United States
Environmental Protection
lAgency
EPA/180/R-11/001
March 2012
20 Years of Success
in Helping Small Business
1990 Clean Air Act
Amendments in Action
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CONTENTS
Twenty Years of Helping Small Business 1
Story of a Rule: Making the Process Work for Small Business 2
Results: Improved Compliance, Money Saved, Reduced Pollution 3
National Network: Working Together to Help Small Businesses 5
Compliance Assistance: Help Where It's Needed 6
State 507 Programs: Targeted, Practical, Cost-Effective 8
Small Business Ombudsman: Advocate for Small Business 10
Compliance Advisory Panels: Bringing in the Voice of Small Business 11
Summary 12
"Thanks for all your help!
The work that you do is indispensable to business in this state. You have been a pillar
and a wealth of knowledge to me since we have been working together. I don't know
where I would be without your help!!"
-Small Business Owner
For more information on the 507 Program in your state, visit:
www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org/Compliance/stateweb.aspx
For 507 Program contacts, visit:
www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org/contacts/sbosbeap.aspx.
The material in this document has been subject to U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) technical and policy
review, and approved for publication as an EPA report. The views
expressed by individual authors, however, are their own and do not
necessarily reflect those of EPA
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TWENTY YEARS OF HELPING SMALL BUSINESS
Small businesses across the country have found a
trusted friend in the environmental assistance pro-
grams mandated by the Clean Air Act (CAA). The
success of these programs show how an effective
government program can accomplish its mission—in
this case to ensure compliance with laws designed to
protect human health and the environment—and be
good for business at the same time.
Congress included specific help for small businesses
in Section 507 of the 1990 CAA amendments. This
section requires the states and territories to set up
programs to help small businesses comply with the
new complex air requirements. Since that time, these
state programs, often called the 507
Programs, have helped thou-
^ sands of small businesses
comply with air and other
environmental regula-
tions in a cost effec-
tive manner.
By helping small busi-
f nesses stay in com-
pliance with complex
environmental laws, the
507 Programs protect the
environment, save compa-
nies money, and reduce en-
forcement costs for state environmental agencies. The
support provided by the 507 Programs is free, confi-
dential, and effective.
The CAA made the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) responsible for monitoring the 507
Programs and for providing advisory opinions on the
programs. EPA also works to enhance the effective-
ness of the 507 Programs.
The CAA 507 Programs consist of three parts: a Small
Business Ombudsman (SBO) to act as an advocate
for small business, a Small Business Environmental
Assistance Program (SBEAP) to provide technical
support, and a Compliance Advisory Panel (CAP)
to provide feedback and help identify small
business issues.
Small businesses employ about half of all private
sector employees (59.7 million nonfarm private sector
workers) and pay 43 percent of total U.S. private
payroll. Between 1993 and 2009, small firms accounted
for 65 percent (or 9.8 million) of the 15 million net new
jobs created.
-Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy:
Frequently Asked Questions
The Clean Air Act (CAA)
The original 1970 CAA is a landmark environmental law passed to protect and restore the nation's air qual-
ity. In 1990, amendments to the Act significantly increased the federal government's authority to reduce air
pollution. The CAA uses a variety of tools including permits, emissions control equipment requirements, air
quality standards for specific pollutants, and motor vehicle emissions controls to reduce air pollution.
EPA estimates that pollution reductions from the CAA have saved millions of lives, eliminated millions
of hospital visits and avoided hundreds of thousands of cases of pollution-related illnesses. The total
benefits of the CAA between 1970 and 2010 exceeded total costs by as much as 40 to 1. The CAA,
according to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is "a law that has proved to be one of the most important
and beneficial pieces of legislation in our nation's history."
(For more, visitwww.epa.gov/air/caa/.)
www.epa.gov/sbo 1
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STORY OF A RULE: MAKING THE PROCESS WORK
FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The CAA requires EPA to develop regulations to
control hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in urban
areas. Part of EPA's urban air toxics Program focused
on "area sources," like gas stations and dry cleaners,
that release HAPs. Although each area source only
releases a small amount of HAPs, large numbers
of small sources together can release enough to
create a health concern. In developing rules to
reduce HAPs, EPA studied each industry and tried
to design an approach to control the pollution while
minimizing impacts on individual businesses. As part
of the typical rule-making process, EPA releases a
rule for public comment and updates the rule based
on the input. In general, it is harder for EPA to get
information and comments from small sources, as
small businesses rarely have the time or expertise
to comment on regulations. This is where the state
507 Programs have made a big difference for small
businesses.
©2011 Jeff Gordon, Inc. The name and likeness of Jeff Gordon and the
likeness of the #24 DuPont Chevrolet are used with the permission of Jeff
Gordon, Inc.
Mention of trade names, products, or services does not convey, and should
not be interpreted as conveying official EPA approval, endorsement or
recommendation.
One area source rule that the 507 Programs have
influenced is the Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous
Surface Coating Operations Area Source Rule (40
CFR Part 63, Subpart HHHHHH), in shorthand - 6H.
This rule affects several sectors, but perhaps the
biggest impact is on auto body painters. The National
Steering Committee (NSC), a national network of 507
Programs, became involved as EPA developed the
rule—they invited EPA staff to brief the committee
and, the SBOs and SBEAPs provided information
about the industry. The Iowa Waste Reduction Center
(the SBEAP in Iowa) even invited EPA to the Midwest
to tour auto body shops in his area to see how they
differed from shops on the East and West Coast where
the air quality rule writers had made initial visits.
The NSC also provided comments on the draft rule
to help ensure that it was written in a way that small
businesses could follow. For example, the original
rule required detailed calculations on VOCs that
would have been difficult, if not impossible, for small
shops to manage. EPA listened to many of the NSCs
comments, making the rule more workable for small
businesses.
Once the rule was passed in 2008, SBOs and
SBEAPs across the country started working to notify
businesses about the new requirements. In Region IV
(EPA divides the country into ten regions), the Georgia
SBEAP formed a stakeholder group of auto collision
repair experts, and automotive paint manufacturers
and distributors to design a strategy to reach collision
repair shops. The group also worked with EPA on the
development of an outreach campaign. Staff from
the North Carolina SBEAP served on EPA's Collision
Repair Campaign team and helped produce an award-
winning training DVD featuring five-time NASCAR
Sprint Cup Champion, Jeff Gordon. A Georgia CAP
member noted that outreach on the rule had gone
from the top to bottom, from technical schools down
to individual painters.
The six states in Region V worked together to develop
a checklist to help auto shops in all of their states
with 6H (and also with state VOC rules, and waste
and water requirements). As part of the project,
Michigan has created a video training program
to walk shops through the checklist. All the project
material is posted in one place for shops to access at
http://bit.ly/autobodyproject.
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Many programs also encourage companies to switch
to non-HAP-containing paint so that the facility would
be exempt from regulation, saving time and money for
the company, while reducing pollution
Programs frequently share material and tools by
posting them on the Small Business Environmental
Home Page so that other programs can modify the
material for their own state. These efforts are a
cost-effective way to help small businesses comply,
protect the businesses from violations, and the public
from hazardous air pollution.
Communication Pieces from the
Collision Repair Campaign
English
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RESULTS: IMPROVED COMPLIANCE, MONEY SAVED,
REDUCED POLLUTION
There is significant anecdotal evidence on the
effectiveness of the 507 Programs. This includes
repeat business, like companies that the Texas
SBEAP calls their "groupies," who come back for help
with new or changed regulations year after year. There
are also the individual recognitions like the company
that publicly thanked Vermont's SBO at the opening
ceremony of their new facility. During the facility
design phase, the company had invited the SBO to
attend a wrap-up meeting. She quickly realized that
the company's contractors had not included storm
water requirements in the design and suggested a
redesign that would reduce annual compliance costs
by thousands of dollars and the risk of even larger
fines from non-compliance. And of course, there are
the thank you notes: "Help from a Program like this
isn't just about compliance... It can actually save your
business money!" and "Thank you for all you did!"
The New Hampshire Small Business Technical
Assistance Program determined that some of
the state's businesses did not generate hazard-
ous wastes, which helped these businesses
eliminate hazardous waste fees.
www.epa.gov/sbo 3
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According to a study in Kentucky, the benefit of the
assistance provided by the Kentucky SBEAP to small
businesses is worth $3 million a year (estimated from
1995 to 2004)1. These benefits include the value of
assistance, cost of avoided CAA fines, savings from
reduced disposal and emission fees, energy efficiency
savings, and green productivity (savings from green
practices that result in less absenteeism, safer work
environment, and improved morale). The estimate
does not include the benefits to society from reduced
air and water pollution or the value to the company of
a greener image. Since this study was conducted in
2005, the program was moved into the Department
of Environmental Protection, which added assistance
in other environmental areas and internal efficiency
gains, resulting in significantly more businesses being
assisted. If the study were repeated today, the value
of the program would likely be even greater. Not a bad
return on investment for a medium-sized program
with an annual budget under $300,000 and less than
five staff.
Companies can save significant money and reduce
regulatory liability with changes that exempt them
from regulation. Some industries are required to
get an Industrial Stormwater Permit, which includes
requirements to develop a stormwater pollution
prevention plan, obtain an industrial stormwater
permit and pay an annual fee. However, if a facility
can show that their industrial material is not exposed
to stormwater, they can be classified as "No exposure"
and no longer need a permit. The Minnesota SBEAP
helped approximately 1,000 businesses qualify for the
no exposure exclusion, which saved over $400,000 a
year in avoided permit fees.
SBEAPs also help improve understanding of
regulation compliance. In a 2006 survey of companies
that called the Kansas SBEAP hotline, 97 percent of
companies stated they understood the regulations
better after the call. The results from Kansas SBEAP
surveys conducted after on-site visits were equally
positive. Ninety-seven percent of companies reported
that they changed their behavior and fully implemented
compliance recommendations. One client estimated
that the site visit protected them from $10,000 in fines.
When Minnesota Air Quality enforcement staff found
a 98 percent compliance rate at facilities subject to the
Real Results
In 2006, the Kansas SBEAP helped businesses
achieve an annual reduction of 120 tons of Vola-
tile Organic Compounds, 60 tons Hazardous Air
Pollutants (a 90 percent reduction), and 25,900
pounds of hazardous waste. The program also
helped businesses save money by reducing raw
material use by 3,466 pounds a year.
Minnesota Air Quality enforcement staff
attributed a compliance rate of 98 percent
in inspected facilities subject to the chrome
plating, halogenated solvent cleaning, and wood
finishing emission standards to assistance from
the Minnesota SBEAP.
The Minnesota SBEAP helped approximately
1,000 businesses save over $400,000 a year
in avoided permit fees by qualifying for the no
exposure exclusion in the Industrial Stormwater
permit.
From 1999 to 2001, over 34 percent of
Minnesota fiber-reinforced plastics businesses
received help from the Minnesota SBEAP result-
ing in annual reductions of 2,000,000 pounds of
air pollution and 500,000 pounds of hazardous
waste.
"It was a pleasure working with you and your colleagues.
I'm so happy the workshops were so successful.
Their success is definitely a tribute to the commitment of
you and your Tennessee colleagues to make
environmental assistance readily available for the small
business community."
- EPA, Design for the Environment Program
1 Measuring Environmental Compliance Assistance Outcomes: A Ben-
efit Cost Analysis of the Kentucky Business Environmental Assistance
Program, Kenya Stump, 2005
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chrome plating, halogenated solvent cleaning, and
wood finishing hazardous air pollution regulations,
they attributed the high compliance rate to proactive
assistance from the Minnesota SBEAP.
507 Programs also help companies reduce waste
and pollution. In the Kansas hotline survey, 35
percent of callers reported reducing waste as a
result of hotline advice. Kansas site visits helped
companies reduce pollution even more; 70 percent
of companies reported implementing some or all of
the pollution prevention recommendations made
during these site visits. This assistance reduced
tons of VOC and HAP emissions, eliminated over
25,000 pounds of hazardous waste and saved the
companies over $130,000.
This is a very small snapshot of the benefits that the
507 Programs provide to small businesses to help
them stay in compliance, reduce emissions and
waste, and save money.
NATIONAL NETWORK: WORKING
TOGETHER TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES
In 1995, the state 507 Programs
created the SBO/SBEAP NSC to
encourage communication between
the state programs and EPA. The
NSC functions through subcommit-
tees to carry out activities such as
commenting on rules that are under
development, presenting awards to
businesses and trade associations, and encouraging
information sharing between programs.
Similarly, the state CAPs created the National CAP
(NCAP). The NCAP works at the national level to
strengthen state CAPs and to encourage the creation
of CAPs in states without one. NCAP members come
from CAPs in each of EPA regions.
At the federal level, EPA Asbestos and Small
Business Ombudsman (ASBO) in the Office of Small
Business Programs plays a critical role in enhancing
the 507 Programs, and providing support for the NSC
and NCAP. EPA ASBO helps to build the capacity of
507 Program staff and encourage communication
between the states by sponsoring an annual meeting,
providing training, and maintaining the Small Business
Environmental Home Page.
Raleigh, NC
2011 SBO/SBEAP
State Partner Training
WORKING TOGETHER FOR SUCCESS
May 3-5,2011
SISTANCE PROGRAMS
Early on in the partnership between EPA and the SBO/
SBEAP program, discussions focused on the need for
a self-policing audit policy for small businesses. EPA
developed a policy shortly after these talks, which
has since expanded and is available to all media and
any sized business. The policies give businesses the
chance to self report non-compliance and to correct
deficiencies with reduced or no penalties.
EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards
as well as EPA's air rule writing office coordinate with
the state programs, usually through the NSC, to help
disseminate information and get feedback in addition
to reaching out to the small business community.
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COMPLIANCE ASSISTANCE: HELP WHERE IT'S NEEDED
507 Programs conduct a wide range of activities to
help small businesses comply with environmental
requirements, such as disseminating information on
regulations, developing tools to make compliance
easier, and providing technical assistance on specific
requirements. Many programs offer workshops,
technical assistance via phone calls and site visits,
and help with permit applications. Site visits can
range from simple visits to answer specific questions,
to a full assessment of compliance with air, water,
and waste regulations. The confidential site visits
help a company understand what they need to do to
comply without risking expensive fines by bringing in
an enforcement program. 507 Programs also develop
tools such as plain-language guides and fact sheets
to help small businesses understand the regulations.
The CAA originally set up the 507 Programs to provide
assistance with air regulations. In the beginning, some
states decided to provide multimedia assistance. (In
the environmental regulatory context, "multimedia"
refers to the environmental area—or media—of air,
water, and land.) Other programs added multimedia
assistance in response to requests from small
businesses. One function of the programs, whether
air-only or multimedia, is to help small businesses
find the right information or refer them to the right
contact in the agency. This customer service function
makes it much easier for a small business to navigate
the large and potentially unfriendly bureaucracy of a
regulatory agency.
Programs also keep businesses informed about
upcoming regulations, due dates for submitting
required reports, and training opportunities through
newsletters, web sites, and emails. These programs
are often the only way that the small business
community gets information on pending regulations
or rule changes.
Who is Helped
The 507 Programs work with a wide variety of small
businesses. Under the CAA, a small business is
defined as a business with fewer than 100 employees
and emissions less than 50 tons per year per pollutant
or 75 tons per year of combined pollutants.
Business sectors include just about any business that
has an environmental impact such as aluminum die
castors, asphalt plants, auto repairshops.autosalvage,
bio-fuel producers, chemical manufacturers, chrome
plating, concrete plants, gas stations, dry cleaners,
marinas, nail salons, metal recycling, printing, sand
and gravel operations, sheet metal shops, scrap
tire facilities, trucking, microbreweries, maple syrup
manufacturers and woodworkers.
Common Approaches
to Compliance Assistance
Compliance Calendars: Many programs publish
compliance calendars with required record-keeping
logs and key reporting dates marked to make
burdensome recordkeeping easy. The most popular
are calendars for dry cleaners because of the use of
hazardous materials and related regulations in this
industry. In addition, states have developed calendars
for other sectors including chromium electroplaters,
printers, fueling stations, hot mix asphalt, sand and
gravel, above ground storage tanks, and vehicle
repair. For example, Illinois sends out over 3,000
calendars a year to gas stations for Stage I/I I Vapor
Recovery requirements.
EnviroMentors: The Texas SBEAP manages the
EnviroMentors program. This program "lends a
helping hand" when a small business has an issue that
is too time consuming for the small business program
to resolve. Volunteer environmental professionals
help small businesses solve a range of issues, from
stormwater management planning to wastewater
treatment plant record keeping to completing air
"As an industrial site, we have many regulations to
comply with. This means we frequently have ques-
tions for which we don't have clear answers. When
this happens, the first phone call I make is to the
Small Business Compliance Assistance Program
(SBCAP). The SBCAP gets us the information we
need to make the right decisions."
"We appreciate the SBCAP services and use them
on a regular basis."
- Small Businesses
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Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Compliance Calendar for
Jeanen
Small Business Environmental Assistance Program
Keep this calendar
with your records
until at least 2016
permits. EnviroMentors fill an important role for small
businesses that do not have the resources to hire
expensive consultants, but still must meet stringent
requirements.
Grants and Loans: Installing equipment or changing
processes to meet environmental requirements
can be expensive, and many small businesses just
do not have the capital. To meet this need, several
programs offer grants or loans. In Pennsylvania, the
Small Business Advantage Grant awards matching
grants of up to $7,500 for energy efficient or pollution
prevention equipment or processes. In Minnesota,
small businesses can apply for low-interest
loans to help install equipment to meet or exceed
environmental regulations, or tap into a special loan
fund to purchase power units to reduce truck idling.
Training: Since the first 507 Program event in 1994,
SBEAPs have used workshops to effectively educate
small businesses. SBEAPs provide training to a
wide variety of small businesses via workshops and
increasingly webinars. The first 507 Program training
was a 1994 video conference workshop on CAA
requirements for dry cleaners that was a joint project of
the Tennessee SBEAP, University of Tennessee, and
EPA. Participants had to watch the training at special
video locations, set up in 48 states and over 4,000
dry cleaners participated. Now small businesses in
every state can participate in workshops, trainings,
and webinars on subjects as varied as idling
reduction, reducing solvent emissions, erosion and
sediment control, pharmacy waste, and CAA permit
requirements.
Partners
507 Programs leverage their resources by partnering
with other organizations. Trade associations are often
the Programs' biggest boosters and collaborate on
outreach and training to ensure that their members are
in compliance and avoid costly fines. In Tennessee,
the Tennessee Concrete Association (TCA) teamed
with the SBEAP to help their members come
into compliance after EPA targeted ready mix
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concrete facilities for hazardous materials reporting
enforcement. TCAdid not stop with these regulations,
but worked with the SBEAP to provide training in
other areas such as air and water. In New York, to
reduce air emissions, the SBEAP worked with
the Cremation Association of North America
and a major crematory manufacturer on
training and certification of operators in the
state.
The 507 Programs also help their state
environmental enforcement agencies
to more cost-effectively reach the small
business sector and improve compliance
while avoiding enforcement, which is ex-
pensive for the agency and the business.
In Colorado, the SBEAP worked with the W
Hazardous Materials Waste Management
Division of the Colorado Department of Public
Health to implement the Colorado Dry Cleaning
Self-Certification Program, a framework that
helps dry cleaners stay in compliance. In Indiana,
the Compliance and Technical Assistance Program
worked with the Office of Land Quality Compliance
Branch of the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management to implement an ERP for the Auto
Salvage industry.
Many 507 Program staff consider the relationship
that they have built with the regulatory agency as
one of their most important successes. The agencies
respond by referring small businesses to the programs
for help rather than filing a violation. This recognizes
that the goal is compliance and that the 507 Program
is the most effective way to get there.
". . . in my book those classes
[on environmental compliance] were priceless."
- Class attendee
STATE 507 PROGRAMS: TARGETED, PRACTICAL, COST-EFFECTIVE
Every state implements their 507 Program differently.
The programs differ in size, functions, location, and
focus. Having a flexible implementation means that
the 507 Programs can provide assistance tailored
for the specific conditions in each state. This makes
the programs more effective and cost efficient than a
one-size fits all approach.
SBEAP programs in some states are very small.
The Vermont SBEAP consists of one staff person
who works to inform Vermont businesses about
regulations, sends out compliance resources, holds
workshops, and conducts site visits. In contrast, the
Texas assistance Program has 32 staff to provide
technical assistance to small businesses and local
governments, in addition to managing programs
like EnviroMentors and a Compliance Commitment
(C2) Program that rewards companies that commit
to 100 percent compliance. In Florida, the Program
only provides assistance with air, while Mississippi
has helped with all regulatory areas—air, water, and
waste, since the Program started.
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In most states, the SBO and SBEAP are located in
the state environmental regulatory agency. However,
some states house their SBO and SBEAP in a different
state agency or even another organization like their
Small Business Development Center (administered by
the U.S. Small Business Administration) or a university.
In Iowa, the SBO is located in the Iowa Department of
Economic Development and the SBEAP is in the Iowa
Waste Reduction Center at the University of Northern
Iowa. In Minnesota, the SBO and the SBEAP are
both in the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and in
some states, the same individual serves as the SBO
and the SBEAP.
No matter how different the implementation, one
element is the same—a focus on compliance without
using enforcement. According to the Florida SBEAP,
the goal of their program is to make compliance with
local, state, and federal air pollution regulations easier
for small businesses. To achieve this, staff developed
compliance tools by industry sector including a library
so that companies from dry cleaners to printers to
bulk gasoline plants can find easy-to-use guides and
workbooks tailored to their industry. In Wisconsin, the
SBO / SBEAP staff worked with the state enforcement
agency to implement two separate Environmental
Results Programs (ERP). ERPs are designed to help
an agency encourage compliance in a sector that
has many small facilities such as dry cleaners or gas
stations. The ERP approach is to provide compliance
assistance and then require facilities to self-certify
that they are in compliance with the regulations. Many
programs receive referrals from regulatory staff; who
send a company to get help rather than issuing a
violation, or will hold off on citing a violation if they
know that the company is working with the SBEAP.
The third 507 component, the CAPs, are composed of
at least seven members which include volunteers from
the small business community and the general public,
plus representatives from the state environmental
agency. CAP members are appointed by the governor
and state legislature. CAPs are independent from the
SBOs and SBEAPs but often work closely with them
to communicate the small business view to regulators
and to disseminate information to small businesses.
Small Business:
Partnering to Achieve
Environmental
Stewardship
Since 2001, the 507 Program National Steer-
ing Committee (NSC) has presented an
annual environmental leadership award to a
small business that worked with an SBEAP
and has shown exemplary performance in
environmental management. In 2009, the NSC
selected two Oregon companies for the Small
Business Environmental Stewardship award
to recognize how the companies worked with
the Oregon SBEAP and the Department of En-
vironmental Quality to go beyond compliance
and incorporate sustainability into their busi-
nesses. Woodfold Manufacturing, Inc. imple-
mented innovative approaches to reduce their
environmental footprint such as participating
in the Employee Commute Options Program,
switching to waterborne coatings to reduce
toxic air emissions, and recycling 75 percent
of their solid waste. Advanced Collision Repair
received the award for innovations that earned
the company an Ecobiz certification from the
Oregon Ecological Business Program. The
company was the first shop in Oregon to
switch to waterborne paints, a move that re-
duced toxic air emissions by over 80 percent.
These companies, and all the award winners,
demonstrate what the SBEAP-small business
partnership can achieve. To read about more
winners visit www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org/
AboutUs/awards.aspx.
Rather than issue a violation, in many states regulatory staff will refer a company to the SBEAP program
or hold off on a violation if they know that the company is working with the SBEAP.
www.epa.gov/sbo | 9
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Funding and Staff
The 507 Programs provide huge benefits for a small
investment. SBO and SBEAPs are primarily funded
from state air permitting fees and do not receive
dedicated federal funding. In some states, programs
receive additional funds from other sources such
as grants, fees, and state general funds. Budgets
and staffing vary widely by state. In 2008, annual
program budgets ranged from under $10,000 to
over $1 million. Staffing also varies greatly from
small programs with only one person to a staff of
40. These differences reflect the different needs
and approaches in the states.
Compliance with environmental regulations costs over
3.5 times more for small firms than for large firms.
From the report, "The Impact of Regulatory Costs on
Small Firms"
- SBA Office of Advocacy
SMALL BUSINESS OMBUDSMAN: ADVOCATE FOR SMALL BUSINESS
The Small Business Ombudsman is the second
required element of the 507 Programs. The specific
responsibilities of the SBO varies by state and may
include involvement in the enforcement process,
providing compliance assistance or helping with
the permitting process much like the SBEAP. In
general, the SBO is viewed as an advocate for small
businesses.
Most SBOs act as advocates for small businesses
within their regulatory agency. In South Carolina, the
SBO accompanies small businesses to enforcement
conferences and tries to make sure that companies
have the opportunity to come into compliance without
a fine. The Colorado SBO helps small businesses
understand the enforcement process and be prepared
to present their case. The SBO in Wisconsin is the
go-to person on air permits if small businesses feel
that the process is too slow or their questions are not
getting answered. She feels that she is a translator for
both sides, regulatory language for the small business
and small business language for regulators.
SBOs do more than advocate. The South Carolina
SBO helps put on workshops and conducts
site visits. The Mississippi SBO is very close to
compliance assistance as he also manages the
SBEAP staff. In Colorado, the SBO reviews guidance
documents that the agency creates to ensure that
a layman can understand them and is responsible
for ensuring that the state CAP membership is full.
The West Virginia SBO may have summed up the
SBO function best when he said that his objective is
"to help folks, and to make the programs work better
for everyone."
In Mississippi, the Small Business Ombudsman
mediated between a small business and the
agency to help reduce fines on the business from
hundreds of thousands of dollars to under
ten thousand.
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COMPLIANCE ADVISORY PANELS: BRINGING IN
THE VOICE OF SMALL BUSINESS
The CAA lays out responsibilities for the state CAPs
which includes providing opinions on the effectiveness
of the SBEAPs and the difficulties encountered with
enforcement, as well as reviewing information for
small businesses to ensure that it is understandable.
These requirements have been implemented by
volunteer CAPs across the country. The volunteer
panels help make the regulatory process more
effective by bringing in the voice of small business
and providing state agencies access to a sector from
whom they rarely hear.
CAPs are different in every state but generally
hold periodic, often quarterly, meetings in order to
be briefed by the state environmental agency on
regulatory issues. Some CAPs only focus on air
issues while others work on multiple environmental
areas. A Maine CAP member from the Portland
Maine Regional Chamber of Commerce, feels that
the CAP provides a place where "DEP [Department of
Environmental Protection] can get unvarnished input
from a broad cross-section of small business." He
stresses that the CAP brings together the regulators
and the regulated community, which has helped make
the regulatory process less adversarial in Maine.
While regulatory agencies frequently hear from and
are familiar with larger businesses, connecting with
small businesses is more difficult. This is where an
effective CAP can make a difference. In Georgia, the
CAP helped identify small businesses when the state
wanted to convene a stakeholder group on salvage
and junkyards. The CAP also helped the state
disseminate information on a new rule that affected
autobody painters and attended training sessions on
the rule to explain the role of the SBEAP.
Proving the small business point of view makes
it possible to develop regulations that are more
effective and fair. In Pennsylvania, when regulators
were planning to require salvage yards to remove
mercury filled switches from cars before shredding,
a CAP member arranged for rule-writers to visit a
facility with a state of the art auto shredder. They
quickly realized that removing switches at this stage
of the process would be difficult and as a result,
changed their approach. In Texas, according to the
CAP chair, when the CAP reviewed compliance
history regulations they found that the process was
unfair to small businesses. Uninspected facilities were
marked with a default of average to poor. Because
small facilities were less likely to be inspected, this
could lead to the appearance of worse compliance.
The CAP wrote letters to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and helped get the
regulation changed.
In Colorado, CAP members review guidance material
developed by the state to make sure that it is written in
plain language that a small business can understand.
In Pennsylvania, the CAP worked to help start the
A Matter of Trust
The SBEAP in Tennessee, likes to begin presen-
tations with an attention-catching question. At
the annual meeting of the Tennessee Concrete
Association, an SBEAP staff member started her
presentation by asking "Who am I?" and planned
to explain, "I am from the government and I am
here to help." The response from the audience
was more telling—a participant answered, "You
are a friend."
Trust is a basic element of the 507 Programs.
Small businesses find that compliance issues are
addressed, and that the SBO is a real advocate
for their needs. The West Virginia SBO feels that
small businesses not only trust that he is not from
enforcement, but also that he will not laugh at
rudimentary questions about the regulations. This
trust is shown when businesses, trade associa-
tions, and even environmental attorneys refer
businesses to the SBO/SBEAP.
SBO/SBEAP Programs have also earned the trust
of inspectors and regulators in the
environmental agency. Regulators know that
when a small business is working with the SBO/
SBEAP, the outcome is most likely to be compli-
ance; they don't have to use the expensive viola-
tion stick to get the same result. The ability to earn
the trust of both the regulated and the regulatory
communities shows the unique and valuable
nature of the SBO/SBEAP Programs.
www.epa.gov/sbo | 11
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Small Business Advantage Grant to provide funds
for small businesses for energy efficient or pollution
prevention equipment.
CAP members benefit from their participation;
they are helped professionally by becoming more
knowledgeable and learning the language of the
regulators. A former long-time CAP member from
Colorado believes that this knowledge gave her an
edge professionally. Another CAP member has found
that the relationships he developed on the CAP have
been invaluable, for example he feels comfortable
calling the head of permitting if a member of the
association he heads has an issue.
"[Joining the Colorado CAP is] one of the best things
I have ever done."
- Former CAP Member, Colorado
The value of CAP members is clear in the award
of the 2008 Small Business Environmental
Assistance Program Award to Frances
Hartwell, long time CAP member in Oregon. The
nomination noted that Frances had:
"committed herself to broadening
the ODEQ's [Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality's] knowledge of small
business concerns by becoming a respected
and valuable resource for ODEQ on rule
implementation and permitting."
"She uses her knowledge and expertise of
small business, her passion for the
environment, and her understanding of human
nature to move others to action."
SUMMARY
For twenty years, the small business community has counted
on help from the 507 Programs. From providing guidance
on permits, to offering hands-on technical assistance, to
advocating for small business issues, the 507 Programs
have demonstrated their value to small businesses and the
community. As environmental laws continue to grow more
complex and small businesses are expected to further
reduce their environmental impacts, the 507 Programs
will be needed more than ever. These programs are a cost
effective way to reduce pollution and support small businesses,
and are a model for how working cooperatively leads to success
"The state 507 programs are an invaluable resource for the small business com-
munity and for EPA. These programs help small businesses comply with regulations
that are designed to protect human health and the environment. They also bring
small business issues and viewpoints back to EPA so that EPA can design regula-
tions that are effective while minimizing the burden on small business. I am proud to
support the state 507 programs and look forward to another 20 years of success."
- EPA Small Business Ombudsman
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United States
Environmental Protection
lAgency
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