Green Business Guide Part 3: Complying with Environmental Regulations

In fact, federal and state government agencies have put in place a series of environmental rules and regulations that your business must comply with in order to minimize impact on the environment – and to ensure your business is a good, green, citizen.

There are dozens of environmental regulations that apply to small businesses. There’s the Clean-Air Act, Ecosystems Protection, the Toxic Substance Control Act, Waste Regulations, the Clean Water Act, and many more.

How are you expected to comply, let alone know about these regulations? Like so many other government rules and regulations, it can seem daunting.

EPA to the Rescue

Happily, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides a place on its website called the Small Business Gateway, specifically designed to answer these and many other questions. EPA even has a Small Business Ombudsman to provide a personal link between your business and your state, and for other questions or issues you may have regarding environmental rules and regulations.

I highly recommend a visit to this page, if for no other reason than to discover the array of resources EPA has to offer.

That said, knowing what your environmental compliance requirements are is only step one. The next step is actually complying – getting the necessary permits to meet all the required rules and regulations.

Environmental Permits

Meeting environmental compliance demands will more often then not require a permit or series of permits in any number of areas. The most commonly required permits are:

• Clean Air Act Permits – to help regulate air pollution
• Endangered Species – if your business affects threatened or endangered species
• Wetlands – if you work on or around wetlands
• RCRA Permits – required through the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to help ensure the safe treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous wastes

Most environmental permits, including several of the above, are issued by state governments. There is a page on the Small Business Administration’s Business.gov website that provides a state-by-state list of links that will bring you directly to where you need to be to get more permit information for your state.

The web page, which I highly recommend, is here: http://www.business.gov/guides/environment/environmental-regulations/permits.html

Once you’ve got a basic understanding of what your state requires, it will be easier to tackle environmental compliance – even if it’s one permit at a time.

Do the Right Thing

There are lots of reasons to comply with environmental regulations – even if you did not comply in the past, and want to do the right thing now.

I in no way condone rule-breaking, especially when it comes to the environment, but as a small business you get special compensation that large businesses do not get. EPA offers Compliance Incentives for companies with 100 or fewer employees that voluntarily discover – and report – environmental violations.

EPA also offers a Q&A section on its site aimed specifically at small businesses and questions small businesses may have about environmental regulations and compliance. That page is here: http://www.epa.gov/smallbusiness/faq.htm.

In a nutshell: While it’s not easy being green, as Kermit says, there are a world of resources out there to help you on your way.