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10 INNOVATIVE STATE PROJECTS SELECTED FOR 1999 SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS

Release Date: 10/07/99
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, OCT. 7, 1999
10 INNOVATIVE STATE PROJECTS SELECTED FOR 1999 SMALL
BUSINESS ASSISTANCE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS

On Oct. 6, EPA’s Office of Small Business Ombudsman announced the 10 recipients for the 1999 Small Business Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program. A total of $900,000 in awards up to $100,000 each is available for State Small Business Ombudsmen or Small Business Assistance Programs. The awards reflect EPA’s commitment to support innovation in existing networks that help businesses prevent pollution and comply with the law. The projects chosen for funding represent a wide range of small business sectors and offer the potential for demonstrating innovative ideas and have far-reaching benefits to other state assistance programs. Established under Section 507 of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, this program measures their individual and collective success to help achieve National Ambient Air Quality Standards. A total of 23 applications were submitted from throughout the United States. The recipients are: California South Coast Air Quality Management District to assist small businesses in reducing air emissions with a focus towards the water heater and boiler manufacturing industry, $100,000; Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment to market the Small Business Ombudsman and Small Business Assistance Program and train State Small Business Development Center personnel on environmental issues to better inform small businesses, $84,177; Kansas State University Pollution Prevention Institute for three industries: drycleaners, automotive repair/auto body and metal finishing, direct technical assistance, including the development of promotional materials of the states’ assistance program, $99,984; Maine Department of Environmental Protection for technical assistance for compliance and pollution prevention to selected small business sectors, $60,821; Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for sector-based, compliance assistance to the reinforced plastics and boat manufacturing industries, $96,824; Montana Department of Environmental for marketing and evaluation of the Small Business Ombudsman and Small Business Assistance Program and evaluation of their effectiveness, $75,000; New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for cooperative effort between the state Department of Environmental Protection and state Commerce Department for marketing of services to other state small business providers, $84,000; New York Environmental Facilities Corp., for demonstration of the improved environmental benefits providing compliance assistance to the Gasoline Dispensing Sites and Transport Vehicles, particularly Stage II requirements, $83,681; South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to measure the success of the technical assistance program to auto repair shops and salvage yards, $93,000; Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to conduct reviews of proposed new standards affecting small businesses, develop mailing packages to inform businesses and develop comprehensive data base sorted by SIC code and matched to new proposed standards, $68,960.


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