Fort Worth Model Pressure Washing BMPs

Tony Shelton

BS Detector, Esquire
Well, at least one good thing has come out of all the false information depicting our industry as polluters that has been spread around by our own leaders for 20 years.

Robert Hinderliter has hundreds of internet references to his "Fort Worth Model Pressure Washing BMPs".

The BMPs crafted by Robert, that he is so proud of are now gone.

They were complicated, predicated upon the assumption that power washers had no common sense.

They were based on the false assumption that the only way to get the contractors to do the responsible thing was to make them vacuum up practically everything - causing more air pollution with unnecessary equipment, more liability for transportation of dirty water, more cost for the contractor, and more cost for the customer.

Ultimately this resulted in customers throwing up their hands in confusion and electing to refuse to clean their storefronts at all.

Less customers meant less work. Less work meant less contractors. More able bodied men and women on the government dole after failing in business.

Thankfully, if you look up Fort Worth Pressure Washing BMPs now on the internet you will find that they have revamped their BMPs to more closely resemble the simple and effective BMPs used by BAASMA in the Bay Area of San Francisco and the effective BMPs Las Vegas Nevada has. The pages and pages of confusion and legal mumbo jumbo that left a lot of room for interpretation and opened the door for frivolous fining and prosecution are gone.

What is most amazing about this is Ft Worth's actual ordinances haven't changed. They have remained the same since 1995. Yet all the sudden, someone with common sense has taken a closer look at the ordinances and rewritten a workable, usable BMP. I wish I could take credit for that, but I don't cross state lines to help unless asked and no one from Ft Worth has asked for my help. I like to think that maybe the regulators have followed some of the threads on these boards and realized the damage that has been done to the sanitation of Ft Worth and the contractors who work so hard to try to keep it clean.

Robert's fingerprints still remain even in the new BMPs though. It may take years for the damage to be undone. There is still a reference to hot water, but there is a way to get permission to use hot water. Hot water is not mentioned anywhere on the federal level as being in the same category as soap. The only source I have ever found for that is Robert. He gave me pages and pages of EPA documents to search through, claiming it was within those pages and it simply is not there. Do a search for EMULSIFIER on PWI and look through the hundreds of pages of documents Robert provided for yourself. It's not there. It is another Robert Hinderliter coined concept that even today still confuses regulators and contractors alike.

Ft Worth still has the permits as a requirement for washing, something that is extremely rare around the country and one should take note that one of the only places in the country to require such a permit is in the hometown of the man who has supposedly been fighting to help us for over 20 years, Robert Hinderliter. That speaks volumes. It is a preview of the vision Robert and the PWNA had for the entire industry nationwide. We are mobile cleaners. Costly permits and inspections are not conducive to operating profitably in a business that already has low margins.

Here are the new Fort Worth BMPs.

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This, along with conversations I have had with regulators up and down the west coast area has given me a renewal of hope for our industry. I've not found the regulators Robert has described to us who are unwilling to work with us.

The term "cosmetic cleaning" has been one of the worst descriptions of what we actually do that has ever been imposed on us. It reduced us to the level of an industry that is dispensable. Robert himself posted here that he invented the term "cosmetic cleaning" along with "reasonable and rational". While it may have seemed like a cute sounding name for what we do, it gives the impression that our cleaning is for looks only and serves no sanitary purpose. That put us in an entirely different category in the eyes of the EPA regulators. It was a big mistake.

We are slowly being recognized as sanitary cleaners who keep our sidewalks clean, our dumpsters clean, our buildings free of algae and mold and as a necessary part of keeping the environment clean.

The United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners (UAMCC) is working hard to dispel all the old myths about our industry.

The perception of what we do is about to change. It is already happening.

We don't need to fight the EPA. We simply need to let them know the truth about what we do and show them how we produce a net positive effect on the environment and they will fight for us.

We are accomplishing this on a state by state and regional basis utilizing contractors to communicate with the local regulators. This is a grass roots effort that is producing results. We have most of the states covered but are still in need of a few. If you would like to be a part of redefining our industry by helping in your area, please join the UAMCC and help in our efforts.

The UAMCC also has regional directors to help the state directors with questions and suggestions for how to deal with issues in your region.

The UAMCC has two national directors, and also one for Canada and and associate national director to work on national issues.

Each region has its own unique issues. Drought conditions, water restrictions, proximity to a Bay or other waterways are just a few. The national approach with a "catch all" BMP would be an irresponsible way to keep our environment clean while trying to maintain clean local establishments. There is a balance that must be met, and it can only be determined on a local level.

The UAMCC will not attempt to interfere with local regulations unless a problem needs to be addressed and a local contractor asks for our help.

The UAMCC will not promote regulations that make it more difficult for an environmentally conscious contractor to do his job effectively.

We are turning a corner where we can put all this misconception and misinformation in the past.

Local contractors will be listened to and not dismissed or overridden. The days of promoting BMPs that only serve to increase the need to buy more equipment are about to close.

The need for our industry will be promoted and the professionalism of our industry professionals will be highlighted.

New contractors as well as established contractors will have a resource that offers education in effective methods of protecting the environment as well as education in the laws regarding runoff.

Please join us in this quest.
 
Standing Ovation to You Tony for all your hard work...mere thanks is not enough.

Not me! There are hundreds of members of the UAMCC who are making this happen. You are one of them.

We are receiving bmps and ordinances from around the country almost daily from contractors.

When we are done any contractor in the country will be able to easily find their regulations and receive help thanks to all of your hard work.

The days of "Here are our BMPs, but yours may be different" are coming to a close.

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Thank You for posting this Tony!

It is great that Fort Worth is going in the right direction.

It is a shame that many, many, many regulators around the country were mis-informed, mis-directed and lied to for many years now but they are learning the truth and after learning about Fort Worth, looks like they are not falling for the lies and mis-information anymore. I bet it is a huge weight off their shoulders.
 
I chuckle Looking Back at these POSTS


You guys have no Idea how Huge this is for our industry. We need to keep moving forward and win Battles, winning the War will happen.


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http://www.propowerwash.com/board/u...l-support-the-PWNA-even-if-they-make-mistakes
 
These new BMPs are proof of what we have been saying all along.

If municipalities could figure out the need for our industry and ways to let us do our work feasibly on their own, in spite of the pwna's insistence that we are polluters, imagine how different things would be now if our cause had been spearheaded by contractors for the past twenty years instead of by those who stand to sell more equipment with stricter rules!

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2
 
These new BMPs are proof of what we have been saying all along.

If municipalities could figure out the need for our industry and ways to let us do our work feasibly on their own, in spite of the pwna's insistence that we are polluters, imagine how different things would be now if our cause had been spearheaded by contractors for the past twenty years instead of by those who stand to sell more equipment with stricter rules!

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

I told you so!! Lol
 
This is the future of our industry.

I should clarify, this is the future as long as contractors quit funding their own extinction by paying dues to our adversary the PWNA.

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