PWNA Launches
Environmental Program
www.thepwna.org/regs
February 20, 2009
Prattville, Alabama
PWNA (Power Washers of North America)
Environmental Chairman Robert M. Hinderliter
launched the new PWNA Environmental Initiative at a Contract Cleaner
Round Table hosted by Russ Spence (Prokleen Power Wash) and promoted by Ron Musgraves (Pro-Power Wash). Over 50 contract
cleaners plus Vendor Sponsors attended the event held in a suburb of Montgomery,
Alabama.
In the next seven years, all
municipalities and urban areas will have their environmental regulations
and ordinances reviewed in detail by the EPA.
Part of this in depth audit includes regulations, ordinances, and
BMPs concerning Cosmetic Cleaning which includes pressure power washing.
All municipalities over 100,000 populations will have their
audits completed in the next 5 years.
This action is forcing a review and implementation of these
ordinances.
The main thing that effects how these
regulations are implemented and interpreted is the protection of the
environment coupled with the “economic revenue stream” of various
participants including: 1) Environmental Regulators, 2) Environmental
Equipment Manufactures & Distributors, 3) Cosmetic Cleaners, 4)
Competitive Trade Associations, and 5) Interested Stake Holders
including concerned citizens.
Not always, but generally the following
apply for the effect of the “Economic Revenue Stream” on how the Clean
Water Act is interpreted and implemented:
-
Environmental Regulators:
They want the regulations to be heavily enforced with lots of
restrictions to create a revenue stream with fines and fees.
Because the Regulators are not sure of the effect on the
environment they will err on the conservative side, like not
allowing waste water, that is filtered through an oil absorbent boom
to remove the hydrocarbons (oil and grease) and filtered through a
screen (to remove the sand and debris), into the sanitary sewer
system.
-
Manufactures & Distributors (CETA Members): Strong environmental
rules will increase the sales of environmental equipment and related
items, i.e., a regulatory driven market increase sales.
-
Cosmetic Cleaners: They want
the regulations to be reasonable, rational, and logical to decrease
the cost of compliance while protecting the environment.
They do not want the rules and regulations to be arbitrary,
irrational, and unreasonable.
The rules should be good for the municipality, the contract
cleaner, and the environment.
-
Competitive Trade Associations: The Coin-op Car Wash Associations
see mobile Contract Cleaners and Charity Car Washes as competitors
taking away revenue from their facilities.
The average charity car wash does about $3,500 in revenue and
mobile contract cleaners do hundreds of thousands of dollars of
business. The Liquid Waste
Haulers want to haul the waste water and put as many restrictions as
possible on the transportation of the liquid waste water to force
the use of their transportation services and disposal facilities.
-
Interested Stake Holders and Concerned Citizens:
Generally those parties that get involved in the development
of these regulations are extremist having unconventional points of
view, otherwise they are not concerned.
As you can see from the above if the
regulations are going to be reasonable, rational, and logical then the
contract cleaner is going to have to get politically involved!
If the contractors do not get involved then by their silence they
are voting by default for tough rules and regulations because of the
“economic revenue stream” of other interested parties.
If a contract cleaner receives enforcement action of a citation
or fine and he did not get politically active in the development of the
ordinances, then he voted by default for this enforcement action.
The Contract Cleaners are going to pay for
the development of the ordinances either by getting politically active
or through citations, fines, and the expense of environmental equipment
and regulations that are unnecessary.
PWNA has developed a program for contract cleaners to follow that
will help assure that these regulations and ordinances are reasonable,
rational, and logical. The
ordinance is up on the EPA’s Website as an example for other communities
to follow.
The PWNA Program is based on 13 years of
positive results of a regulation that is reasonable, rational, and
logical. This program has
been administered at almost no cost to the municipality and has resulted
in pollutants in the storm drains equivalent to areas of heavy police
action! The Ordinance is
good for the municipality, good for the environment, and good for
Contract Cleaners. But it
required politically active involvement of the contract cleaners to make
this happen, otherwise the regulations would have been unreasonable,
arbitrary, and irrational.
Note:
Almost always the Environmental Department, Storm Water Department, or
Health Department is Reasonable, Rational, and Logical.
The problem is that their hands are tied (policies restricted) by
the Sanitary Sewer Department (POTW) who invoke stringent and sometimes arbitrary
requirements for discharge to the sanitary sewer.
For information on how you can get
involved and details of the program go to
www.pwna.org and click on the “Environmental” link.
Can you afford to not get involved or are
you going to vote by default?
Join PWNA today and support your industry.
Robert M. Hinderliter,
PWNA Environmental Chairman
Note:
Economic Revenue Stream of Delco Cleaning
Systems of Fort Worth: The
Economic Revenue Stream of Delco Cleaning Systems of
Fort Worth
has come up several times since it does not fit the general scenario of
a Manufacturer, Distributor, or CETA
Member. Delco’s Revenue
Stream is based on the assumption that if the regulations are
reasonable, rational, and logical then there will be a high level of
compliance at a reasonable cost.
This will assure a larger customer base for standard equipment
instead of fewer customers with a large capital investment for
Environmental Equipment.
This large investment also limits the jobs that are financially feasible
to larger jobs leaving the smaller work for nights, and weekends to go
the storm drains when enforcement is at its lowest.
This is one major reason why police actions do not work better
they do. It forces the
smaller non-economical jobs to uneducated contract cleaners just
entering the business and to owners who do not know any better.
As a result of the political action of
Robert Hinderliter, President and founder of Delco Cleaning Systems of
Fort Worth, the use of recycling units almost disappeared in his local
market. Individuals are now
able to do cosmetic cleaning with less than a $300.00 investment for
environmental equipment and while a typical Contract Cleaner has about a
$1,000 to $3,000 investment to comply with the local environmental
ordinance. The investment
choice is up the contractor to decide which option is the most
economical for them.
This ordinance has withstood the test of time of over
13 years as an example for other regulating agencies and has been
followed by many municipalities.
Delco's Pressure Pressure Washer Index
Delco's Home Page
DCS1
Internet Site Index
Delco's Secure Web Site at
http://pressurewash.com/
By Robert M Hinderliter, Delco Cleaning Systems of Fort Worth,
2513 Warfield St., Fort Worth, Texas 76106-7554.
email:
[email protected] ; URL: http://www.dcs1.com; Phone: 800-433-2113; Fax: 817-625-2059.
Copyright 2009, Delco Cleaning Systems of Fort Worth. All rights
reserved.