MS4 Ordinances for Cosmetic Cleaning

BMPs & Regulations forMobile Power Wash Cosmetic Cleaning

10th Annual EPA Region 6 MS4 Operator ConferenceJuly 15, 2008 Waco, Texas

byRobert M. Hinderliter

Environmental Chairman of PWNA & UAmCc President of RAHSCO Cleaning Systems

1-800-433-2113Copyright ©2008, RAHSCO Cleaning Systems of Fort Worth, All Rights Reserved

Robert Hinderliter Bio• BSME (1963) & MSME (1965) Oklahoma State University

• Pilot Kansas Air National Guard and USAF (1967 to 1973)

• Aircraft Engineer for Boeing and Cessna Aircraft (1963 to 1973)

• Founded RAHSCOCleaning Systems (1973), a pressure washer distributor and manufacturer

• Founded Acme Mobile Power Wash (1973), a Power Wash Contract Cleaner

• Founded Power Washers of North America (www.pwna.org) (1993), a professional trade association to address Environmental Issues.

• Environmental Consultant & Instructor for Mobile Power Wash Cosmetic Cleaning for contract cleaners, and Environmental Regulators including: municipal, regional, state and federal.

• Sponsored and organized the Fort Worth Conference on Cosmetic Cleaning (attended by 100 Contract Cleaners and 40 Municipal, Regional, State, and Federal regulators, July 17, 1995) that resulted in the Fort Worth Cosmetic Cleaning Ordinance which was implemented on January 2, 1996.

• Founded United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners (www.UAmCc.org) (2005)

Thank You

Thank you for attending this track, I know you had 3 other tracks to chose from. I’ll try to make your choice a wise and valuable one.

My objective is to make sure you are qualified to make informed choices in developing and implementing Cosmetic Cleaning Ordinances, BMPs, and Fact Sheets. And to know the impact and expected results of those choices!

Cell Phones & Pages

• Please put on:– Silent– Vibrate – Turn Off

Thank You for providing information for this presentation

• Nathan Charles, Little Rock, AR• Kathy Verhage, Albuquerque, NM• William Fordyce, Austin, TX• Martin Miller, San Antonio, TX• Louise Daniels, Dallas, TX• Barbara Bailey, Tulsa, OK• Raymond Melton, Oklahoma City, OK• Derek Johnson, Oklahoma City, OK• Geoff Brosseau, BASSMA, San Francisco, CA

Available Cosmetic Cleaning Regulations and BMPS

• Austin, Texas

• Fort Worth, Texas

• Houston, Texas

• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

• San Antonio, Texas

• Tulsa, Oklahoma

Acronyms:– NPDES: National Pollution Discharge

Elimination System (EPA Storm Water Permits effecting waste water enforcement)

– MS4: Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (every place storm water flows)

– “Storm Drain” is not referred to as the “Storm Sewer” to avoid confusion. Especially important with Contract Cleaners who may confuse the term with “Sanitary Sewer”.

– DWFS: Dry Weather Field Screen

Questions• We have a lot of material to cover, about 8 hours

worth in 85 minutes.• Please hold your questions until the “Question

and Answer” Period.• Please obtain a copy of this Power Point

Presentation to make your notes and questions on.

• Most questions will be answered in the presentation before the end.

• 30 Minutes of Video, 35 Minutes Robert Hinderliter Presentation, 20 Minutes Panelists Summaries and Q&A.

Mistakes or Inaccuracies

• I’ll be covering a lot of information. Please make notes on any disagreements, mistakes, inaccuracies, or differences.

• These will be covered first in the “Question and Answer” period.

DISCLAIMER

• The EPA nor any other regulating agency approves or recommends any products, processes, or technology of:

RAHSCO Cleaning Systems

Or

Robert M. Hinderliter

Order of the Presentation

• BASMAA Training for Contract Cleaners (Video)

• Technology & BMP Review by RAHSCO Cleaning Systems (Video)

Note: If you understand the Technology then the regulations & ordinances are easier to understand.

• Regulations and Ordinance Review

• Ordinance Implementation Review

• Panel Questions and Answers

Reality of Enforcement

What Regulators are actually enforcing.

What the results of various regulations are.

What Contract Cleaners are actually doing.

Ways to increase compliance.

Environmental History

• To understand where we are you need know how we got here!

• Basic Structure of Environmental Regulations

• How Regulations are implemented

• How regulations are enforced.

NPDES Permits for cities and Urban Areas

Phase I

1. Over 250,000 populations was due November 16, 1992

2. Over 100,000 populations was due October 1, 1993

Phase II

(Note: A large number of Phase I Cities received 1 year or longer extensions of these dates)

For Urban Areas whether incorporated or unincorporated were due March 10, 2003, (a 5 year plan was required, filings were done 2003, 2004, & 2005, EPA conducted training 2005 & 2006 for regulators, delayed due to 9th Circuit Court of appeals ruling)

For all UA's 50, 000 to 100,000 population

For all other areas if notified by the AHJ

Getting in Step with Phase II(Training for Regulators of Phase II

Municipalities and Urban Areas conducted by the EPA)

• Lexington, VA April 11, 2005

• Memphis, TN May 17-18, 2005

• Oklahoma City, OK June 15, 2005

• Indianapolis, In August 3-4, 2005

• Boise, ID September 14-15, 2005

EPA 2006 Training ScheduleFor Municipal and State Regulators

• Fort Worth, Texas May 03 - May 04, 2006

• Albany, New York May 31 - June 02, 2006

• Phoenix, Arizona August 14 - August 15, 2006

• Lexington, Kentucky September 21 - September 22, 2006

• And continued in 2007

EPA 2008 Training

• NPDES Training Courses and Workshops

For a current listing of NPDES Training Courses and Workshops Google:

“NPDES Training Courses and Workshops”

Note: Webcasts include

“Training Certificates”

Phase II requires the cities (MS4s) to implement 6 programs.

1. Public Education and Outreach,

2. Public Involvement and Outreach,

3. Illicit discharge detection and elimination

4. Construction site runoff control (one acre and larger),

5. Post construction storm water control, and

6. Pollution Prevention and Good house keeping operations for the municipality.

Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination Minimum Control

Measures• A storm Sewer Map • An ordinance prohibition on non-storm water discharge

to the MS4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System) • A plan to detect and address non-storm water

discharges, including illegal dumping, into the MS4 • The education of public employees, businesses, and the

general public about the hazards associated with illegal discharges and improper disposal of waste.

• The determination of appropriate best management practices (BMPs) and measurable goals for this minimum control measure.

Public Education and Outreach

• Brochures

• public meeting

• trade shows exhibits and presentations

• newspaper inserts and articles

• public notices

• inserts with water and trash bills

• classroom lectures

• programs to neighborhood associations

Cosmetic Cleaning Ordinances

• All communities should have ordinances against “anything but rain” down the storm drain.

• Very few Municipalities and Urban Areas have specific Ordinances for Cosmetic Cleaning defining BMPs and Discharge Standards for Waste Water.

• Most Municipalities and Urban Areas have BMPs or Fact Sheets to supplement the General Prohibition Ordinance for Storm Drain Discharge of “anything but rain”.

Target dates for completion are • 1 year: Storm Sewer Map (2005 & 2006)• 2 years: Ordinance in place (2006 & 2007)• 3 years: A certain percentage of illicit

discharges detected and eliminated, and household hazardous waste collection days (2007 & 2008)

• 4 years: Most illicit discharges sources detected and eliminated. (2008,9, & 10)

• Nearing the end of the first 5 Year Phase II Permit.

EPA Audits

• Phase I NPDES Permit Holders will be audited every 5 years

• Phase II NPDES Permit Holders will be audited every 7 years.

Note: One of the causes for this schedule is that some communities buried the EPA with data in their NPDES Permits rather than summaries of the data in hopes that this would avoid an audit. So now the EPA has an audit schedule and will start returning Permits that bury them with data. See Nikos Singelis, with the EPA.

Phase II, Sources of Illicit Discharges listed in table 1

• Sanitary wastewater • Effluent from septic tanks • Car wash & power washing wastewaters • Improper oil disposal • Radiator flushing disposal • Laundry wastewater • Spills from roadway accidents • Improper disposal of auto and household

toxics

Typical Power Washing Pollution

Typical pollutants in waste washwater that Mobile Power Wash Contractors typically encounter are:Detergents

FatsOilsGreaseGasolineSolidsSolventsHeavy Metals

HerbicidesInsecticidesPesticidesTotal Dissolved Solids Anti-FreezeEmulsified OilHigh pH levels caused by Acid BrightenersFertilizers

Phase II Biggest Problem• Construction Site Runoff

– Silt– Sludge

• The Number 1 Priority

• This means that enforcement of Cosmetic Cleaning Waste Water Discharge Ordinances is going to be spotty with slowly increasing enforcement for the next 5 to 10 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EPA’s Responsibilities for Stormwater discharge 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not provide written endorsements of products, processes, or technology. The EPA responsibilities are directed at setting specific objectives (discharge limits) that dischargers must meet to adequately protect receiving waters of the United States. These objectives will necessarily vary from site to site. 

If anyone tells you a product is EPA approved (like detergents) ask to see the documentation. I have never had a company be able to produce this documentation for routine maintenance washing. The EPA does not have an approval process for Products, Processes, or Technology. 

EPA set the standards for cities and states thru their National Pollution Discharge Elimination System Program (NPDES Permits).

Cities Are Responsibilities for Stormwater Discharge Through their NPDES Permit Requirements

(National Pollution Discharge Elimination System)

Each city can decide what products, processes, and technology they are going to use to meet EPA Guidelines. 

This means the rules will vary from city to city and sometimes from site to site within the same city. Most Metropolitan areas will have different rules for each city!

NPDES Permit Requirement

• DWFS (Dry Weather Field Screens)– Detergents

or– FOG (Fats, Oil, and Grease)

My survey revealed that NPDES Permits were based on one or the other of the above options with no standard detection limits! This made comparisons difficult for effectiveness of regulations.

I received everything from summaries that were easy to understand to lots of raw data that was difficult to interpret through an “Open Records” request.

NPDES Permits

• Phase I and Phase II NPDES Permits are not General Permits, but are tailored to each area. Therefore, comparison on some items may be difficult or impossible.

Combined Total Discharge

A city is responsible for the combined total discharge of their storm water per their NPDES Permit. It is not uncommon for municipalities to give exemptions to some companies. Some (including Kitchen Exhaust) contract cleaners have been able to get these exemptions and discharge wash water to the storm drains. These discharges to storm drain have been insignificant when combined with the total storm drain discharge of the municipality. Note: These discharge permits are not a release from liability for damage to the storm drains from these discharges! If the discharges causes problems in State of Federal Waters they are liable for the clean up.

sanitary and storm water Treatment

Cities can either treat all of their sanitary and storm water or go the point source of the pollution and require remediation before discharge to sanitary sewer. St. Louis, Indianapolis, Sacramento, and San Francisco are examples of cities that treat all of their wastewater in certain portions of the cities through their Combined Sewer System. Most cities go to the point source and require remediation before discharging to the sanitary sewer. It is significantly less expensive for the cities to require point source remediation than to remediate the pollution at their POTW’s.

Ban PollutantsOne of the key elements of the NPDES Permit for

the municipalities requires the cities to create and enforce an ordinance, which bans pollutant discharges to the storm drain. The city of Fort Worth ordinance reads: “A person commits an offense, punishable by a fine, if he introduces or causes to be introduced, any discharge to the storm drain system that is not entirely composed of Stormwater.” The EPA has granted certain exemptions to this rule and various cities have also enacted specific exemptions for their area.

Drinking Water Quality

• Most Municipal Environmental Regulators do not let Mobile Power Wash Contract Cleaners discharge to Storm Drain even if their equipment produces “Drinking Water Quality” Discharge Water. There are several reasons for this: 1st it is difficult to monitor, 2nd is when discharged to their Sanitary Sewer System they can monitor the effluent and remediate if necessary, and 3rd when discharging to storm drains their discharge may become contaminated. 

Reality of Enforcement 

For most areas effluent discharge from mobile power washing activities is insignificant when compared to the total storm water discharge. Normally the Enforcement Budget has items of more importance than power washing activities. Therefore in most areas enforcement is done on a complaint basis only through a Hot Line.

Very few municipalities have an officer assigned to the enforcement and regulation of Mobile Power Washing Activities. Unless enforcement is done on a 24/7 basis it merely diverts this activity to nights and weekends.

Two municipalities that have full time Cosmetic Cleaning Enforcement Offers are: San Diego, CA and Houston, TX.

Most Effective Enforcement Tool

• 24/7 “800” Hot Line– Education

• Municipal Employees• Businesses• General Public

– 24/7 Monitoring– Low Cost (very cost effective)– For many municipalities and Urban Areas

enforcement is by “Complaint Basis” Only.

Voluntary Compliance of Environmental Regulations on Cosmetic Mobile Power Washing 

At the present time there is over 12 years of compliance history to draw from Phase I Municipalities. The industry has proven that there will be a high level of compliance if the regulations are:

• Logical 

•Reasonable

•Rational

And if the Regulations are not logical, reasonable, and rational there will be non-compliance on nights and weekends when enforcement is at it lowest.

The question then becomes “How to achieve the highest level of compliance with the least amount of expense to the municipality and urban area?”.

Minimizing the cost of compliance

• The municipality should allow discharging to the sanitary sewer by contract cleaners.

• This will have no impact on the POTW as proven by over 12 years by the City of Fort Worth, Texas.

• Fort Worth guidelines for contract cleaners are at www.powerwash.com/regs.

Basic BMPs

Cosmetic Mobile Power Washing in the most basic terms are:

* No off property discharge

* Directing the waste wash water to sanitary sewer.

*Nothing down the Drain but Rain!

Cold Water Washing

In most areas cold water washing with no chemicals is considered no worse than a rain event. Therefore cold water washing can be discharged to the storm drain if oil and grease areas are precleaned, and the discharged wash water is filtered through an oil absorbent filter to remove any oil sheen, and a screen to remove sand & debris.Discharging wash

water from a sump pump to a Sand Trap.

Common cold water jobs

•Car lots (cars are to be clean before being placed on the lot)

•sidewalks

•shopping malls

•buildings exteriors

•homes

•parking lots

•Garages

•Note: Discharge through an Oil Absorbent Boom or Filter.

Residential WashingThe EPA exempts residential car washing from the storm

water rules but does not address other washing activities like house or deck washing. In most areas there is no enforcement of the “No Off Property Discharge” rule for house washing or deck washing and sealing. To ban residential car washing it has to be a significant contributor of pollutants. Generally House Washing Waste Water should be filtered through an oil absorbent boom then allowed to soak into the lawn for bioremediation or discharged to the Sanitary Sewer.

It is not uncommon for the homeowner not to be required to capture his wash water from vehicle washing but the contract cleaner is required to capture his wash water.

Bioremediation• When routing wash water to landscaping, check

the slope and area to be sure to avoid runoff into a street, gutter, or storm drain. If the soil is very dry, wet it down thoroughly before discharging so that wash water will soak into the soil instead of running off to the street, gutter, or storm drain.

• Michigan limits landscape discharge in the above scenario to 1,000 gallons per month per acre. You should also limit your discharge to make sure that it does not reach the ground waters through percolation.

Hot Water Washing

Detergents and Hot Water are emulsifiers. The discharge is considered Special Waste. The Special Waste from washing activities will have to be added to any other Special Waste that your customer is generating. This Special Waste requires reporting if it exceeds a threshold amount. The threshold amount varies from state to state (for Texas and most other states it is 220 pounds per month). To date I am not aware of any contractor that has be affected by this requirement.

The EPA does not define Hot Water. Some regulators define it as any water that is elevated in temperature from the tap or outlet. This temperature can vary greatly. In the City Fort Worth we were able to define Hot Water as any water above 110F.

Detergents and Acids

Biodegradable detergents are not OK for discharging to the Storm Drain (Sewer). They increase the BOD (biological oxygen demand) of the water, which may kill living organisms. “Biodegradable” does not mean non-toxic.

The Regional Director of EPA Region 6 gave me the following example: A dead horse in a stream is biodegradable but it will kill the stream with all of the decay! The Term “Biodegradable” simply means that the product will not harm bacteria in the sewage treatment plant (POTW) and that it breaks down faster than more conventional products.

Waste Water Discharge

The discharge to the Municipal Sanitary Sewer Systems by Contract Cleaners is insignificant when compared to the total volume that a Municipality processes.

Usually “Hazardous Waste” cannot be discharged to the POTW.

No off property discharge hazards: 1) soil contamination, ground water contamination, and air contamination. May require soil remediation when property is sold or ground water remediation if contamination becomes known.

Strom Drain Discharge

Discharge to Stormdrain should be free of visible foam and Oil Sheen.

Discharge to surface waters must be treated for solids removal. This can be accomplished by filtration, or by directing wash water to a settling basin, like a tank or low spot where the water stops flowing. 

Discharge to the storm drain should be filtered with an oil absorbent boom or an oil/water separator. 

Contract Cleaner BMPs For Storm Drain Discharge

(currently being accepted by a majority of jurisdictions)

•Cold Water Only

•No chemicals, no visible foam

•Preclean oil and grease spots (kitty litter)

•No Oil Sheen, remediate through an oil absorbent boom

•No debris (Preclean debris [by sweeping or with a leaf blower], filter through a 40 mesh screen or 200 micron bag filter.

•Note: Hot water may be used in some jurisdictions for surfaces with no oil and grease contamination.

Enforcement

If a violation occurs the Regulators may issue citations to:

• The mobile power company

• The mobile power wash operator

• The customer’s manager

•The customer’s company

Enforcement Yoyo

• Another problem for some Environmental Contract Cleaners is that enforcement has been like a yoyo in some locations. Enforcement varies from heavy to non-existent then some customers go back to unregulated power washing to save cost. (i.e. terminate the Environmental Contract Cleaner)

• This is normally associated with a change of staff or enforcement personnel.

Trivia

• Most Citations are written within a 20 mile radius of a University.

• 95% of everything I have been teaching has been learned from Environmental Regulators!

• I always request that Regulating Authorities that I consult with and help reference me in some way. They all agree, about 20% actually do.

Waste Water Capture

• Most Communities will accept 85 to 95% of the Waste Water to be captured. They will allow:– Some leakage under Portable Dams and

Drain Covers.– Some over-spray, like around Portable Wash

Pits (tarps) for truck washing.– Drag-Off of Waste Water from Truck Washing

(drippage from washing)

Water Dams control the waste water for pickup by a sump pump. The waste water passes through a wire screen filter before entering a holding tank. Then waste water is discharged to a sand trap by gravity flow.

Note that there is no oil sheen after the oil absorbent booms. The vacuum sludge filtering systems contain a bag filter and automatic discharge pump. The vacu-boom picks up 100% of the waste water.

A Steel Eagle Concrete (Surface) Cleaner with vacuum attachment for recovery of the waste water. This requires hook to both a pressure washer and a heavy industrial vacuum. This makes pick of the waste water and cleaning a one step operation.

A filter tub for cleaning kitchen grease exhaust grease filters. This job location was for a restaurant on a barge. No waste water enter the lake. The Filter Tub was hooked up to a Vacuum Sludge Filtering System at the bottom which discharged the waste water to a holding tank on shore.

A water dam for storm drain sealing, an oil absorbent boom for hydrocarbon removal, a window screen on the bottom of the sump pump for debris and sludge removal, and a sump pump for discharge to the sanitary sewer. Legal for sanitary sewer discharge in the City of Fort Worth, Texas for Cosmetic Cleaning.

Never discharge waste water to Storm Drains and Sanitary Sewers by removing the covers in the middle of the streets. They are city property!

An example of a Sanitary Sewer Clean Out Port. This is private Property and an acceptable discharge conveyance for waste water in the City of Fort Worth, Texas.

An example of a Storm Drain Blockers

Washing on a portable tarp in 1991 for waste water capture. Note the sump pump in the far right corner of the tarp. Every wrinkle in the tarp is a little water dam for dropping out of the sludge and debris on the tarp which is picked up with a plastic scoop shovel.

A child's wading pool filled with water that is higher than the surrounding waste water will effectively seal a storm drain. It does not look professional but is effective!

The storm drain is sealed, waste water passes through an oil absorbent boom for removal of hydrocarbons and a window screen (around the bottom of the sump pump) for removal of debris and sand is legal to discharge to sanitary sewer in many jurisdictions including Fort Worth, Texas!

Many jurisdictions are accepting cosmetic cleaning waste water that passes through an oil absorbent boom and a screen for discharge into the sanitary sewer and storm drains!!!! Not rocket science!

A Vader I Mobile Trailer Brush Wash Rig that captures the waste water for mobile recycling of the wash water during washing, then discharging the waste water to a sand trap.

Note the Vacuum Boom around the helicopter for waste water capture.

An example of a Latimat Wash Pad with air berms.

An example of total recycling wash rig.

A Vacu-boom advertisement for their waste water capture systems.

An example of waste water capture for Kitchen Grease Exhaust Cleaning.

An example of waste water filtration system using commercial vacuum cleaners. The waster water enters the top and drops through a bag filter for debris and solids removal before automatic discharge. If an oil absorbent boom is placed before the intake hose then the waste water will be acceptable for many jurisdictions to be discharged into the sanitary sewer.

Houston & Fort Worth

• Houston & Fort Worth took two very different approaches to the Cosmetic Cleaning Issue. They represent the extremes and everyone else fits in between. Neither is right or wrong, but are excellent examples of reaching same goal with almost the same results.

• Because of this I have chosen to examine these two Municipal Ordinances and their implementation in detail.

• RAHSCO Cleaning Systems has DVDs of Houston and Fort Worth Conferences for Cosmetic Cleaners available.

•July 17, 1995. A “Mobile Power Washing Environmental Protection and Compliance Conference” was held in Fort Worth, Texas as part of a public comment period for a Fort Worth Cosmetic Cleaning ordinance. The meeting was attended by about 40 Federal EPA, State, Regional, and Municipal Environmental Regulators and 100 Contract Cleaner and Industry Representatives. The conference was sponsored by RAHSCO Cleaning System, and lead by Robert M. Hinderliter of RAHSCO Cleaning Systems and Brian Camp, Jr., Senior Water Quality Specialists, Environmental Department, City of Fort Worth. Because of this conference Fort Worth rewrote their ordinance and it was passed by City Council November 28, 1995 to become effective January 2, 1996.

High Lights of the Fort Worth Code: DIVISION 2, COSMETIC CLEANING

A discharge or flow of cold water used in cosmetic cleaning that is not contaminated with any soap, detergent, degreaser, solvent, emulsifier, dispersant or any other cleaning substance may be discharged to the storm drain as long as the storm drain inlet is screened to catch debris and the discharge passes through an oil absorbent pad or boom. No oil sheen may be present in the discharge after it passes through the pad or boom. Screen the storm drain inlet with a 20-mesh or finer screen to catch the debris The total volume of wastewater generated by all the cosmetic cleaners operating in Fort Worth on any given day was not likely to exceed 20,000 gallons; this volume is "insignificant" when compared to the City's total treatment capacity.

The Cosmetic cleaner was given access to the sanitary sewer

The waste water belonged to the property owner, not the cosmetic cleaner, so the waste water should be discharged on-site if possible. The ideal discharge point would be into a sand or grit trap such as those found in car wash bays. Unfortunately, few sites contain such facilities so the discharge options revert to sinks, toilets, floor drains and clean-out stubs (private property). Discharging through a 400 micron filter to remove the grit and sludge It is up to the property owner to decide which conveyance to discharge into as they own the plumbing system located within their property lines. Discharges into manholes are strictly forbidden, no matter where they are located. (city property)

Cosmetic Cleaners that utilize wash water recycling units fit into "process water" category and must test their effluent at least once annually.

$50.00 Permit Fee for first Wash Rig. The fee for the permit (which goes to the business) is $25.00. The fee for the registration certificates is $25.00 per wash unit is to displayed on each wash rig.

Preclean liquid accumulations of oil or grease with absorbent clay or a similar material prior to washing. The oil soaked clay should be placed in a plastic bag and disposed to a dumpster.

Discharges to the sanitary sewer must not have a temperature greater than 150° F, must not have a pH less that 5.0 or greater than 12.0.

Fort Worth Cosmetic Registration

Offenses are punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 per day per offense.

Hot water is defined as any water over 110°F. Discharges to the storm drain using hot water cosmetic cleaning without any chemicals are approved provided that permission is granted by the Depart of Environmental Mgt prior to using the hot water. This exemption was designed for cosmetic cleaners washing objects such as sidewalks, headstones, walls and other things that are unlikely to be affected by the normal pollutants such as oil and grease. Mobile commercial cosmetic cleaning means "power washing, steam cleaning, and any other mobile cosmetic cleaning operation, of vehicles and/or exterior surfaces, engaged in for commercial purposes."

What did the Fort Worth Ordinance Miss?

The best regulation for the elimination of the Yo-yo effect of enforcement is the BASMAA “Pollution Prevention Voucher”. This certificate should be required to be kept on file by the Contract Cleaner and his customer for a period of three years as adopted by Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. 

Also Michigan Department of Environmental Quality allows discharging to ground for Cosmetic Cleaning up to 1,000 gallons per month per acre for bioremediation.  

• August 22, 1996. BASMAA (Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association of the San Francisco Bay Area) endorses CETA’s – San Francisco Area Chapter “Mobile Cleaner Best Management Practices for Waste Water Runoff”. This effort was lead by Geoff Brosseau, Executive Director, BASMAA. BASMAA is unique in that they add a Pollution Prevention Voucher to their program for contractors to give to their customers.

Fort Worth Regs Effectiveness

Fort Worth Citations

• Fort Worth achieved the above results without any citations or enforcement actions!

• Compliance is voluntary.

Least Expensive Option

• Adopting the above regulations will produce the highest level of voluntary compliance with the least expense at the highest level of compliance.

• This conclusion is based upon the survey done for this conference and I will examine the data in more detail.

Houston Enforcement

• Heavy Enforcement– 6 Officers

Houston Police DepartmentMajor Offenders DivisionEnvironmental Investigation Unit

– Fines up to $250,000 & 5 years confinement– Restricted (Limited) Discharge to the Sanitary Sewer.– Literature and BMPs is available today– Panelists will answer questions– Contractor Training May 14, 2007.

Houston’s Results

• Houston’s Detergents in the Storm Drains was 18 to 55% before the enforcement effort.

• After the enforcement effort Houston’s Detergents in the Storm Drains dropped to 2.5%!

• This is the same level that Fort Worth reached.

Comparison of Ft Worth & Houston

• There is almost no detectible difference in the results in the ordinances for Fort Worth and Houston, Texas per comparison of Detergents in the Storm Drains (DWFS).

• There is a big difference in implementation and enforcement cost.– Lessons to be learned for every community.– Which of these procedures or combination of

these procedures will work best for you?

Fort Worth Summary• Industry helped draft the ordinance, based on a

Public Comment Period with a Conference held on July 17, 1995.

• Voluntary Compliance.• Access to the Sanitary Sewer, all normal

Cosmetic Cleaning Activities accepted.• Permit Based: $25.00/company + $25.00/rig per

year.• Implemented January 2, 1996.• No testing of waste water required, not

detectable at the POTW.• Almost no cost to the City of Fort Worth.

Houston Summary

• Training Based: May 14, 2007

• Heavy Enforcement

• Limited Access to the Sanitary Sewer

• High Standards for BMPs, including dye testing of portable dams and drain covers!

• Cost: 6 Major Offenders Division Enforcement Officers (Other duties besides Cosmetic Cleaning Enforcement)

Oklahoma City

• Similar to Fort Worth’s except:– Require an industrial pretreatment permit.– Limit access to Sanitary Sewer.

• This results in more detergents being detected in the storm drains.

Oklahoma City

Dallas

• Has no Fact Sheet or BMPs for Cosmetic Cleaners.

• Allows discharge to the sanitary sewer.

• Results not available.

Implementation of BMPs

Once you have made the choice of how you are going to implement a Cosmetic

Cleaning Regulation these are some of the items that will effect the interpretation &

enforcement of the Clean Water Act.

Who is an Environmentalist?

 

Everybody is an “Environmentalist”! However, how one interprets that is usually based on how it affects their “economic revenue stream” (income, wages, business revenue). An Environmental Regulator brought this information to my attention. Example: A large segment of the “Coin-op car wash industry” believes that home owners should not be exempt for car washing discharge to storm sewer as this creates a large source of pollution to our storm sewers. This also holds true for charities (churches, girl scouts, boy scouts, etc). Because of Political Activity by the Coin-Op Car Wash Association (with a $500,000.00 budget) the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board banned charity washing during February of 2001.

Department Conflicts• Stormwater/Environmental Department

says:– No Discharge to the Storm Drain

• Sanitary Sewer (POTW) says:– We will not accept the wastewater.

• Have never accepted this waste before.• Do not know what we will be getting.• Contractors will not adhere to requirements for

discharging.• Gives the Contract Cleaners an economic

advantage over competitors.• Require testing of every discharge and charges up

to $350.00 for each discharge.

Department Responsibilities

• What department is responsible?– Storm Water– Environmental– Health Department– Public Works– Sanitary Sewer (POTW)

• Contract Cleaners typically get referred from department to department without ever getting an answer!

Silent Approval

• Some Municipalities tell the Contract Cleaner:– You have to be in Environmental Compliance

but we are not going to tell you what that is!– Will not give permission to discharge to the

Storm Drain or Sanitary Sewer but will not stop the practice at this time, acceptance by no action.

– Will not approve Cosmetic Cleaning BMPS but do not stop any procedure.

No Standard BMP

• There are no National Standard BMPs for Cosmetic Cleaning.

• Metropolitan Areas typically do not have standard BMPs.

• Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex has about 115 Municipalities and Urban Areas and 115 separate Cosmetic Cleaning BMPs to comply with! This is typical.

Silent Compliance

• Because of the difficulty of getting 115 separate approvals in DFW Metroplex for Cosmetic Cleaning many Contract Cleaners follow the Fort Worth Guidelines in all areas without asking for approval or permission to discharge to the Sanitary Sewer. This is typical in all areas of the US.

BMP Acceptance• Troy Contract Cleaner gets his BMPs

accepted in City A.

• Troy Contract Cleaner now takes his BMP Acceptance in City A to City B for approval.

• City B now adds two more requirements to City A for their approval and acceptance.

• If Troy repeats this process 10 times he is out of business!

Contractor Practical Solution(Risk Management)

• Follow Generally Accepted BMPs without asking permission or approval.

• Discharging to the Sanitary Sewer and Storm Drain following Generally Acceptable BMPs without asking permission or approval.

On line Training

Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (www.basmaa.org) has an online training video and certification test for surface cleaners at www.basmaa.org. See right hand column and click on “View our 30 minute presentation”.

www.basmaa.org

Equipment Vendors• Advanced Environmental Solutions, Inc.

8643 South 212th StreetKent, Washington 98301Phone: 800-275-3549

• American Made Cleaners, Inc.610 East CedarBeresford, South Dakota 57004Phone: 605-763-5100Breg InternationalP.O. Box 595Fredericksburg, Virginia 22404Phone: 800-683-3966

• Cleaning Systems Specialists9257 Mission George Road, Suite ASantee, California 92701Phone: 619-488-8111

• RAHSCO Cleaning Systems 2513 Warfield StreetFort Worth, Texas 76106-7554Phone: 800-433-2113

• Environmental Cleaning Systems, Inc.41 Shaft RoadRexdale, Ontario M9W 4M3Phone: 416-244-6497

• Environmental Pollution Abatement Company, Inc.400 West Third Street, #C171Santa Rosa, California 95401Phone: 707-576-0202

• Environmental Process Systems, Inc.P.O. Box 596Mt. Holly, North Carolina 28120-0596Phone: 704-827-0740

• Jim Manufacturing, Inc.20 Saint Philomena DriveHardy, Arkansas 72542Phone: 800-541-6299

• GeomatP.O. Box 271852Tampa, Florida 33688-1852Phone: 813-936-7992Hydro-Tech Environmental Systems, Inc.Cascade Corporate Center175 Cascade CourtRohnert Park, California 94928Phone: 800-559-3102

• Jay R. Smith Manufacturing CompanyP.O. Box 3237Montgomery, Alabama 36109-0237Phone: 800-767-0466

• Landa Water Cleaning Systems4275 NW Pacific Rim BlvdCamas, Washington 98607800-547-8672

• Parker West4520 Montecito AvenueSanta Rosa, California 95404Phone: 707-579-1257

• Pressure Power Systems, Inc.P.O. Box 917Kernersville, North Carolina 27285Phone: 336-996-6217

• RGF Environmental Group, Inc.3875 Fiscal CourtWest Palm Beach, Florida 33404Phone: 800-842-7771International Phone: 0001-(561) 848-1826

Panelists Presentations

• Barbara BaileyEnvironmental Compliance Specialist, City of Tulsa, Public Works / Quality Assurance Section, 4818 S. Elwood Ave. Tulsa, OK   74107, off: (918) 591-4384, Fax: (918) 591-4388, email: barbailey@ci.tulsa.ok.us .

• Derek Johnson, Environmental Protection Unit Supervisor, Public Works Department Stormwater Quality Division, City of Oklahoma City, 420 West Main Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, Phone: 405-297-1517, email: derek.johnson@okc.gov .

• Dorene Hancock, Section Manager, Storm Water Quality Enforcement, Public Works and Engineering, City of Houston, 5500 McCarty, Houston, TX 77013, Phone: 713-678-5856, email: dorene.hancock@cityofhouston.net .

Questions and Answers

• Disagreements, Mistakes, Inaccuracies, or Differences.

• Other Questions

The End

• Thank you for your time and attention.

Robert M. Hinderliter

President

RAHSCO Cleaning Systems of Fort Worth

Environmental Chairman

PWNA & UAmCc

1-800-433-2113, or Cell: 817-366-3041

Bonus Material

• Houston

• Tulsa

• Oklahoma City

• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

Houston, Dorene Hancock

• Houston Has 3 Enforcement Agencies– Public Works– Health Department

• Enforcement of Houston Ordinances• Municipal Citation

– Houston Police DepartmentMajor Offenders Division

• Enforce Texas Ordinances• Criminal Prosecution

– Severity of Prosecution depends on who show up.

Houston, Dorene Hancock• Cannot discharge Trucked Wash Water on

site. Sanitary Sewer charges are included in the Water Bills.

• Health Department permits Trucked Wash Water.

Tulsa, Barbara Bailey

• If heat or chemicals are added, wash water has to be collected. No off property discharge.

• If nothing is in the wash water, can filter and discharge to the storm drain.

• Collect the solids, dry, and put into trash.

Oklahoma City, Derek Johnson

• Two Agencies– Utilities and Pretreatment– Storm Water Quality – Enforcement

• Requirements– Permit for Cosmetic & Carpet Cleaners– Follow BMP Manual– Notify where Discharge Locations are.

• Exemptions for Household Car Washing.• Can escalate enforcement with arrests.

CommentaryPolly Porter

Compliance Assistance Specialist

Small Business & Local Government Program

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality

6801 Sanger Avenue, #2500

Waco, Texas

Phone: 1-254-761-3039, Fax: 1-254-772-9241

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Polly Porter

• 3 elements of Cosmetic Cleaning– Public Education– Enforcement– Disposal

• After precleaning do spot cleaning of heavy oil and grease spots.

• For Industrial Sites that require a SWPPP you will have to include the waste water discharge that goes to landscaping in your plan.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Polly Porter

• Charity Car Washes should partner with Stationary Car Washes for charity events so that the discharge can be captured.

• Very large amounts of discharged cold water to the storm drains can be hazardous because of chlorine content.