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Fleet Maintenance
Over 38, 700 vehicle fleet maintenance facilities are located in New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Many are located in or around the New York City Metropolitan Area. These facilities include, public and commercial transportation fleets (e.g., public and private buses), school buses, federal, state, and local government fleets, federal or private postal services (e.g., USPS, UPS, Federal Express, DHL), auto dealers, rental car/trucking services, taxi and limousine services, airport shuttle services and corporate transportation services.
Most vehicle maintenance work produces wastes that are regulated by local, state or federal rules. These wastes are expensive to manage and dispose of properly. Preventing waste from the service work you perform can add up to impressive savings for your business and prevent significant amounts of pollution and waste.
The primary environmental concern is the potential for ground and surface water contamination. This concern is heightened if you factor in areas where facilities are located in areas where groundwater is used as drinking water and/or where local fishing is common. Contamination is usually caused by mishandling vehicular fluids (e.g., gasoline, diesel fuel, oil, transmission fluid, power steering and brake fluids, gear oil, and mineral spirits) and toxic chemicals as well as leaking underground storage tanks that contain hazardous chemicals such as benzene and methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE). Leaks are usually caused by tank erosion, faulty installation, and tank overfills. Many of these tanks often do not have properly maintained leak detection devices that alert the operators of possible leaks or overflows.
Fleet maintenance operations can also cause air pollution. Operating in open areas and allowing vehicles to idle while awaiting services, repairs, or just general operations increases the amount of smog found in many cities and towns. Improper service and disposal of motor vehicle air conditioners lead to releases of ozone depleting and global warming gases into the atmosphere ultimately resulting in severe storms, loss of crops, rise in sea levels, loss of species and increased incidence of diseases such as skin cancer. Many of the degreasers used by fleet maintenance facilities are listed by EPA as hazardous air pollutants and auto body painting operations release significant amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOC), and hazardous air pollutants (HAP) into the environment.
Finally, fleet maintenance facilities generate a wide variety of hazardous and solid wastes such as mercury from switches and lamps; lead from lead-acid batteries, wheel weights, and battery cable ends; asbestos from brake shoes and clutches; waste tires; used oil, antifreeze, cleaning solvents, filters, scrap metals, glass, plastics, paints, and various waste fluids (e.g., brake, power steering, and transmission fluids).
We are also encouraging you to take advantage of EPA’s Compliance Incentives. These incentives include the Small Business Audit Policy as well as EPA’s Voluntary Audit Policy. These policies are designed to either reduce or eliminate potential penalties. Generally, you conduct an audit of your own facility and disclose your findings and we are prepared to help you get your business in tip-top environmental shape. If you are planning to conduct your own audit and need tools, here is a checklist and audit agreement documents for New York and New Jersey based businesses you may find useful. If you have any questions regarding EPA's Audit Policy please see visit our Audit Agreements Page.
These pages offer practical help and encouragement for preventing pollution. They also provide information on the environmental and safety rules in Region 2 . Facilities who could benefit from this information are repair and collision shops farm implement dealers, marine, aviation, rail, truck, or fleet operations and salvage yards.
Region 2's Vehicle Fleet Maintenance Sector (VFM) compliance assistance program consists of information and technical assistance provided to help you meet the requirements of environmental law.
Region 2 objectives are to:
Facilitate the access to technical assistance that will enhance compliance with environmental regulations
Increase the implementation of pollution prevention techniques and waste minimization processes.
Encourage facilities to purchase cleaner vehicles when updating their fleets
Encourage facilities to participate in EPA's Smartway Program.