SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Regulations mandated by California's Air Resources Board (ARB) requiring the elimination of perchloroethylene machinery older than 15 years went into effect Thursday, forcing at least one longtime operator to close its doors.
Founded in 1920 by French immigrant Jean Lamoure, Fresno-based Lamoure's Cleaners & Laundry had closed its 12 stores by Wednesday except for its main plant, according to the Sacramento Bee. While company officials refused to comment, the main plant was the third-largest source of perc emissions in the San Joaquin Valley.
While the compliance schedule was adopted in 2007, ARB issued a memo last month indicating that in light of the economic downturn, it will exercise leniency with certain drycleaning businesses having difficulty meeting the July 1 deadline. The guidelines do not apply to co-residential facilities.
In cases in which a drycleaner is unable to comply with the machinery phaseout in spite of a good-faith effort, ARB is recommending that local air districts extend the compliance deadline up to one year with an order of abatement, enforcement agreement or compliance agreement.
Penalties for noncompliance will begin at $250 in the first quarter and rise $250 for each subsequent quarter in which the plant doesn't meet compliance requirements, up to $2,500 for the full year. ARB encourages local air districts to help operators still using older perc machinery to create a plan to achieve compliance within the year.
For more information, click here to visit ARB online, or call 916-324-7346.
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