On July 8, 2014, Environment Canada announced that a Vancouver-based dry cleaner had plead guilty and was fined $9,500 under the Tetrachloroethylene Regulations (SOR/2003-79). The offences included two open containers of wastewater, one open container of sludge waste, and the absence of proper secondary containment around these three containers.
Dry Cleaners Will be Inspected
If you have dry-cleaning operations in Canada, you would do well to pay attention to this and other recent actions by Environment Canada.
Several months ago, my colleagues at Dragun authored a blog providing a collective “heads up” for dry cleaners. They specifically pointed to the June 22, 2012, amendment to the Environmental Enforcement Act (EEA). The amendment created the Environmental Violations Administrative Monetary Penalties Act (EVAMPA) that provided authority to issue Administrative Monetary Penalties (AMPs).
These actions by Environment Canada were not just an “administrative move;” they did this for a reason.
In fact, in that previous blog that my colleagues authored, they also pointed out that a Toronto dry cleaner had been fined $60,000 under EVAMPA for infractions that included improper storage and containment of tetrachloroethylene.
With the Toronto and Vancouver enforcement actions, Environment Canada has demonstrated they are serious about addressing environmental management issues at dry cleaners. And Environment Canada has already disclosed that they are planning to conduct inspections at dry-cleaning plants that use tetrachloroethylene in 2015.
Tetrachloroethylene or PERC
So why is there this focus on dry cleaners by Environment Canada? It really boils down to this – tetrachloroethylene, or PERC as it is often known, while very effective for dry cleaning, is a “bad actor” once released into the environment. Conventional wisdom says: keep it from spilling via good management practices, and avoid a potentially very big environmental problem.
So is PERC really that big of a problem if released? Yes. My colleagues and I can tell you about numerous past projects that involved investigation, and in some cases, remediation and litigation at, or adjacent to, former dry-cleaning operations. Almost without exception, the historical releases of PERC that we have witnessed could be attributed to poor housekeeping activities (such as spillage, pouring spent fluid into sewers, improper containment around equipment, leakage, etc…).
As an aside… personally, if someone approached me and asked me to be an owner or investor in a dry cleaner, the very first question I would ask (as a professional engineer) would be, “Do you have a spill plan, and do you have the proper engineering controls?” Once PERC is released (especially if it reaches groundwater), it really is a nightmare.
Avoiding a Release to the Environment
I don’t know if you noticed in the infractions above (Toronto and Vancouver); they are not related to historical releases from 20 or 30 years ago; in fact, they are not even “releases to the environment” at all. The infractions, such as improper storage and containment of PERC, open containers, or absence of secondary containment have occurred at current operating dry cleaners prior to a release. Essentially, the point is: avoid the release and avoid the problem.
If you are an owner/operator of a dry-cleaning business, what should you do now? If you are confident that your spill management/plans/controls can pass an inspection by Environment Canada, that’s great. Business continues as usual. If not, my personal recommendation would be to find an engineer and, at a minimum, have him/her spend some time with you individually and walk around your operation to discuss some steps to take before an inspection.
If you have questions about spill management, spill plans, or engineering controls, please feel free to contact me (atymec@dragun.com) at 519-979-7300, ext 118.