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In an effort to assist several Maryland communities to improve their air quality, the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) used a federal grant to perform a compliance audit of small businesses to determine whether they are complying with air quality regulations. The communities chosen for the study are Environmental Benefit Districts (EBDs) and are located in Baltimore City, Baltimore County (zip codes 21205, 21224 and 21231) and Prince George’s County (zip codes 20743, 20747, 20772 and 20774). These are low-income communities with a dense mix of both residential and commercial properties.
Health Risk Sources
Small businesses that are not complying with air pollution regulations pose potential health risks to citizens in those communities and workers at the facilities. These businesses, also called stationary sources, can emit toxic air pollutants if not using proper control devices or following standard operating procedures. These are common sources that we see and use every day, and include gasoline stations, dry cleaners, automobile body repair shops and small printing companies.
Compliance Assistance
“This grant is really benefiting the communities,” said Frank Courtright, program manager for air quality compliance. “We are learning which businesses are not in compliance and this is MDE’s opportunity to offer them compliance assistance.”
The Air Quality Compliance Program employed the services of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) to do an initial round of inspections of registered facilities and also identify additional unregistered facilities.
Audit Process
The first step in the facility audit process was to hold public meetings and explain the purpose of the inspections and to inform businesses what regulations apply to their operations. Often, business owners are aware of proper operating procedures and permit requirements. Although directly invited by mail, few business owners or employees attended.
During the summer of 2005, SAIC inspected a total of 186 facilities in the two EBDs. Gasoline stations comprised the largest category in each district, totaling 93. Dry cleaners that use perchloroethylene were second with 36 facilities. SAIC provided MDE with its findings in December.
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Distribution of Audited Facilities |
| Geographic Area |
Gasoline Stations |
Dry Cleaners |
Small Printers |
Auto Body Paint Shops |
Totals |
| Baltimore City and County |
36 |
10 |
14 |
15 |
75 |
| Prince George’s County |
59 |
26 |
9 |
17 |
111 |
| Totals |
95 |
36 |
23 |
32 |
186 |
“One hundred of the facilities will be receiving letters citing non-compliance,” explains Frank Courtright. “The notification gives the facilities an opportunity to correct problems or request the assistance of our inspectors to correct the problems. There will be a follow-up inspection at every non-compliance facility to ensure that corrective measures have been taken.”
Every Corrected Problem Improves Air Quality
Often the problems are easily correctable, such as, closing chemical containers, repairing equipment or providing workers with written operating practices. Every problem that gets corrected will improve air quality in these communities.
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