Photo by Pete.

The District is now one step closer to banning gasoline-powered leaf blowers.

At a Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday, the D.C. Council unanimously voted to bring the Leaf Blower Regulation Amendment Act of 2018 to its legislative session on November 13. From there, it requires two more votes and then the mayor’s signature to become law.

The bill, introduced by Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, amends the Noise Control Act of 1977 to prohibit the sale or use of gas-powered leaf blowers as of January 1, 2022. It mandates the use of battery-powered blowers, and establishes a maximum fine of $500 for violations. As currently written, implementation and enforcement is in the hands of the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, and there’s an exemption for leaf blowers on federal land.

This latest version of the bill also has a new complaint system for alleging that a person or company has violated the ban, which people will file with the mayor’s office.

“I frequently hear from residents about the nuisance that leaflower noise creates for them,” Cheh said at Tuesday’s meeting, adding that, while the use of many of these blowers already violate District’s noise laws, the current system is too difficult to enforce. She noted that noise isn’t the only kind of pollutant contributed by the gas-powered blowers. “They pollute the air and emit greenhouse gases.” She said that the battery-powered alternatives are much quieter and cleaner, without a significant difference in cost or power.

If the bill passes, D.C. will join more than 170 municipalities in 31 states in regulating gas-powered leaf blowers, including Montgomery County, which prohibits selling or using blowers with noise levels higher than 70 decibels, according to a council report.

At a public hearing in July, the vast majority of the 20 witnesses advocated on behalf of the ban, including landscapers who have already made the switch to battery-powered blowers. Nancy Sainburg, the owner of The Enchanted Garden, testified that, since the local landscaping company stopped using gas-powered leaf blowers, her workers’ headaches have subsided, and the new blowers have not negatively impacted their productivity.

But one person who had major concerns about the bill was Melinda M. Bolling, the director of DCRA. Bolling said it “poses several implementation challenges,” including being too taxing for her agency, 311, and D.C. police; and that DCRA inspectors would not be able to arrive quickly enough to catch the people violating the ban.

D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said on Tuesday that the latest version of the bill gives DCRA the “necessary flexibility to implement and enforce” the ban.

Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd spoke in favor of the measure, which he said “will move the industry in the right direction.” But he had one concern: that some of his residents who “literally live in Rock Creek Park rely heavily on gas-powered leaf blowers” to clear the ample foliage from their land.

Mendelson and Cheh both said they’d be open to changing the bill to accommodate Todd’s issues.

Previously:
Blow-By-Blow: D.C. Council Hears Debate On Banning Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers
Blow Us Away: Councilmember Cheh Introduces Leaf Blower Ban
Don’t Blow It: Anti-Leaf Blower Group Wins First Political Victory