From: John Edwards (edw4@mindspring.com)
Date: 05/20/01-04:15:31 PM Z
Richard Sullivan FRPS wrote:
> If you have a procedure to show the authorities you may in fact be able to
> cover your butt so to speak.
>
> I know of one instance where a photo studios had their sewer lines capped
> off at the street. This is a common method of dealing with suspected
> polluters. The authorities usually can't come in because they may need a
> search warrant
see below
> but they can cap off your sewer line. Very effective in
> getting your attention. This I say on the authority of having worked in
> Information Systems for 26 years at the City of Los Angeles. Darkrooms
> freak out the authorities and somehow they cause their imaginations run
> wild. Who'd think a body shop or a restaurant would be much of a problem.
> They are. The grease causes all kinds of problems at the sewage treatment
> plant but then darkrooms are mysterious and threatening.
>
> I have for almost a quarter century been reasonably well connected to the
> alt photo world and I have heard dozens of horror stories over the years
> but with increasing frequency. I can assure you that some municipal waste
> folks love coming down hard on the little guy with a darkroom.
The favorite method here (Tucson, Arizona) seems to be parking a testing truck
over the nearest sewer lid and taking random dip samples, then threatening
thousand-dollar-a-day fines. We had to shut down our B&W darkroom at the USDA Bee
Lab several years ago to avoid this "interest". Now only bathroom wastes, water,
and soap can go down the tubes, and no more 8x10s for me. Be careful what you
flush.
- John Edwards, Tucson
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