The Department of Environmental Protection has appointed Jay R. Moyer as its Small Business Ombudsman who serves as the primary advocate for small businesses within DEP.

He can assist small businesses in realizing the potential costs savings of pollution prevention versus pollution control. He is the point person for small businesses that need assistance with compliance issues or are looking for funding or technical assistance.

Moyer also helps to administer DEP’s popular small business advantage grant program. This program is in its 10th year of providing grants for small business pollution prevention and energy efficiency projects.

The SBAG program is a first-come, first-served grant providing up to 50 percent reimbursement grants up to a maximum of $9500 to enable small businesses in Pennsylvania to adopt or acquire energy efficient or pollution prevention equipment or processes.

An eligible applicant must be a for-profit small business whose business or facility is located within Pennsylvania, and has 100 or fewer full-time employees. The project must also result in at least 25 percent plus $500 savings in annual energy consumption or in pollution handling or prevention related expenses.

Applicants may be manufacturers, retailers, service providers, mining operators or agricultural businesses. Eligible projects include HVAC and boiler upgrades, high-efficiency lighting, solvent recovery systems, waste recycling systems and auxiliary power units deployed as anti-idling technology for trucks.

To contact the DEP Small Business Ombudsman’s office, call 717-772-8909, or send email to: jaymoyer@pa.gov. 

9/2/2013