EPA Offers Small Business Gateway
Environmental regulation can be a thorny issue for small businesses. With evolving laws and ongoing studies revealing new facts about commonly used chemicals and pesticides, keeping up-to-date can prove to be a small business challenge.
To assist small businesses in staying current with environmental developments, The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a website of applicable resources directed entirely to small businesses. The EPA Small Business Gateway is organized with 6 topic headings. They are:
- General Small Business and Environmental Information
- Contacts and Environmental Experts
- The Bottom Line: Saving and Finding Money
- Environmental Assistance and Technical Help
- Environmental Regulations and Laws
- Frequently Asked Questions
Overall the website has a simple layout and offers access to useful information. An interactive map enables you to easily locate an EPA regional office. It provides links to pertinent law from the Federal Register, the Unified Agenda, Code of Federal Regulations, and U.S. Code. There are also resources regarding federal assistance, financing, and programs enabling small businesses to contract with the EPA.
In the FAQ section, the EPA answers popular questions from the small business sector such as: whether a small business needs an environmental permit, how a small business can register a pesticide, how small businesses can comment on proposed environmental regulations, and how to report an environmental emergency.
If your small business deals in environmental issues or is looking to further "green" itself, take a jog through the EPA's small business portal.