EPA Compliance Assistance Resources and Agency Contact
(Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
2002-SBPRA)
SBPRA Background
SBPRA Compliance Assistance Summaries Per Agency
The Act: Small Business
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002 (H.R. 327)
Lists of Agency Points of Contacts and Available Resources--June 27, 2003
Federal Register
Final Report of the
Small Business Paperwork Relief Task Force (June 2003)
EPA List of Compliance Assistance Resources
EPA
Single Point of Contact
SBPRA Background
The Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002 amends the Paperwork
Reduction Act, to specifically address the needs and concerns of small
businesses, focusing on reducing the information collection burden for small
businesses with fewer than 25 employees. Under the Act, each federal
agency was required to establish a single Point of Contact to act as liaison
between the agency and small businesses. The liaison collects
information and control paperwork regarding the concerns of small
businesses, as defined by the Small Business Act, regarding Information
Collection Requests (ICRs). As required by the Act, in June of 2003
EPA Administrator Governor Christine Todd Whitman designated EPA's Small
Business and Asbestos Ombudsman as EPA’s Point of Contact with respect to
the SBPRA. Joan Rogers is the current EPA
Asbestos & Small Business Ombudsman and Point of Contact.
The Act also requires the establishment of a cross-agency task force to
investigate ways to streamline information collection and dissemination
procedures for small businesses, and to coordinate implementation of various
requirements of the Act. The Task Force, which is led by the White
House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), was created and cross-agency
subgroups were established to address specific Act requirements. EPA
is represented both on the core cross-agency Task Force and on the various
cross-agency subgroups. The Task Force and Subgroups include
representation from fourteen cabinet-level departments and thirty-three
non-cabinet-level agencies, including EPA.
One of the Task Force subgroups was assigned to explore the advisability
of compiling and publishing a list of compliance assistance resources
available to small businesses. After much careful consideration, this
subgroup concluded that available resources were not sufficiently clear,
developed the list, and recommended that the list be published. On
June 27, 2003, OMB published in the Federal Register the list of
"Compliance Assistance Resources and Points of Contact Available to Small
Businesses." That list appears on pages 38526-38556 of that Federal
Register.
In addition to the Task Force reports listed above, the Act mandated EPA
to submit two enforcement action reports. These reports compare the
number of small entities EPA fined over a one-year period with the number of
all other entities fined. The reports also mention whether or not the
fine was reduced or waived. The final report was due on December 31,
2004.
Environmental Protection Agency List of Compliance Assistance Resources
EPA currently has over 100 initiatives, activities, and services directed
at small business needs. EPA efforts include a toll-free hotline;
newsletters; Web sites; e-mail listserv; information alerts on emerging
regulatory issues; industry sector specific guides directed at providing
information on specific industry processes, Federal regulatory requirements,
compliance history and pollution prevention information; expert systems;
voluntary programs; and training programs.
EPA's Small Business Ombudsman (SBO) provides a "gateway" and dedicated
support for small businesses to reach EPA compliance assistance resources
offered by EPA, the states and other sources. The SBO answers
technical and regulatory questions on a toll-free hotline, provides more
than 350 free EPA publications, develops compliance assistance tools, and
gives direct access to regulatory assistance on a comprehensive Web site.
It publishes the SBO newsletter twice a year to report important EPA
activities and give timely alerts to small businesses and interested service
providers on EPA actions. The SBO acts as the focal point and provides
multi-level support and coordination for an extensive national network of
small business assistance programs, and works with small businesses, service
providers, and state and regional officials to address small business needs.
The Small Business Gateway is a Web site that links to EPA's assistance
programs for small business.
www.epa.gov/smallbusiness/
EPA also partners with industry representatives and others on
sector-specific Compliance Assistance Centers. The centers support the
agriculture, automotive service and repair, chemical manufacturing, federal
facilities, local government, metal finishing, paints and coatings,
printed-wiring-board manufacturing, printing, transportation, construction,
auto recycling, and border compliance sectors by providing tools such as
checklists, plain language guides, and technical information to help small
businesses understand their regulatory requirements. Go to
Compliance
Assistance Centers.
EPA also manages a National Compliance Assistance Clearinghouse as a
guide to compliance information on the Internet. This site gives
comprehensive links to EPA environmental compliance assistance materials, as
well as materials from all 50 states and other organizations. The
Clearinghouse contains many features allowing small businesses to interact
directly with EPA and improve communication and collaboration among
compliance assistance providers.
EPA's Small Business Compliance Policy promotes environmental compliance
among small businesses by providing incentives to discover and make good
faith efforts to correct violations. Software is also available to
assist in certain reporting requirements. The "Toxics Release
Inventory--Made Easy" (TRI-ME) software guides users through the entire
Toxics Release Inventory reporting process from start to finish.
Information on EPA's initiatives and activities is available on the EPA
Small Business Ombudsman Web site
http://www.epa.gov/sbo. This site links to the Small
Business Environmental Homepage
www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org, which provides extensive small
business environmental assistance information. EPA National Asbestos &
Small Business hotline for inquiries on environmental regulations may
be reached via a toll free number (1-800-368-5888).
Environmental Protection Agency Single Point of Contact
Joan B. Rogers
EPA Asbestos & Small Business Ombudsman (SBPRA point of contact)
Office of Small Business Programs
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Mail Code: 1230T
Washington, D.C. 20460
Phone: 202-564-6568
Hotline: 1-800-368-5888
Fax: 202-566-1505
Email: rogers.joanb@epa.gov