EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second of two stories about fines the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued to Denton County businesses and governments in the last 18 months.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently spent $42,000 to clean up chlorinated solvents left behind by a former Denton dry cleaning business.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Cametta Whitfield loads the Petro-Miser dry cleaning reclaimer at Vogue Cleaners in Krum on Friday. The machine removes solvents from cleaned clothing. Vogue and other dry cleaners must follow rules and procedures that protect groundwater and storm water systems.

View larger More photos Photo store

The cleanup at 612 W. University Drive ranked 99th out of 127 dry cleaning sites requiring remediation statewide. The commission tapped money raised through registering and monitoring Texas dry cleaning businesses, which use solvents to clean clothes.

The former storefront of Bestway Cleaners remains empty. Andrea Morrow, spokeswoman for the commission, said the agency expected a final assessment report and the remediation effort should be closed shortly.

The owner could not be reached for comment.

No other Denton County business was listed for cleanup. But the commission cited 11 Denton County dry cleaners in the past 18 months and assessed fines totaling more than $9,300 for failing to register with TCEQ.

That is part of nearly $150,000 the TCEQ has assessed in fines in Denton County over that time period for environmental infractions, including water, wastewater, air, petroleum and solid waste violations, an analysis of the commission’s records shows.

Texas Woman’s University chem­istry professor Charles Riggs serves as chairman of a five-member advisory board on dry cleaning for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Retail dry cleaners have generally welcomed the regulation and cleanup fund, which both protects the environment and reduces liability, Riggs said. Small business owners can lose their entire investment after a spill, or if they are found liable to clean up an old spill. 

“Before there were hazardous waste processors — like Safety-Kleen here in Denton — dry cleaners used to pour out in the alley,” Riggs said.

Longtime Denton dry cleaner Justin Barrow said that people sometimes buy into the business without knowing the risks. More aggressive solvents can clean clothes faster, but they also can be harder to manage.

“I’ve been around that equipment with PERC [tetrachlo­ro­ethylene]. It makes you nauseous,” Barrow said. “That’s my health and my employees’ health, for cleaning clothes in an hour.”

Today, dry cleaners follow rules and procedures that protect groundwater and storm water systems.

But Riggs questions why other businesses, such as paint strippers, don’t have similar programs, since they are using solvents, too.

“I’m sure some people are just pouring out on the ground,” Riggs said.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .

These Denton County dry cleaning businesses were cited over the past 18 months by the Texas Com­mis­sion on Environmental Quality:

* Comet Cleaners — $948 for failing to register (1900 Long Prairie Road, Flower Mound)

* Coppell Cleaners — $948 for failing to register  (171 N. Denton Tap Road, Coppell)

* Custom Cleaners — $2,370 for failing to register and pay fees (2601 Flower Mound Road, Flower Mound)

* First Choice Cleaners — $1,067 for failing to register (1297 Justin Road, Lewisville)

* K’s Cleaners — $889 for failing to register (101 E. Southwest Parkway, Lewisville)

* Metro Cleaners — $378 for failing to register (2930 Justin Road, Suite 100, Highland Village)

* MHL Cleaners — $711 for failing to register (1405 W. Frankford Road, Suite 111, Carrollton)

* Polo Press Cleaners — cited in early 2007, but state could not locate records (4750 S. Colony Blvd., The Colony)

* Prince Cleaners — $948 for failing to register (1001 Cross Timbers Road, Suite 1190, Flower Mound)

* Texas Cleaners — $225 for failing to register (301 W. Round Grove Road, Lewisville)

* Whitex Cleaners — $889 for failing to register (703 Londonderry Lane, Denton)