INDIANAPOLIS -- New and existing small businesses baffled by the array of environmental and related health and safety regulations can have easy access to quick answers now that the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has created a new guidebook to provide an overview of these pertinent state laws.

Titled "Indiana Small Business Guide to Environmental, Safety and Health Regulations," this guide is designed to help small businesses understand and comply with regulations that apply to their operations. While it offers smaller manufacturing businesses insightful regulatory information that may otherwise be difficult to find, the guide is not designed to provide a comprehensive listing of all regulations.

"We created the guidebook with the input of numerous professionals who realize that the array of laws that small business owners must abide can be difficult to find," said IDEM commissioner Thomas Easterly. "We also provided a facility assessment survey, which will enable business owners to quickly identify relevant chapters."

The guide describes how wastes may enter the environment and how to prevent this from happening, and which remediation methods to use if contamination does occur. The guide addresses the importance of safety and health in the workplace and explains how businesses can comply with applicable safety and health regulations.

Like other industrial activities, small businesses use a variety of materials and potentially- hazardous chemicals, and generate waste that must be handled, treated, or disposed of properly.  Although the average small business is not a major source of pollution, their aggregate impact on the environment can be significant.

The guide is available for download at http://www.in.gov/idem/5556.htm. 

The guidebook is offered by the Compliance and Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) within IDEM's Office of Pollution Prevention and Technical Assistance, which provides free and confidential environmental assistance to Indiana businesses. For additional information about the guide or answers to detailed questions on environmental topics, call IDEM's Compliance and Technical Assistance Program (CTAP) at (800) 988-7901or (317) 232-8172. For more detailed information on safety and health in the work place, call the Indiana Department of Labor's INSafe program at (317) 232-2655. 

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