Iowa Waste Reduction Center MPC Profile

Do you have a state statute, policy, MOU, or other written document that established your multimedia *small business environmental assistance program (SBEAP)? If yes, please explain and provide a link to the document if possible.

The Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC) is officially multimedia. The IWRC has provided multimedia assistance since inception. We provide environmental compliance assistance for small businesses (less than 200 employees) throughout the state of Iowa.

How and when did your SBEAP begin offering multimedia compliance assistance?

The Iowa Waste Reduction Center started in 1988 as a result of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act.

Does your SBEAP provide confidential services? Explain.

Yes.

What role does the Ombudsman play? Does the office address multimedia issues or is it strictly strictly an air ombudsman? What agency or organization does the ombudsman work in? Please provide contact information.

The Ombudsman in Iowa is located at the Iowa Department of Economic Development. The Iowa Ombudsman acts as a liaison between small businesses and regulatory agencies to ensure small business owners and operators are treated fairly by regulatory staff. The Ombudsman does provide multimedia services.
What types of multimedia assistance does your SBEAP provide (air, hazardous waste, solid waste, water quality, air, other)? Describe.

The IWRC provides a variety of multimedia assistance, including:
1)    Air assistance in permitting and emissions inventory

2)    Regulatory compliance assistance including hazardous waste, solid waste, storm water, used oil, universal waste, wastewater, emergency planning and community right-to-know act (EPCRA), etc.

3)    Pollution prevention and waste reduction assistance including new environmental technology implementation and waste exchange.

Is your SBEAP’s work prioritized? If yes, explain (e.g., by media, rule, industry sector).

The priorities vary depending on funding as well as state and federal regulatory priorities.

What percent of your total multimedia assistance effort is delivered through each of the following methods:
-Direct referrals to appropriate regulatory staff (___%)
-Personal contact with appropriate media staff (e.g., arranging meetings with regulatory staff from different media, having each program outline their respective rule requirements, following up as needed) (___%)
-Internal SBEAP expertise (e.g., gathering all information, walking client through requirements) (___%).

Direct referrals--20%
Personal contact--60%
Internal expertise--20%
Describe who actually provides the assistance. Is the primary role of the SBEAP staff to refer assistance requests to the appropriate regulatory staff or do the SBEAP staff possess the knowledge and experience to provide direct assistance? Explain the educational background and experience level of SBEAP staff.

IWRC staff provide the multimedia assistance. All IWRC staff have vast experience in the environmental field and go through an in house training program.

Please identify the compliance assistance tools your SBEAP provides by completing the table below. In addition, please elaborate on any of the tools and include information about compliance assistance tools not included in the table.

Regulatory Program	Hotline	Publications	Onsite Visits	Workshops	Permit Assistance
Air	X	X	X	X	X
Waste	X	X	X	X
Water	X	X	X	X
Remediation	X
Storage Tanks	X		X	X
Emergency Planning
Wetlands, Land/Water Interface

Do you have SBEAP staff members with expertise in pollution prevention/EMS, as well as regulatory compliance?

The IWRC does have staff with pollution prevention (P2) knowledge, EMS, and regulatory compliance.
Are there any industry sectors for which you cannot provide assistance or can provide only limited assistance? Explain.

No.
Where is the technical assistance component of your SBEAP housed (state environmental regulatory agency, Small Business Development Center [SBDC], college or university [not SBDC], other state agency)?

The IWRC is housed at the University of Northern Iowa. The IWRC is a Department of the College of Business Administration at the University of Northern Iowa.
Where does funding come from for your multimedia SBEAP (air permit fees only, air permit fees plus other sources, task-specific funding, other)? What are the funding criteria? Please note that since this could be sensitive information, this is an optional question.

The IWRC is funded through state and federal programs.
How many staff does your SBEAP have (using FTE equivalents)? Does your SBEAP have a documented performance measurement system (system to track data on activities such as web site hits, hotline/telephone assistance calls, mailings, onsite visits, publications, seminars/workshops/trainings, teleconferences/videoconferences, other)? Describe.

Eight FTE. The IWRC has developed a client database, which allows us to track our performance measurements for each of our clients.
What have been the benefits of providing multimedia versus air only assistance? Have you performed any cost benefit analyses? Describe your successes.

Providing a multimedia service is a more efficient and comprehensive service for the small business.
Provide an overall link or links to your online multimedia assistance web page(s), checklists, calculation spreadsheets, guidance, factsheets, publications, and contacts.

www.IWRC.org
What kind of peer assistance (for other SBO/SBEAP programs) is your program willing to contribute at this time (information provided here only, telephone/email assistance, program visits, training, other)?

It depends on the assistance requested and the financial resources available. However, assistance from the IWRC may include technical assistance by phone, email, or may include program visits along with one-on-one training.

Please list the industry sectors that you assist/have assisted most, and feel you have "expert" knowledge about. If possible, use the provided list of industry sector examples to categorize. You may also be more specific, include additional details, or write in a category that is not listed. In addition, please provide contact information for each industry sector "expert."

INDUSTRY SECTOR EXAMPLES:

Aircraft Metal Fabrication

Automotive Metal Finishing

Chemicals Mining

Construction Painting and Coating

Die Casting Pesticides

Dry Cleaning Petroleum Refining

Electric/Power/Energy Pharmaceuticals

Electronics/Computers Plastics

Electroplating Printing/Photoprocessing

Fiberglass Operations Pulp and Paper

Foods Recreation

Furniture Recycling

Hospital/Medical Retail

Iron and Steel Rubber and Plastics

Laboratories/Schools Solvents/Cleaning

Lubricants Stone/Glass/Clay/Concrete

Lumber and Wood Textiles/Textile Services

Machining Transportation

Marine/Shipyard Used Oil

All.

What is your advice to other SBEAPs who want to become multimedia programs? What particular challenges did you face evolving into a multimedia program and how did you overcome them?

Recommendations: Hire experienced staff. Challenges: Funding.
Provide contact information for peer assistance with your SBEAP.

Dan Nickey, 319/273-6588, daniel.nickey@uni.edu.

*Small Business Environmental Assistance Program, or SBEAP, refers to the Small Business Ombudsman and/or the technical assistance program (SBEAP) in each state.

10/05, updated 12/08