United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Enforcement And
Compliance Assurance
(6602J)
EPA 305-F-96-003
August 1996
vvEPA
Dry Cleaning Sector
Compliance Strategy
LOCAL DOT OEANNG SHOP
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Dry Cleaning Sector Compliance Strategy
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Background 1
A. Introduction 1
B. Compliance Goals 1
C. Characteristics of Perc Dry Cleaning
Industry 2
D. Regulatory Requirements for Perc Dry
Cleaners 4
E. Implementation of Regulatory Programs
Applicable to Perc Dry Cleaners & Measures
of Success 9
II. Targeting 10
A. The Community, Sector and Media Approaches 10
B. Dry Cleaning as a Priority Sector 11
III. Selection of Tools for Enforcement & Compliance 12
Assurance
A. Selection Based on Characteristics of Dry 12
Cleaners
B. Enforcement Versus Compliance Assistance 13
C. Flexible Agency Policies Geared Toward Small
Businesses 13
D. Creative Ways to Promote Compliance through
Partnering 15
IV. Tasks 16
A. Matrix of Tasks 16
B. Descriptions of Tasks 17
V. Conclusion 28
VI. List of Key Stakeholders 29
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I. BACKGROUND
ii
A. Introduction
This compliance strategy will address the perchloroethylene
(perc) dry cleaning industry. Perc is the predominant cleaning
solvent used by the vast majority of the dry cleaning industry.
This industry is subject to environmental regulations to prevent
and reduce releases of perchloroethylene to various media such as
air, surface water, groundwater, and soil. The strategy,
therefore, takes a multi-media approach and covers various
regulations including: the Clean Air Act (CAA), Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Clean Water Act (CWA) and
Safe Drinking Water Act (SOWA) .We discuss these requirements in
more detail below.
B. Compliance Goals
The main goal of this compliance strategy is to equip
compliance assistance providers with tools to plan for and
provide assistance to the dry cleaning community. The compliance
assistance providers include Federal, state and local regulators,
and non-regulatory entities, such as the Small Business Technical
Assistance Programs (SBTAPs) and Small Business Development
Centers (SBDCs). We believe this strategy presents a
comprehensive approach to the needs of the commercial dry
cleaning industry and of environmental regulators and other
compliance assistance providers. By describing the compliance
issues pertaining to the dry cleaning sector, the strategy
enhances the compliance assistance providers' ability to
understand the characteristics and needs of the dry cleaning
industry and to be more responsive to these needs. The use of
sector-specific tools to provide compliance assistance will
enhance compliance by increasing the dry cleaning community's
.understanding of pertinent environmental requirements and the
sector's potential impact on human health and the environment.
The Strategy also seeks to assist providers in identifying
how to target facilities for compliance assistance and/or
traditional enforcement. While regulators can use the strategy
to more effectively incorporate compliance assistance for dry
cleaners into traditional enforcement, non-regulating entities,
such as SBTAPs and SBDCs, can use the strategy to target those
dry cleaners in the most need of assistance out of the thousands
of cleaners in their area. These targeting techniques can be
used to reach dry cleaners who are not members of trade
associations and typically have less access to environmental
information. The strategy encourages providers to consider the
impact of the dry cleaning sector when selecting community-based
initiatives and targeting compliance assistance and enforcement
efforts in that community. Also,-the strategy apprises the
providers concerning other Agency policies related to compliance
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and enforcement, such as the Enforcement Response Policy for
Treatment of Information Obtained through Clean Air Act Section
507 Small Business Assistance Programs and the Policy on
Compliance Incentives for Small Businesses. Armed with an
understanding of these policies and targeting techniques, the
providers will increase compliance assurance among the dry
cleaning sector.
The strategy focuses on building partnerships at different
levels. The strategy starts by building partnerships between the
Agency and compliance assistance providers by equipping the
providers with information and opening the lines of
communication. The next level of partnership is between the
providers and the dry cleaning community. As compliance
assistance providers become better equipped to serve the dry
cleaning community, a stronger partnership is built. Dry
cleaners and trade associations are more receptive to providers
who are knowledgeable about the industry and aware of their
concerns. The building of partnerships is facilitated by
increased communications among the Regions, States, and others as
they share their successes and shortfalls in providing assistance
to increase compliance within the dry cleaning community.
The strategy will increase the compliance assistance
providers' awareness of the sector-specific tools, so they can
make them more available to the dry cleaning community. The
strategy describes several recent products that are directed
towards enhancing the compliance of the dry cleaning sector. It
also contains a list of on-going and planned sector-specific
projects. Some of these tasks maximize benefits from the
resources available for compliance outreach. We also identify
the offices that may be best suited to lead these activities with
contacts, if available. Due to resource constraints, it is not
possible to undertake all these activities simultaneously;
accordingly, the compliance strategy prioritizes the tasks.
Although there remains a lot of work to be done in the dry
cleaning sector, it is an area where there has already been
outreach by trade associations, states and universities.
Accordingly, one of the guiding principles in implementing this
compliance strategy is to identify where work has been completed
and build on that work - not duplicate it.
C. characteristics of the Perc Dry Cleaning Industry
A defining characteristic of the regulated perc dry cleaning
community is the large number of facilities that are in
operation. Typical estimates of facilities that handle perc
range from 25,000 to 35,000, but estimates have ranged as high as
47,000. The large number of facilities means that considerable
effort is required to reach the owners and operators to ensure
that they understand and comply with the environmental
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requirements to which they are subject. Given the size of the
regulated community, it is unlikely that dry cleaners will be
inspected at sufficiently regular intervals to accurately
determine and ensure compliance.
Although the environmental statutes define "small
businesses" differently, ninety percent of the dry cleaners could
be classified as such under any of these statutes.1 Small dry
cleaners can be distinguished from their larger counterpart,
industrial launderers/dry cleaning facilities, because they
employ no more than a hundred people. Moreover, it is not
uncommon for a small dry cleaner to be owned and operated by a
single family, otherwise known as a "Mom & Pop" business. The
majority of these small cleaners have gross annual revenues under
$115,000 and operate under a small profit margin. Currently, the
start up cost for a commercial dry cleaner is almost $115,000.
Small commercial cleaners are less likely than their larger
counterparts to become members of and participate in dry cleaning
trade associations which often educate their members. The larger
trade associations for dry cleaners, such as the International
Fabricare Institute (IFI) and the Neighborhood Cleaners
Association (NCA), are located in the Northeastern region of the
United States. Their membership rolls are not particularly
representative of the smaller dry cleaning establishments. In
addition, members of these organizations do not reflect the
large, and still growing, number of Korean dry cleaners in the
industry. Small dry cleaners not involved in trade associations
often fall through the cracks. They are unaware of the various
environmental regulations with which they must comply and lack
connections to associations that could provide outreach and ?
education. Furthermore, because EPA and the state environmental
agencies may lack knowledge of these businesses1 existence, they
may be out of the system entirely.
A large percentage of owner/operators do not speak English
as their first language. In fact, thirty percent of the cleaners
are owned/operated by Koreans. A smaller percentage of the dry
cleaners speak Spanish as their primary language. This poses
unique problems. Conventional outreach to national dry cleaning
trade associations is not an effective means of communicating
with these non-English-speaking groups since the groups generally
are not members of these associations. Furthermore, the
aUnder the Clean Air Act a source emitting hazardous air
pollutants (HAPs) can be designated a small business if it
employs no more than 100 employees and emits less than a specific
amount of HAPs. RCRA doesn't have a designation for small
businesses, but a facility can be classified as a small quantity
generator. This is elaborated upon under "Regulatory
Requirements for RCRA."
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literature published and circulated by the trade associations are
typically in English and thus ineffective. There are, however,
several local Korean trade associations with which Federal and
state regulators can collaborate. OC will need to establish
relationships with and coordinate with these associations.
Dry cleaners tend to be located in highly populated urban
and suburban areas because the perc dry cleaning industry is a
service industry that thrives on being accessible to its
customers. Their close proximity to the population means that
any releases to the environment will have a larger impact on the
public than if the business were located in a less congested
area. All these characteristics have played a role in shaping
this compliance strategy to address the perc dry cleaning
industry.
D. Regulatory Requirements for Perc Dry Cleaning Sector
Clean Air Act (CAA)
Dry cleaners are regulated under the Clean Air Act due to
their use of perc. Perc is listed as one of the 189 hazardous
air pollutants (HAPs) under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments
(CAAA) that must be regulated to reduce air toxic emissions. The
most recent regulation affecting the industry, the National
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for perc
dry cleaners (58 FR 49354), was promulgated on September 22,
1993. The NESHAP for perc dry cleaners affects facilities that
are "major" sources and "area" sources. The CAAA of 1990 define
"major" sources of HAPs as any source (facility) that emits 10
tons/year of any single HAP or 25 tons/year of any combination of
the 189 HAPs listed in CAA. Very few dry cleaners are classified
as major sources. The CAAA of 1990 also define an "area" source
as any source of HAPs that is not a "major" source. Although
most perc dry cleaners do not meet the threshold requirement to
constitute a "major" source, they are nonetheless subject to the
CAA regulation as area sources. The NESHAP for perc dry cleaners
further distinguishes between large and small area sources based
upon the volume of perc these sources use.
The NESHAP regulation sets standards to reduce the perc
emissions from dry cleaning facilities. The regulation requires
dry cleaning facilities which are major sources and large area
sources to: employ pollution prevention and good housekeeping
practices, comply with record keeping, monitoring, and reporting
requirements and install and maintain control equipment. Small
area sources also are subject to the same NESHAP requirements to
reduce perc emissions by employing pollution prevention measures.
The small area sources are not required to install control
equipment.
Good housekeeping practices require all dry cleaners to
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perform weekly maintenance and monitoring of their machinery.
The cleaners are required to record these activities in a log and
maintain the information for five years. They also have a record
keeping requirement to maintain an account of their monthly perc
usage. The reporting requirement for existing dry cleaning
establishments required them to submit an initial notification
report to the Agency by June 1994.
The requirement for installing control equipment is
dependent on the amount of perc that a facility uses during a
twelve month period and whether an owner had the dry cleaning
machine in operation on the proposal date of the NESHAP
regulation for perc dry cleaning (December 9, 1991). If a dry
cleaning facility uses 140 gallons/year or less, it is considered
a small area source and is not required to install air pollution
control equipment. If a dry cleaning machine was in operation
before the rule's proposal date, the machine is an "existing"
unit. Otherwise, it is a "new" machine. Any existing regulated
machines must have installed the required control equipment by
September 1996, which is three years after the rule's
promulgation. All dry cleaners who want to install new dry
cleaning machines on or after the proposal date, must operate the
dry cleaning unit using the control equipment specified in the
regulations. No three year period to come into compliance
applies as does for existing dry cleaning machines.
The amendments to the NESHAP were published in the Federal
Register on September 19, 1996, as part of a settlement agreement
with the IFI in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit (60 FR 52000, October 4, 1995). The amendment
addresses two issues. The first issue concerns transfer machines
purchased or installed between proposal and promulgation of the
NESHAP. These machines had been banned in the final rule, but
were not banned in the proposed rule. Under the amendment "new*
transfer machines installed after proposal (December 9, 1991) and
before promulgation (i.e., September 22, 1993} follow the
regulations for "existing" transfer machines. The "new" transfer
machines installed after promulgation are not allowed to operate.
The second issue concerns exceedances of the perc
consumption limits that determine a source's classification,
To monitor the status of a source, the NESHAP requires dry
cleaners to calculate their annual perc consumption levels each
month by totaling the amount of perc purchased at their
facilities for the previous 12 months. IFI objected to a single
exceedance of the perc consumption limits serving to reclassify a
dry cleaning facility, since an isolated exceedance could be due
to unusual and unique circumstances beyond the control of the dry
cleaner (e.g., the slight possibility of two peak cleaning
seasons, such as Easter and Passover, occurring twice during a
twelve month period). To address this concern, the Agency issued
a policy that episodic exceedances of the consumption limits will
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not automatically reclassify a source from small area to large
area or large area to major. Episodic exceedances are
exceedances that occur no more than once in a three year period.
Under Section 507 of the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air
Act, each state is required to establish a small business
stationary source technical and environmental compliance program
which includes the appointment of state small business ombudsman.
Section 507 defines small businesses as non-major sources
employing 100 or fewer people, with limited amounts of air
pollutant emissions. Accordingly, most perc dry cleaners would
be considered small businesses, able to take advantage of these
technical and compliance assistance programs. The Section 507
program will provide information on regulatory compliance
assistance, pollution prevention, and accidental releases and
their prevention.
As of January 1996, forty-seven State and Territorial Small
Business Ombudsmen are in place and effectively interacting with
small businesses. Forty-eight State and Territorial Small
Business Assistance Programs are providing advice and technical
assistance to small businesses subject to the provisions of the
CAAA of 1990. Twenty-nine of the State programs have expanded to
include multi-media information and assistance to help businesses
comply with all environmental statutes and regulations.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Under RCRA, dry cleaning establishments are regulated based
upon the amount of hazardous waste (perc) they generate and
whether they treat, store or dispose of the waste on-site. Perc
dry cleaning facilities typically generate hazardous F002 and
U210 wastes from still residues, cooked powder residues and spent
cartridge filters, which are then sent off-site for treatment and
disposal. Under RCRA, there are three categories of hazardous
waste generators: conditionally exempt small quantity generators
(CESQGs)(40 CFR Part 261.5), small quantity generators (SQGs) (40
CFR Part 262) and large quantity generators (LQGs) (40 CFR Part
262). . The majority of dry cleaning establishments, based on
their use of perc, would qualify as either CESQGs or SQGs.
CESQGs generate 100 kg or less of hazardous waste per month.
SQGs generate between 100 and 1000 kg of hazardous waste or 1 kg
of acutely hazardous waste in a calendar month. Dry cleaners can
be large quantity generators (LQGs) if they generate over 1,000
kg of hazardous waste a month.
Each month a dry cleaner must determine its generator
category as a CESQG, SQG or LQG to know the requirements to which
it is subject. All large and small quantity generators must
obtain an EPA Identification Number, select an authorized
hazardous waste transporter, and select a designated treatment
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facility. RCRA regulates how the dry cleaners must store,
handle, ship and finally dispose of their perc waste. The
cleaners must keep records on waste generation, submit reports of
their waste handling activities, and track the transport and
disposal of their waste. CESQGs have considerably fewer
requirements they must follow.
Clean Water Act (CWA)
Under the CWA, if a perc dry cleaning facility is a direct
discharger into surface waters, the facility is required to have
its own National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
permit. A direct discharger is a facility that releases directly
into navigable waters, while an indirect discharger empties its
waste water into a publicly-owned treatment works (POTW) waterway
system.
The more likely scenario is that the perc dry cleaner is an
indirect discharger. The 15,000 POTWs nationwide treat the flow
from the indirect dischargers before releasing it directly into
navigable waters. POTWs are required to obtain NPDES permits and
may be required to implement a pretreatment program.
When a perc dry cleaning facility is an indirect discharger
of toxic industrial waste to one of the 1542 POTWs with a
pretreatment program, it will be subject to the standards set by
the POTW. Section 401.26 of the CWA lists perc, under the name
tetrachloroethylene, as a toxic pollutant. A POTW with a design
flow (capacity) greater than 5 million gallons per day (mgd) is
required to establish a pretreatment program as part of the
POTW*s NPDES permit (40 CFR Part 403). The State or Region can
still require POTWs with less than 5 mgd design flow to establish
a pretreatment program. The standards in the POTW pretreatment
program to which a perc dry cleaner would be subject are the
National Prohibited Discharge Standards, State and local limits,
and hazardous waste notification. Under 403.12(p) of the CWA
industrial users must notify the POTW, the EPA Regional Waste
Management Division Director, and the State hazardous waste
agency in writing of any discharge into the POTW of a substance,
which, if otherwise disposed of, would be considered hazardous
waste under 40 CFR 261. The de minims exemption for waste
discharge is 15 kg/month. The discharge of perc would qualify as
a hazardous waste discharge, so if a dry cleaner discharges more
than 15 kg/month of perc into the sewer system, it must notify
the required parties. Another, type of standard in the
pretreatment program is the categorical standard, which is
industry-specific. EPA has not developed national categorical
standards for perc dry cleaners.
The majority of POTWs do not require perc dry cleaning
facilities discharging to their treatment plants to obtain
operating permits. A few POTWs, however, issue permits and
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monitor the perc dry cleaners operating in their service area.
For example, in California the East Bay Municipal Utility
District and the District in Orange County have set guidelines
for their dry cleaners which minimize air emissions, wastewater,
and hazardous waste generated. This multi-media approach is
accomplished by prohibiting the discharge of process waste
containing solvent to the sanitary sewer or, alternatively, by
setting discharge limits and requiring the operation of dry-to-
dry cleaning units with refrigerator condensers which don't
generate wastewater.
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
The perc dry cleaning industry may be subject to some
requirements promulgated under the Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA), including Underground Injection Control (UIC) provisions,
development of local wellhead protection programs, and emergency
provisions under the SDWA.
Underground Injection
Under the authority of the Act, underground injection of
waste is controlled to protect aquifers that are or may
reasonably be expected to be sources of drinking water. The SDWA
prohibits any underground injection that may result in the
presence of a contaminant in underground water that supplies, or
reasonably can be expected to supply, any public water system if
that contaminant may cause a violation of any primary drinking
water regulation.
Injection wells are used to discharge or dispose of fluids
underground. The injection wells are basically man-made or
improved "holes" in the ground deeper than their widest surface
dimension. The EPA has grouped injection wells into five
categories. Class I, Class II and Class III wells inject fluids
below underground sources of drinking water (USDW). Class IV and
Class V wells inject fluids into or above USDW. Class IV wells
are prohibited. Some Class V wells are technologically advanced
wastewater disposal systems used by industry, but most are "low-
tech" holes in the ground. Their simple construction provides
little or no protection against possible ground water
contamination, so it is important to control what goes into them.
EPA believes that of all the different kinds of Class V
wells, those wells used to inject industrial and commercial
wastes present the greatest danger to USDW. Although these wells
are illegal, many of them are still in existence because they
have not been properly closed. In many cases, these industrial
wastes are disposed of via septic systems, designed for the
treatment of sanitary wastes. In the case of dry cleaners,
disposal of perc wastes into a septic system would result in a
high potential that USDW may be endangered. The disposal of perc
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(or other industrial) waste into a septic or other underground
waste disposal system may subject the cleaners to DIG program
requirements. Depending on the severity of the contamination,
the business may be required to cease its practices, remedy the
soil surrounding the leach field, or in some cases, apply for a
permit and demonstrate that its practices would not result in
endangerment of USDWs.
Wellhead Protection
The Wellhead Protection (WHP) Program responds to a critical
groundwater protection need. If a State designs a WHP program,
it is implemented at the local level by having communities
identify and manage groundwater recharge areas tied to specific
wells or well fields. Wellhead protection measures include
zoning and comprehensive land use planning and restrictions in
major cities, towns, and communities. Dry cleaning
establishments, located within wellhead protection areas may be
subject to additional state or local requirements designed to
minimize contamination of wells used for drinking water. In
addition, process modifications, waste minimization, monitoring
and recycling are encouraged under the WHP program.
SDWA Emergency Powers
Section 1431 of the SDWA provides EPA with the enforcement
authority to issue an order or to file a judicial action whenever
EPA has information that a contaminant, which is present in or
likely to enter a Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Program or
an underground source of drinking water, may present an imminent
and substantial endangerment to the health of persons. This
section of the SDWA may impact a perc dry cleaning facility if
perc is discharged into the sewage system, permeates the concrete
pipelines, and enters the groundwater. The Central Valley
Regional Water Quality Control Board in Sacramento, CA
investigated sources of perc in numerous municipal water supply
wells in California's Central Valley. The investigations
revealed higher concentrations of perc in soil samples near perc
dry cleaners.
E. Implementation of Regulatory Programs Applicable to Perc Dry
Cleaners & Mures of Success
A determination as to which entity constitutes the
implementing entity for the dry cleaning sector depends on the
statutory requirements for authorization of a state program and
whether a particular state has been authorized for the applicable
part of the program. The air regulations for dry cleaners are
currently being implemented and enforced by the EPA. States have
the option of applying for authority to implement and enforce the
NESHAP dry cleaning regulation. At this time, however,
California is the only state approved for delegation of the
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NESHAP dry cleaning regulation for non-major sources. This
notice was published in the Federal Register on May 21, 1996961
FR 25397).
Under RCRA, the LQG, SQG and CESQG requirements are part of
the "base" RCRA program. In general, the base RCRA program is
implemented and enforced by the States. At this time, all
states except for Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa and Wyoming have been
delegated authority to implement the base program. In the
states which do not have delegated authority, the Agency
implements the program.
In the pretreatment program of the CWA, the POTW is
responsible for inspecting and enforcing against POTW users who
are discharging waste water into the public water system. Either
EPA or the State can enforce against the POTW for not complying
with its NPDES permit. If the State is approved to administer
the NPDES program, then it is the enforcing entity. For States
not approved, EPA is the enforcing entity.
Whether the implementing entity is the Federal, State or
local agency, tracking the compliance status of the regulated
community is an integral part of a successful program. The EPA
currently uses various databases, such as AIRS, RCRIS, TRI, IDEA,
to track the environmental information on industries. These
databases or tracking systems can be used to measure the success
of environmental programs. As a measurement tool, a tracking
system is only as accurate as the information it contains. It
is, therefore, crucial that the implementing entity input
accurate and current information into the tracking system to
ensure that this measurement tool is a reliable reflection of the
effectiveness of the compliance and enforcement efforts. The
tracking systems are also valuable tools in helping the
Agency/states determine which sectors, communities, and/or
specific media to prioritize or target for compliance assistance.
To assist in sound decision making, the information contained
in these databases must be accurate and current. This requires a
commitment from the implementing entity to input and update the
dry cleaning information.
II. TARGETING
The limited resources under which environmental regulatory
agencies operate and the public's demand for prudent, efficient
use of their tax dollars require that these regulatory agencies
target their compliance and enforcement efforts to obtain the
maximum environmental benefit from those resources.
A. The Community,. Sector and Media Approaches
There are numerous ways in which a regulatory agency can
focus its limited resources. The 1996/1997 MOA Guidance to the
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Regions identifies •three such approaches: community based,
sector-based and media-based priorities.
Regions can work with States to propose high priority
communities, ecosystems, or places for multi-media enforcement
and compliance initiatives. Pertinent factors in determining
priorities include: low rates of compliance, industry specific
criteria, media specific criteria, environmental justice
concerns, pollution output models for specific geographic areas
and citizen complaints.
The Agency can also identify specific industry sectors which
are national and/or Regional priorities. These sectors are
selected based on factors such as high noncompliance rates, high
volume TRI releases, significant presence and impact in Regions
and feedback provided through Headquarters/Regional in-house
expertise.
Yet a third way to identify priorities may depend on media-
specific environmental and noncompliance problems. Media
specific priorities may be identified by the Water, Toxics,
Pesticides and EPCRA, RCRA, Air and/or Superfund programs. These
priorities can be addressed in conjunction with community-based
and sector based activities.
Once selected, a strategy for the community, sector or media
based priority is developed to address the environmental and/or
noncompliance problems using various enforcement and compliance
assurance tools deemed appropriate. The strategy, in general,
should take multi-media considerations into account. It may also
involve working with multiple agencies, as appropriate (e.g.,
Department of Transportation, State agencies, OSHA).
B. Dry Cleaning as a Priority Sector
EPA has decided to target perc dry cleaners as a "priority
sector" under the FY 96/97 Memorandum of Agreement. Regions,
therefore, will be required to direct some of their enforcement
and compliance efforts to these dry cleaners. The following
discussion addresses some of the considerations in identifying
dry cleaners as enforcement/compliance targets.
In the past, under the Agency's media specific approach,
perc dry cleaning facilities were targeted for air quality
because reductions in perc, then a listed VOC, could be credited
to the state's ozone non-attainment planning. In 1992, EPA
proposed removing perc from the list of VOCs because of its
negligible photochemical reactivity and its insignificant impact
on ozone formation. The Agency published the final rule
excluding perc from the list of VOCs on February 7, 1996 (61 FR
4588). Although agencies do not target perc dry cleaners in an
effort to bring ozone non-attainment areas into compliance,
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regulatory agencies are encouraged to target dry cleaners in any
non-attainment area as a means to improve the overall air quality
of that area. Furthermore, these cleaners should still be
targeted for air quality considerations, as perc is a listed
hazardous air pollutant (HAP) due to its toxicity and its status
as a possible carcinogen.
While the physical size of a local dry cleaner or its
individual environmental impact upon a community may be small
(e.g., dry cleaners may be SQGs under RCRA), the cumulative
impact from several uncontrolled cleaners may warrant the
attention of the Agency and the community and serve as a
criterion in determining whether a community is an enforcement
and compliance assistance priority.
In addition, the perc dry cleaning industry is a service
industry. Like other service industries, such as gasoline
stations or grocery stores, dry cleaning facilities will be
located in areas convenient to their customers' homes or places
of employment. The location of dry cleaners in highly populated
areas should be taken into account when selecting targeting
priorities.
Although dry cleaners are not typically located in lower
income areas or areas populated by minorities, a large number of
dry cleaners are Korean. It may be difficult for Korean-speaking
dry cleaners to understand and take steps to comply with
complicated, technical environmental requirements written in
English. Cultural and language barriers are yet other reasons to
focus resources on this particular industry sector.
These considerations, as well as anecdotal information from
Regional and State inspectors, were important in shaping the
Agency's decision to target dry cleaners as a priority sector.
III. SELECTION OF TOOLS FOR ENFORCEMENT & COMPLIANCE ASSURANCE
A. Selection Based on Characteristics of Dry Cleaners
The selection of tools for enforcement and compliance
assurance activities are integrally intertwined with the Agency's
overall targeting priorities. In a particular sector, the
selection of tools will also depend on: the characteristics of
the industry in particular geographic locations, what constitute
"typical" violations in the sector and the availability of
enforcement/compliance resources.
Some of the pertinent characteristics of the perc dry
cleaning industry that may affect selection of tools include:
the large number of small, mom and pop dry cleaners; the
Agency's/States' inability to identify and inspect the large
number of facilities; small profit margins which limit a dry
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cleaner's ability to hire environmental consultants, or pay
typical penalties issued under the authority of the CAA and/or
RCRA; a lack of understanding or misinterpretation of
environmental requirements; and language/cultural barriers.
These characteristics suggest that compliance assistance tools
may be more effective in achieving compliance than relying only
on traditional enforcement mechanisms.
Regional inspectors whom we queried said that the most
typical violations among perc dry cleaners include: record
keeping violations (especially not maintaining records on-site)
and notification violations. Facilities that do not notify the
Agency that they are handling perc may also be out of compliance
due to the way they are operating. In addition, they pose
problems because the Agency may not even know that these entities
exist. They are out of the enforcement/compliance system
entirely. These characteristics indicate that traditional
enforcement targeting would be inadequate to address the universe
of perc dry cleaning facilities.
B. Enforcement Versus Compliance Assistance
The characteristics discussed above make traditional
enforcement through inspections, enforcement actions and high
penalties difficult and of limited effectiveness. Dry cleaners
know that regulators have other large industries to address and
that small dry cleaners are not likely to be inspected.
Consequently, when a dry cleaner weighs the immediate benefits
against the costs to obtain compliance, particularly when profit
margins are narrow, compliance may not appear to be the "wise"
business choice.
These characteristics indicate that direct compliance
assistance coupled with some enforcement may be the more
effective way to bring small dry cleaners into compliance. A
more detailed discussion on compliance assistance tools appears
below. An effective enforcement presence, however, may be
established through a limited number of random inspections which
are conducted periodically and are well-publicized (covered in
the media and in trade publications). The large number of small
businesses and relatively low profit margins may warrant the
selection of Notices of Violations (NOVs) rather than
administrative/civil actions and field citations rather than
higher penalties, especially for minor violations such as record
keeping deficiencies.
C. Flexible Agency Policies Geared Towards Small Businesses
The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance issued
the CAA Section 507 Enforcement Policy (507 Policy) on August 12,
1994. Section 507 of the CAA requires States to establish Small
Business Assistance Programs (SBAPs) to provide stationary source
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technical and environmental compliance assistance to small
businesses. A "small" business is defined under Section 507 as
having 100 or fewer employees and being a minor source. Most dry
cleaners would qualify as small businesses. The Section 507
Enforcement Policy sets forth the Agency's guidelines for
implementing the Section 507 program.
Under the 507 Policy, penalties against small businesses can
be waived; however, the business must seek assistance from a non-
confidential State SBAP and correct any violations within an
appropriate period of time. States with SBAPs which are
independent from the State's enforcement program can provide
technical assistance on a confidential basis to small businesses
which come to the SBAP for assistance. It is not possible,
however, to mitigate penalties under this second option.
Signed on May 20, 1996, the Agency's Final Policy on
Compliance Incentives for Small Businesses ("SBP") presents
another approach to improving compliance in the dry cleaning
sector without taking formal enforcement actions and issuing
penalties. While the Section 507 Policy is single media,
focusing on air regulations, the SBP is a multi-media policy and
addresses violations under all environmental statutes and
regulations that EPA administers, except for corrective action
programs and the Public Water Supply System Program under the
Safe Drinking Water Act.
A small business under the SBP is defined as having 100 or
fewer employees across all facilities and operations owned by the
entity. Unlike the 507 Policy, there is no limitation on the
amount of pollutants produced by the small business. Most dry
cleaners would qualify as "small" under this policy.
The SBP, in part, implements President Clinton's Executive
Memorandum on Regulatory Reform 60 FR 20621 (April 26, 1995).
Under the SBP, Agency/states can exercise discretion to waive the
imposition of all or a portion of a penalty when a violation is
corrected within a time period appropriate to the violation in
question, where there has been a good faith effort to comply with
applicable regulations, and there are no repeat violations. The
policy does not apply where the violation involves criminal
wrongdoing, the violation has caused serious harm or presents an
imminent or substantial endangerment to public health or the
environment, or presents a significant threat to health, safety
or the environment. Under the SBP, good faith is demonstrated
when a facility has received compliance assistance from a
government or government supported program and the violations
have been detected during the on-site compliance assistance. If
the compliance assistance is confidential, then the small
business can disclose the violation to the appropriate agency to
get the benefits of the SBP. Alternatively, a small business can
demonstrate good faith by conducting an environmental audit and
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promptly disclosing all violations to EPA or the appropriate
state regulatory agency and correcting the violations.
Both the 507 Policy and SBP encourage dry cleaners to obtain
compliance assistance without the threat of facing an enforcement
action with high penalties that might put the dry cleaner out of
business. For more information on the SBP, contact Karin Leff
(202) 564-7068 or David Hindin (202) 564-6004. For more
information on the 507 Policy, contact Karin Leff.
D. Creative Ways to Promote Compliance through Partnering
In these days of regulatory reinvention, it is fruitful to
explore innovative approaches to enforcement and compliance
assurance. Partnering with industry and other environmental
stakeholders is one such approach. What follows are descriptions
of innovative ways to encourage compliance.
Dry cleaning trade associations may offer programs to help
dry cleaners become "Certified Environmental Dry Cleaners," or
the like. Although regulators may elect not to "endorse" these
programs, it may be appropriate to educate trade association
about what the Agency or State would like to see in such a
program.
Some trade associations are sources of useful and accurate
information and guidance on regulatory compliance. Regions
and/or states can evaluate the quality of the information and, if
appropriate, disseminate this material on inspections, share it
with State Small Business Development Centers or Small Business
Assistance Programs.
Similarly, larger dry cleaners, who are well-informed about
regulatory compliance issues, may be willing to mentor smaller,
less sophisticated cleaners. This education can be undertaken as
part of a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) in an
enforcement settlement, or it could be undertaken in an
innovative partnership with a Federal or State regulator, such as
EPA's Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) (Contact: Tai-ming
Chang 202-564-5081). One other innovative way to promote
compliance may be to require dry cleaners to attend dry cleaning
workshops that are periodically offered by trade associations or
State agencies rather than to pay a fine. Currently, these
workshops are not well-attended.
These innovative approaches to compliance assurance are not
sufficient, in and of themselves, to constitute a vigilant and
effective enforcement and compliance program. Coupled with
traditional enforcement tools and more mainstream compliance
assurance activities, however, these projects can tap the
resources and expertise in the regulated community to leverage
government resources.
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IV. TASKS
This compliance strategy identifies compliance assistance,
compliance monitoring and enforcement activities. Some of the
activities have been completed while others are ongoing or
planned/proposed. We have prioritized the latter category based
upon each project's relationship to the OC mission, resources and
each project's usefulness to the regulated community and other
regulatory agencies.
A. Matrix of Tasks
The tasks for the compliance strategy are listed below in a
matrix that identifies the status of the task and the lead
office. A brief description of each task and its priority, if
applicable, follows.
Tasks
IMPLEMENTATION TASKS & RESPONSIBLE PARTIES
Office
Compendium of Educational Materials
Communication Strategy
Generic Dry Cleaning Equipment
Owner's Manual
Multi-media Inspection Manual
Multi-process Wet Cleaning Project
Regulation Translations
Profile of Dry Cleaning Industry
Plain English Guide for Perc Dry
Cleaners
Satellite Training for Dry Cleaners
Certification Program Review
Delegation to States
Penalty Policy/Matrix
Plain Korean Guide for Perc Dry
Cleaners
Plain Spanish Guide for Dry
Cleaners
Stakeholder Meetings
Stakeholders' List
Dry Cleaner Inventory
Regional Teleconference
Supplemental Enforcement Projects
CCSMD
CCSMD
OAQPS
CCSMD
OPPTS
OAQPS
METD
CCSMD
OAQPS
CCSMD/OAQPS
Regions
ORE/Air
CCSMD
CCSMD
CCSMD
CCSMD
CCSMD
CCSMD
CCSMD
Status
Completed
Completed
Completed
Completed
Completed
Completed
Completed
Completed
Completed
Ongoing
Ongoing
Ongoing
Ongoing
Ongoing
Ongoing
Ongoing
Proposed
Proposed
Proposed
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B. Description of Tasks
1. Completed Activities
Communication Strategy
A vital part of the compliance strategy for the dry cleaning
industry is disseminating the information generated and collected
by the Agency. An communication strategy delineates effective
methods of distributing the products of the tasks discussed
throughout this compliance strategy. The products include: the
Plain English Guide for Perc Dry Cleaners, the Plain Korean Guide
for Perc Dry Cleaners, Multi-media inspection manual, and
compendium of educational materials. This material could be
distributed through trade associations, Korean community
associations, perc distributors, dry cleaning vendors, dry
cleaning newsletters, Small Business Association, Section 507
compliance assistance visits, and meetings with industry and,
possibly through inspections. Recipients would be targeted by
using the dry cleaning Stakeholders' List and Inventory.
Estimated Date of Implementation: FY1996
Lead: CCSMD
Contact: Fran Jonesi (202) 564-7043
Priority: High
Compendium of Educational Materials
CCSMD has compiled a multi-media compendium of existing
educational environmental materials for the perc dry cleaning
industry. Many public and private entities including
international and local trade associations. Federal and State
regulatory agencies, universities. Small Business Associations,
cooperative extension services, environmental advocacy
organizations, and other stakeholders have developed relevant
materials. The compendium includes lists of informational
contacts, Regional and State activities, pamphlets, regulation
translations, regulation summaries, operator checklists,
inspections checklists, videotapes, and other resources.
The compendium can be an effective tool in reducing the
effort spent on developing redundant educational materials, so
these efforts can then be spent on evaluating and distributing
materials and information. The resources listed in the multi-
media compendium can be evaluated to ensure their accuracy,
ability to target special audiences (small business owners,
Koreans, Spanish-speaking owner/operators), readability and
effectiveness. Also the compendium affords us the opportunity to
evaluate the linkage between Office of Compliance's national
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efforts and the existing efforts by EPA Regions and States. The
target audience of the compendium is the Regions, States,
entities providing compliance assistance, and other stakeholders
searching for environmental information about the dry cleaning
sector. The Communication Strategy (described earlier in this
section) addresses issues of distributing the compendium and
information on other dry cleaning related projects. CCSMD has
recently updated the information contained in the Compendium.
Estimated Date of Implementation: FY1996
Lead: CCSMD
Contact: Doug Jamieson (202) 564-7041
Joyce Chandler (20) 564-7073
Priority: High
Generic Dry Cleaning Equipment Owner's Manual
OAQPS developed the Perchloroethylene Dry Cleaning
Facilities — General Recommended Operating and Maintenance
Practices for Dry Cleaning Equipment (EPA-4531R-94-073), issued
October 1994, as a compliance assistance outreach tool for perc
dry cleaners. The NESHAP for perc dry cleaners required that
owners of dry cleaning equipment and control devices follow the
manufacturer's operation and maintenance instructions.
Owners/operators are also required to retain a copy of the
manufacturer's instructions for operation and maintenance at the
facility.
OAQPS recognized that some dry cleaners operate older
equipment and may no longer have the manufacturer's instructions.
They developed this Generic Dry Cleaning Equipment Owner's Manual
for dry cleaners who, after reasonable effort, could not obtain a
copy of the manufacturer's instructions for their specific
equipment.
Proper maintenance and operation of equipment can be one of
the first and easiest steps to help achieve compliance and
undertake pollution prevention. This compliance tool,
therefore, will serve multiple purposes. This document will be
included in the Compendium of Educational Materials to be
developed by CCSMD and is referenced in the Plain English Guide
for Perc Dry Cleaners. The Owner's Manual was sent to the
Regions and trade associations. It is available through the EPA
library located in Research Triangle Park, NC. Copies can be
obtained by calling (919) 541-2777.
Estimated Date of Completion: Completed
Lead: Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards
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Contact: George Smith (919) 541-1549
Priority: N/A
Multi-media Inspection Manual
The multi-media inspection manual assists field personnel in
State, local and EPA Regional offices in understanding all the
environmental regulations that impact the perc dry cleaners.
This manual enables the regulators to perform multi-media
inspections and audits to determine the compliance status of
facilities. The field personnel, in turn, can be more responsive
to the needs and questions of the regulated community. The
inspection manual also covers other subjects directly related to
compliance and enforcement activities such as the CAA Section 507
policy, the EPA Policy on Environmental Audits , 60 Federal
Register 66706 (December 22, 1995) and inspection targeting
efforts. The inspection manual and related training are useful
tools for field staff in performing multi-media audits and/or
inspections at dry cleaning facilities.
Estimated Date of Implementation: Completed
Lead: CCSMD
Contact: Douglas Jamieson (202) 564-7041
Priority: High
Multi-process Wet Cleaning Project
The ultimate goal of the dry cleaning regulations is to
reduce and/or eliminate releases of perc into the environment.
One way a dry cleaner can comply with the regulation is by
reducing or eliminating his use of perc. The investigation of an
alternative cleaning process may be the means of achieving
compliance in this manner. The Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics (OPPTS) under the Design for the Environment (DfE)
program formed a partnership with the dry cleaning industry to
conduct a study comparing the cost and performance of an
alternative cleaning process for clothes that are typically dry
cleaned with perc. The alternative process was an aqueous-based
cleaning process that relies on heat, steam, pressing and soap to
clean clothes. The project involved a short term, high volume
test in November and December 1992, during which nearly 1500
garments were cleaned either by the traditional perc dry cleaning
process or the multi-process wet cleaning. The results were then
evaluated by the dry cleaners and the customers. DfE found that,
under certain circumstances, the wet cleaning process is
technically feasible and economically competitive with perc dry
cleaning. Information obtained from this study may encourage
cleaners to use the wet cleaning process and, thus, reduce perc
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usage and releases into the environment. CCSMD will include the
results of the "Wet Cleaning" study in the Compendium of
Educational Materials.
Estimated Date of Completion: Completed
Lead: Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxic Substances
(OPPTS)
Contact: Chad Jehassi (202)260-8617
Priority: N/A
.Regulation Translations
One of the early tasks completed by OAQPS in developing the
NESHAP perc dry cleaning regulation was a translation of its
Federal Register notice into other languages. The regulation was
translated into Korean, French, Chinese, Vietnamese and Spanish.
OAQPS' awareness of the multi-cultural nature of the dry cleaning
industry prompted them to provide a translation of the dry
cleaning air regulation to assist a large segment of cleaners.
An estimated thirty percent of the dry cleaners are Korean
speaking and another significant portion are Spanish speaking.
The other languages represent a smaller share of the regulated
dry cleaning community. The Korean version of the regulation has
been the translation requested most often.
While this task has been completed by OAQPS, the Agency
could also translate the RCRA, CWA and SDWA regulations into
other languages particularly Korean and Spanish. CCSMD has
translated the Plain English Guide, containing multi-media dry
cleaning requirements, into Korean. In the future, the Guide
will be translated into Spanish.
Estimated Date of Completion: Completed
Lead: OAQPS for Development
Small Business Ombudsman Office for Distribution
Contact: George Smith (919) 541-1549
Karen Brown (703) 305-7015 Distribution
Priority: N/A
Plain English Guide for Perc Dry Cleaners
To assist the perchloroethylene (perc) dry cleaners in
complying with the various environmental regulations, CCSMD has
developed a readable version of these requirements - a Pl,ain
English Guide for Perc Dry Cleaners; A Step-by-Step Approach to
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Understanding Federal Environmental Regulations. We are
targeting this guidance at the small businesses which make up a
significant portion of the dry cleaning industry. These
businesses may not ordinarily have the resources to read and
interpret the numerous and changing environmental regulations in
the Code of Federal Regulations. Although dry cleaning trade
associations keep their members abreast of regulations impacting
the industry, many of the smaller dry cleaners do not belong to
these organizations. This guidance explains the environmental
requirements under the CAA, RCRA, SDWA, and CWA using a
comprehensive, step-by-step approach. The Plain English Guide
also includes commonly asked questions and answers concerning the
regulations and their implementation and a quick reference
checklist of activities that an owner/operator may perform to
comply with the regulations. CCSMD conducted a field test of the
Plain English Version with dry cleaners with input from the key
stakeholders. The State of Minnesota has also used the document
in their compliance outreach efforts to the dry cleaning sector
and provided CCSMD with feedback from the dry cleaners. The
details for distributing the final document are outlined in the
Communication Strategy.
Estimated Date of Completion: Completed
Lead: CCSMD
Contact: Joyce Chandler (202) 564-7073
Priority: High
Profile of the Dry Cleaning Industry
The Manufacturing, Energy and Transportation Division (METD)
of the Office of Compliance has developed a series of notebooks
that profile different industrial sectors. One of the sectors
featured is the dry cleaning industry. The initial goal of the
project were to provide Federal and State regulators with more
knowledge of specific industrial sectors and their processes.
This goal was expanded; the Profile also serves as an
informational tool for the regulated and academic community. The
notebook includes an environmental compliance profile based on
EPA database information. CCSMD reviewed and commented on the
dry cleaning sector notebook and coordinated the external review.
The "review team" included a trade association, a state
representative and the EPA Design for the Environment program.
CCSMD helped METD identify the stakeholders to whom the notebook
should be distributed.
Estimated Date of Completion: Completed
Lead: METD
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Contact: Greg Waldrip (202) 564-7024
Priority: METD - High CCSMD - Medium
Satellite Training for Dry Cleaners
On May 12, 1992 the Tennessee Department of Environment,
Tennessee Valley Authority, UT Center for Industrial Services,
EPA's Office of Small Business Ombudsman, and OAQPS conducted a
four hour satellite training course on the perc air regulations
that was broadcast live to down link sites throughout the
country. The purpose of the broadcast was to inform perc dry
cleaners on strategies for compliance, risk reduction and
pollution prevention. Multiple down link sites nationwide
minimized the travel cost for the cleaners who typically would
not attend such a course because of the expense. The training
was interactive; the participants were allotted time to call the
panelist to ask questions. OAQPS has made a videotape version of
the satellite training, along with the written companion guide,
available to States and local agencies. These agencies have used
this videotape as a compliance assistance tool by making it
available to their dry cleaners. Dry cleaners can contact their
State and local agencies for the videotape. Others can purchase
the two set videotape for $45 by contacting Jane Davis of the
University of Tennessee at (615) 974-1313.
Estimated Date of Completion: Completed
Lead: OAQPS
Contact: Janyce Riess (919) 541-2353
Priority: N/A
2 . Ongoing Activities
Certification Program Review
An informed dry cleaner is better able to comply with the
requirements than a misinformed one. Part of this compliance
strategy is geared towards supporting trade associations in their
outreach activities to educate their industry stakeholders. In
1994, the International Fabricare Institute (IFI) offered an
environmental certification examination for dry cleaners. IFI
invited Office of Compliance and the Office of Air Quality
Planning & Standards to represent EPA on an Advisory Committee
for the Environmental Certification Program. The Office of
Compliance provided advice to IFI by participating in a two-day
brainstorming session that was held in October to discuss the
certification program.
A program certifying the environmental knowledge of owners
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and operators of the dry cleaning business provides a means and
motivation for them to increase their knowledge and understanding
of the environmental requirements while augmenting compliance.
Currently certification programs for perc dry cleaners are
voluntary. CCSMD will 1) investigate which programs currently
exist and are being developed; 2) evaluate whether to assist/give
input to the burgeoning certification programs; 3) assess whether
the Agency should give its stamp of approval to certification
programs; and 4) investigate whether CCSMD should develop a
certification program of its own, or in conjunction with DfE or
other EPA offices.
Estimated Date of Completion: Ongoing
Lead: DfE with CCSMD support
Contact: Joyce Chandler (202) 564-7073
Priority: Medium
Delegation to States
Many compliance monitoring and enforcement activities are
performed by State and local regulators. Under the CAA Section
112(1), States can be delegated the authority to enforce the dry
cleaning Air NESHAP. "Each State may develop and submit to the
Administrator for approval a program for the implementation and
enforcement (including a review of enforcement delegations
previously granted) of emission standards and other requirements
for air pollutants subject to this section..." EPA then has the
responsibility to review the plan for approval or disapproval
within a designated time.
This delegation process is just beginning due to the recent
promulgation of the dry cleaning requirements. CCSMD will
support the Regional Offices in their review of State
applications for delegated authority. At this time, CCSMD has
reviewed and commented on California's proposal.
Estimated Date of Completion: Ongoing task as State submits
proposal
Lead: Regions with CCSMD support
Contact: Joyce Chandler (202) 564-7073
Priority: Low
Penalty Policy/Matrix
The Regions have requested that OECA issue a penalty policy
for violations of the CAA for the perc dry cleaning industry.
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The general penalty policy for stationary source air emissions
was developed when the regulated community consisted of a limited
number of large businesses with high revenues. The newly
regulated dry cleaning industry, however, consists of a large
number of small businesses with low revenues. The Agency almost
always has to reduce the civil penalty based on the inability of
these businesses to pay. This inability of small dry cleaners to
pay penalties in general justifies a penalty policy specifically
for these small businesses. OECA will incorporate aspects of the
Section 507 Enforcement Response Policy into the penalty policy.
The Air Enforcement Division (AED) in the Office of
Regulatory Enforcement (ORE) received comments on their draft CAA
penalty policy for dry cleaners from the Regions. CCSMD has
solicited the support of the RCRA Enforcement Division and the
Multi-media Division in ORE to explore making the dry cleaning
penalty policy a multi-media policy.
Estimated Date of Implementation: FY1997
Lead: ORE-Air
Contact: Rhonda Maddox (202) 564-7026
Priority: ORE - High CCSMD - Low
Plain Korean Guide for Perc Dry Cleaners
Upon finalizing the Plain English Guide for Perc Dry
Cleaners: A Step—by—Step Approach to Understanding Federal
Environmental Regulations (described in the Ongoing Activities
section), CCSMD has funded a project to translate the document
into Korean. Both the Korean and English versions of the
document will be field tested before distribution. Details on
distributing the document to the Korean dry cleaners will be
delineated in the Information Dissemination Plan (described above
in this section). The glain Korean Guide for Perc Dry Cleaners
will serve as an effective compliance assistance tool in OECA's
outreach to the Korean dry cleaning community.
Estimated Date of Implementation: early FY1997
Lead: CCSMD
Contact: Joyce Chandler (202) 564-7073
Priority: High
Plain Spanish Version of Requirements
Plans to translate the Plain English Version of the
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Environmental Requirements for Perchloroethylene Dry Cleaners
(described in the Completed Activities section) into Korean has
been well received by the dry cleaning trade association,
regulatory agencies, and others conducting outreach activities to
the dry cleaning community. CCSMD has received requests for a
Plain Spanish Version and thus will translate the document into
Spanish. Details on distributing the document to the Spanish dry
cleaners will be delineated in the Information Dissemination Plan
(described above in this section). The Plain Spanish Version of
the Environmental Requirements for Perchloroethylene Dry Cleaners
will serve as an effective compliance assistance tool in OECA's
outreach to the Spanish-speaking dry cleaning community.
Estimated Date of Implementation: FY1997
Lead: CCSMD
Contact: Joyce Chandler (202) 564-7073
Priority: High
Stakeholders' List
Another goal of the compliance strategy is to compile a list
of stakeholders in the perc dry cleaning industrial sector.
Stakeholders are those who have a vested interest in the perc dry
cleaning sector. Not only do the stakeholders include the owners
and operators of dry cleaning facilities contained in the dry
cleaners inventory described below, but they also include the
manufacturers and distributors of perc, trade associations,
Korean community groups, equipment vendors, small business
associations, and others. By identifying all stakeholders and
understanding their concerns, we can develop a comprehensive
understanding of the industry and render better compliance
assistance. The stakeholder list will include the name of the
organization, the contact person, telephone number, address, and
function. CCSMD has already started accumulating the names of
stakeholders as we work with the industry.
Estimated Date of Implementation: FY1995
Lead: CCSMD
Contact: Joyce Chandler (202) 564-7073
Priority: Medium
Stakeholder Meetings
CCSMD has been meeting with individual stakeholders of the
perc dry cleaning industry. During these meetings, CCSMD informs
the stakeholder of OC's mission to assist the industrial sector
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in complying with environmental regulations and to promote
pollution prevention. CCSHD and the stakeholder discuss how the
OC can further assist the dry cleaning sector with environmental
concerns. CCSMD has met with the International Fabricare
Institute (IFI) and toured their research facility. CCSMD has met
with the Korean Drycleaners Association of Greater Washington to
discuss potential compliance outreach projects for the Korean
drycleaning community. CCSHD will continue to hold face-to-face
meetings with various stakeholders in the future.
Estimated Date of Completion: Ongoing
Lead: CCSMD
Contact: Joyce Chandler (202) 564-7073
Priority: High
3. Future Activities
Dry Cleaner Inventory
A reliable inventory identifying the regulated community and
its compliance status is a critical tool for enforcement and
compliance assistance. At this time, there is no reliable,
accurate list of perc dry cleaners since perc dry cleaners are
often small businesses/generators/sources/users not captured
under regulatory reporting and other requirements. Currently,
EPA estimates that the number of perc dry cleaners ranges from
25,000 to 35,000 nationwide. These estimates are based on data
from the census bureau, trade associations, perc distributors,
equipment vendors, and others. A reliable inventory will narrow
down the estimates and provide EPA with a more accurate list of
dry cleaners who can be targeted for compliance activities.
As a first step, we will access the RCRIS, Toxic Release
Inventory (TRI), the PCS, the AIRS and other EPA databases to
identify perc dry cleaning facilities. These databases will
likely contain information on only the largest dry cleaning
facilities. To identify the thousands of smaller dry cleaners,
we will verify the initial notification reports submitted to the
Regions in June 1994 as required by the NESHAP regulation. Once
we have developed a comprehensive inventory, it will be made
available to OAQPS, Regions, States and local governments as a
compliance tool for identifying the regulated community.
Estimated Date of Implementation: FY1996
Lead: CCSMD
Contact: Joyce Chandler (202) 564-7073
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Priority: High
Regional Teleconference
One of the goals of the compliance strategy is to build an
effective network within the Agency to supply compliance
assistance to the dry cleaning sector and State regulating
agencies on a multi-media basis. This will be accomplished by
establishing a group of knowledgeable individuals throughout the
Agency in Headquarters and the Regions who will hold a regular
teleconference to discuss and resolve compliance and enforcement
issues affecting the dry cleaning industry. The teleconference
calls will held begin in the upcoming months.
Estimated Date of Implementation: Ongoing
Lead: CCSMD
Contact: Joyce Chandler (202) 564-7073
Priority: High
Supplemental Environmental Projects
CCSMD will investigate possible Supplemental Environmental
Projects (SEPs) for EPA settlements with dry cleaning
stakeholders and discuss with ORE-Multi-Media whether these SEPs
should be included in the National SEP database. ORE-Multi-Media
is developing a National SEPs Data Base for various sectors. The
data base will be a compilation of recent SEPs and will include
information on violations, estimated cost, technical details and
the expected environmental impacts of the projects. It will
contain guidance on selecting and implementing a SEP and model
language for settlements. SEPs are environmentally beneficial
projects which a defendant agrees to undertake in settlement of
an environmental enforcement action, but which the defendant is
not otherwise legally required to perform. The information
contained in the database will be made available to the Regions
and States.
One possible future project is to promote broader
implementation of water pretreatment programs for dry cleaners.
CCSMD will evaluate the pretreatment program in California that
regulates dry cleaners and will consider how the principles of
the California program can be transferred to other entities. We
will also work with DfE on incorporating pollution prevention
options into SEPs.
Estimated Date of Implementation: Future
Lead: CCSMD/ORE-Multi-media
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Contact: Joyce Chandler (202) 564-7073 CCSMD
Jerry Kraus (202) 564-6047 ORE-Multi-media
Priority: Low
V. CONCLUSION
This compliance strategy responds to the various
environmental issues currently presented by the perc dry cleaning
industry. The strategy will continue to evolve as we learn more
about the industry and how to better assist it in its compliance
needs.
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Key Stakeholders-Dry Cleaning Sectoy
ACTWU
Health and Safety Department
15 Union Square
New York, NY 10003
Contact: Mr. Eric Frumin
PH: 211/242-0700 FX: 212/255-7230
Consumer Policy Institute
101 Truman Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10703
Ms. Barbara Warren
PH: 914/378-2455 FX: N/A
The Dow Chemical Company
2020 Dow Center
Midland, MI 48674
Contact: Ms. Janet C. Hickman
PH: 517/636-0465 FX: 517/636-8933
Environmental Protection Agency
Design for the Environment
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
Contact: Mr. Ohad Jehassi, Mail Code 7406
PH: 202/260-6911 FX: 202/260-0981
Environment Canada
Great Lakes Environment Office
25 St. Claire Street, East
Toronto, Ontario M4T1M2 CANADA
Contact: Mr. Marcus Cinder
PH: 416/973-1162 FX: 416/973-7438
Greenpeace
1017 West Jackson Boulevard
Chicago , IL 60607
Contact: Ms. Bonnie Rice
PH: 312/666-3305 FX: 312/226-2714
Halogenated Solvents Industry Alliance
2001 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Contact: Mr. Peter Voytek
PH: 202/775-2790 FX: 202/775-722
International Fabricare Institute
12251 Tech Road
Silver Spring, MD 20904
Contact: Ms. Mary Scalco
PH: 301/622-1900 FX: 301/236-9320
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The Johnson Group
8044 Montgomery Road, Suite 170
Cincinnati, OH 45236
Contact: Ms. Janet Grove
PH: 513/891-4551
FX: 513/985-5464
The Korean Drycleaning Association of Greater Washington
13840-A Braddock Road
Centerville, VA 22020
The Korean Drycleaning Times
145 Madison Avenue, 6th floor
New York, NY 10016
PH: 212/545-1815
FX: 212/545-1386
Langley Parisian
P.O. Box 91128
Hamilton, Ontario L8N 4G3 CANADA
Contact: Mr. K.C. (Ken) Adamson
PH: 905/522-4651
FX: 905/529-5956
National Federation of Korean Dry Cleaners
5901 Eastern Avenue
Hyattsville, MD 20703
Contact: Mr Joseph Yoon
PH: 301/559-1323
FX: N/A
Neighborhood Cleaners Association
252 West 29th Street
New York, NY 10001
Contact: Mr. William Seitz
PH: 211/967-3002
FX: 221/967-2240
Occupational Health Foundation
1126 16th Street, NW, Suite 413
Washington, DC 20036
Contact: Mr. Charles Austin
PH: 202/887-1980
FX: 202/887-0191
R.R. Street & Company
184 Shuman Boulevard
Naperville, IL 60563
Contact: Mr. Manfred Wentz
PH: 708/416-4244
FX: 708/416-4150
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Toxics Use Reduction Institute
University of Massachusetts, Lowell
1 University Avenue
Lowell, MA 01854-2851
Contact: Ms. Jodie Siegel
PH: 508/934-3275
FX: 508/453-2332
The Key Stakeholders List consists, in part, of the core
workgroup members from EPA's Design for Environment program.
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