webinar: epa’s environmental enforcement data august 10, 2011

Webinar: EPA’s Environmental Enforcement Data

August 10, 2011

http://www.epa.gov/appsfortheenvironment/index.html

Agenda

• Introductions

– Sarah Swenson, EPA (facilitator)

– Carey Johnston, EPA (presenter)

• Format

– EPA speaker (20 minutes)

– Lines are muted - submit questions as the speaker talks

– Technical issues? Send a message via webinar panel

– Questions and Answers (15 minutes)

• See the website: epa.gov/appsfortheenvironment

Background about the Challenge

• Apps must use EPA data and address one of EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson’s Seven Priorities

• Judged based on usefulness, innovativeness, and usability

• Submissions are due by September 16

• Winners and runners up for Best Overall App and Best Student App, plus People’s Choice

• Recognition from EPA in Washington, D.C. in early November

• Get more details at epa.gov/appsfortheenvironment

10 August 2011 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 4

EPA’s Enforcement Data

• Enforcement Data Overview

• Access to Enforcement Data:– Enforcement and Compliance History Online

(ECHO)– Discharge Monitoring Report Pollutant Loading Tool

(beta)


Enforcement Data Overview• The U.S. EPA, state and local authorities are each responsible for monitoring

whether facilities comply with federal environmental laws.

• EPA collects and analyzes compliance monitoring data to ensure proper oversight. – Information about regulated entities and their pollutant discharges– Information about inspections and enforcement actions

• Four key components of the enforcement process at regulated facilities are documented in EPA databases for larger facilities and many smaller facilities: – The occurrence of a monitoring event such as an inspection/evaluation or a self-

report; – The determination of a violation (noncompliance); – The occurrence of a government enforcement action to address violations; and – Penalties associated with enforcement actions.


Access to Enforcement Data: ECHO

• ECHO is designed to give you both summary and detailed information about facilities' compliance and enforcement status and history. �

• ECHO's tools are designed to be simple yet provide sufficient detail to meet users needs.

• ECHO is currently being used:– by the public to learn about regulatory oversight and to retrieve the

compliance records of facilities in their community. – by corporations to monitor compliance across facilities they own. – by investors to supplement their assessments of environmental

performance at the facility and corporate level.


Access to Enforcement Data: ECHO http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo/


Access to Enforcement Data: ECHO

• The information provided on ECHO relates to facilities regulated as:– Clean Air Act (CAA) stationary sources, – Clean Water Act (CWA) permitted dischargers (under the National

Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)), – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste

sites, and – Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) public water systems.

• ECHO reflects state/local and Federal compliance and enforcement records under those statutes that have been entered into EPA's national databases.


Access to Enforcement Data: ECHO• EPA National databases (containing state and federal data) used in ECHO:

– Air Facility System (AFS) - CAA – Permit Compliance System (PCS) - CWA NPDES – Integrated Compliance Information System - National Pollutant

Discharge Elimination System (ICIS-NPDES) - CWA NPDES – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information System

(RCRAInfo) - RCRA – Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) - SDWA

• Each database is copied monthly into the Integrated Data for Enforcement Analysis (IDEA) system and made available in the ECHO Web interface to allow Internet access to integrated data.

• Data is updated monthly, normally around the third week of each month. Each facility report generated is date stamped.


Access to Enforcement Data: ECHOSee: http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo/idea_download.html

• In the event that the data retrievals available through ECHO do not meet your needs, EPA has compiled datasets from the primary enforcement and compliance history databases in IDEA.

• Only certain data elements from the databases are incorporated into IDEA, and a subset of these are provided in the datasets.

• Each download file is a compressed zip file containing one or more pipe-delimited (|) text files. The download summary documents posted after each data set contain a file listing and definitions of included data elements.

• The datasets were downloaded using data from the March 2010 IDEA refresh, and are updated annually.


DMR Pollutant Loading Toolsee: www.epa.gov/pollutantdischarges

• Similar to Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for CWA point source discharge monitoring data.

– Who is discharging What and Where

• Calculates pollutant loads (pounds) from discharge monitoring data.– Pollutant Discharge Concentration (mg/L) X Flow (Million Gallons per Day) X 8.34

(conversion factor).

• Significant implications for:– Enforcement targeting and compliance assistance (providing better sense of the

importance of effluent discharges and permit limit violations)– Public access– Effective and timely communication on characterizing point source dischargers– Better data for watershed modeling and pollution budgets (TMDLs), developing

effluent limits, enhancing EPA Regional and State NPDES program quality, and EPA rulemakings (effluent guidelines)

• Data available for over 25,000 facilities with discharge monitoring data.


Questions that the Loading Tool can answer…Potential uses of the Loading Tool include answering the following questions:

• How many facilities are monitoring their discharge for mercury? How many of these facilities have effluent limits?

• How many power plants have limits for arsenic and selenium?

• What is the largest reported amount of nitrogen discharged in this watershed? In this State? In this EPA Region? In the Nation?

• What industrial sectors are reporting the largest amounts of pollutants discharged? The largest amounts of toxic pollutants?

• What watersheds in a State or EPA Region receive the largest amounts of reported point source pollution?

• How many facilities are regulated by EPA’s industrial regulations for the Petroleum Refining point source category?


DMR Pollutant Loading Tool (beta)

10 August 2011 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 148/18/10DMR Pollutant Loading Tool

Results are displayed by top:- Pollutants- Watersheds- Facilities

Facility Pollutant Detail

- Receiving Water Info- Treatment in Place (POTW

only)- NPDES Program Information


DMR Pollutant Loading Toolsee: www.epa.gov/pollutantdischarges

• Currently the Loading Tool is in beta for public comment

• EPA will enhance this tool in order to respond to public comments, which will include an improved access to bulk data downloads.

• Currently users can download facility, permit, and loading data for 2007 (beta version).

Questions and Answers

Potential topics:

• Accessing or using enforcement data or other EPA data systems

• Where to find ideas for apps

Next Steps

• Check out our new webinar site to catch up on any you’ve missed!

• Join us tomorrow for a special webinar!

– Thursday, August 11 at 4:00 PM EST

– Topic: A Conversation with Developers

– Register via www.epa.gov/appsfortheenvironment

• Check out our blog at http://blog.epa.gov/data/

• Visit the website for the latest news and sign up for the listserv

(EPA App Developer Community)

• Email us at [email protected]

• Submit your apps by September 16

http://www.epa.gov/appsfortheenvironment

mailto:[email protected]

Contact Information

18

Carey [email protected]

Michael [email protected]



webinar: epa’s environmental enforcement data august 10, 2011

Documents

enforcement actions

enforcement records

enforcement process

enforcement status

echo echo

facilities compliance

compliance monitoring

epa databases