&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (2201 A)
EPA 300-F-99-004 September 1999
Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
INFORMATION SHEET
U.S. EPA Small Business Resources
If you own a small business, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers
a variety of compliance assistance and tools to assist you in complying with federal and State
environmental laws. These resources can help you understand your environmental obligations,
improve compliance and find cost-effective ways to comply through the use of pollution prevention
and other innovative technologies.
EPA Websites
EPA has several Internet sites that provide useful
compliance assistance information and materials for
small businesses. Many public libraries provide ac-
cess to the Internet at minimal or no cost.
EPA's Small Business Home Page (http://
www.epa.gov/sbo) is a good place to start because it
links with many other related websites. Other useful
websites include:
EPA's Home Page
http://www.epa.gov
Small Business Assistance Programs
http://www.epa.gov/ttn/sbap
Compliance Assistance Home Page
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/oc
Office of Site Remediation Enforcement
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/osre
Hotlines, Helplines and
Clearinghouses
EPA sponsors approximately 89 free hotlines and
clearinghouses that provide convenient assistance
on environmental requirements.
EPA's Small Business Ombudsman Hotline can pro-
vide a list of all the hot lines and assist in determining
the hotline best meeting your needs. Key hotlines
include:
EPA's Small Business Ombudsman
(800) 368-5888
Hazardous Waste/Underground Tanks/
Superfund
(800) 424-9346
National Response Center
(to report oil and hazardous substance spills)
(800) 424-8802
Toxics Substances and Asbestos Information
(202) 554-1404
Safe Drinking Water
(800) 426-4791
Stratospheric Ozone and Refrigerants
Information
(800) 296-1996
Clean Air Technical Center
(919) 541-0800
Wetlands Hotline
(800) 832-7828
Continued on back
Office of Regulatory Enforcement Website: http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore.html
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U.S. EPA SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCES
Compliance Assistance Centers
In partnership with industry, universities, and other
federal and state agencies, EPA has established na-
tional Compliance Assistance Centers that provide
Internet and "faxback" assistance services for sev-
eral industries with many small businesses. The fol-
lowing Compliance Assistance Centers can be ac-
cessed by calling the phone numbers below and at
their respective websites:
Metal Finishing
(1-800-AT-NMFRC orwww.nmfrc.org)
Printing
(1-888-USPNEAC or www.pneac.org)
Automotive Service and Repair
(1-888-GRN-LINK or www.ccar-greenlink.org)
Agriculture
(1-888-663-2155 or www.epa.gov/oeca/ag)
Printed Wiring Board Manufacturing
(1-734-995-4911 orwww.pwbrc.org)
The Chemical Industry
(1-800-672-6048 or www.chemalliance.org)
The Transportation Industry
(1-888-459-0656 or www.transource.org)
The Paints and Coatings Center
(1-800-286-6372 or www.paintcenter.org)
State Agencies
Many state agencies have established compliance as-
sistance programs that provide on-site and other types
of assistance. Contact your local state environmental
agency for more information. For assistance in reach-
ing state agencies, call EPA's Small Business Ombuds-
man at (800)-368-5888 or visit the Small Business En-
vironmental Homepage at http://www.smallbiz-
enviroweb.org/state.html.
Compliance Incentives
EPA provides incentives for environmental compli-
ance. By participating in compliance assistance pro-
grams or voluntarily disclosing and promptly correct-
ing violations, businesses may be eligible for penalty
waivers or reductions. EPA has two policies that po-
tentially apply to small businesses: The Audit Policy
(http://www.epa.gov/oeca/auditpol.html) and the Small
Business Policy (http://www.epa.gov/oeca/
smbusi.html). These do not apply if an enforcement
action has already been initiated.
Commenting on Federal Enforcement
Actions and Compliance Activities
The Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
Act (SBREFA) established an ombudsman ("SBREFA
Ombudsman") and 10 Regional Fairness Boards to re-
ceive comments from small businesses about federal
agency enforcement actions. The SBREFA Ombuds-
man will annually rate each agency's responsiveness
to small businesses. If you believe that you fall within
the Small Business Administration's definition of a small
business (based on your Standard Industrial Code (SIC)
designation, number of employees or annual receipts,
defined at 13 C.F.R. 121.201; in most cases, this means
a business with 500 or fewer employees), and wish to
comment on federal enforcement and compliance ac-
tivities, call the SBREFA Ombudsman's toll-free num-
ber at 1-888-REG-FAIR (1-888-734-3247).
Your Duty to Comply
If you receive compliance assistance or submit com-
ments to the SBREFA Ombudsman or Regional Fair-
ness Boards, you still have the duty to comply with
the law, including providing timely responses to EPA
information requests, administrative or civil complaints,
other enforcement actions or communications. The
assistance information and comment processes do
not give you any new rights or defenses in any en-
forcement action. These processes also do not af-
fect EPA's obligation to protect public health or the
environment under any of the environmental statutes
it enforces, including the right to take emergency re-
medial or emergency response actions when appro-
priate. Those decisions will be based on the facts in
each situation. The SBREFA Ombudsman and Fair-
ness Boards do not participate in resolving EPA's en-
forcement actions. Also, remember that to preserve
your rights, you need to comply with all rules govern-
ing the enforcement process.
EPA is disseminating this information to you
without making a determination that your
business or organization is a small business
as defined by Section 222 of the Small
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness
Act (SBREFA) or related provisions.
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