Houston Police Department's Environmental Enforcement Di

why do fireman get to wash junk from wrecks down the drain. I drove by a wreck today and they were washing gas from a burst gas tank down the drain, I should have got a picture.

According to the Texas Water Code, there is exclusion for fire department related activities but it has not been determined what the scope of that rule extends too. Other city departments have NO exclusions at this time.
 
There are many ways to do business, if you lose bids because your overhead is too high, don't get your panties in a wad and stalk that company that won and call the police on them if they are not 100% in compliance, maybe you need to streamline your business so you get more jobs and stop having hissyfits because you lost some.

I am sure that Goldstone would not like someone stalking them and ratting them out to the cops if they let some water go down the drain (unless the cops and them are in bed then it will not matter). I am sure that there are guys out there that would like to follow them around and return the favor, don't dish out what you can't eat.

Like they say, all is fair in love and war. Do what you have to to clear your mind, relax your emotions and make yourself feel better.


I am sure that PM's (property managers) in Houston, Texas would like to know that Goldstone ratted them out if they had received fines for contractors not being 100% compliant on some jobs. I am sure that some of the Houston, Texas Property Managers would frown on this sort of activity (stalking the competition, calling the police on them and making sure that someone gets a fine if they don't get the job).

I wonder if some of the Houston contractors could call the police on Goldstone for stalking/harassing them when they are working, it is against the law to be a stalker. Maybe some of the Houston companies can get a peace bond or restraining order on Goldstone to keep them away when they are trying to work so they are not being harassed.

This is such a shame.


Chris it has hurt them, badly. Believe me, the guys that get ticketed readily show them off to PM's and other clients. In fact, it really makes us look bad as an industry as it looks like we can't get our #@%^ together. A lot of PM's just throw up there hands and say forget it, I just won't have it cleaned. So not only have they cut everybody elses throat, they have cut there own. I'm all for hosting an RT or meeting of some type and let's get some ideas on paper. We need to fix this and be the leaders in fixing it. I'm even willing to invite Goldstone. We obviously need to educate the City.

So, if anyone is interested in attending an RT or meeting and doing something about it let me know. I'll scout around pricing for hotels. Several hotels around here let you use there Conference rooms for free.
 
Nothing worse than a rat bastard !! I am sure they were up to compliance from day one !
Also the cities we have worked in are the biggest offenders of storm drain disposal, but dont let them catch you doing it.

Same shizt with cop's they can do whatever they want with no consequence !! I went to school with alot of kid's who's father's were cop's they were the worst kid's ,always in the most trouble.
 
Chris it has hurt them, badly. Believe me, the guys that get ticketed readily show them off to PM's and other clients. In fact, it really makes us look bad as an industry as it looks like we can't get our #@%^ together. A lot of PM's just throw up there hands and say forget it, I just won't have it cleaned. So not only have they cut everybody elses throat, they have cut there own. I'm all for hosting an RT or meeting of some type and let's get some ideas on paper. We need to fix this and be the leaders in fixing it. I'm even willing to invite Goldstone. We obviously need to educate the City.

So, if anyone is interested in attending an RT or meeting and doing something about it let me know. I'll scout around pricing for hotels. Several hotels around here let you use there Conference rooms for free.

Doug,

As much as I don't like what was done to you and HOW it was done, I commend you on the attitude of how to re mediate the situation. Had coldstone tried this from the beginning, (maybe they did), times might be different for you. Good luck with this.
 
So, if anyone is interested in attending an RT or meeting and doing something about it let me know. I'll scout around pricing for hotels. Several hotels around here let you use there Conference rooms for free.

Good luck with that one Doug.
I tried to spark interest last year at Cedar Landing in Huffman on the lake
(which included wood resto).
Which would have provided the perfect location to test the "compliancy issues" first hand on a lake environment.

The interest in the RT was really based around whether Ron Musgraves would be at the Houston RT.

It ultimately was held in DFW where Ron hosted at the Rhasco facility.
I could not be there as I got married that week.

I have asked him alot to hold a RT in Houston, but he is always hosting somewhere else.

I think it would be cool to have him here, but he never sees my post' and invites I guess.

I can still get the marina to reserve the space but it just never progressed in that direction. You been to Cedar Landing right? You know how cool that place is right?
I know people in high places there ( hint hint).

It has every type of cleaning demo potential (for the vendors that would attend) known to man.

They love me at that place. I have brought them tons of money and customers there way.



Maybe Ron will see this post.......:neo:




..... I may be a bit reserved but I got "Freakin Fire" when I need it.
 
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I hear what you are saying David, it is such a shame that city is in that kind of situation.

Maybe there is a solution out there? Maybe get some of the TV stations involved to hear our side of the story, some simple solutions and maybe that tv press would get them to start to listen?

What do you think?


Chris The last conversation I had with Robert h. was "houston was a tough city to pin down on what you could do to comply.

Last conversation in 2007
 
It's one thing to see someone pouring chemicals down a storm sewer and report them. But to conspire with the city officials who love it when others do their job and they can take credit for it is being a rat. A first time warning would seem to have been fair.

If the cities goal is to stop it a notice to PW contractors of the enforcement would have made sense. But this way they can generate revenue and justify a govt entities existence which is the ultimate goal.
 
It's one thing to see someone pouring chemicals down a storm sewer and report them. But to conspire with the city officials who love it when others do their job and they can take credit for it is being a rat. A first time warning would seem to have been fair.

If the cities goal is to stop it a notice to PW contractors of the enforcement would have made sense. But this way they can generate revenue and justify a govt entities existence which is the ultimate goal.

Rick, exactly what I was trying to day. It just took me a lot more words to say it.
 
Chris The last conversation I had with Robert h. was "houston was a tough city to pin down on what you could do to comply.

Last conversation in 2007


Thanks David.
 
Had an account for a local Chick Fil A to clean weekly the parking lots and Drive Thru. After servicing for about a month I was called one morning by the operator of the Chick Fil A and was told he received a call from a Sergeant Mike Walsh from the "Major Crimes Division" and was investigating a complaint of waster water being discharged into the storm water drain by a pressure washing company. Walsh set up an appointment to meet with the manager that afternoon at 1pm, (this was April of this year), and told the operator to not contact me. I showed up at 1pm for the as I wanted to find out was going on.

After meeting with the operator for about a ½ hour in the back room, the Detective came out to the seating area and we sat down to discuss the situation. He pulled out some pictures of cleaning the parking lot and explained that a complaint had been filed by a competitor of mine and identified the person as Doug Baxley, from Goldstone Exterior. The Detective told me that this guy doesn’t actually do pressure washing but sells equipment. I later found out this not to be true, and that Goldstone does do power washing.

After discussing, and the detective explaining to me that the law in the City of Houston is that “nothing can go down the drain except for rain”, and explaining to me that the storm sewers that I discharged my waste water into feeds directly into Lake Houston and that that is where all of Houston get’s it’s drinking water. and me admitting that it was me in the pictures, the detective asked me to come down to his office the following Monday to receive two citations for “MS4 A discharge not entirely composed of storm water.”

The following Monday my wife and I went to the Detective’s office to receive the citations. Both tickets carried a fine of $425.00 each. While receiving the tickets, Sergeant Walsh showed me two emails that came across his computer while we were sitting there. They were from the same Doug Baxley of Goldstone Exteriors and the emails contained pictures of two different Taco Bell/KFC restaurants and power washers allowing waste water being discharged to the storm drains over the weekend. Apparently this Detective get’s about 1 to 2 of these emails per day from this guy. Later as we were preparing to leave, the detective received a phone call on his cell phone from Doug Baxley reporting a power washing company in progress of cleaning a parking lot and allowing storm water to go down the drain. Detective Walsh left immediately to go “apprehend” the alleged suspects.

I was not aware of the strict laws or “best management guidelines” that City had enacted and that is my fault. But, had this Baxley guy come up to me while I was working and explained that I was in violation of the law, I would have shut it down right then and there and found out what I needed to do to be complaint. Instead he chose to secretly sit in his car and take pictures of me on TWO different weekends and then turn me in.

The City of Houston’s law is basically this. You can not allow any waster water to go down a storm drain. It must be collected and disposed at an “approved” waste site (whether you use chemicals or plain water) of which there are only about 3 “approved sites” in the city, all of which are about an hour from me. But, before you can do this, you must take your equipment to the City of Houston Health Department, demonstrate to them that the equipment works properly, pay a $590.00 fee and have a permit issued to haul waste water within the City of Houston. You then must fill out a manifest for every job, detailing how many gallons of waste water was collected form the site, have the owner of the business sign it, as well as the “approved dump site” and then file that manifest with the City of Houston Public Health Department every month along with a $2.50 filing fee.

“Nothing down the Drain, but Rain” means “Nothing down the Drain, but Rain” so the use of filter socks, filtration pads, etc are not compliant. 100% of ALL waste water must be contained.

Funny thing is, the only chemical I used on the parking Lot is the EATOILS BT200, which is Certified GREEN. We sell this same BT200 to many municipalities. They use it to keep there storm AND sanitary sewers clean. It is also used to clean lakes and reservoirs. It was even used in some areas of the Gulf Oil Spill and more extensively used for the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Of course, this fell on deaf ears with the City.

Due to these strict law’s, and knowing that there is someone, a competitor running around snapping pictures and turning people in, I just decided to get out of the commercial business and now concentrate only on job’s that do not require recovery/reclaim.

By the way, I went to court, and Sargeant Walsh dropped one charge and lowered the fine to $200.00 on the other.




I'm just curious Doug.....did this happen before or after we bought your Hot & Mighty reclaim/filter rig late Oct?
 
This gets my vote for best quote of the week.
LMAO:rotflmao:


While I doubt I'd actually call the police or EPA on anyone.....my ethical dilemma get's less cloudy when I see a landscaping contractor doing a $25 power rinse with a $500 cold water machine.

I still blame the store manager or property owner. I don't buy shoes at McDonalds or hamburgers from Kinkos. Bundling can work, I know some of you bundle window cleaning and landscaping but around here they are really good mowers, mulchers and window cleaners......not so much with PW'ing.
 
I'm just curious Doug.....did this happen before or after we bought your Hot & Mighty reclaim/filter rig late Oct?

Dave is that you. I had know idea. I been meaning to email you to see how your trip back was and if you had caught up on your trip. Also, where's the pics' of the rig? I want to see what you dod to the trailer.

Answer to your question: March of this year.
 
Dave is that you. I had know idea. I been meaning to email you to see how your trip back was and if you had caught up on your trip. Also, where's the pics' of the rig? I want to see what you dod to the trailer.

Answer to your question: March of this year.



I'm not Dave, I'm Barry. Dave came onboard as part owner of the Commercial branch CPW Service in Oct. Your rig was our first purchase. Dave brings a lot to the table for us and it was a great merger.

Anyway, I suppose I just find it odd that you got popped for a fine and actually had a $15k plus reclaim rig.
 
I'm not Dave, I'm Barry. Dave came onboard as part owner of the Commercial branch CPW Service in Oct. Your rig was our first purchase. Dave brings a lot to the table for us and it was a great merger.

Anyway, I suppose I just find it odd that you got popped for a fine and actually had a $15k plus reclaim rig.

Got the rig dirt cheap and the reclaim rig was in it.
 
Good luck with that one Doug.
I tried to spark interest last year at Cedar Landing in Huffman on the lake
(which included wood resto).
Which would have provided the perfect location to test the "compliancy issues" first hand on a lake environment.

The interest in the RT was really based around whether Ron Musgraves would be at the Houston RT.

It ultimately was held in DFW where Ron hosted at the Rhasco facility.
I could not be there as I got married that week.

I have asked him alot to hold a RT in Houston, but he is always hosting somewhere else.

I think it would be cool to have him here, but he never sees my post' and invites I guess.

I can still get the marina to reserve the space but it just never progressed in that direction. You been to Cedar Landing right? You know how cool that place is right?
I know people in high places there ( hint hint).

It has every type of cleaning demo potential (for the vendors that would attend) known to man.

They love me at that place. I have brought them tons of money and customers there way.



Maybe Ron will see this post.......:neo:




..... I may be a bit reserved but I got "Freakin Fire" when I need it.

Call me At 4805225227 not 6026942680...Please call me tonight and lets see what we can do/
 
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