ENROLLED ORIGINAL
A RESOLUTION
25-669
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
October 1, 2024
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Office of District
Waterways Management Establishment Act of 2022 to make the process for Mayoral
appointment of members of the District Waterways Advisory Commission consistent
with that of similar commissions, to add the Department of Parks and Recreation as an
ex-officio non-voting member of the District Waterways Advisory Commission, to adjust
the District Waterways Advisory Commission meeting schedule, to allow sufficient time
for engagement with stakeholders and the District Waterways Advisory Commission in
development of the Advisory Plan, and to provide the District Waterways Advisory
Commission with authority to determine whether the Advisory Plan needs to be updated
and extend the update period to at least every 3 years; and to amend the Confirmation Act
of 1978 to make a conforming amendment.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Office of District Waterways Management Establishment
Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2024”.
Sec. 2. (a) Section 2(a) of the Office of District Waterways Management Establishment
Act of 2022, effective March 22, 2023 (D.C. Law 24-336; D.C. Official Code § 8-191.01(a))
(“Act”), created the Office of District Waterways Management (“ODWM”) with a mandate to
plan, promote, advocate for, and facilitate stakeholder cooperation for the diverse uses of and
access to the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, the Washington Channel, and adjacent property.
The Act also established a District Waterways Advisory Commission (“Commission”),
composed of various stakeholders and subject matter experts, which will advise ODWM and
develop and adopt a District Waterways Advisory Plan (“Advisory Plan”) to create a strategic
vision for District waterways and adjacent property.
(b) ODWM plans to engage a consultant to co-facilitate meetings of the Commission and
assist with public outreach efforts and the drafting of the Advisory Plan. To do so, ODWM must
issue a request for proposals (“RFP”) that adheres to the Act, but important adjustments to the
Act are needed to increase flexibility and streamline implementation.
(c) The Act outlines a timeframe of one year for the Commission to adopt an Advisory
Plan and requires the plan to be updated at least every 2 years. ODWM’s extensive market
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research shows that 2 years is a more realistic timeframe for developing the initial Advisory Plan
given the broad scope of topics that the Advisory Plan must address and the extensive
stakeholder and public outreach and engagement that will be necessary. A 3-year frequency for
updating the plan is more reasonable than 2 years so that ODWM can have more time to
implement the plan before working with the Commission to update it.
(d) The Act dictates that the Commission meet at least once a month. Current and
potential ex-officio Commission members have consistently told ODWM that they prefer bi-
monthly meetings, especially as these are voluntary roles being taken on by working
professionals. Additionally, given the Commission's large size, providing for bi-monthly
meetings with more frequent engagement as needed will allow greater flexibility to coordinate
schedules and thus ensure more robust engagement with Commission members.
(e) The Act further requires specific procedures to be followed for Council approval of
mayoral appointees, with a 90-day active approval period. However, the Commission is similar
to other bodies whose Council approval procedures involve a 45-day passive approval period.
The Commission could begin its work more quickly if the mayoral appointees could be approved
under the alternative Council approval procedures.
(f) Emergency legislation is necessary to permit ODWM staff to issue an RFP with more
realistic parameters in a timely fashion and to allow mayoral appointees to join the Commission
more expeditiously.
Sec. 3. The Council determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute
emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Office of District Waterways Management
Establishment Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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