SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY AIR POLLUTION CONTROL DISTRICT

RULE 415 - DRY CLEANING SOLVENTS
(Adopted 6/18/79)

A. Any dry cleaning establishment that uses solvents containing four percent or more by volume of any photochemically reactive solvent, except perchloroethylene or any saturated halogenated hydrocarbon, shall reduce the emissions of the discharged organics by 90 percent by use of activated carbon adsorption or other appropriate means.

B. Effective January 1, 1980, a person shall not operate any dry cleaning equipment which uses petroleum-based solvent unless:

  1. There is no liquid leaking from any portion of the equipment.
  2. Solvents are stored in closed containers, which may be equipped with vents approved by the Control Officer.
  3. All washer lint traps, button traps, access doors and other parts of the equipment, where solvent may be exposed to the atmosphere, are kept closed at all times except as required for proper operation or maintenance.
  4. The still residue is stored in sealed containers or underground tanks, and is disposed of at a Class I dump or is disposed of by other procedures approved by the Control Officer.
  5. The used filtering material is put into a sealed container immediately after removal from the filter and is disposed of at a Class I dump, unless the dry cleaning system is equipped with one of the following filtering systems:

    a. Cartridge filters containing paper or carbon or a combination thereof, which are fully drained in the filter housing for at least 12 hours before removal.

    b. Diatomaceous earth filtering system, connected to a centrifugal solvent extractor or other device capable of removing sufficient solvent, so that the remaining diatomaceous earth and soil does not contain more than 0.4 pounds of solvent per pound of filter powder and soil removed.

    c. Any other type of filtering system or process found by the Control Officer to emit into the atmosphere 1 pound or less of solvent in the discarded soil, lint and filtering material per 100 pounds of articles cleaned.

C. A person shall not operate any dry cleaning equipment which uses petroleum-based solvent unless all exhaust gases from drying tumblers and cabinets are vented through a carbon adsorber or other control device which reduces the total emissions of hydrocarbon vapors to the atmosphere during the entire drying cycle by at least 90 percent by weight.

  1. a. Effective July 1, 1981, all petroleum solvent dry cleaning plants consuming more than 50,000 liters (13,209 gallons) of solvent per year shall comply with the provisions of Section C.

    b. Effective July 1, 1983, all petroleum solvent dry cleaning plants consuming more than 25,000 liters (6,657 gallons) of solvent per year shall comply with the provisions of Section C.

    c. Effective July 1, 1985, all petroleum solvent dry cleaning plants consuming more than 10,000 liters (2,642 gallons) of solvent per year shall comply with the provisions of Section C.

  2. Increments of Progress

    In order to conform with the compliance dates specified in Section C.1, an owner or operator of petroleum solvent dry cleaning equipment shall comply with the following increments of progress schedule.

    a. Twelve months prior to the applicable effective date, submit to the Control Officer an application for Permit to Construct describing, at a minimum, the steps that will be taken to achieve compliance with the provisions of Section C of this Rule.

    b. Nine months prior to the applicable effective date, award the contract for the emission control system, or issue purchase orders for the component parts to accomplish emission control.

    c. Five months prior to the applicable effective date, commence on-site construction or installation of equipment to reduce or control emissions.

    d. One month prior to the applicable effective date, complete on-site construction or installation of equipment to reduce or control emissions.

    e. On the applicable effective date, be in full compliance with the provisions of Section C of this Rule.

D. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

On or before February 1 of each year, any person using petroleum-based dry cleaning solvent for dry cleaning shall report to the Control Officer the quantity of solvent used in the previous calendar year.

E. A "dry cleaning operation" means that process by which an organic solvent is used in the commercial cleaning of garments and other fabric materials.