Environment DEC
From the July 2009 issue
DEC Offers Help for Auto Body Shops
To help automobile body shops prevent pollution and "green" their operations, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) created two new, user friendly manuals titled The Environmental Compliance Guide for Auto Body Shops and Environmental Report Packet for Auto Body Shops. The new guides were written specifically for the auto body repair industry to help business owners understand and comply with a wide array of laws and regulations meant to limit pollution. It also provides information regarding best management practices, pollution prevention and energy efficiency to enable shops to reduce human health risks and environmental impacts and to save money.
General automotive repair shops would also benefit from this compliance guide
DEC launched its statewide program by sending out the first set of materials to business owners in New York's Capital District as part of the agency's Auto Body Shops Environmental Results Program (ERP), which incorporates a new approach to improving and monitoring environmental performance. The Auto Body Shops ERP applies to shops that perform collision repair, painting, paint stripping or sanding, body work, antique automobile restoration and student training in any of the above areas. A business is considered an auto body shop even if it also does other kinds of work. For example, dealers or general automotive repair shops that also do auto body repair are considered auto body shops.
The Environmental Report Form for Auto Body Shops must be submitted by all such businesses that generate any hazardous waste or that are not exempt from the New York State air regulations for surface-coating processes. Shops that are not required to submit the form are encouraged to participate in this program voluntarily.
For all Capital District areas that have been part of the program's launch, the form must be submitted to DEC by August 15, 2009. Deadlines for all other areas of the state will be noted in material packets that are sent throughout the next year.
