EPA question

D

dewitt9

New member
hello every one, how can i check the EPA guidlines in my area to see if i have to reclaim the water if i wash fleets. why don't we have to reclaim water when we wash cars in our driveway. thanks in advance.
 
wow 15 people have looked at this post so far and not one input. thanks guys.
 
The EPA guidelines are nationwide. HERE

If you read them it says: "If your discharge does not reach waters of the United States, then there are no requirements under the CWA."

What you are dealing with at a minimum is:

1. Fed Regs
2. State Regs
3. Local Regs
4. The company you are washing for's Regs

Each one can be as strict as they want. I'm told in some areas on the Left Coast you can't wash your car in your driveway. I've had truck companies require reclaiming when no one in the county has even heard of it. It's normally on the trucking company if they get pinched but they can go after everyone involved. It's a case of the "deepest pockets syndrome". And a govt agency justifying it's existence.

Many of the advocates that push this are those that manufacture/sell the equipment needed to reclaim. To me it makes a lot of sense in an area that discharges directly into a body of water. But washing a sidewalk with no chems and hot water and almost no runoff makes no sense. Redirecting the runoff on to the grass seems more reasonable.

Just my opinion and worth every penny I'm charging for it.
 
I believe, and I am definitely no expert, that you are actually breaking the clean water act if you wash your car in the driveway and wash the water down a drain that leads to a U.S. waterway. As far as I know you do not have to reclaim when you wash anything as long as it does not violate the clean water act. You could berm, dike, dam, divert, reclaim, etc... as long as your final "contaminated water" does not enter a U.S. waterway. Same thing as washing a house. We don't have to vacuum dirty water as it runs down the siding. We just let the final solution land in the grass and evaporate.
 
IndyExterior said:
The EPA guidelines are nationwide. HERE

If you read them it says: "If your discharge does not reach waters of the United States, then there are no requirements under the CWA."

What you are dealing with at a minimum is:

1. Fed Regs
2. State Regs
3. Local Regs
4. The company you are washing for's Regs

Each one can be as strict as they want. I'm told in some areas on the Left Coast you can't wash your car in your driveway. I've had truck companies require reclaiming when no one in the county has even heard of it. It's normally on the trucking company if they get pinched but they can go after everyone involved. It's a case of the "deepest pockets syndrome". And a govt agency justifying it's existence.

Many of the advocates that push this are those that manufacture/sell the equipment needed to reclaim. To me it makes a lot of sense in an area that discharges directly into a body of water. But washing a sidewalk with no chems and hot water and almost no runoff makes no sense. Redirecting the runoff on to the grass seems more reasonable.

Just my opinion and worth every penny I'm charging for it.
Click to expand...

Yep, sorry I posted my response just after this one and didn't realize it was posted. Sounds right to me.
 
Capture runoff skim grease off the top neutralize let cool run through grease trap.




Wait you ask about fleet .....disregard, unless it's a roach-coach.:victory:
 
Depending on local regs, any part of the storm water system can be considered waters of the united states. I recently bid on a contralto,ct, for am, government agency, that went over a very large body of water that required no reclaim, as long as no chemicals were used. This was in an area that is historically very strict. For what it is worth, the storm water enforcement guys are not just worried about chemicals, though that is a huge concern, another one that is it's equal is the silt and debris that can be washed down the storm drain. Plugged storm drains can cause huge problems.
 
rmhinkle said:
I believe, and I am definitely no expert, that you are actually breaking the clean water act if you wash your car in the driveway and wash the water down a drain that leads to a U.S. waterway. As far as I know you do not have to reclaim when you wash anything as long as it does not violate the clean water act. You could berm, dike, dam, divert, reclaim, etc... as long as your final "contaminated water" does not enter a U.S. waterway. Same thing as washing a house. We don't have to vacuum dirty water as it runs down the siding. We just let the final solution land in the grass and evaporate.
Click to expand...

You cannot forget to check local and state regulations because that will not always be up to code as you would think. The CWA states you cannot allow it to discharge to storm water drains however there may be tougher and require more protection.
 
thanks guys for the input. i will do all the research I can on this subject
 
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