Clean air bill to sweep all businesses. (Clean Air Act amendments to affect small businesses as well as large smokestack industries)

Clean air bill to sweep all businesses

Small-business owners who consider clean air legislation a concern primarily for the nation's smokestack industries are in for a rude awakening, business lobbyists warn.

A bill introduced by Rep. John Dingell, D-Michigan, would affect minor sources of water discharges and air contaminants by calling for new compliance standards for companies such as printers, auto body shops, beauty shops, bakeries and restaurants.

"This is the biggest across-the-board-impact legislation that Congress has considered in my time in Washington, and that's 15 years," said Michael Lane, executive director, Associations Council of the National Association of Manufacturers. The Washington-based federation represents manufacturers' associations …