DC's flood rules now add up five years of an association's permits
DC's flood rules now add up five years of an association's permits
2026-09-09 · District of Columbia · Compliance
A District of Columbia association that phases its capital work — roof one year, garage the next, envelope the year after — can now have those permits aggregated into a single “substantial improvement” that triggers flood-hazard compliance for the whole building. DOEE's flood hazard rules, at 20 DCMR Chapter 31, became final with an effective date of June 20, 2025.1
The three changes that matter
A five-year rolling lookback. “Substantial improvement” is redefined as “any combination of repairs, reconstruction, rehabilitation, additions, modifications, or improvements… made during the 5-year period immediately preceding a permit application.” The clock runs backwards from each new application, so the aggregation is continuous rather than reset.
A wider flood hazard area. It now includes lands in the FEMA 500-year floodplain, plus areas removed by a Letter of Map Revision based on fill. Buildings that sat outside the mapped hazard area — a substantial number near the Anacostia and in Southwest — are now inside it.
A higher design flood elevation. The standard is now the 100-year flood elevation plus two feet of freeboard, or the 500-year flood elevation, whichever is higher.
The stormwater rules moved too
DOEE finalised amendments to the Stormwater Management Regulations at 21 DCMR Chapter 5 on October 31, 2025, following a comment period that ran from May 30 to June 29, 2025.2
Stormwater Retention Credits were restructured into two classes. High-Impact SRCs are those installed after July 1, 2013 that drain to the separate storm sewer system, whose capacity fills with each storm; they are prioritised. Low-Impact SRCs may predate July 1, 2013 and drain to the combined sewer system, filling only occasionally. The six-month recertification deadline was also extended, allowing a credit generator to apply within three years after the prior certification period ends.
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