Small Entities and Rulemaking
Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panels
Participate in the
SBAR Panel Process
When EPA begins the SBAR Panel process for a planned rule, generally one of the first steps we take is to ask eligible small businesses, governments, and/or not-for-profits to self-nominate if they would like to be a part of the process by serving as a Small Entity Representative. Currently, we are not accepting SER self-nominations for any Panels. When a new self-nomination opportunity presents itself, you will find the announcement here, and we also intend to distribute a news release to announce the opportunity.
Overview
The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA), requires EPA to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) Panel for most proposed rules unless the agency can certify that a rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Panel process offers an opportunity for small businesses, small governments, and small organizations (collectively referred to as small entities) to provide advice and recommendations to ensure that EPA carefully considers small entity concerns.
Each SBAR Panel is led by the EPA's Small Business Advocacy Chair (SBAC) and is comprised of federal employees from the EPA, Small Business Administration (SBA), and Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Small Entity Representatives (SERs) provide advice and recommendations to the Panel. Typically, the EPA prefers that SERs be owner-operators of small businesses, small organization officials, or small government officials. Other representatives, such as trade associations that exclusively or at least primarily represent potentially regulated small entities, may serve as SERs. These other representatives are evaluated on a case by case basis. The SERs participate in one or two meetings and are given an opportunity to submit their comments.
Current and Past SBAR Panels
The following table provides a chronological list of each SBAR Panel that EPA has concluded or is currently conducting. Click on the "Rule Title" to access details about the SBAR Panel.
Potential SBAR Panels
For the following planned rules, EPA has notified SBA's Office of Advocacy and OMB of our intent to potentially conduct an SBAR Panel, but a Panel has not yet convened. Click on the "Rule Title" to access details about the potential Panel. Should the rulemaking have a Panel convened, it will be added to the list of SBAR Panels above.
Note: More than one rule may be combined into one SBAR Panel. Letters "a" and "b" denote the different rules considered for a particular Panel.