New Jersey eyes tougher perc regs
New Jersey could become the second state to enact a phase-out of
perchloroethylene under a proposal that could come up for a public hearing as
early as next month.
Speaking during a morning session at the National Cleaner’s Association convention in Secaucus, NJ, in October, Richard Janiak of the New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection told cleaners that regulations
are in the works that could lead to a ban on perc in co-residential cleaning
facilities by July 2009 and a complete phase-out of perc in the state by 2020.
A hearing date had not been set but it appears the new regulations could move
swiftly. Formal publication of the proposal could come this month with a
hearing to follow early next year.
“You’ll have time to comment at the public hearing and all of those comments are
taken into consideration before changing the regulation,
” he told cleaners.
“The phase-out dates could be extended based on information that comes out at the
hearing,
” he added.
Perc used in drycleaning is not the only target, Janiak said. The state also
wants to eliminate perc used in consumer products, he added, citing as an
example backyard mechanics who use it as a brake cleaner.
The state is also revising requirements for permits that drycleaners need to
operate in New Jersey. Current five-year permits will not be automatically
renewed when they expire. Instead, the cleaner will have to apply for a new
permit.
A pre-approved general permit will be available for any facility using 152
gallons or less of perc if the nearest sensitive receptor
— schools, day-care centers and hospitals, for example — is 100 feet or more from the facility.
The annual limit on perc use will be less if the nearest sensitive receptor is
nearer. No general permit will be issued if the nearest sensitive receptor is
within 50 feet of the drycleaning plant.
A cleaner who wants to use more perc than allowed by the general permit will
face a more complicated and more expensive process to gain approval. That
application will have to provide detailed information about the facility and
tell the distance to the nearest sensitive receptors.
Based on that information, the DEP will determine the maximum amount of perc
that can be used at the facility. That could be several hundred gallons a year
or perhaps only double-digit amounts, Janiak said.
Cleaners wondering about alternative solvents can’t get a complete answer from the state right now. The state’s list of approved alternative includes synthetic hydrocarbons and Rynex. Others
will have to go through a risk analysis to get on the list.
Once such solvent is glycol ether which Janiak said is currently being reviewed
by the technical staff based on a Solvair system recently installed in New
Jersey.
“If we’re going to get rid of perchloroethylene, then we’re going to have to look at what are the alternative solvents,” Janiak said.
“People who want to sell alternative solvents in New Jersey should seek risk
assessment approval,
” he advised.
