Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 13, 1994 TAG: 9401130321
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
However, there was often no one to help them determine the questions that needed to be asked.
For example, they applied for and received a permit from Roanoke to use fire hydrants to fill their mobile water tank. Hunter and Daniels keep track of the amount of water they pump and are billed accordingly by the city.
But there are no records of what the water is used for or where it goes afterward.
When questioned about the car wash possibly being a source of water pollution, Craig Sluss, Roanoke's water distribution manager, said, "They [the car wash owners] were a minority business, so we looked the other way to help them out."
But Kit Kiser, Sluss' boss who issued the permit, said it is not the city's responsibility to determine if such operations violate state water laws or to even inform fledgling businesses that they may be breaking state water regulations.
"We would not have told them about the state regulations," said Kiser, director of utilities and operations. "They should call the Water Control Board. We are not aware that they are in violation of anything."
Hunter and Daniels acknowledge it never crossed their minds to check with the state Water Control Board about discharging water the city gave them carte blanche to use.
Because Car Wash On Wheels Inc. is a mobile business and is not discharging water at one site, there is no single "point source of pollution," said Neil Obenshain, director of the Water Control Board's West Central Regional Office.
"It's no different from somebody washing their car with a hose hooked up to their house," Obenshain said.
The Department of Environmental Equality, which oversees the regional Water Control Board, agrees.
That's a big relief for Hunter and Daniels, who now know they might have been violating state laws without even realizing it.
by CNB