"Small Business" defined

The EPA recognized that the many facets of the 1990 Clean Air Act (CAA) make it a difficult law to follow, particularly for smaller businesses with limited resources. As a result, the 1990 CAA required each state to develop a small business technical assistance program. With technical assistance limited to small business, it was necessary to define what qualifies a business as "small." Following are the criteria EPA established for state programs to define a small business:

• Fewer than 100 employees
• Independently owned and operated and not dominant in your industry
• Not a major source for any regulated pollutant. The air emissions from your business must fall into one of the following categories:
• For Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) air emissions are less than 10 tons per year (TPY) of any one or less than 25 TPY of any combination of HAPs
  OR
• For other regulated pollutants (non-HAP) air emissions are less than 50 TPY of any one or less than 75 TPY of any combination of these pollutants

For more information on HAPs of concern in Oregon see the Fact sheet on Air Toxics of concern in Oregon. For other pollutants of concern in Oregon see our page on Common Air Pollutants.

Using this definition, most businesses in Oregon are small businesses and are eligible for assistance from our small business assistance program. Because many small businesses are now subject to federal and/or state air quality regulations due to their air emissions, DEQ's Business Assistance Program is dedicated to providing technical and educational information to assist owners in proactively managing their emissions, and in understanding what is needed to comply with required regulations and/or permits.

• More fact sheets

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