The Ontario Ministry of the Environment requires that every autobody or collision repair facility that spray paints vehicles or parts of vehicles possess a valid "Certificate of Approval (Air)".
This Certificate, issued under Section 9 of the Environmental Protection Act, gives government approval for emissions coming from your shop’s paint booth, spray guns, and in some cases the gun wash stations, prep stations and paint mixing areas.
Shops need to prove that their emissions to the atmosphere are within prescribed limits. Shops use chemicals such as toluene, xylene and isocyanates that can be harmful or cause a nuisance to neighbours and must demonstrate that their emissions are within acceptable levels.
We understand that many shops have found the application package and Ministry requirements far too complex and they hired engineers or environmental consultants to complete and submit the application to the Ministry. Those shops were often charged $2000 or more to prepare the application, in addition to the processing fee demanded by the Ministry.
Autobodyhelp.ca recognized that shops were paying too much for this service and over the last year, we have negotiated a streamlined program for shops to save them money and time.
By calling the shop help line at 1-866-309-4272, the association will:
-send you a simple series of help sheets and posters to help reduce your emissions and make it more likely for you to obtain the permit
-have our contracted engineer send you a one page, twelve question inquiry that replaces the Ministry’s 80+ page package
-assist you in answering the twelve questions. About 70% of the shops are able to complete this one page questionnaire without incurring the extra cost of the engineer coming to your shop to gather the necessary information
-arrange for the engineer to do all the permit calculations and filings including attaching all necessary MSDS pages (shops were filing some 300-400 pages of MSDS sheets with the application)
-provide for a streamlined review of the application by the Ministry and get your Certificate to you. All of this work is provided at a rate that is less than half of the rate charged by an engineer or consultant that you may have picked from the phone book.
All our engineer works on are spraybooths and related equipment so we know the procedure and can do it cheaper and faster through the association. We are continuing to meet with the Ministry to further streamline the process and provide the quickest and least expensive program available in Ontario.
Please call the office at 1-866-309-4272 if you have any questions.
The Following Outlines The Information Typically Required In The Preparation Of An MOE Application For Approval (Air) For An Automotive Paint Spray Booth And Associated Equipment:
1. The maximum paint
application rate, in litres per hour, for each of the principal coating
types in use (e.g. primer, acrylic, basecoat, clearcoat) for each paint
spray booth or prep station on-site.
(typical maximum range is 1.0 to 2.0 litres /hr of coating for the worst
case complete repaint)
2. As sprayed mixing ratios of each of the principal coating types with their respective reducers and or hardeners, along with safety data sheets for each material. (Example DC92 clear / DH46 hardener / UR50 reducer - 3:1:1)
3. A layout drawing of the booth indicating its configuration (downdraft, crossdraft), the interior dimensions and the location and area of the paint arrestor filters or water wash chamber on the exhaust.
4. Exhaust fan specifications including type (vaneaxial, tubeaxial, centrifugal), diameter, volumetric flowrate and static pressure. (Note: If not available from supplier info, provide all details from rating plate on fan / motor housing)
5. Exhaust stack parameters including height above the roof deck, height above ground level, diameter at exit and the type of stackhead (e.g. velocity cone, rain ring). (Sketch if necessary)
6. If the booth is equipped with a heater for a cure cycle, the maximum thermal input rating of the burner. Exhaust fan and stack parameters should also be included if the booth vents through a separate stack in bake mode.
7. A scaled site plan indicating the location of the building relative to all property lines and a scaled elevation plan indicating the height of the roof deck above grade level. Alternately, this height may be indicated on the site plan if the building has a flat roof. (If hand drawn, please ensure all dimensions are accurately measured)
8. If the shop is housed in a unit of a multi-tenant building or commercial mall, a roof plan, to scale, indicating the location of the stack(s) relative to any roof mounted air intakes or HVAC equipment serving neighbouring units. If there are no intakes on the roof, the distance from the stack to the neighbour's nearest openable door or window should be indicated on a plan or sketch.
9. If the shop is housed in a unit of a multi-tenant building or single occupant building rented by the shop owner, written consent from the landlord to allow the operation of the subject equipment.
10. An up-to-date land use zoning plan of the surrounding area (available from the local municipal planning department), indicating the location of the site relative to areas of residential land use.
11. A scaled area location plan of the surrounding neighbourhood (available from the local municipal planning department), indicating the locations and nature of use of adjacent buildings and locations of the nearest residential, hospital and/or school buildings. In the case of spray booths equipped with tall stacks (stack height above the roof is greater than the roof height above ground), the locations and heights of neighbouring buildings taller than the stacks must also be noted.
12. Articles of Incorporation or other documentation setting out the proper legal name of the company. Sole proprietorships registered under the Business Names Act must be supported by a copy of the proprietors drivers license or birth certificate.
If you have any questions on this form as your shop moves towards or beyond environmental compliance , you can contact the office at 1-866-309-4272. An online version of this questionnaire is planned for inclusion on the industry web site at www.ciia.com
.