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and landscaping runoffs — goes paries advising them of the new Washing cars in residential dri- LAAtJ(1] into our catch basins and pumps washing regulations, he said. veways will still be permitted directly into rivers and sloughs, Trucking companies were singled because such washing does not Continued from Al introducing pollutants into our out because, with few commercial generate the same level of water Councilman Mel Panizaa said waterways;' Miller said. truck washes, they are some of pollution as businesses scrubbing legislators have passed environ- Last summer, a city inspector the biggest violators, he said. fleets of cars, officials said. j4slal laws that look good on ordered Craig to stop washing his We see a lot of violations, but Weekend carwashes staged by aper but thaStockton officials trucks. Craig got a warning, but we don't have the staff to attack social clubs and school groups to paper perceived t t the bad guys for another violation could result in a every problem. You go after the raise money, however, may be implementing them. hefty fine. He now takes his deliv- more serious ones that you find;' banned when the ordinance is "They leave the local govern- ery trucks to a carwash but is Williams said. fully implemented, Williams said. to deal with the negative considering installing a wash rack, So far, Craig and Hamilton is A new storm-drain division in mens side," Ito dea said. "But a have which could cost up to $6,000, he the only company that has been the utilities department could be y° said. cited, but in the future, more staffed with full-time employees to pay your fair share. The feder- B1ll Thiry, general manager of aggressive enforcement can be by July, Birdze6 said. This could al mandate is expensive. Residents BTI Trucking, said operators of expected, he said. mean more ability to go after vio- should not subsidize business, and small trucking companies felt the "Our biggest effort at this time lators, but the focus would stay vice versa' effect of the storm-drain ordi- is education;' said Glen Birdzell, on public awareness rather than The Clean Water Act, passed in nance immediately. the utilities department's deputy enforcement for some time, he 1988, requires cities with popula- He said he used to spend about director. "We want the public to said. tions of 100,000 or more to adopt $20 a week to clean his 17 trucks. be aware of our storm-drain pro- Meanwhile, the ordinance has storm-water management pro- He now averages $120 a week gram and what they can do to been a boost to business for Gary grams. Stockton is the only San since he began taking them to a help." Lujan and Randy McNurlin of Joaquin County city large enough commercial carwash. All types of commercial vehicles Angels Camp. to have to implement such a pro- "Prices will only go up;' Thiry are covered by the ordinance, They own a truck wash on grain, said Ron Miller, an analyst said, "And that will make it hard- including school buses, police cars Cherokee Road and Highway 99 in the city's utilities department. er for us to compete:' and other public automobiles.The and are building a $1.6 million The federal Environmental The city, so far, has been slow city has the hookups it needs to truck wash on 5'h acres on Protection Agency has labeled to cite violators, said Larry properly wash the cars, officials Carpenter Road and Highway 99, urban runoff as one of the last Williams, a senior environmental said. east of Stockton. Expected to be 'femaining water-pollution prob- officer in Stockton's utilities Auto dealers without approved completed next month, the new lems in the United States, he said. department. instead, it is concen- wash systems will no longer be wash will be able to clean 200 "The whole focus is that the trating on issuing warnings. allowed to clean cars at their lots trucks a day. EPA has recognized that untreated In early October, about 50 let- unless there are connections to "This facility is built for the ktonn water — including carwash ters were mailed to trucking com- sewer lines. laws of the future," Lujan said.