Amalgam Regulation Compliance
You could be charged with a "Felony" and will, at the very least, incur significant fines of at least $2,500/day if you don't comply with the new EPA regulations that are now in effect (and have been since July 14, 2020
According to the regulation you must you must register your practice with the EPA designated authority (One Time Compliance Registration form), you must use an approved Amalgam Separator, you must conduct and record weekly inspections, record any system maintenance (canister changes and proper disposal of that canister), record any service required and have these log sheets available for inspection, at any time, by any authorized personnel for 3 years. You must use an approved line cleaner (has a PH of >6 and <8, with documentation). Further, these records must be maintained and available or as long as the practice is in business or is sold.. If you are not complying now, or at any point in the future, with all these requirements you could be finned, and/or charged with a felony and/or the practice could be "Red Tagged" (Practice shut down and closed)
We can help you respond to the compliance related challenges the new regulation presents to you and/or your practice
What we offer and what it costs
Amalgam Compliance Software Solution
We offer a full featured software program (EPA Compliance Plus or ECP) that provides everything you need to be compliant. It is "Cloud" based and operates independently of your office computer programs (no extra computer re-programming or IT assistance necessary). The software(ECP) program sends reminders to the appropriate person when a "weekly" inspections is due and sends additional alerts daily if these inspections are not entered into the proper electronic record keeping form. These reminders/notices can also be sent to a second and/or a third party, as a follow up system, and can be set to be received at a particular level (first notice, second notice or third notice). The notification will not stop until an entry is made thus insuring record keeping compliance for the inspection portion of the record keeping requirement. Further compliance is accomplished by a section that monitors the sediment level and tracks when filter/canisters changes are required (at least annually) and tracks the disposition of those filters/canisters when recycling is required (another part of the regulation). An electronic copy of the "Owners manual" (based on the information you supplied about your Amalgam Separator when you registered for the software). is also supplied with the software. Having a copy of your owners manual is another requirement of the regulation.
Each section outlined above has a space to note any observations or actions required if something is not right. The software provides you the ability to spot and address any issues prior to an inspection. Notes can also me made. The regulations requires these records to be available for inspection, at any time, for at least the last (3) years (starting July 14, 2020) and then be kept and made available upon o request, for the life of the practice. These records must be made available to any purchaser of a practice in the future.
As you can see the regulation is detailed, rigorous, demanding and unforgiving.
The stakes are high. Non compliance penalties start at $2,500 a day, may result in the closing of your practice and are non-negotiable (See the "Fine" schedule below provided for informational purposes only)
The introductory cost for this software is $249.95. A very small price to pay for your peace of mind that you are in compliance. The cost not to be in compliance starts at 10 time as much a day.
Let's get started on the road to protecting you and your practice
Informative/Reference Web Sites
Overview of the regulation requirements in plain English
The Michigan EPA Regulation
The Federal EPA Regulation
The "Cost of Non Compliance" as published in the Federal Register
Clean water Pretreatment Act Sec 309: Penalties
Verbiage definitions (entered by ACS):
May means May (Choice to take action)
May not means May not (Cannot take action)
Shall means must (must take action indicated/no options)
(b) Civil actions
The Administrator is authorized to commence a civil action for appropriate relief, including a permanent or temporary injunction, for any violation for which he is authorized to issue a compliance order under subsection (a) of this section. Any action under this subsection may be brought in the district court of the United States for the district in which the defendant is located or resides or is doing business, and such court shall have jurisdiction to restrain such violation and to require compliance. Notice of the commencement of such action shall be given immediately to the appropriate State.
(c) Criminal penalties
(1) Negligent violations
Any person who -
(A) negligently violates section 301, 302, 306, 307, 308, 311(b)(3), 318, or 405 of this title, or any permit condition or limitation implementing any of such sections in a permit issued under section 402 of this title by the Administrator or by a State, or any requirement imposed in a pretreatment program approved under section 402(a)(3) or 402(b)(8) of this title or in a permit issued under section 404 of this title by the Secretary of the Army or by a State; or
(B) negligently introduces into a sewer system or into a publicly owned treatment works any pollutant or hazardous substance which such person knew or reasonably should have known could cause personal injury or property damage or, other than in compliance with all applicable Federal, State, or local requirements or permits, which causes such treatment works to violate any effluent limitation or condition in any permit issued to the treatment works under section 402 of this title by the Administrator or a State; shall be punished by a fine of not less than $2,500 nor more than $25,000 per day of violation, or by imprisonment for not more than 1 year, or by both. If a conviction of a person is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this paragraph, punishment shall be by a fine of not more than $50,000 per day of violation, or by imprisonment of not more than 2 years, or by both.
(2) Knowing violations
Any person who -
(A) knowingly violates section 301, 302, 306, 307, 308, 311(b)(3), 318, or 405 of this title, or any permit condition or limitation implementing any of such sections in a permit issued under section 402 of this title by the Administrator or by a State, or any requirement imposed in a pretreatment program approved under section 402(a)(3) or 402(b)(8) of this title or in a permit issued under section 404 of this title by the Secretary of the Army or by a State; or
(B) knowingly introduces into a sewer system or into a publicly owned treatment works any pollutant or hazardous substance which such person knew or reasonably should have known could cause personal injury or property damage or, other than in compliance with all applicable Federal, State, or local requirements or permits, which causes such treatment works to violate any effluent limitation or condition in a permit issued to the treatment works under section 402 of this title by the Administrator or a State; shall be punished by a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $50,000 per day of violation, or by imprisonment for not more than 3 years, or by both. If a conviction of a person is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this paragraph, punishment shall be by a fine of not more than $100,000 per day of violation, or by imprisonment of not more than 6 years, or by both.
(3) Knowing endangerment
(A) General rule
Any person who knowingly violates section 301, 302, 303, 306, 307, 308, 311(b)(3), 318, or 405 of this title, or any permit condition or limitation implementing any of such sections in a permit issued under section 402 of this title by the Administrator or by a State, or in a permit issued under section 404of this title by the Secretary of the Army or by a State, and who knows at that time that he thereby places another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, shall, upon conviction, be subject to afine of not more than $250,000 or imprisonment of not more than 15 years, or both. A person which is an organization shall, upon conviction of violating this subparagraph, be subject to a fine of not more than $1,000,000. If a conviction of a person is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this paragraph, the maximum punishment shall be doubled with respect to both fine and imprisonment.
(B) Additional provisions
For the purpose of subparagraph (A) of this paragraph -
(i) in determining whether a defendant who is an individual knew that his conduct placed another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury - (I) the person is responsible only for actual awareness or actual belief that he possessed; and (II) knowledge possessed by a person other than the defendant but not by the defendant himself may not be attributed to the defendant; except that in proving the defendant's possession of actual knowledge, circumstantial evidence may be used, including evidence that the defendant took affirmative steps to shield himself from relevant information;
(ii) it is an affirmative defense to prosecution that the conduct charged was consented to by the person endangered and that the danger and conduct charged were reasonably foreseeable hazards of - (I) an occupation, a business, or a profession; or (II) medical treatment or medical or scientific experimentation conducted by professionally approved methods and such other person had been made aware of the risks involved prior to giving consent; and such defense may be established under this subparagraph by a preponderance of the evidence;
(iii) the term "organization" means a legal entity, other than a government, established or organized for any purpose, and such term includes a corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, joint stock company, foundation, institution, trust, society, union, or any other association of persons; and
(iv) the term "serious bodily injury" means bodily injury which involves a substantial risk of death, unconsciousness, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.
(4) False statements
Any person who knowingly makes any false material statement, representation, or certification in any application, record, report, plan, or other document filed or required to be maintained under this chapter or who knowingly falsifies, tampers with, or renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required to be maintained under this chapter, shall upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by imprisonment for not more than 2 years, or by both. If a conviction of a person is for a violation committed after a first conviction of such person under this paragraph, punishment shall be by a fine of not more than $20,000 per day of violation, or by imprisonment of not more than 4 years, or by both.
(5) Treatment of single operational upset
For purposes of this sub section, a single operational upset which leads to simultaneous violations of more than one pollutant parameter shall be treated as a single violation.
(6) Responsible corporate officer as "person"
For the purpose of this subsection, the term "person" means, in addition to the definition contained in section 502(5) of this title, any responsible corporate officer.
See the section in its entirety here https://www.epa.gov/cwa-404/clean-water-act-section-309-federal-enforcement-authority
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