Clean Air Advisory Panel

Clean Air Compliance Advisory Panel 

The Small Business Clean Air Compliance Advisory Panel (the Panel) was created under federal and state law to monitor the effectiveness of the Michigan Clean Air Assistance Program and the Michigan Clean Air Ombudsman . Together, these three components comprise the compliance assistance program for small businesses set up under the federal 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. 

The seven-member Panel is comprised of individuals appointed by the Governor, legislators, and the Director of the Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to represent citizens, small business owners, and governmental agencies.  Each member serves on the Panel voluntarily and without compensation. 

Responsibilities of the Panel 

The Panel receives its delegation and oversight authority from Part 57 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act of 1994, as amended (Public Act 451 of 1994) .  By statute, Panel members are charged with: 

• Reviewing information prepared by the technical assistance and ombudsman programs to assure that it is written in plain-English. 
• Prepare advisory reports on: 
  • The effectiveness of the small business technical assistance and ombudsman programs. 
  • The difficulties faced by small businesses including the average costs associated with  compliance and enforcement with the air quality regulations. 
  • The costs associated with operating a technical assistance and ombudsman program for small businesses. 
• Providing copies of prepared advisory reports to the U.S. EPA, the MDEQ, the legislature, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), and the general public. 
• Periodically reporting to the U.S. EPA. 
• Determining the use of private contractors for external expertise in providing technical assistance to small businesses. 

How Can the Panel Help Small Businesses? 
The Panel is always looking for ways to help Michigan's small businesses thrive and achieve success through improved environmental performance.  If you are a small business and have concerns about or difficulties with meeting the state and federal air quality requirements, the Panel would like to hear from you.  Feel free to contact the Panel at any time regarding your:  

• Experiences with the MDEQ or MEDC, including any telephone consultations, compliance assistance or any other interaction your business has had with the MDEQ or MEDC's programs and employees. 
• Suggestions about how to maintain a cooperative regulatory environment between the small business community and the MDEQ that is less burdensome and more solution oriented.
• Interest in providing small businesses with a meaningful opportunity to make comment on or address enforcement or other regulatory activities.
• Interest in improving the level of service provided to the small business sector by the MDEQ or the MEDC. 
• Willingness to seek out an environmental mentor (or to become an environmental mentor to another small business) so that a variety of resources or tools can be shared to address environmental compliance issues. 
• Willingness to participate in the federal and state regulatory process so that the voices of the state's small business community can be heard. 

If you would like to bring a concern or issue to the attention of Panel members, you may e-mail them directly at: David Fiedler , staff to the Panel. 

Activities and Advocacy of the Panel 

The Panel has developed a set of  bylaws  that document the Panel's purpose and its overall operation such as membership, officers and elections, meeting guidelines, decision-making, administration, and recordkeeping. 

In addition to meeting periodically to discuss environmental issues pertinent to Michigan's small business sector, the Panel has also undertaken the following actions: 

• Providing a series of recommendations in regard to the environmental regulatory enforcement program - a letter from the Panel to the Director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. 
• Providing a recommendation regarding a gubernatorial appointment - a letter from the Panel to Governor Jennifer D. Granholm encouraging her to fill the vacancy of the Michigan Clean Air Ombudsman. 
• A small business facility tour - Panel members toured a local auto body shop to demonstrate the ease of use of a new environmental audit guide developed by the technical assistance program entitled,  Auto Body - Michigan Environmental Compliance Assistance Self-Audit Guidebook and Checklist . 

Panel Meetings and Schedule 

The Panel meets approximately 2-4 times a year.  Meetings are usually held at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality at Constitution Hall in Lansing, Michigan.  All Panel meetings are open to the public, but for those unable to make a scheduled meeting, minutes of meetings are posted on this Web site.  A public comment portion is provided at each meeting that allows small business owners, operators and managers to bring issues of concern directly to the attention of the Panel members. 

Members of the Panel 

The Panel consists of the following members: 

      Bill Hughes, Kalamazoo Environmental Concerns Committee
      Bill Stough, Sustainable Research Group
      Fred Cowper, Meridian Township Fire Department
      Terry Applegate, Applegate Insulation Manufacturing, Inc.
      Sadie Leonard, Leonards Auto and Towing

Learn more about the members of the Panel. 

For More Information or Additional Assistance, contact the
Environmental Assistance Program  at 800-662-9278 

Do you have an outreach idea or suggestion for our Program?  Please feel free to submit your requests to: David Fiedler.