Hazmat fines

[John Leichtamer Jr]

How many Hazmat Fines have been handed out ??????? A friend a Div 2 points meet said they were handing them out like candy.

Hammer

[B Aceves]

Originally Posted by John Leichtamer Jr

How many Hazmat Fines have been handed out ??????? A friend a Div 2 points meet said they were handing them out like candy.

Hammer

Here is a stupid question.. Is NHRA handing out these fines? Are they following State
HAZMAT laws per state ? Or did they just come up with a general guide for all NHRA races?
I have not had a chance to go through the training video yet but How in the world can they fine someone inside a facility that is private owned and fine you if you are doing something that is legal outside the gate in your state???
This is not making sense now because I thought this was a video to be viewed for a National event entry how can they enforce it at a Div race if you have not seen or signed a release of some sort ? did they had out a info flyer or something prior to the event??
Please explain someone.

[Bimbo Jones]

This whole deal just makes me sick. I originally joined NHRA in the 70's because NHRA provided me with a place to compete that was compliant with State laws. Rather than NHRA making a racer friendly enviroment for racers to observe proper hydrocarbon disposal they have become another obstacle for racers to deal with. Why is NHRA putting up these barriers for their own membership. It kind of reminds me of how our government responds against the will of it's electorate. They should be helping us be as green as possible rather than just making rules and fines to generate more revenue.

[foglize]

I was at the race in gainesville, no fines that I heard anything about. But if you want to dispose of oil at the track thier is a enviromental company that has set up shop. However you have to pay around $30 bucks to get rid of the oil, 25 dollars for the application fee.

Andy Fogle

[Kenny Wigington]

Bob, this is coming from their lawyers, to keep their asses clean. Nothing more.

[B Aceves]

Originally Posted by Kenny Wigington

Bob, this is coming from their lawyers, to keep their asses clean. Nothing more.

Well how did we get the Oil down on the track fine tossed? was it done by the SRAC ?
Do we need to make sure this penalty is a level playing field also? to make sure its just not enforced on the sportsman racer's , It sounds to me if they do it at Divisionals because there are more of those races the Sportsman racer could be impacted much more....

Maybe we should have SRAC member walk through the pro pits at Nationals to police there pit areas and take photos to see just how compliant they are!
These fines could make or break a sportsman racers budget so why should we just sit back and not be proactive ourselves and do something because this is getting out of hand.

Im saying doing this the correct way, Take photos and present them privately at the meeting's and say ok how can we correct this? Not just just point fingers and say hey this is BS look at what the pro's do!!!! Just a thought.

[Jeff Teuton]

I read their enviornment thing when I entered the Gators. Looks like a lot of it came right out of the Dealers Association manual. I didn't hear of any enviornment stuff at Gainesville. There was a company soliciting new sources to purchase used oil from. Seemed to be ok. We asked for a proposal for all our stores. I don't know about the charge to dump oil. Fortunately we didn't need those services. The regs are a real deal wheather it's NHRA or Southland Dodge (my company). We learn to live with them. They turned out to be not so bad after all. I'm sure we will get more details on NHRA's stance soon, in real English so we know what they are after.

[Michael Beard]

Originally Posted by foglize

I was at the race in gainesville, no fines that I heard anything about. But if you want to dispose of oil at the track thier is a enviromental company that has set up shop. However you have to pay around $30 bucks to get rid of the oil, 25 dollars for the application fee.

Oh. Must be one of those "Green Jobs".

[B Aceves]

Originally Posted by Jeff Teuton

I read their enviornment thing when I entered the Gators. Looks like a lot of it came right out of the Dealers Association manual. I didn't hear of any enviornment stuff at Gainesville. There was a company soliciting new sources to purchase used oil from. Seemed to be ok. We asked for a proposal for all our stores. I don't know about the charge to dump oil. Fortunately we didn't need those services. The regs are a real deal wheather it's NHRA or Southland Dodge (my company). We learn to live with them. They turned out to be not so bad after all. I'm sure we will get more details on NHRA's stance soon, in real English so we know what they are after.

Jeff,
Being in the industry also we did learn to cope with all the regulations and abide by them,
It did take years to learn all the do and don't laws because they change all so frequently look what happened with the solvent issue's that has been a nightmare to keep up with, How is a racer that is not up to these standards going to keep up, Will they just be slapped with a fine because you know as well as I do if NHRA reports to the EPA that hey look we are up to standards, Like a shop the EPA will be really involved. How will NHRA educate all the racers like you as a Automotive Dealer had to do with all your employee's ? I watched that video and yes it is a general guide but how in the world can that be implemented to levy a fine. There is no list of what the fines for such infractions could be. I think they do need to implement something but they are just slapping people with a fine. How about like a shop manager would do to a employee if he catches something, No Warning Policy Here Come on give me a break....

[Bill Harris]

I was at Gainesville and was handed a package of information while sitting in the ridiculously slow moving line at the gate on Thursday AM. The company that has contracted with NHRA to manage our environmental compliance was essentially selling their services and products. The package included a NHRA release form which had to be signed and turned in to the trailer when you registered after tech (essentially indemnifying them from everything). The information in the package also included a copy of the relevant STATE (Florida) statute concerning hazardous materials and their disposal. My take on it was that at Gainesville it was primarily a state issue, not federal. There was also a statement from the NHRA on their policy toward environmental issues, which puts 100% of the responsibility on the "Participant". It also prohibits the use of any halogenated or chlorinated brake cleaners. The statement also requires that waste oil generated during the event must be disposed of through the licensed HazMat vendor at the track. The implication is that you are not supposed to take it with you.

The company representatives were friendly enough, but it was pretty obvious that they are also doing their best to profit from the situation. They take waste oil for a price, and the price is based on how contaminated the used oil is. If it is full of solvents, particularly chlorinated stuff, it costs the racer more to get rid of it. They charge for the test for contaminates and disposal of the oil . It cost $45 to set up an account which included two tests. It cost $35 for a drum of non-hazardous oil (or $0.75/gal) and went up to $425 for a badly contaminated drum (or $125 for 5 gal).

The included (and highlighted) Florida statute requires that any container with waste oil be clearly marked and in good condition. If it is not double-walled it must be stored on a secondary containment with 110% capacity. There is no mention of quantity so that would imply that if you drained 8 quarts of oil from your engine whatever container it is in would need a secondary containment with at least 8.8 quart volume. Wonder how many racers have that setup? Florida can bust you for not having the secondary containment and hit you with a misdemeanor with a $1000 fine and/or 6 months in the local rectal stretching facility.

Finally, I was parked across the road from the HazMat contractor, and I didn't see much activity over there, although there was plenty of product for sale and/or lease.