Man, I am never going to get any work done today - good talk....
I'm not a defender of laws - I'm actually advocating that laws and regulations are created when people don't take responsibilities and I don't want more laws and regulations, I want more responsibilities (they go hand-in-hand with freedoms).
For instance, you have a gun, I have a gun. Great. All for that. We shouldn't have laws limiting our rights to defend ourselves. I am for that.
But if everyone who had a gun just walked around in public firing their weapon without taking any responsibility - we would have a major problem. Those people SHOULD be arrested and dealt with. The more people who do that, the bigger the problem becomes, the more the government will try to combat it - and the more regulations/laws we will have. I don't want that. Now, you're right, I'm basically saying it would be nice if people just weren't stupid and that isn't realistic. So there is going to be a balance and that balance should be struck by people who advocate for laws, and people who fight against laws and for personal responsibility (you and me).
And, since you are a libertarian - my basic summation of libertarianism, which actually is what I believe conservatism really stands for - is that individuals rights should basically only be limited when their actions impose on the rights of another person.
So, are you a property owner? Do you drink water from your tap? Should your neighbor be able to start blasting loud music at 5 AM or back up his truck with horns at 5 AM? Should he be able to contaminate your property with oil and transmission fluid because he's trying to make a buck fixing cars? Should he be able to pile junk all over his yard and devalue your property? Sure, great, he can do whatever, but those consequences effect other people and he should be responsible for them.
And fully private property should be different than commercial enterprises because you are inviting the public into your property. For instance, do you have a ramp on the front of your house so that handicapped people can get in? No. Because if you want someone who is handicapped to be in your house you will be responsible for that. But should you be able to prevent that person from coming into your store and buying things you offer to everyone else, for your own enrichment, by not placing a ramp there? Probably not.
And if you work on your car, or your friends car, fine. The amount of fluids being put in the ground are probably harmless. But if you're doing 30-40 cars a month and storing 55 gallon drums of oil, etc. - the impact is a little different.
And as you so rightly point out, it's a cost of doing business. These actions create a cost, and the businesses should pay for those costs in some way - not put it on others. If it costs more to find a spot that doesn't pollute the drinking water, or an area that is allowed so that you only have the potential of contamination among other similar uses where it can be better managed, then you go to those locations and bear that cost - whether it be in the form of money or convenience, etc.
If you can't afford to do that, then you can't run the business. You don't get to subsidize your business at the cost of others ....unless you are a liberal.