat at 32°F or below (§900.4)

Penalties

Idling past three minutes is a Class 3 civil infraction (16 DCMR §4001.10(s)). Under the District’s fine schedule, Class 3 fines are $500 for a first offense, $1,000 for a second, $2,000 for a third and $4,000 for the fourth and each later offense (16 DCMR §3201.1(c)). DOEE says the ticket goes to the person or organization that owns or operates the vehicle.

Who enforces it, and how to report

The Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) issues civil infraction tickets. Its Engine Idling Community Enforcement Program lets residents supply the evidence: after a report clears review, DOEE sends the reporter an affidavit to sign under penalty of perjury, and the reporter may need to testify at an administrative hearing.

Reports go through the DC311 mobile app. DOEE’s guidelines require your name, address, phone and email, the location, and the plate’s state and number, plus time-stamped photos taken with the app’s camera (up to five): one at the start and one at the end of the observation (at least 5 minutes apart, or 6 minutes when it is below 32°F), one of the license plate, and one of any company name or logo and the U.S. DOT number if visible. DOEE says not to approach or talk to the driver and not to enter private property; observe from publicly accessible areas.

Schools and school buses

School buses and “any vehicle transporting students” are named expressly in 20 DCMR §900.1, which was amended by the Healthy Schools Act of 2010 (D.C. Law 18-209). They get no longer allowance than other covered vehicles: 3 minutes, or 5 minutes for heat at 32°F or below.

History

The idling rule traces to the District of Columbia Air Pollution Control Act of 1984 (effective March 15, 1985), was amended by rulemaking in 1999, amended again by the Healthy Schools Act of 2010, and amended by two 2015 final rulemakings (62 DCR 13282, October 9, 2015, and 62 DCR 14273, November 6, 2015) that added the warming-bus exception and the nonroad diesel limit.

Reporting in Washington, D.C. is unpaid. The only program that pays complainants is New York City's.