To Tattle or Not to Tattle

[One Tough Pressure]

Educating customers on the CWA is and will be a tough one for some time to come. Many or should I say most have no clue what it is or what it is for. Selling pressure cleaning is a tough one in itself based on area, and then when you throw in something like the CWA it makes it even tougher.

You may find it easier to sell jobs based on quality of work alone, by offering free demos to get them hooked. Without mentioning the recovery or diversion, just do it as a part of doing business and protecting the environment. A simple sump pump is not too costly and will do the trick in many situations.

[bforbis]

Alan and some others:
I have talked to many of my regular customers and potential customers to get a feel for what they know, or care about the CWA.

Almost all of them look at me with "The deer in the headlight" look. Even the gas stations. When I was researching the CWA regulations, permits etc. I found that many of them are listed as being monitored by the EPA, so I know they know, or at least I wonder what is going through their heads!!!???

I wonder how a copy of the CWA, or selected sections would be recevied by customers? I like the idea and education has to start from somewhere. I have read a couple of posts where some customers felt threatened by details of the CWA coming from the PW proposal. (Like... don't shoot the messenger!)

How have any of you had the most success in selling the job with respect to CWA? My perception, is the West Coast is more recpetive than the East???

[Mathew Johnson]

Originally Posted by One Tough Pressure

Educating customers on the CWA is and will be a tough one for some time to come. Many or should I say most have no clue what it is or what it is for. Selling pressure cleaning is a tough one in itself based on area, and then when you throw in something like the CWA it makes it even tougher.

You may find it easier to sell jobs based on quality of work alone, by offering free demos to get them hooked. Without mentioning the recovery or diversion, just do it as a part of doing business and protecting the environment. A simple sump pump is not too costly and will do the trick in many situations.

Alan,

I just finished purchasing my recovery equipment and a filtration system. Do you have or do you know where I can get the "meat and potatoes" part of the CWA that I can use to educate my clients. I started to read the 300 page document, but I found it difficult to find the specific info for the clients.

[One Tough Pressure]

This link addresses it point blank. While Region 6 is not your area, the laws are the same. With high probablity that Robert Hinderliter of D E L C O while serving as the PWNA Environmental Chairman was so active, that is why this region actually mentions Pressure Washing, while all the others just refer to the discharges.

http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6en/w/pw.htm

[Mathew Johnson]

Alan,

Thanks, it was a great link!

[Mathew Johnson]

To answer the question on the poll... I don't think I would be inclined to turn them in. I would use my compliance with cwa verses the competition's non-compliance as a marketing tool to grow my customer base and educate the consumer on the difference between the two.

I would elect to stay under the Government radar... I think that if they are looking at your competitor, than you are also under thier microscope.

[Ron Musgraves]

Actually, the customer is accountable as well. The CWA includes the owner of the property in which the work is performed to ensure that the waste is properly disposed of.

Thats the best statement, if you want to really sell reclaim. property owner is responsible for clean up 100%. you get a fine and jail time.

[Ron Musgraves]

I would elect to stay under the Government radar... I think that if they are looking at your competitor, than you are also under their microscope.

That another true statement. You will also be under the scope. Ask the guy san Diego that is no longer in business.

He turns a local contractor in and found he was not in compliance and they shut him down also. (Jon should remember that one)

The bottom line is that no one is this thread is 100% compliant.

[Ron Musgraves]

Originally Posted by Beth n Rod

Actually, the customer is accountable as well. The CWA includes the owner of the property in which the work is performed to ensure that the waste is properly disposed of.

Clean Water Act | Laws & Regulations | US EPA
http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/pdf/ecwa_t3.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/pdf/ecwa_t3.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/pdf/ecwa_t5.pdf

There is a bit of reading but the answers are better found this way.

Rod!~

The customer, you and ultimatly the owner of the property. The food chains goes like this. property owner, who contracted you and the contractor.

I have my own thoughts about this. I'm still thinking about the reply.

[Ron Musgraves]

Originally Posted by StainlessDeal

I am relatively new in this business, and there are some people here already doing it. That said, PWing as a profession is not well-known in Nebraska. There are some fleet washers, and one guy I know of (but not personally) that does wood, and then about ten thousand fools doing splash & dash jobs as a way to beer money. The most reputable guys I've seen are some window-washers and car-lot guys. (One of the largest car-lot guys told me that wood restoration was a perfect way to make nobody happy because the work is too expensive for the area to bear)

There is no awareness of regulations on the public's part, and some of the local business owners are amazingly high-strung about it. When my bids mention reclaim, they go ape in a hurry. I've let commercxial business pretty much slide because of this.

The camel-back breaking straw was a pair of bids I gave early this summer: On one the prospect became irate when I mentioned reclaim as part of the bid on acid washing aluminum trailers. The spot I was to use was on top of a storm-drain that was a 24 inch (or so) shotgun pipe a quarter mile long straight to a local lake used as a fishing/outdoor rec area.

I thanked the guy for his time and declined to bid.

The second was a chain battery store in town that had badly stained sidewalks and delivery areas. The parking spaces were slick with oil, and the dumpster pad/ loading area was rusty with battery acid. They had never heard of the CWA were pretty sure they weren't covered by it, and were shocked at my price. When I tried to explain the processes (already spelled out in my bid) the assistant manager ran me off, accusing me of trying to fleece and bully them.

I'm not angry, nor am I veangeful, but I do fish the local lakes, and my dog drinks from them all summer long. It seems that the point of the laws is to protect the water, not provide me with a service to sell at an outrageous price, and I'm irked that the water gets dirtied by people doing work incorrectly, that I bid right.

And Alan, I hear you, I may not know what remediation method they are using, but I don't suspect that two guys in a Gremlin with a Lowes' cold water unit and a visible twelve pack are using something planted inside the stormdrain their water is running into. lol I'd sooner believe they had Harry Potter down there doing his bit for the CWA.

I didn't turn anybody in, mostly because I strongly suspected I was the only pwer these folks had talked to. Why make a mess in my own nest? I just posed the question because I'm curious where the opinions would fall, and because after walking my hound at one of the lakes in question the other day I saw foam and open water in the otherwise frozen area where the pipe I mentioned before drains.

Frankly, I feel a bit guilty and ashamed. Did I do the wrong thing because it was easy? Or was I right to MMOB?

Scott, the owner of the property is responsible for his water issues.

Give me a call when you get a chance.

[Ron Musgraves]

[MMI Enterprises]

Ron, Why did you say no one in thread is 100% compliant.?
If it don't go in a storm drain and it evaps off then all is ok...right?

Although it is irritating to get the ignorance act from some these places with disgusting facilities or end up seeing their waters getting washed to the drain by a gaggle of cheap illegals I don't complain. I have no idea what chems they may or may not be using. See I've no problem with non-chem pressure cleaning methods. If I did I would have to have a problem with the O'mighty hisself raining the grime towards the rivers and lakes or the builders of the system in the first place. The fears of fines help inspire the putting off cleaning tasks which results in more polution all at once when it does rain. Maybe there should be more dumb red tape laws that make places like gas stations with their synthetic oil polutants or food places with their organic grease polutants cleanup before it rains..lol

[Doug Dahlke]

I have not turned anyone in in part becuase I can't say in all situations I am 100% compliant. Not because I don't want to be but because there is still so much confusion about what compliant is.

I did just lose a new construction clean up on a parking lot to a guy that underbid me by over 50%. The lot connected to a Zaxby's in two areas and ran into a main road on a third. The next day you could see the flow of red clay in that Zaxby's lot and along the street curb straight into the storm drain. The flow into the Zaxby's went into a drain there also. Not much point in putting up silt fence and other measures to control sediment if you are going to wash it into drains anyway.

Those are the ones that get me mad.

[REHAB]

we all have reasons to turn someone in; both positive and negative reasons.

unfortunately, it usually ends up that we pee on ourselves in the process, as the impending investigation comes down on the whole industry chapter in a local area, not so much to correct the situation, but so the inspector not doing enough oversight can practice CYA for his/her own office.

Then the impending new rules only makes it harder and more expensive to stay in business with added fees and taxes.

Perhaps the best answer is to make up a flyer or contract attachment noting why your company is better qualified, including site protection, cleanup, and adherence to the EPA and local guidelines, and types or descriptions of products that are best suited for the job at hand, and why. In this manner, one can more adequately educate procurement and purchasing officials, who will then query all about individual differences and costs for the relatively same service. Such will also present your case as a more qualified professional and quality workmanship tradesman.

[Joe Ortiz]

Well its "Karma" we all have bad days and sometimes we slip up. that may be the day that they pay you back. i would'nt report them they will get theirs in the end.