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.  Angela T. Suber is current Acting 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.  http://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 http://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

Angela T. Suber, Acting
EPA Asbestos & Small Business Ombudsman (SBPRA point of contact)
Small Business Ombudsman Team, OSDBU
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Mail Code: 1230T
Washington, D.C. 20460
Phone: 202-566-2827
Mainline: 202-566-2075
Hotline: 1-800-368-5888
Fax: 202-566-1505
Email:  suber.angela@epa.gov

Last Updated: October 26, 2007