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The Dublin San Ramon Services District owns and operates
the wastewater treatment facility that serves the City
of Dublin, the southern portion of the City of San Ramon
and Dougherty Valley, and the City of Pleasanton (by contractual
agreement).
In 1993 the Regional Water Quality
Control Board (RWQCB), the state agency which regulates
the local sanitary agencies, required all San Francisco
Bay area sanitary agencies to implement a Pollution Prevention
Program aimed at reducing pollution being discharged to
the San Francisco Bay and its surrounding tributaries.
The focus of this program is to educate the public and
smaller commercial businesses not permitted under the
pretreatment program about ways to reduce the generation
of wastes and about ways to properly handle the wastes
that are generated.
The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has found that six industries account for
87% of the hazardous wastes generated by small quantity
generators. Of these six, vehicle service facilities account
for 50% of the total waste generated. The District has
set local limits for various pollutants. Any substance
that is discharged to the sanitary sewer must meet these
limits. The type of pollutants auto shops discharge to
the sanitary sewer include metals (copper, lead, and zinc)
and organic pollutants from solvents.
The District’s Environmental
Compliance staff inspects the following categories of
vehicle service facilities:
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Repair Shops
• Car Dealerships
• Salvage Yards
• Fleet Maintenance Operations
• Automobile Body Repair and Painting Shops |
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Vehicle Parts & Supplies Stores
• Service Stations with Auto Repair Facilities
• Oil & Lube Shops
• Car Washes
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Metals and organic pollutants
discharged to the Bay and its surrounding tributaries
can be toxic to aquatic organisms in very low concentrations.
In addition, scientists are concerned that some organisms
may accumulate more and more pollutants in their bodies
over time, reaching very high concentrations. This bioaccumulative
effect could soon be detrimental to larger mammals,
fish and birds, which use the Bay and its tributaries
as their food source.
The metals and organic solvents
that go down shop floor drains and sinks will eventually
reach the District's treatment facility. The treatment
facility removes approximately 85 to 90 percent of the
pollutants from the wastewater. The remaining 10 to
15 percent is discharged to the Bay. When all the discharges
from Bay Area treatment plants are considered, this
amounts to several hundred pounds of copper, lead, zinc,
and organic solvents being discharged to the Bay each
year.
The District sends out notice
letters to auto shops and then calls to make an appointment
for the inspection. As part of the inspection, the District
examines the vehicle service facility’s Material
Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and waste manifests. Material
Safety Data Sheets of all hazardous substances used
by the vehicle facility must be on file and available
for employee perusal. Waste manifests from the last
three years must be kept on file by the vehicle service
facility.
The District’s staff evaluates
all wastes generated. vehicle service facilities generate
wastes in the following ways: replacing vehicle fluids;
washing vehicles; repairing and painting of automobile
bodies; cleaning engines and parts; dismantling and
recycling vehicles; replacing brake shoes and pads;
replacing batteries and water pumps, and repairing fuel
pumps and power train components.
Inspections are educational
for both the vehicle service facility and the District's
staff. The District's staff can assist the shop personnel
on the proper handling of wastes they are generating.
At the same time the District's staff learns about new
types of wastes being generated and can then research
the proper way to handle these wastes using federal
and state reference books and communicating with other
regulatory agencies and waste treatment consultants.
In the future, the District
will be able to assist other businesses with different
options available for proper handling these new wastes.
If there are any unsatisfactory issues, the District's
staff will work with the vehicle service facility personnel
to resolve the issues and comply with the regulations
in a timely manner.
The whole basis of the District's
Pollution Prevention Program is to educate small businesses,
such as vehicle service facilities, about pollution
prevention. The end result will be a business owner
who can feel assured they are doing the "right
thing" with their hazardous wastes and the District
will be succeeding in minimizing metals and organic
solvents being discharged to the sanitary sewer.
If you own or manage a vehicle
service facility and you want to learn about preventing
pollution in your shop, go to Vehicle
Service Program, Best Management Practices.
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Small photo processor dischargers
(those who discharges less than or equal to 15 gallons
per month of silver bearing wastewater) are included
in the targeted businesses for pollution prevention.
Photo processors that exceed the 15 gallons per month
limit are permitted industrial users
within the Pretreatment Program.
When the District identifies
businesses that use photo processing, the owners are
asked to fill out a questionnaire. Based on their answers,
the procedures are as follows.
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