How Portland and Oregon Regulate Hauling a Portable Restroom

What the City's program requires

The City's septage program requires an annual permit, a valid DEQ Sewage Disposal Service license and DEQ pumping-equipment inspection forms for each truck, for haulers discharging at the city's plant.

The program defines septage to include waste from chemical toilets, which brings a portable restroom's contents within its scope.

The annual permit and the license are the hauler's documents. The customer does not hold them, but asks to see them.

The inspection forms are kept for each truck, so a hauler with a fleet shows a form for every vehicle it uses on the job.

What is not yet known for an outside operator

It was not confirmed whether a portable-toilet operator outside the city must hold the same annual permit as a hauler discharging at the plant. The question is put to the City for each hauler.

A hauler that discharges elsewhere may be under a different arrangement. The DEQ license still applies to the pumping business.

Where the answer is unclear, the hauler's written statement of its arrangement is asked for, and the City is asked for the rule.

This page does not state the answer, because none was confirmed in the searches.

Oregon's license and the statutes

The DEQ Sewage Disposal Service license is the state requirement for the business. The statute numbers in some summaries were not verified, so this page cites none.

Oregon's DEQ sets rules for chemical toilets and for sewage tank trucks. The license and the rules are the state's, and the hauler is asked to show them.

A forum or an unofficial summary that cites a license statute was not used, because the statute could not be checked against the official text.

The DEQ is the source for the license and its terms.

Keeping the paperwork with the order

The paperwork proves the rules were followed. A file for each rental holds the hauler's license details, the City permit answer, the inspection forms and the visit record.

The file is started on the first call with the hauler's name and its license details, and updated when the operator changes.

Each pumping is recorded with its date, the unit, the hauler and the disposal site.

A copy of the paperwork goes to the customer on request.

Checking the hauler's records on the day

On the day of a pumping visit, the crew should be able to show the hauler's permit details, the inspection record for the truck and the facility the load is going to. A visit that cannot show them should be questioned before the load leaves the site.

Ask for the permit details and the state licence number at the visit, and check them against the copy on file. A number that differs from the copy is a reason to stop and ask, not a detail to correct by hand on the sheet.

Check that the truck's inspection record is current and is carried with the vehicle. The programme names those forms for each truck, so a truck without them is a truck the customer should not expect to pump their units.

Confirm the facility before the load is taken, and write its name on the visit record. The record should show the source, the date and the destination, so that the discharge can be traced if a question is raised later.

Where any of these checks fails, record the reason and tell the customer the same day. A pumping that is delayed for a documented reason is easier to explain than a unit that was emptied without a record.