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Is your program officially or unofficially multimedia? Explain.
Our program is
unofficially multimedia. Staff is allowed to provide multimedia
assistance, multimedia outrach tools have been developed, and I am
in the process of trying to make technical assistance activities in
the different media within DEQ more cohesive and seamless.
However,
there is no official designation in rule or statute allowing for
multimedia at this time and any multimedia work not involving an air
quality component cannot be billed to the Small Business Title V
fund.
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How and when did
your program start as multimedia?
Approximately 2002.
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Does your program provide confidential services? Explain.
Yes, we will
provide confidentiality as requested. In the case of a suspected
violation, we will assist the entity to develop a time-limited plan
to come back into compliance if it is not a serious environmental or
human health threat.
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What role does
the Ombudsman play? What is the relevance of the Ombudsman’s role
to the multimedia component?
No special role.
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What types of multimedia assistance does your program provide (air,
hazardous waste, solid waste, water quality, air, other)? Describe
your program.
We will provide
assistance in all media whether it is performed directly through the
Air Quality program or coordinated with another DEQ Division (Land
Quality, Water Quality). Oregon DEQ at this time helps to
administer a multimedia certification program for the automotive
repair and landscape industry when businesses show they have gone “beyond compliance.”
The bottom line is that DEQ staff will work with any company if
assistance is requested.
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Is your program’s work prioritized? If yes, explain (e.g., by
media, rule, industry sector).
Work is
prioritized first by rule (new rules/NESHAPs are the drivers),
second by sector (what industry is affected, what industry has
expressed a desire to work with the SBAP to come into compliance,
etc.), and then by special interest groups, the media, and political
pressure.
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Describe how
multimedia assistance is provided:
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Through
referrals to appropriate regulatory media staff?
Yes. Referrals are made to TA staff within the
appropriate DEQ region (NWR, WR or ER).
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Through
personal contact with resources outside your program (e.g.,
arranging meetings with regulatory staff from different media,
having each program outline their respective rule requirements,
following up as needed)?
Yes. I am in the process of trying to create a more
cohensive, seamless technical assistance process within the
Agency that will not only facilitate the use of other programs
within DEQ, but those outside the agency as well. Meetings
between a small business and appropriate staff can be arranged
and facilitated through this program.
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Through
internal expertise (e.g., gathering all information, presenting
as package, walking client through requirements)?
Yes. This is always a possibility.
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What types of
assistance activities does your program provide (e.g., onsite
visits, training programs, permit assistance)?
Onsite
technical assistance and outreach visits, training workshops and
seminars, permit and regulatory assistance, and business response
team conference meetings where business, appropriate DEQ staff in
different media, and possibly outside agency staff meet to discuss
requirements.
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Do you have program staff members with expertise in pollution
prevention/EMS, as well as regulatory compliance?
Yes. Staff
expertise can be found within the Air Quality, Land Quality, and
Water Quality programs.
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What range of
industry sectors has your program helped with multimedia
assistance? List all types of participating businesses.
Fiberglass,
automotive/autobody repair, landscaping, dry cleaners, printers,
coating operations.
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Are there any industry sectors for which you cannot provide
assistance or can provide only limited assistance? Explain.
Obviously we
would not be able to answer specific questions with regards to
operations or processes within industries that do not operate in
Oregon (e.g., cotton gins). However, ODEQ engineers would
certainly be able to answer generic questions on AQ controls and
emissions. This program is also limited in the amount of
assistance we can provide to large businesses; however, we can
provide information on staff or agencies to call for help.
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Where is your program housed (state environmental regulatory agency,
Small Business Development Center [SBDC], college or university [not
SBDC], other state agency)?
Our program is
housed within the Air
Quality Division of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality,
which is a
regulatory agency.
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Where does
funding come from for your multimedia program (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.
We have a
general technical assistance fund code set up and use permit fees.
We also partner with other programs to provide multimedia assistance
using their program funds and assist other Department staff who have
grant money and can use our expertise.
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How many staff
does your program have (using FTE-full time employee equivalents)?
1.5 FTE.
This includes one full time staff and approximately 7 regional staff
who perform onsite assistance as necessary.
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Does your
program 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.
We do document
program activities utilizing the format EPA provides for annual
reporting. However, not all elements of the program have a
built in measurement system. We are able to easily measure web
hits through IT staff and it's easy enough to track the number of
onsite visits, publications developed and mailed, training,
workshops and conferences held and attended. However, the one
place that becomes more difficult to track is the exact number of
calls made and received since this is done manually.
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What have been
the benefits of providing multimedia versus air only assistance?
Have you performed any cost benefit analyses? Describe your
successes.
Staff in Air
Quality has not performed cost-benefit analyses to date.
However, in the future I would like to work with other staff in the
Department to determine if any information has been collected
through other programs. I think multimedia assistance helps
businesses in two ways. First, it helps them to get
information they need from one single point of contact and second,
it saves them time since they only have to talk with one person.
In addition, staff improve their skills th emore multimedia
experience they gain!
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Provide an
overall link or links to your online multimedia assistance web
page(s), checklists, calculation spreadsheets, guidance, factsheets,
publications, and contacts.
www.deq.state.or.us/aq/bap/index.htm
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What kind of peer assistance (for other SBO/SBAP programs) is your
program willing to contribute at this time (information provided
here only, telephone/email assistance, program visits, training,
other)?
Definitely telephone
and email
assistance. Program visits might be arranged depending on time
and funding. Training definitely for someone willing to visit
Oregon. We recently had a visit from a new program coordinator
out of the regional air pollution authority in Spokane, WA.
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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 (www.smallbiz-enviroweb.org/sba/multimediafiles/Questions_MentorPrograms.pdf).
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."
Agriculture
Automotive, Auto Body, Radiator Repair
Construction
Dry Cleaning
Fiberglass Operations
Furniture
Landscaping Services
Lumber and Wood
Painting and Coating
Pesticides
Recycling
Used Oil
Contact:
Rebecca Hillwig,
503/229-5376,
hillwig.rebecca@deq.state.or.us
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Provide contact information for peer assistance with your program.
Rebecca Hillwig,
Coordinator
Air Quality Business Assistance Program
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
811 SW 6th Ave.
Portland, OR 97204
503/229-5376
Email:
hillwig.rebecca@deq.state.or.us
3/05,
updated 10/05, 7/06, 6/07
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