Small Entities and Rulemaking
Small Entity Compliance Guides
Small Entity Compliance Guides (SECGs) are prepared pursuant to section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA) (Title II of Public Law 104-121 (PDF) (29 pp, 186K, About PDF) ). By clicking on the "Rule Title" in the list below, you can access details about the SECG you're interested in.
The statements in SECGs are intended solely as guidance to aid in complying with the associated rule. In any civil or administrative action against a small business, government, or small organization for a violation of a rule, the content of its SECG may be considered as evidence of the reasonableness or appropriateness of proposed fines, penalties, or damages. These guides may not apply in a particular situation based upon the circumstances, and EPA retains the discretion to adopt approaches on a case-by-case basis that differ from these guides where appropriate. Any decisions regarding a particular facility will be made based on the statute and regulations. Therefore, interested parties are free to raise questions and objections about the substance of these guides and the appropriateness of their application to a particular situation. EPA will, and state governments should, consider whether the recommendations or interpretations in the guide are appropriate in that situation.
EPA may decide to revise SECGs without public notice to reflect changes in EPA's approach to implementing a rule or to clarify and update text. To determine whether EPA has revised these guides, contact EPA's Small Business Ombudsman Office or the authoring office in the list below.