EPA Offers Assistance To Small Communities

If you’re an elected official or municipal employee of a small community, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a special program and assistance for complying with environmental regulations and policies. Small towns and villages often do not have the financial, technical or managerial oversight to keep environmental violations from occurring – despite best efforts. Additionally, local governments of this size may not have easy access to environmental professionals and elected officials may not be aware of environmental requirements.

To improve compliance awareness in small communities, the EPA has created a framework for environmental responsibilities, information needed to correct non-compliance issues, and strategies for achieving and sustaining on-going compliance.

Some of the environmental compliance resources that are available to small local governments include:

  • checklists
  • compliance guides
  • training for staff
  • grant-writing tutorials
  • mentoring programs

When small towns are told of noncompliance issues, they often do not know how to correct the problem because a violating operation may be an essential one to the community. Additionally, have a small tax base also limits the funds available to make improvements that could relieve non-compliance and improve the environmental quality for all residents.

WasteCare Wants You to Remember: There are wonderful quality of life benefits to living in a small town, but having the funds and resources to ensure compliance with federal environmental regulations can be a challenge. If you’re a resident, business owner, or local government employee in a small community take a look at the resources available through the EPA. They might be able to help you avoid fine and penalties while improving the quality of life for everyone!