Small-Biz@EPA
Small Business Ombudsman Bulletin
WELCOME & INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the spring 201 edition of the SmallBiz@EPA Bulletin. Improving
upon our outreach and services to small businesses is our number one priority.
We are excited to bring you a variety of updates and events that include fresh
ideas and initiatives that have been implemented to assist small businesses in
improving their environmental performance.
This quarterly web publication highlights recent Agency activities and State Small
Business Environmental Assistance Programs (SBEAPs) initiatives. We hope you
enjoy the articles and remain on our distribution list to receive future editions.
Please notify us if your e-mail address has changed.
STATE/REGIONAL CONTACTS
Need to find a contact for a comment or question within your state, region, or
program? Go to the Contacts page on the Small Business Environmental Home Page.
IN THIS ISSUE:
WELCOME &
INTRODUCTION ..
EVENTS.
REACHING
SMALL BUSINESS
, I
2
REGULATION UPDATES 5
SUCCESS STORIES 6
TECHNICAL UPDATES 7
GREEN BUSINESS 8
INQUIRIES
AND INTERVIEWS.. ..9
DO YOU HAVE NEWS FOR THE
SMALLBIZ@EPA BULLETIN?
Want to reach the small business
community? Send a brief synopsis of
your success stories, technical and
regulatory updates, and other news
to Joan B. Rogers (rogers.joanb@
epa.gov). Include your web site link.
Submissions must be received by
the third Tuesday of March, June,
September and December to be
included in the next edition.
For More Information on Small
Business Environmental Compliance:
www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org
Hotline: 1-800-368-5888
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20460
Rogers.JoanB@epamail.epa.gov • 202-566-2075
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EVENTS
2011 SMALL BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE
The 18th annual Small Business Environmental Conference
will be held May 3-6, 201 I at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel
in Raleigh, North Carolina.There will be something for
everyone, whether you are a newcomer, "old timer," an
environmental specialist from a federal or state program,
a trade association that helps small businesses, a program
manager looking for professional development, or a small
business! The conference web site contains information
about registering for the conference, the agenda (including
training), hotel and transportation information, directions,
tourist information, and after-hours activities. Reserve your
room now at the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel.The deadline for
the group rate is April 6, 201 I.
AMERICA'S SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
CENTER'S 31ST ANNUAL CONFERENCE
ASBDC's Annual Conference will be held September 6-9,
201
This premiere event brings together more than 1,300 Small
Business Development Center professionals, trainers,
consultants, management and administrative personnel.
Interact with them through professional development
workshops, roundtables, general sessions and the Exhibit Hall.
For registration and more information, click here.
2011 NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL
SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT
The 201 I National Environmental Sustainability Summit
will be held in Detroit, Michigan, June 7-9, 201 I .This
year's theme, "Partnering to Grow the Green Economy,"
encourages participants (such as national leaders from
nonprofits, government, academia, and business) to share
effective strategies and approaches for implementing
successful sustainability principles and programs.
Click to learn more and to register.
ACTION DEVELOPMENT TRAINING AT EPA
EPA's Office of Policy is offering a number of free training
courses for EPA staff about the Action Development
Process and other rulemaking considerations within
the agency. Our upcoming courses include our flagship
"Action Development at EPA" course... now two days
instead of three!...and a new "Essentials of Regulatory
Analysis" course.These courses are taught by EPA staff
with expertise in each field. We've listed a few upcoming
courses below. You can always find more details and a year-
at the Manchester Grand Hotel,
DAY / TIME
04/14/2011
(2 P.M. EASTERN)
04/19-04/20/2011
(ALL DAY)
04/28/20 IV
(2 P.M. EASTERN)
07/19-07/20/2011
(ALL DAY)
09/13-09/14/2011
(ALL DAY)
10/18- 10/19/2011
(ALL DAY)
San Diego, California. long curriculum here.
TITLE
ANALYTIC BLUEPRINT AND EARLY GUIDANCE
ACTION DEVELOPMENT AT EPA
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONSIDERATIONS
IN THE ADP
ACTION DEVELOPMENT AT EPA
ESSENTIALS OF REGULATORY ANALYSIS
ACTION DEVELOPMENT AT EPA
TYPE
WEBINAR
CLASSROOM
WEBINAR
CLASSROOM
CLASSROOM
CLASSROOM
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DCA OFFERS COMPLIANCE AND
SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOPS
In times of tight budgets and growing workloads, the
Kentucky Division of Compliance Assistance (DCA) is
increasing the services it provides rather than cutting
back. Since limited resources are restricting the division's
ability to hire new staff to meet the growing demand
for one-on-one assistance, DCA is turning to training
classes and webinars to expand its reach and ensure that
it meets client needs. DCA training incorporates both
compliance and sustainability issues into its classes.These
trainings have been very popular and are also generating
a new source of revenue to help support and expand
the program.This year DCA will hold more than 100
training events. Example workshops include Environmental
Management Planning, Emergency Management and
Response, Hazardous Waste Generation, Revitalization
of Problem Properties, Greening Your Restaurant and
a Green Hospitality webinar. For the latest information
about upcoming workshops click here.
FOR ADDITIONAL SBO/SBEAP EVENTS
Go here.
PARTNERSHIPS &
REACHING SMALL BUSINESS
NEW HAMPSHIRE AUTO BODY PROJECT UPDATE
: i
The N.H. Department of Environmental Services Small
BusinessTechnical Assistance Program (SBTAP) visited over
105 facilities in 2010 to determine current compliance
with the NESHAP 6H rule and N.H. Hazardous Waste
rules. Survey results indicate that 87 percent of the shops
visited do not know if the coatings they use contain one
of the five hazardous air pollutants listed in 6H, and 21
percent of shops do not have exhaust booth filters. In
addition, only 33 percent of shops completed the initial
notification form in 2010.The form was mailed to every
shop in New Hampshire and was distributed to over 4 5
attendees at the twelve workshops hosted by SBTAP
throughout the state.
In addition to air emissions, hazardous waste management
continues to be a concern at auto body shops.Thirty-one
percent of shops visited are illegally disposing of waste
solvent/thinner into the air, into the trash, or allowing it
to evaporate.Thirty percent of the auto body shops that
have an on-site thinner recycler are illegally disposing of
the "sludge/pucks" in the trash. Over 70 percent of shops
have failed to conduct a hazardous waste determination
on waste booth filters. Only 54 percent of shops are
properly recycling fluorescent lamps, while the remaining
shops are illegally tossing the lamps into the trash.
Outreach efforts to this sector will continue through
201 I, including additional site visits, publications on the
management of hazardous waste, and collecting outcome
metrics for an environmental justice case study.
Contact: Sara Johnson, NHSBTAP sara.johnson@des.
nh.gov or (603) 271-1379.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S
COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE NEWS BRIEFS LIST
HAS NEW NAME
The Compliance Assistance News Briefs list, which provides
information on new and revised rules and new compliance
assistance resources, has a new name. It is now called
"assistance-news" instead of the"ocorelink." Subscribers of
the ocorelink list have been transferred to the assistance-
news list.This new list name should be easier to find for
new subscribers and easier to rememberTo subscribe, click
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here, look for "assistance-news Compliance Assistance
News Briefs," click on "subscribe," and enter your
information.
For questions, or more information, contact CatherineTunis
at tunis.catherine@epa.gov or call 202-564-0476.
COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE CENTERS
-NEW RESOURCES
National Metal Finishing Resource Center (NMFRC)
offers a new Hard Chrome Plating course covering the
technical aspects of hard chrome plating with a heavy
emphasis on pollution prevention, and health and safety
topics.The online course features over three hours of
original art, animations, and plating shop video.The hard-
copy text provides greater detail including dozens of
photographs, diagrams, charts and tables.
Port Compliance added a new video tutorial to help
port tenants and authorities navigate the PortCompliance
website and highlight major topics of interest.
PortCompliance provides port tenants and authorities with
information on applicable environmental regulations, best
management practices, other training videos, a complete
listing of ports, port associations and industry organizations,
and more.
CCAR-GreenLink announced the 100th facility to receive
the GreenLink Shop recognition.The GreenLink Shop
status is an extension of CCAR's GreenLink Environmental
Compliance Assistance Center and S/P2® Safety and
Pollution Prevention E-learning Program. GreenLink Shop
recognizes high standards of excellence in environmental,
health and safety (EHS) practices in four categories:
business operations, employee training, safety compliance
and environmental management.
FedCenter offers two new webinars of interest to small
businesses. One webinar provides a comprehensive
overview of hazardous waste enforcement issues; the
second provides a look at common violations found at
facilities following environmental inspections. While the
webinars focus on federal facilities, they provide a wealth
of environmental information relevant to small business
operators. Check them out at:
• RCRA Hazardous Waste @ Federal Facilities Webinar
• Ask an EPA Inspector: Common Violations at Federal
Facilities Webinar
EPA RETAIL INDUSTRY PORTAL
EPA's Retail Industry Portal now provides compliance
content organized by retail activities and regulated media.
Visit the Portal's Compliance Overview for quick access
to relevant waste, water, air and climate change, and
toxics and chemical safety compliance information. EPA's
Retai Industry Portal provides one-stop access to the
many programs and resources available to help prevent
and resolve environmental issues at retail establishments.
Retailers can stay current with their regulatory obligations
through new postings at the Retail Industry Portal's Recent
Additions page.
OPEN GOVERNMENT;
WHITE HOUSE AND EPA INITIATIVES:
In the Memorandum on Transparency and Open
Government, issued on January 21, 2009, President Obama
instructed the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) to issue an Open Government Directive.
The Open Government Directive explains the Obama
Administration's plan for breaking down long-standing
barriers between you and the federal government. EPA
offers links to current and planned projects, and initiatives
that foster public participation and collaboration.The White
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House and EPA are taking steps to open doors and provide
data by:
* Publishing government information online.
• Improving the quality of government information.
• Creating and institutionalizing a culture of open
government.
REGULATION UPDATES
EPA SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT
ON PLAN TO REVIEW REGULATIONS
ERA is inviting the public to provide input on a plan that
will guide ERA's retrospective reviews of regulations as part
of the agency's response to President Obama's January I 8,
2011 Executive Order (EO) I 3563, "Improving Regulation
and Regulatory Review."
EO 13563 directs each federal agency to consider"how
best to promote retrospective analysis of rules that
may be outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively
burdensome." Specifically, the EO calls on every agency
to develop "a preliminary plan, consistent with law and its
resources and regulatory priorities, under which the agency
will periodically review its existing significant regulations to
determine whether such regulations should be modified,
streamlined, expanded or repealed to make the agency's
regulatory program more effective and or less burdensome
in achieving its regulatory objectives."
EPA shares President Obama's commitment to using
common sense and transparency to review federal
regulations and has solicited public input regarding the
design of its plan. The public was able to submit feedback
unti April 4, 20 via EPA's dockets pertaining to issues/
impacts, program areas, or general comments. EPA also
provided opportunities for input through a public meeting
in Washington, D.C. on March 14, and istening sessions in
other parts of the country.These outreach efforts allowed
the public to provide EPA with feedback on specific issues,
impacts or programs.
By late May, EPA will provide the public with its
retrospective review plan, as well as the initial list of
regulations it plans to review. More information about EPA's
retrospective review website click here.
EPA NEWS RELEASES - OFFICE OF AIR AND
RADIATION
Read all of EPA air press release documents here.
EPA NEWS RELEASES - OFFICE OF SOLID WASTE
AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE (OSWER)
Read all of EPA OSWER press release documents here.
EPA NEWS RELEASES - OFFICE OF WATER (OW)
Read all of EPA OW press release documents here.
LAWS, REGULATIONS, GUIDANCE AND DOCKETS
Stay informed about current and initiated rules and
regulations from the EPA and other federal agencies.
• Action Initiation List posts monthly updates to EPA rules
and regulatory actions.
• Regulations.gov is the federal government's one stop
site to comment on federal regulations. Sign up for email
notifications for alerts when documents (e.g., a proposed
rule or a meeting notice) are added to a docket. All of
EPA's rules have a docket on Regulations.gov.
• Rulemaking Gateway provides information to the public
on the status of EPA's priority rulemakings.
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OFFICE OF INFORMATION AND REGULATORY
AFFAIRS' "DASHBOARD"
As part of the Administration's effort to create a more
open and transparent government, the Office of Management
and Budget launched an Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs (OIRA) "dashboard" on reginfo.gov, the public website
that discloses information about OIRA's review of draft
regulations under Executive Order 2866.
SUCCESS STORIES
EPA PROPOSES FIRST NATIONAL STANDARD
FOR MERCURY POLLUTION FROM POWER
PLANTS / MERCURY AND AIR TOXICS STANDARDS
REPRESENT ONE OF STRONGEST HEALTH
PROTECTIONS FROM AIR POLLUTION SINCE
PASSAGE OF CLEAN AIR ACT
EPA proposed the first-ever national standards for mercury,
arsenic and other toxic air pollution from power plants.
The new power plant mercury and air toxics standards
- which eliminate 20 years of uncertainty across industry -
would require many power plants to install widely available,
proven pollution control technologies to cut harmful
emissions of mercury, arsenic, chromium, nickel and acid
gases, while preventing as many as 17,000 premature deaths
and I ,000 heart attacks a year
The new proposed standards would also provide particular
health benefits for children, preventing 120,000 cases of
childhood asthma symptoms and about I 1,000 fewer cases
of acute bronchitis among children each yearThe proposed
standards would also avert more than I 2,000 emergency
room visits and hospital admissions and 850,000 fewer days
of work missed due to illness.
This rule will provide employment for thousands, by
supporting 3 1,000 short-term construction jobs and 9,000
long-term utility jobs.
"Today's announcement is 20 years in the making, and
is a significant milestone in the Clean Air Act's already
unprecedented record of ensuring our children are
protected from the damaging effects of toxic air pollution,"
said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. "With the help of
existing technologies, we will be able to take reasonable
steps that will provide dramatic protections to our children
and loved ones, preventing premature deaths, heart attacks,
and asthma attacks."
Also in keeping with the President's executive order, the
proposed standard puts a premium on important input and
feedback from stakeholders to inform any final standard.
The public comment period, which will last 60 days after
appearing in the Federal Register; will allow stakeholders
including the public, industry and public health communities,
to provide important input and feedback, ensuring that
any final standard maximizes public health benefits while
minimizing costs.
As part of the public comment process, EPA will also hold
public hearings on this proposed rule. Additional details on
these events will be announced at a future date.
More information available here.
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TECHNICAL UPDATES
EPA TO DEFER GHG PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS
FOR INDUSTRIES THAT USE BIOMASS
AGENCY AIMS FOR SCIENCE-BASED, REASONABLE
APPROACH TO BIOMASS.
EPA is proposing to defer; for three years, Clean Air
Act permitting requirements for carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic sources.This
additional time will allow the agency to conduct a detailed
examination of the science on this issue.
Seeking advice of federal partners, states, a diverse group of
expert scientists including industry and other stakeholders,
and an independent scientific panel, will help to determine
how these emissions should be treated under the EPA's
air permitting program. In July 2010, EPA issued a call for
information seeking public comment.
New EPA guidance is also being provided to help
permitting authorities determine that using biomass
as a fuel can be considered the best available control
technology for CO2 emissions from the large sources
needing permits.The guidance can be used unti EPA takes
final action on the deferral.
Sources covered by this proposal would include facilities
that emit CO2 from burning forest or agricultural products
for energy, wastewater treatment, waste management
(landfills), and fermentation processes for ethanol
production. Facilities meeting the requirements under the
agency's greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting program will still
need to report their CO2 emissions.
Beginning on January 2, 201 I, the Clean Air Act required
large plants and factories planning to make major
modifications or build new faci ities to obtain pre-
construction permits addressing their GHG emissions.
Emissions from small sources, such as farms and restaurants,
are not covered by these permitting requirements.
EPA will accept comments on the proposed deferral for 45
days following publication in the Federal Register
Click here for more information.
EPA ANNOUNCES NEXT STEPS FOR GREENHOUSE
GAS EMISSIONS REPORTING PROGRAM
EPA has announced that its GHG Reporting Program
has recently completed extensive work to develop GHG
data reporting requirements for a wide range of different
industries in response to Congressional mandates.This
program will provide Congress, stakeholder groups and the
public with information about these emissions while helping
businesses identify cost effective ways to reduce emissions
in the future.
To ensure that the requirements are practical and
understandable to the thousands of companies already
registered to report under the program, the agency is in
the process of finalizing a user friendly online electronic
reporting platform.
Following conversations with industry and others, and in
the interest of providing high quality data to the public, EPA
is extending this year's reporting deadline (originally March
3 1, 201 I) to September 30, 201 I - and plans to have the
final uploading tool available this summer; with the data
scheduled to be published later this yearThis extension
will allow EPA to further test the system that facilities will
use to submit data and give industry the opportunity to
test the tool, provide feedback, and have sufficient time to
become familiar with the tool prior to reporting.
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In addition to the nine rulemakings necessary to comply
with congressional direction for the program, over the past
two years EPA has established a public help center that
operates through our website and efficient mechanisms for
stakeholders to get answers from EPA experts to detailed
technical questions. EPA has also conducted training
sessions with each affected sector and held hundreds of
meetings with stakeholders across the country.
EPA's GHG Reporting Program, launched in October
2009, requires the reporting of GHG emissions data from
large emission sources and fuel suppliers across a range of
industry sectors.This program will provide data that will help
industries find ways to be more efficient and save money.
More information on these actions.
More information on the GHG Reporting Program.
YOUTUBE VIDEO FROM KENTUCKY
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM
The Kentucky Environmental Compliance Assistance
Program (ECAP), located within the Division of
Compliance Assistance, has been providing multimedia
compliance assistance to regulated entities in the state
since 2007. Since that time, the program has responded
to over 3,800 assistance requests with a quarter of those
being small businesses. Half of all small business requests
deal with air quality issues and often involve permitting and
recordkeeping/reporting assistance. Recently, the program
has expanded its services to provide both classroom and
web training events. As a result, ECAP clients report a
94 percent satisfaction rate with services and 85 percent
indicate making positive changes to improve compliance
and the environment.
Click here to view the YouTube video.
GREEN BUSINESS
GO GREEN MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Go Green! is a monthly newsletter from the US EPA with
information about activities and events that everyone can
use to make a difference in their homes, communities, and
offices.To sign up for this monthly newsletter click here and
submit your emai address.
CITIES COMPETING TO WIN EPA'S GREEN
POWER COMMUNITY CHALLENGE
The EPA's first Green Power Community Challenge has
reached its mid-year point with 36 communities setting
an example for other cities, towns, villages, and Native
American tribes to use renewable energy to help protect
people's health and the environment. At this point in the
competition, the two category leaders are Washington, D.C.
for its total green power usage and Brookeville, Md. for the
percentage of its total electricity use that is green power
The top five communities in the usage category are
Washington, D.C., Portland, Ore, Santa Clara, Calif,
Gresham, Ore., and Bellingham, Wash.The top five
communities in the percentage of green power usage
category are Brookeville, Md., Swarthmore, Pa., Bellingham,
Wash., Rivers Falls, Wis., and Corvallis, Ore.
At the end of the year-long national challenge in September
201 I, EPA will recognize the community that uses the most
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green power and the one that achieves the highest green
power percentage of total electricity use.
Green power communities are collectively purchasing
nearly 2.6 billion kWh of green power annually.This is
equivalent to the electricity use of more than 226,000
average American homes.
Green power is generated from renewable resources such
as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and low-impact
hydropower Green power resources produce electricity
with an environmental profile superior to conventional
power technologies, and produce significantly fewer
greenhouse gas emissions.
More information on EPA's Green Power Community
Challenge Rankings click here.
More information about EPA's Green Power Communities
click here.
SMART STEPS TO SUSTAINABILITY -
A GUIDE TO GREENING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
EPA's Office of Small Business
Programs greening guide
resource for small businesses,
Smart Steps to Sustainability,
can help your small business
in moving beyond compliance
and into sustainabi ity
Environmentally-friendly
business practices can yield enormous rewards, both for
the environment and the business.
Being green can:
• Save money from reduced waste and increased efficiency
* Bring peace of mind from reduced concerns about health
and safety liability
* Improve public relations
* Attract green consumers
SMART STEPS
USTAINABI
• Differentiate your business from competitors
• Provide flexibility in uncertain times
For a copy of the Smart Steps to Sustainability Guide and
other small business greening assistance resources, go here.
INQUIRIES
AND INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEW WITH GABRIELA CARVALHO, EPA
REGION 10 SMALL BUSINESS LIAISON AND
COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE COORDINATOR
What is your role within the Environmental Protection Agency's
regulatory and compliance process?
As a Regional Small Business Liaison and Compliance
Assistance Coordinator, my role is to serve as a central
point of contact for coordination among EPA headquarters,
the EPA regional office and Region 0 states and partners
as we coordinate outreach for new rules and national
initiatives. With so many rules and initiatives coming out of
various offices at headquarters, the regional coordinators
help draw connections between the rule experts and the
outreach teams throughout the regions so information can
be disseminated effectively to small businesses.
Who are your key partners you collaborate with to accomplish
your mission?
I'll mention three of the key partners that I collaborate
with regularly. First, the State Small Business Environmental
Assistance Programs (SBEAPs) are vital partners. Not only
do they conduct significant outreach but they help me
connect with partners and resources throughout the states.
I hope that small businesses take full advantage of these
programs, especially since many of the state environmental
assistance programs offer confidentiality to businesses that
want to assess how well they are complying with EPA and
State environmental laws. Second, the National Compliance
Assistance Centers are one-stop-shop websites for
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compliance assistance organized by key industry sectors.
These centers are a great place for small businesses
to start their research on all aspects of environmental
compliance. Finally, the Pollution Prevention Centers
offer technical assistance to help businesses reduce their
environmental footprint.The Pollution Prevention Centers
offer a tight network of resources and information to help
businesses and regulators alike and I continually use them
as a resource to help answer complex pollution prevention
questions.
What type of outreach do you provide?
The type of outreach I provide depends on the regulation
that I'm working with and the types of businesses that
are impacted.The EPA coordinators and liaisons work
across all the different media programs: air, water, waste,
toxics, etc. Activities include presentations at industry
conferences; training events on a particular rule; regional
webinars; and one-on-one assistance. I can speak for all of
the coordinators and iaisons when I say that EPA wants to
hear from businesses regarding the type of outreach that
would work best for them. If there is an upcoming event
in which EPA should give a presentation or another good
avenue for outreach, please contact the coordinator and
liaison in your region and invite them to participate.
How can the small businesses community and small business
environmental assistance providers best stay abreast of
environmental requirements?
First, the State SBEAPs and the Compliance Assistance
Centers are a great resource for environmental
requirement information.The EPA's Rulemaking Gateway
website will give you information about new rules as they
progress through the rule-making process.The site offers a
number of different RSS feeds and you can sign up for to
be alerted when rules are added or progress through the
process.The EPA's Technology Transfer Network regularly
posts new information about Clean Air Act Area Source
Rules on its webpage.Your regional liaison or coordinator
can help you find specific information that you are looking
for Finally, many industry groups and trade associations
publish environmental compliance information for their
members through newsletters or on their websites.
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