In the past, asbestos was a popular building material, thanks to its strength and resistance to chemical and temperature shifts. However, the federal government now severely limits the amount of asbestos that may be present in drinking water and working conditions. Pursuant to this, industrial demolition companies must take special precautions when removing asbestos from old building sites.
Each state has its own approach for regulating asbestos removal, although most require some form of asbestos abatement certification. In Oregon, the Department of Environmental Quality must receive asbestos abatement project notification and fees by mail no less than five days prior to the project start. Washington State requires 10-day advance notice (again via snail mail) and imposes fines of at least $250 for each day an asbestos report is not obtained. Because Elder Demolition is a leader in West Coast industrial demolition, Montana’s new Asbestos Project Permit Application Service caught our attention and wins our praise for effective government.
Basically, the department overseeing environmentally safe industrial demolition in Montana has stepped into the 21st century by offering online submission of asbestos abatement forms and fees. Companies specializing in industrial demolition may now fill out, submit and pay for project permits and demolition notifications online. The online service can even automatically fill in latitude and longitude information for you. All industrial demolition firms need to get started is an email address and an ePass Montana account.
Demolition contractors operating in the state of Montana should review the basics of Montana DEQ’s Asbestos Control Program first. From there, the state’s website walks the user through the permitting process step by step, with the option to save information along the way.
Elder Demolition provides industrial demolition across the Western states, including Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Washington. We are thrilled that at least one state has digitized the asbestos abatement permitting procedure. Indeed, we’re betting that the lightning-quick speed of online submission will reduce paper use, boost productivity and improve efficacy of the state’s asbestos abatement program.
[Photo by: csbarnhill, via CC License]