Program of the Month
Small Business Assistance: Helping businesses improve air quality
Owning a business is full of responsibilities and challenges, including understanding and complying with Virginia’s environmental requirements. For air quality concerns, help is available through the Small Business Assistance program at the Department of Environmental Quality.
“We’re here to help, without question,” said Richard Rasmussen, the program’s director. “We try to answer all environmental questions related to small businesses in addition to air quality issues.”
The program helps small business owners comply with the U.S. Clean Air Act and Virginia’s air quality requirements by providing free and confidential technical assistance. The Clean Air Act and Virginia’s laws and regulations set limits on how much and what kind of pollutants businesses may emit.
The program has three main components: technical assistance, advocacy for small businesses and an advisory panel.
“The technical assistance program helps ensure small businesses are aware of the rights and responsibilities related to air quality requirements and helps them achieve compliance,” Rasmussen said.
An ombudsman or advocate represents the interests of small businesses with the state government and addresses their needs and concerns. The panel, composed of DEQ staff and citizens nominated by the Virginia General Assembly and the Governor, judges the effectiveness of the program, provides advice and reviews outreach products.
Rasmussen and the program staff handle between 750 and 1,000 requests a year from businesses such as dry cleaners, manufacturers and laboratories. They explain regulatory requirements, provide permit application assistance and identify cost-effective compliance options. Outreach products and low-interest loans are also available through the program and are proving successful.
A compliance calendar created for the dry cleaning industry reduced noncompliance from about 42 percent to 10 percent over three years. Another compliance calendar is also being used with gas stations in Northern Virginia and Richmond.
The program has loaned about $1.3 million since April 1997 to help small businesses pay for emission control equipment, implement pollution prevention measures or institute agricultural best management practices through the Small Business Environmental Compliance Assistance Loan Fund. The funding has resulted in reductions of more than 61,000 pounds of dry cleaning solvent, 200 gallons in chemicals from photographic developers and 18.5 tons in particle pollution, commonly known as soot. More than 180 acres of farmland has also been protected.
“Pollution prevention can also save money,” Rasmussen said.
Equipment purchased with the loan money saved dry cleaners in Virginia more than $50, 000 through a reduction in the amount of filters and solvent needed for the new machines. A computerized saw, bought with loan money, saved a Floyd County company 400,000 feet of wood boards, increasing efficiency and maximizing the wood available to create its product.
The program also offers workshops, guidance materials and a clearing house of resources for small businesses. In the interest of enabling government to serve small businesses better, the program also promotes collaborative efforts among federal, state and not-for-profit organizations through the Virginia Comprehensive Assistance Network.
These ideas, and others like them in the future, will continue to help business owners meet compliance requirements, even with an increasing number of air regulations that affect small businesses.
“From our perspective, there is always a willingness to sit down and talk about new tools to solve problems,” Rasmussen said. “There is always a better way to do something.”
For more information, see the Small Business Assistance web site.