By Colleen Schu
At a Senate hearing last week, legislators heard a new round of calls insisting on the need to pass legislation to help small businesses comply with a suffocating mound of environmental regulations.
Echoing the same arguments heard in past years, the panel of witnesses called for Congress to provide more assistance and more leeway to small businesses by acting on legislation to allow audit privileges and extra assistance to small businesses.
The oversight hearing was held April 28 in the Senate Small Business Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), who in the last Congress successfully pushed into law the Small Business Regulatory Efficiency and Fairness Act, or the Red Tape Reduction Act as he likes to refer to it.
But small businesses need more help in coming into compliance with environmental protection standards, panelists - which consisted of mostly small business representatives and one academician - argued at the hearing.
Bond seemed to agree: "To most small businesses, compliance assistance means having access to a knowledgeable and reliable source of information without the threat of enforcement. ... Compliance assistance should be viewed as an 'ounce of prevention.' It should involve sufficient outreach and education to notify small businesses of their obligations and to explain what an agency expects in the way of compliance - before the 800 pound gorilla knocks on the door."
The witnesses in several instances also depicted in ominous terms the fear of retaliation from federal agencies that small businesses experience and that dissuade them from going to the agencies to seek assistance to correct a violation.
David Marsh, the owner and CEO of Marsh Plating Corp. and speaking on behalf of metal finishing associations, averred, "Because firms fear enforcement, they may not want to take appropriate steps to find out about violations and correct them."
The panelists argued that two bills - one concerning audit privileges (S. 1332) introduced by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) and one on setting up small business compliance centers (S. 1957) introduced by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) - would help businesses comply with rules and correct violations. S. 1957 would establish centers to increase outreach efforts and to provide regulatory assistance to small businesses and S. 1332 would protect state voluntary environmental audit laws.
About half of the states have passed audit privilege laws, which have been under attack by EPA. Under audit privilege laws, companies will monitor and fix pollution violations themselves and in return, to various degrees, are allowed to keep related reports and other information confidential and gain immunity to some kinds of lawsuits.
EPA, however, is concerned that such laws limit the agencies' ability to protect public health and the environment and has issued a policy on the issue that Benjamin Cooper, senior vice president for government and public affairs at the Printing Industries of America, described as the "law of good intentions" but that would not work.
Montana State Representative Scott Orr, who also is a small business owner, argued that "environmental privilege laws are solution oriented, instead of blame oriented." He also insisted that the laws "are designed to encourage companies to 'find it and fix it, rather than find it and forget it.'"
Environmental audit legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate for several years, but to no avail. After decrying EPA enforcement actions, Orr claimed at the hearing, "I hope the next Congress has the political guts to cut their budget and employees because the alternative is not pretty."
There were no representatives of EPA or the Small Business Administration testifying at the hearing, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) was the lone voice to issue words of caution about the legislation. Though he emphasized that he supported the "thrust" of his colleagues' two bills, he said he had concerns with the legislation. "We have to be mindful that law enforcement and community right-to-know is adequately protected," he warned. The Massachusetts senator also admonished, "There are some bad apples out there."
At a Senate hearing last week, legislators heard a new round of calls insisting on the need to pass legislation to help small businesses comply with a suffocating mound of environmental regulations.
Echoing the same arguments heard in past years, the panel of witnesses called for Congress to provide more assistance and more leeway to small businesses by acting on legislation to allow audit privileges and extra assistance to small businesses.
The oversight hearing was held April 28 in the Senate Small Business Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), who in the last Congress successfully pushed into law the Small Business Regulatory Efficiency and Fairness Act, or the Red Tape Reduction Act as he likes to refer to it.
But small businesses need more help in coming into compliance with environmental protection standards, panelists - which consisted of mostly small business representatives and one academician - argued at the hearing.
Bond seemed to agree: "To most small businesses, compliance assistance means having access to a knowledgeable and reliable source of information without the threat of enforcement. ... Compliance assistance should be viewed as an 'ounce of prevention.' It should involve sufficient outreach and education to notify small businesses of their obligations and to explain what an agency expects in the way of compliance - before the 800 pound gorilla knocks on the door."
The witnesses in several instances also depicted in ominous terms the fear of retaliation from federal agencies that small businesses experience and that dissuade them from going to the agencies to seek assistance to correct a violation.
David Marsh, the owner and CEO of Marsh Plating Corp. and speaking on behalf of metal finishing associations, averred, "Because firms fear enforcement, they may not want to take appropriate steps to find out about violations and correct them."
The panelists argued that two bills - one concerning audit privileges (S. 1332) introduced by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.) and one on setting up small business compliance centers (S. 1957) introduced by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) - would help businesses comply with rules and correct violations. S. 1957 would establish centers to increase outreach efforts and to provide regulatory assistance to small businesses and S. 1332 would protect state voluntary environmental audit laws.
About half of the states have passed audit privilege laws, which have been under attack by EPA. Under audit privilege laws, companies will monitor and fix pollution violations themselves and in return, to various degrees, are allowed to keep related reports and other information confidential and gain immunity to some kinds of lawsuits.
EPA, however, is concerned that such laws limit the agencies' ability to protect public health and the environment and has issued a policy on the issue that Benjamin Cooper, senior vice president for government and public affairs at the Printing Industries of America, described as the "law of good intentions" but that would not work.
Montana State Representative Scott Orr, who also is a small business owner, argued that "environmental privilege laws are solution oriented, instead of blame oriented." He also insisted that the laws "are designed to encourage companies to 'find it and fix it, rather than find it and forget it.'"
Environmental audit legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate for several years, but to no avail. After decrying EPA enforcement actions, Orr claimed at the hearing, "I hope the next Congress has the political guts to cut their budget and employees because the alternative is not pretty."
There were no representatives of EPA or the Small Business Administration testifying at the hearing, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) was the lone voice to issue words of caution about the legislation. Though he emphasized that he supported the "thrust" of his colleagues' two bills, he said he had concerns with the legislation. "We have to be mindful that law enforcement and community right-to-know is adequately protected," he warned. The Massachusetts senator also admonished, "There are some bad apples out there."
