epa rules?

H

hydro-clean

Member
I got a call to bid on 25 bread trucks, there is a company doing it now, they are not happy with the job and they are charging to recover wastewater but they say they are not recovering anything, how much more do you usually charge to recover water, and how can i find out if the epa will bother me if i dont recover it. i'm not set up for that yet. the location is in southern nj if this helps. thanks,,, by the way does $15 per truck sound right for me to charge?
 
You cant let wash water

enter a storm drain or enter another body of water.
Recovering water is one thing,recycling water is another.
One just picks it up the other filters it.
Where are you going to get rid of the water?
You might need a haz. material on your drives lic. to move recycled water.
From what ive read and seen you have to make an honest attempt to do your best not to let it go down the drain and you'll be fine.
Go to www.powerwashnetwork.com
go to" equipment help" and ask for MARK
Then ask him about the BLUE WATER FILTERS you install over the drain.
They will filter out the bad and let the good pass.
As they get filled with crud you replace the BOOMS.
[sock filled filters].
I am no exspert but these will prob keep you out of trouble.
If you dont ask the EPA the first time they see you, you will prob just get a speach.
If you ask first and they have it on record that you were told, you better be doing what they told you or your going to get a fine the first time.
Remember EVAPORATION is your best friend. Wash them trucks as far as you can from the drain.
Also how you wash will make a big diffrence.
2 stepping uses a lot of water.
Bucket and brush and a quick rinse[fleetwash] will only use about 15 gal of water.
I would call Steve rowlet and get a drum kit of ATLAS and some Wet Wax. Then call Mark and get the water filter.
Then i would go to the customer and wash 5 trucks for free.
Then i would know what i was in for and then set a price.
If you can wash all 5 in one hour the first time out,then you can wash 7 by the end of the month.
If you cant wash 5 in one hour you need to learn more about how to wash fleets and up that price of $15.
I dont think you can get more then $15
prob. $12 unless it's only twice per month.
1 a month wash is $18 to $20
I much rather have once a week at $12 then bi-weekly at $15 or monthly at $18 to $20.
good luck
it's going to be another frickin cold one this week.
I have not washed but 4 days in the last 35 days.
 
Ron P. ??????????? Huuummmmmmm? So if I damn the drain and capture all the solids I can let the other water pass into the dry well? Or storm Drain? Or sanitary sewer? Which ONE?

Hydro I’m no expert on this EPA crap. I quit doing fleets because I foreseen this problem was on the horizon. That was ten years ago. Now in flat work I’m going to deal with it.

Many people confuse the rule and mix them up. Ron P. has given you some fundamental info. Some of it is correct and some I don’t know. Things have changed in Tens years.

The best results are contact the local gov and ask them about what you need to do. Keep in mind they may not know what they are talking about. Call back again and talk to another person, you may find that you get two or three different answers. Then ask for the enforcement dept, if they have one these guys might know the right answers. Well if they don’t have and enforcement division then, well then, well then, do you get it yet? No enforcement division? I’ll be darn………..don’t count on that because I heard NJ has one. Also keep in mind that Fleetwash is in your back door and you also could see your self on Carwashguys site dumping toxic stuff into the ground.


We surly need more info on this subject and it should be available. Sorry for being so negative but this is a subject for me right now that bothers me. I hate giving and see people get bad advice. Often when it comes to this stuff no one has the right answers.

I know the question asked above I just want to see if others do. If you call me I can give you the Scoop on epa Regs for your area. I have adopted a policy in helping and that seeing and knowing Identity’s. If you want more from me post your location and e-mail me your number.
 
Nj Dep

If your looking for more info on the subject you can contact NJ DEP and fill out a "GREENSTART" form. they will then look up all the rules/laws that you have to play by and send it back to you.

I filled one out about 2 weeks ago. Still waiting for a response!

I will let you know more as I get it.
 
Personal Experience Only

You'll be long after this snow melts before you get a response. Thet aren't very cooperative and I perceive that they don't really want to be bothered or give you an answer without referring you to one of the 50(or so it seems) Water related agencies in this state. Best thing is call directly and get names of who you spoke to.
 
Hello Folks

I have a couple of fleet accounts out here in California (EPA pain in the ass capitol of the U.S.). Not only is it difficult to determine what everybody wants done, you never know who is going to come by and investigate your practices.

Here in CA, I usually divert the water to a vegetation area without storm drain access or pump to a sanitary sewer line. The other day, a fire marshal stopped by and scared the shit out of me. He walked around the site and told me and my workers to continue working. He watched for several minutes and stood over my wastewater dam as it pumped out to a vegetation area. Came over to me a few minutes later and said everything looked great:>)

So now, we have the Fire Marshal, Public Works Inspectors, Sanitation Department (sewer), and Board of Health Inspectors all out and about looking over your shoulder.

Life is great.

Take care

Ron
 
Don't use a brush... lol. 2 step and do not allow the water to go into any storm drain. Separating the solids and allowing the water to pass through is a no no too.

Block the storm drain the water is going into and pump it into a sanitary sewer. You don't have to get permission, that is what the sanitary sewers are for. You don't have to have a permit.

Charge $18.00 per bread truck and do them right. Explain to the customer that the above price will give them that peace of mind that they are currently not getting with the wash arraignments. Peace of mind that there is nothing entering the storm sewer and you are abiding by the rules.

Evaporating... your best friend... Not hardly!!!!!! The fact is that when the water evaporates, you leave the solids on the parking lot and when it rains or it's swept, the nasty stuff that couldn't evaporate is rinsed into the storm sewer and then next time you eat fish, hopefully you wont taste or be harmed by what has been washed into the waterways.

Hydro, please be advised that there are people who freely give advice because they have too much time on their hands, not because they know what they are talking about. You will find many of these on boards similar to this one. Just be careful who you are listening to. Actually, believe it or not... there are some who give advice on subjects they themselves have little or no experience with. This is in general on all boards, I'm not pointing any fingers at anyone.

Bottom line, just do it right and get solid advice before doing something that could hurt you or someone else, or our rivers and waterways.
 
Justin said:
2 step and do not allow the water to go into any storm drain.
Block the storm drain the water is going into and pump it into a sanitary sewer. You don't have to get permission, that is what the sanitary sewers are for. You don't have to have a permit.
Click to expand...

Justin,
That all depends on the area that you are in. Many areas require that you have a permit for dumping in the Sanitary Sewer. They need to know what and when you are dumping, so they can account for variances at the plant.
Sanitary sewers are for the passage of waste, that is normally produced at the property, not for 2 stepping of vehicles.
 
I totally agree. You are correct about that. Each and every local government has their own requirements on that. I also want to ad that the pressure washing community as a whole is not a very large fish for the EPA to fry and that is what they have told me.

Matter of fact, my conversations with the EPA have reflected that most of the time they have no reason to investigate pressure washers unless another pressure wash company is disgruntled and blows the whistle. Otherwise they have bigger problems to deal with. Imagine that, one of us blowing the whistle on another because of a loss of an account... That is usually the way it goes. This coming directly from the EPA officials that I talk with.

This all comes from extensive knowledge of washing fleets for a living.
 
Justin,

In case you did not see my location, I am in CA. Out here we have quite a few cities that are real strict about Storm Water Issues. Sure there may be some PWers telling on others, but the most common people telling are those in these sensitive areas. They will call in a heartbeat. Some cities you cannot even wash your car at home.
EPA and other agencies that govern water, all have different answers to the same question. Although the Clean Water Act has been around since 1972, it seems as though they have not all got on the same song sheet.
 
According to epa rules nothing but rainwater can enter a storm drain. As far as I know the blue filters won't work with truck washing. They do not filter detergent. As for two stepping if you ever test the ph of the waste water it is still a strong acid when done. And not worth the danger. If I could get 15 for a bread truck I would be rich considering you can do at least 15 per hour brushing with one laborer. Not legal to put in a storm drain. We recover 100% of our water all of the time with a vacuum system.
 
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