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Detailed Facility Report: Data Dictionary |
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| Summary |
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This document provides users with a list of the variables and definitions that have been incorporated into the Detailed Facility Report. The Detailed Facility Report provides a concise enforcement and compliance history for the facilities selected in your query using EPA's Integrated Data for Enforcement Analysis (IDEA) system. Each facility is tracked for compliance under four environmental statutes: the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Inspection, enforcement, and compliance data are compiled from the four program office data systems associated with these laws:
Click here for more information on numbers and types of facilities tracked in EPA's data systems. Federal enforcement actions are also tracked in the Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS). In addition to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) data for some states, ICIS contains information on federal administrative and federal judicial cases under the following environmental statutes: the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund), the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA). ICIS may contain duplicates of actions and penalties shown in the program databases. Please note that the Detailed Facility Report is an aggregate report; that is, it summarizes data from the source databases and presents them in a meaningful and succinct manner. Different tracking methods and indicators across the source databases necessitate that some data within the Detailed Facility Report be displayed differently. Note that the date the report is generated appears at the top of the report. The date that the individual databases were last uploaded to IDEA appears at the bottom of the report. Data entered into the systems after the 'refresh' dates shown at the bottom of the report are not available. Data in IDEA are refreshed once per month, usually in the middle of each month. While EPA has extensive data quality processes in place, users may find it necessary to contact the state or local agency if data are missing. In some cases, state/local governments will have additional information (see more on state data).The Detailed Facility Report is organized into
the following sections for each facility matching your query:
Compliance and enforcement data are separate from information not related to compliance (i.e., demographic data). The Detailed Facility Report contains a demographic section which uses U.S. Census data and draws from the Census Block Group Data (CBG) database. The CBG database is derived from the 2000 Census of Population and Housing Summary Tape Files 1A and 3A. Statistics are shown for the area within a 3-mile radius of each facility. More detailed information is available by clicking the 1 mi, 3 mi or 5 mi links (links leave ECHO). The total population within a given radius of a facility is one indicator of the facility's surrounding environment and provides context for other facility indicators. This indicator does not imply that there is any exposure to the identified population. Not all report sections will necessarily be present for each facility. If a report section is absent for a given facility, it simply means there were no relevant data matching the content of that section. For the purpose of this report, the "last three years" is defined as the twelve most recently completed quarters, plus data from the current quarter up until the refresh date. The last five years will include data from the twenty most recently completed quarters, plus data from the current quarter up until the refresh date. A "quarter" is any of the following 3-month periods: January-March, April-June, July-September, or October-December. |
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| Facility Permits and Identifiers |
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The Facility Permits and Identifiers section of the Detailed Facility Report provides the associated statute, system, source ID, facility name, and address for program records that are associated with a particular Facility Registry System (FRS) ID. FRS links all program database records (such as permit IDs and IDs facilities use in reporting to EPA) together. FRS Identifiers appear on the first line of the Detailed Facility Report. Facilities may be regulated under more than one environmental statute depending on the size and nature of the operations of the facility. Definitions for the column headings are given below: |
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| Statute |
The name of the statute associated with each
of the permits and identifiers linked to the facility:
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| System |
The EPA data system in which permit and facility
records are kept. EPA's Facility Registry System (FRS) links all program database
records (such as permit IDs and IDs facilities use in reporting to EPA) together. The
following list describes the individual data systems that are linked
to from the detailed facility report:
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| Source ID | An alphanumeric field, which is a unique value
for each record/permit/site within each data system. These identifiers are for
tracking purposes in the individual data systems. The identifier used in the federal
AFS database is typically different from the permit number issued to the
facility. PCS and TRI identifiers
in this section are linked to more data from their respective data systems. The Permit
Compliance System (PCS) link allows users to view more details concerning
NPDES permit limits and effluent monitoring. The Toxics Release Inventory
(TRI) link allows users to view more details concerning self-reported information
on annual chemical releases and transfers. The linked TSCA ID allows users to view more information about TSCA chemical information at the site. These three links leave the ECHO Web site.
The links connect to the Envirofacts Data Warehouse,
operated by the EPA Office of Environmental Information. The Office of Air Radiation has published data on sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Under the GHG Reporting Program, sources report as either direct emitters or suppliers. The source ID uses a D to indicate a direct emitter and a S to indicate a supplier. The 5-digit variable indicates their position on the published spreadsheet found on the GHG Reporting Program data website. |
| Facility Name | Company or permit holder name, as maintained by each data system. The facility name may differ across EPA databases due to differences in reported information, change in ownership, use of parent or subsidiary name, etc. |
| Street Address | Street address where facility is located, as maintained by each data system. Certain data systems also maintain mailing address information, which is not used in this report. The street address may differ across EPA databases due to differences in reported information (e.g., use of mailing address), change in ownership, use of parent or subsidiary address, etc. |
| City | City where facility is located, as maintained by each data system. The city may differ across EPA databases due to differences in reported information, use of parent or subsidiary location as mailing address, etc. |
| State | State, as maintained by each data system. The state may differ across EPA databases due to differences in reported information, use of parent or subsidiary location as mailing address, etc. |
| Zip | US postal Zip code, as maintained by each data system. The zip code may differ across EPA databases due to differences in reported information, use of parent or subsidiary location as mailing address, etc. |
| Facility Characteristics |
| This table of the report provides more specific information on the facility. As with the Permit and Identifiers table, this information is taken from each of the program specific databases. Definition for column headings are shown below: | |
| Statute |
The name of the statute associated with each
of the permits and identifiers linked to the facility: Only CAA, CWA, RCRA,
and EP313 are displayed in this section. The first line of this section
is normally the Facility Registry System (FRS) data so the statute box
is blank.
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| Source ID | An alphanumeric field, which is a unique value for each record/permit/site within each data system. These identifiers are for tracking purposes in the individual data systems. The identifier used in the federal AFS database is typically different from the permit number issued to the facility. |
| Facility Universe |
This field provides further description on type
of permit or record for each data system as follows:
For CAA - The program office defines each CAA Source ID and the associated permits as being Federally Reportable or Non-Federally Reportable. Under the CAA, federally reportable sources include majors, synthetic minors, NESHAP Part 61 minors, minors with an unresolved High Priority Violation (HPV), with recent enforcement actions, or included on a Compliance Monitoring Strategy plan. The Clean Air Act requires that delegated agencies and EPA track all federally reportable sources in Air Facility System (AFS). For CWA - Each CWA Source ID or National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit is defined by the program office as a Major or Minor discharger. Unlike major permits, most minor permits do not have federal monitoring requirements. For ICIS-NPDES data, this field also indicates the permit type. For RCRA - RCRA Source ID or permits for Treatment, Storage and Disposal facilities are identified by TSD, Large Quantity Generators are identified by LQG. Other values include Permit Workload (PMT), Closure Workload (CLO), Small Quantity Generator Universe (SQG), Conditionally-Exempt Small Quantity Generator (CESQG), Post-Closure Workload (POST CL), and Transporters. For SDWA - The search is designed to find systems and facilities regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. These systems are tracked in the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) database. GHG "Direct emitters" are facilities that combust fuels or otherwise put GHGs into the atmosphere directly from their facility. GHG "Suppliers" are those entities that supply certain fossil fuels or fluorinated gases into the economy which, when combusted, released or oxidized emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Click here for more information the types of facilities tracked in EPA's data systems. |
| Facility Status |
The Air Program Status is given for each source ID:
For CWA, the Permit Compliance System (PCS) designates a permitted facility as being Active or Inactive. Under the CWA, all facilities discharging pollutants from a point source (e.g., a pipe) to surface waters must have a NPDES permit. For CWA, ICIS-NPDES designates a permit as Effective, Administratively Continued, Expired, Not Needed, Pending, Retired, or Terminated. RCRA facilities ("sites") are designated as Active or Inactive. The following provides RCRA site activity status definitions and explains site activity status designation.
The overall activity status of a site is Active if the site has activities from any of the five subcategories below. If a site does not have any activity in any of the five subcategories, then the site is deemed Inactive. Only activities that are known to EPA or a state with an authorized hazardous waste program that have been entered into the national program database, RCRAInfo, will be considered in determining a site's activity status. (Note: Active means a site has activities occurring that are regulated under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Subtitle C, or an authorized state's hazardous waste management regulations/statutes; or a site which has not been determined to be inactive for such regulated activities. Activity status is determined from the information most recently submitted by a site's representative or determined by EPA or state authority. Federal regulations do not require a subsequent notification if a non-treatment, storage, or disposal facility (TSDF) changes its status (requirements vary from state to state); however, TSDFs are required to notify when owner/operator information changes. Therefore, non-TSDF data may show a site activity status that is no longer current at the site. Activity status definitions are intended only for the purposes of data management and providing the public with information about hazardous waste or other RCRA Subtitle C activities. The designation of a site as "active" or "inactive" and the subcategories below have no legal or regulatory significance.)
When a site is shown as Active on the Detailed Facility Report, one to
five characters in parentheses will indicate the activities that led to
the Active designation. The following list provides a definition for
each character that may be displayed:
SDWA systems are designated as Active or Inactive. The following provides
SDWA systems activity status definitions. |
| Areas | Displays Clean Air Act stationary source program subpart designation, Clean Water Act-NPDES permit component(s), and/or other Resource Conservation and Recovery Act designations, if any. The GHG Reporting Program includes facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year as well as suppliers of certain fossil fuels and industrial gases. The 2010 GHG data published includes nine industry groups: power plants, landfills, metals manufacturing, mineral production, petroleum refineries, pulp and paper manufacturing, chemicals manufacturing, government and commercial facilities, and other industrial facilities. |
| Permit Expiration Date (CWA only) | Date on which a given permit is scheduled to expire. An expired date does not mean the facility is operating without a permit. In most cases, the facility has applied for a permit renewal, but the responsible authority (local, state, or federal) has not completed the re-issuance. Typically facilities operate under the conditions of the expired permit until the renewal has been processed. Some states are experiencing a backlog in issuing permit renewals, particularly under the Clean Water Act. EPA suggests contacting the relevant state agency for more information about permit renewal status. |
| Lat/Long | The latitude and longitude of the facility or permit holder as maintained in each data system. |
| Indian Country | A value of "N/A" (Not Applicable) indicates this information is not maintained in the program data system. "No" indicates the facility is not in Indian Country, and a value of "Yes" indicates the facility is in Indian Country according to the source database. |
| Primary and Secondary SIC Codes | Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes, as maintained by each data system. SIC codes were established by the Census Bureau to identify processes, products and services. Each data system has different criteria for incorporating this information (e.g., for Toxics Release Inventory reporting, the SIC codes are self-reported by the facility each year). |
| NAICS Codes | The North American Industry Classification System
(NAICS) has replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system.
For detailed information about NAICS and for a crosswalk between NAICS and
SIC codes, please check the U.S. Census Bureau
NAICS 
page. |
| NOTE | If CWA NPDES permit documents are available for viewing, links are displayed below the Facility Characteristics section. Some links may take users to state websites. |
| Inspection and Enforcement Summary Data |
| Statute |
The name of the environmental statute
associated with each of the permits and identifiers linked to the
facility. Only CAA, CWA, and RCRA are displayed in this section.
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| Source ID | An alphanumeric field, which is a unique value for each record/permit/site within each data system. These identifiers are for tracking purposes in the individual data systems. The identifier used in the federal AFS database is typically different from the permit number issued to the facility. |
| Insp Last 5 Yrs | The number of inspections/compliance evaluations that have occurred at the facility, under the corresponding statute, within the last five years. The last five years will include data from the twenty most recently completed quarters, plus data from the current quarter up until the refresh date. This count only includes inspection types that are counted as inspections in official counts. See the "Inspection History" section for a list of inspection types counted. |
| Date of Last Insp | The date on which the most recent inspection of the facility took place. For the Clean Air Act, the date on which a Full Compliance Evaluation (FCE) was completed. This date may or may not correspond to an actual site visit. A series of partial on- or off-site inspections may have been conducted during the fiscal year as part of this FCE. |
| Formal Enf Act Last 5 Yrs | The number of formal enforcement actions that have been taken against the facility, under the corresponding statute, within the last five years. This count only includes enforcement actions that have been entered in the program databases: AFS, PCS, ICIS-NPDES, and RCRAInfo. Federal CAA, CWA-PCS, and RCRA enforcement actions that have been entered into ICIS are not included in this section to avoid duplicative counting. (Please note that all actions at NPDES facilities in states using ICIS-NPDES are counted.) Please refer to the Formal Enforcement Actions section to determine which actions qualify. |
| Penalties Last 5 Yrs | The total dollar amount of either assessed (or final) penalties. This count only includes penalties that have been entered in the program databases: AFS, PCS, ICIS-NPDES, and RCRAInfo. Federal CAA, CWA-PCS, and RCRA penalties that have been entered into ICIS are not included in this section to avoid duplicative counting. This count does not include proposed penalties in RCRAInfo or the cost of Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs). |
| Compliance Monitoring History |
| The Compliance Monitoring History section of the Detailed Facility Report lists inspections/compliance evaluations that have occurred under the Clean Air Act (CAA); the Clean Water Act (CWA); the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA); the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Acts (EPCRA); and the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) over the past five years. Inspections include all federal and state inspections that are reported into federal data systems using federally-designed codes. Italicized entries include various compliance monitoring activities that do not qualify as inspections under EPA's official Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance performance measures. Definitions for column headings are given below: | |
| Statute |
Designation of the statute associated with each
of the permits and identifiers linked to the facility.
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| Source ID | An alphanumeric field, which is a unique value for each record/permit/site within each data system. These identifiers are for tracking purposes in the individual data systems. The identifier used in the federal AFS database is typically different from the permit number issued to the facility. |
| Inspection Type |
A description of the type of inspection
undertaken. The Detailed Facility Report includes inspections which
were conducted within the last five years. The last five years will
include data from the twenty most recently completed quarters, plus
data from the current quarter up until the refresh date. Italicized inspection types are not part of EPA
official counts. The following inspection
types are included in official counts:
Clean Air Act (CAA) EPA and states used one set of inspection
codes prior to October 1, 2001 for "official inspections"
under the CAA. These include the codes listed below. Beginning on
October 1, 2001, a policy and subsequent database change created
a set of new codes that are used to designate "compliance evaluations."
A Full Compliance Evaluation (FCE) includes comprehensive paperwork
review and often, but not necessarily, an on-site inspection. Codes
that continue to be "credited" as official inspections include
FS, FF, FE and FZ (shown in bold).
Under the current system, compliance evaluations which do not qualify as FCEs are characterized as "partial." Partial means that some compliance monitoring was done, but all requirements were not met to receive credit for a Full Compliance Evaluation. The following codes are not included in official counts and indicate partial compliance evaluations:
Stack Tests: A stack test, also referred to in EPA regulations as a performance or source test, measures the amount of specific regulated pollutant(s) or surrogates being emitted; demonstrates the capture efficiency of a capture system; or determines the destruction or removal efficiency of a control device used to reduce emissions at facilities subject to the requirements of the Clean Air Act. Stack tests are discussed in the Clean Air Act Stationary Source Compliance Monitoring Strategy (CMS) (pdf, 59KB), which provides recommendations to state and local environmental agencies to encourage national consistency in developing stationary source air compliance monitoring programs. Title V Annual Compliance Certification (ACC): The results of performance stack tests conducted and of Title V Certification Reviews are required to be reported to the national program database, Air Facility System (AFS), based on the AFS Information Collection Request (pdf, 87KB). Regarding stack test results, as noted above, EPA does not require that the pollutant tested be reported. However, a violation of a major facility's allowable emission limit detected during a stack test may trigger a high priority violation status, according to the policy on the Timely and Appropriate Enforcement Response to High Priority Violations (HPV Policy) (pdf, 1.03MB). Detailed information is available in the following documents:
Clean Water Act (CWA) - PCS
Clean Water Act (CWA) - ICIS-NPDES
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
Italics indicate inspections that aren't included in official counts. See the Inspection Type introduction above for more information. Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) Section 313
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA)
Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
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| Lead Agency | Identifies the lead agency (e.g., EPA, State) conducting the inspection. |
| Date | The calendar date of the listed inspection. |
| Finding | For CAA, includes results of
source or performance stack tests or Title V certification review results when
applicable; for CWA and RCRA, includes whether violations or compliance
issues were found during an inspection, if entered into an EPA system. Violation, noncompliance, significant noncompliance, and high priority violation are all terms used by the ECHO site to describe the facility status in regard to compliance with the law. In many cases, these terms reflect determinations made by EPA or states when conducting inspections or reviewing facility self-reports. These determinations assist the government in tracking resolution of violations through the enforcement process and do not necessarily represent a final adjudication by a judicial or administrative body. In such cases, these characterizations should be considered alleged violations. |
| Compliance Summary Data |
| Statute |
The name of the statute associated with each
of the permits and identifiers linked to the facility. Only CAA, CWA, RCRA,
and SDWA are displayed in this section.
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| Source ID | An alphanumeric field which has a unique value for each record/permit/site within each data system. These identifiers are for tracking purposes in the individual data systems. The identifier used in the federal AFS database is typically different from the permit number issued to the facility. | |
| Current SNC/HPV |
The current Significant Non-compliance (SNC)
or High Priority Violator (HPV) status for the facility during the most
current quarter reflects the time the records were extracted from the program
data systems. SNC is used for RCRA and CWA, and HPV is used for CAA. Each
program has its own specific criteria for making this determination. The
value of "Yes" indicates the facility is in SNC or HPV for the permit or site in
question and may pose a more severe level of environmental threat. The
value of "No" indicates the permit or site is not considered in SNC or HPV. If
the facility is Non-Federally Reportable within AFS or if it is classified
as minor within PCS, the field reads "N/A". The value of N/A in this field indicates
Not Applicable because compliance data for these facilities are not required to be reported to the national program database.
When data are available, this field will
indicate the compliance status for some minor facilities in ICIS-NPDES.
Similar functionality will be added for PCS states soon. For minor
facilities in ICIS-NPDES, N/A indicates that EPA's data system is not
able to determine the facility-level compliance status based upon the
information available.
For the RCRA program, some hazardous waste facilities have activities
in multiple states. When the SNC activity location is not the same as
the state where the facility is located, the state of the SNC activity
location is displayed in parentheses. A "Yes" by itself indicates that
the facility has a SNC activity location in the state where the facility is located.
A brief summary
of each program's definition is shown below. However, these summaries are
not meant to substitute for the complete definition, which can be found
in the relevant guidance documents for a given program. Further information
on each programmatic policy can be found on EPA's Web site at: CAA (PDF, 24 pp., 1.04 MB),
RCRA
(PDF, 14 pp., 145 KB) or CWA (PDF, 407 pp., 14.33 MB).
Air High Priority Violation (HPV) Definition - The Air program uses the term HPV. HPV designations are made according to the December 22, 1998 memo: Issuance of Policy on Timely and Appropriate Enforcement Response to High Priority Violations. The following criteria can trigger HPV status:
The HPV designation is removed for a given source when all federal and state administrative and judicial action against the source is complete, the source has completed all requirements under the consent decree or final order including payment of all penalties and completion of supplemental environmental projects, and the source has been confirmed to be complying with the CAA. The High Priority Violation (HPV) flag is reported in the Air Facility System (AFS), as of the last IDEA refresh of AFS. A 'YES' appears in the column to indicate that the facility has HPV status. Below is a list of violation codes within AFS that translate to HPV status.
The status of "Addressed" indicates that a formal action has been taken against the facility but its violations have not yet been resolved, or that a decision not to take a formal action has been made. For the CAA, violations are not considered resolved until the source is in full physical compliance and all penalties are paid. "Unaddressed" indicates that the facility's violations have not yet been addressed with a formal enforcement action or the decision to do so has not yet been made. CWA Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) Definition - The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program uses the term SNC. SNC designations are made in accordance with the December 12, 1996 guidance document: A General Design for SNC Redefinition Enhancement in PCS. Most SNC designations are based on an automated analysis of Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) that facilities with NPDES permits are required to submit on a monthly basis. The compliance designation of a facility in the PCS/ICIS-NPDES database is done using a mathematical formula that takes into account the amount, duration, and frequency of discharges in comparison with permit levels. In some instances facilities may be manually designated as SNC, even if the PCS/ICIS-NPDES data system does not automatically designate them as such. Examples of events that could result in the manual generation of a SNC code for a facility include: unauthorized discharges; failure of a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) to enforce its approved pretreatment program; failure to meet a construction deadline; failure to file a DMR; filing a DMR more than 30 days late; or violating any judicial or administrative order. Manually entered compliance data, if present, override machine-generated compliance data. A facility may have multiple discharge points and different designations for each point. If any of these points show a SNC type code, then the overall facility status is listed as SNC, even if other discharge points are in compliance. Removal of the SNC designation occurs once the facility's DMR reports show a consistent pattern of compliance with permit limits, or if EPA or a state agency issues a formal enforcement order to address the violations that resulted in the SNC designation and the facility has returned to compliance. The most recent quarter for PCS/ICIS-NPDES is the most recent official quarter for which the quarterly status is available. This is usually 2 1/2 months after the quarter has ended. Thus, the most recent quarter in PCS/ICIS-NPDES is often not the same quarter as that for AFS and RCRAInfo. The following are NPDES Quarterly Non-compliance Report codes that translate to SNC status:
RCRA Significant Non-Compliance (SNC) Definition - The RCRA program uses the term SNC. Any determination to classify a site as a SNC is made using the guidelines set forth in the December 2003 Hazardous Waste Civil Enforcement Response Policy. A site can be designated as a SNC if any of the following are found to exist: the site has been determined to cause actual exposure or has a substantial likelihood of causing exposure to a hazardous waste or constituent; is a chronic or recalcitrant violator; or deviates substantially from the terms of a permit, order or agreement, or from RCRA statutory or regulatory requirements. Under the RCRA program, the SNC designation is removed for a given site when the site is in full physical compliance with statutory and/or regulatory requirements. |
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| Description | The text description for the event that results in the permit or site being in Significant Non-compliance (SNC) or in High Priority Violation (HPV). | |
| SNC Current As Of | The most recent date or calendar year quarter of record maintained in the data system for which the Current SNC/HPV status applies. A quarter could be any of the following 3-month periods: January-March, April-June, July-September, or October-December. | |
| Qtrs in NC (of 12) | Count of the number of quarters, out of the last twelve quarters, in which the permit or site is considered either with violations, in non-compliance (NC) status, or in Significant Non-compliance (SNC) or High Priority Violation (HPV) status, as shown in the following section. A quarter is any of the following 3-month calendar periods: January-March, April-June, July-September, or October-December. Further violation and detailed compliance information can be found on ECHO's Frequently Asked Question page. | |
| Violation, noncompliance, significant noncompliance, and high priority violation are all terms used by the ECHO site to describe the facility status in regard to compliance with the law. In many cases, these terms reflect determinations made by EPA or states when conducting inspections or reviewing facility self-reports. These determinations assist the government in tracking resolution of violations through the enforcement process and do not necessarily represent a final adjudication by a judicial or administrative body. In such cases, these characterizations should be considered alleged violations. |
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| Three Year Compliance Status by Quarter |
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The quarter is used as the measurement period because it is the shortest measurement period across all three statutes for which EPA receives non-compliance data from states. A quarter is any of the following 3-month calendar periods: January-March, April-June, July-September, or October-December. Violation information is displayed in a different manner for each statute. This is due to differences in how violations are tracked within each data system. Definition of "Violation" - Non-compliance with one or more legally enforceable obligations by a regulated entity, as determined by a responsible authority. Included in this category are violations of legally enforceable obligations under pre-existing Final Orders (e.g., violations of compliance schedules included in enforcement orders). What does it mean if a facility is in violation? The quarterly status measure may not reflect all actual non-compliance events in some cases. For example, EPA does not require national reporting for facilities with "minor" permits; thus, non-compliance at these facilities may not be completely shown in ECHO. For minor facilities, the authorized state may have information on violations not found in ECHO. Also, delays sometimes occur in entering non-compliance determinations into the database. Alternatively, in some cases, a facility may be shown to be in non-compliance while the facility has already remedied the underlying violation; this may occur because EPA or the state has not yet verified this. In other cases, the state or EPA may change its initial determination of non-compliance based on additional facts or discussions with the facility. Site users may report possible errors concerning non-compliance status from the facility report screen. Definitions for column headings are shown below. |
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| Statute |
Designation of the statute associated with each
of the permits and identifiers linked to the facility:
|
| Source ID | An alphanumeric field which has a unique value for each record/permit/site within each data system. These identifiers are for tracking purposes in the individual data systems. The identifier used in the federal AFS database is typically different from the permit number issued to the facility. |
| Quarterly Status Matrix |
The quarterly status matrix of the Detailed
Facility Report, displays compliance status data over the last three
years of available data. Information is broken down into quarterly
periods listed as QTR1 through QTR12 (most recent). A quarter is
any of the following 3-month calendar periods: January-March, April-June,
July-September, or October-December. Because quality assurance protocols
differ among the data systems, the last twelve complete quarters
of record may differ across EPA data systems (AFS, PCS and RCR).
The periods referenced for each Source ID are listed below the QTR1
through QTR12 headings.
HPV History (CAA) - The High Priority Violation (HPV) flag as reported in the Air Facility System (AFS), as of the last IDEA refresh of AFS. A blank in this column means that the facility is not currently a High Priority Violator (HPV). If more than one flag applies to a facility during a quarter, a prioritization is used to determine which code appears. The order of precedence is as follows:
The status of "Addressed" indicates that a formal action has been taken against the facility but its violations have not yet been resolved, or that a decision not to take a formal action has been made. For the CAA, violations are not considered resolved until the source is in full physical compliance and all penalties are paid. "Unaddressed" indicates that the facility's violations have not yet been addressed with a formal enforcement action or the decision to do so has not yet been made. CAA Quarterly Status - For Clean Air Act (CAA) permits, the matrix provides quarterly status information for each air permit, and within each permit, the programs to which the facility or operation is subject. Within each CAA program, individual pollutants for which the facility is in current violation are listed on a separate line (slightly indented). The pollutant-specific information applies only to the most recent quarter of information, and is not aligned across the twelve quarter grid. In general, data relating to Federally-reportable facilities (see Facility Characteristics Section) is considered more reliable. CAA programs include:
The following codes indicate that an alleged violation of a CAA permit or regulatory program has been found by a delegated agency or the EPA:
Violation, noncompliance, significant noncompliance, and high priority violation are all terms used by the ECHO site to describe the facility status in regard to compliance with the law. In many cases, these terms reflect determinations made by EPA or states when conducting inspections or reviewing facility self-reports. These determinations assist the government in tracking resolution of violations through the enforcement process and do not necessarily represent a final adjudication by a judicial or administrative body. In such cases, these characterizations should be considered alleged violations. The following code indicates that it is not known if any violations currently exist at the regulated source:
The following code indicates that a CAA source is operating under the requirements of an enforcement schedule:
The following codes are used in AFS as placeholders:
To assist the user in understanding the above information, at the end of the Air Compliance Status section the following record keys are listed: V=Violation; S=Compliance Schedule.
The compliance status for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) dischargers is normally determined by the electronic comparison of discharge monitoring reports (DMRs) submitted by major facilities to permitted discharge limits. Both permit limits and discharge data must be present for the system to generate an accurate compliance status. The Detailed Facility Report presents the following information: Non-compliance in Quarter SNC/RNC Status (Significant Non-compliance/Reportable
Non-compliance Status) for major facilities (or Facility Status for minor facilities) Note: The national program database calculates the severity of violations according to the Clean Water Act regulations, which have specific criteria specifying the duration, severity, and type of violations that rise to the level of Significant Noncompliance (SNC). The calculation of Category I Violations is equivalent to the SNC calculations, but because the violations occur at smaller dischargers (non-major), EPA does not classify the violations as "SNC". ECHO distinguishes between "SNC" and Category I because this has a bearing on the government response used to address the violation(s). Repeat SNC occurrences normally are addressed through formal enforcement actions, while Category I Violations are often addressed via informal processes. The following codes are used on the Quarterly Non-compliance Report (QNCR) to indicate the facility's SNC/RNC or Category I/II status. If more than one code applies to a facility, a prioritization is used to determine which code appears. The order of precedence from most to least important is as follows:
SNC/Category I categories are shown in RED, RNC/Category II categories are shown in ORANGE, On Schedule categories are shown in BLUE (these facilities are considered in compliance), and Compliance categories are shown in GREEN. Facility-level (SNC/RNC) status is automatically generated based on DMR data. However, state or EPA manually entered compliance data, if present, override machine-generated compliance data. A CWA permit is considered noncompliant in a given quarter if a D, E, S, T, X, or N is presented in the SNC/RNC Status field. A code of C, P, or R indicates the facility is not considered in RNC or SNC (in addition to the automatically generated blank field). In addition, a "U" (Undetermined) code may appear as the SNC/RNC Status for Oregon major facilities. As a pilot project for Oregon facilities only, the U code indicates that the facility-level compliance status for the facility is undetermined by PCS due to a lack of DMR data in the system. For information on the pilot project, see the Data Alerts page. Effluent Violations Effluent violations are indicated by displaying the highest percentage by which the permit limit was exceeded for the quarter. Bold, large print indicates Significant Non-compliance (SNC) effluent violations. For unresolved SNC violations (e.g., violations with no government action against the facility), the table cell is shaded gray. It is possible for a facility to have effluent violations that do not rise to the SNC/RNC level. This occurs if the exceedances are not significantly over permit limits. To the right of each parameter/chemical shown with a discharge violation, there is an indicator of what type of measurement was used to determine the violation. "Mnthly" stands for monthly. This means that the exceedance shown in that row was based upon a monthly average of readings submitted by the permittee. EPA generally believes that monthly averages are the most important, because the exceedance represents an average of many readings. "NMth" stands for non-monthly. This is generally a "maximum" amount read during the reporting period (and could indicate a spike that is not continuous). "Neither" denotes other measurements such as a minimum (e.g. pH could be in violation if below the permitted level). Please note that the exceedances shown in the table are the "worst" value within the quarter. Generally the permittee will report three times within the quarter (each month). Compliance or Permit Schedule Violations Single Event Violations Violation, noncompliance, significant noncompliance, and high priority violation are all terms used by the ECHO site to describe the facility status in regard to compliance with the law. In many cases, these terms reflect determinations made by EPA or states when conducting inspections or reviewing facility self-reports. These determinations assist the government in tracking resolution of violations through the enforcement process and do not necessarily represent a final adjudication by a judicial or administrative body. In such cases, these characterizations should be considered alleged violations.
RCRA Quarterly Status - All non-compliance events which would cause the RCRA site to be in non-compliance at some time in the past three years are listed under the Type of Violation section. A RCRA site is considered out of compliance for any quarter in which there is a violation date and no corresponding resolved date, and is considered out of compliance for each quarter thereafter until there is a resolved date. At the Facility Level Status, a site can be designated as in Significant Non-compliance "SNC" or In Violation "In Viol". Some hazardous waste facilities have activities in multiple states. When the SNC activity location is not the same as the state where the facility is located, the state of the SNC activity location is displayed in parentheses. It is possible for the facility to have a SNC activity location in more than one state. For the RCRA program, violations are listed with the beginning and return-to-compliance dates across the twelve quarters. If the report shows a right arrow with no closing date, that means that the violation has not been resolved and continues to be active in the data system. If the violation started before the last three years of data and continues into the last three years, the beginning date is listed in QTR1. A RCRA site is considered to be in Significant Non-compliance in the most recent compliance quarter of record when there is actual exposure or a substantial likelihood of exposure to hazardous waste/constituents, is a chronic or recalcitrant violator; or a substantial deviation from the terms of a permit, order, agreement, or RCRA statutory or regulatory requirements.
Type of Violation - The RCRAInfo system uses codes which designate many
different types of violation, depending on both the type of facility and
the part of the site that had the violation. The violation types are
nationally defined and the short description provided indicates the type
of violation that allegedly occurred. Violation, noncompliance, significant noncompliance, and high priority violation are all terms used by the ECHO site to describe the facility status in regard to compliance with the law. In many cases, these terms reflect determinations made by EPA or states when conducting inspections or reviewing facility self-reports. These determinations assist the government in tracking resolution of violations through the enforcement process and do not necessarily represent a final adjudication by a judicial or administrative body. In such cases, these characterizations should be considered alleged violations.
One or more of the following descriptions may apply to a given system. Priority System: Violations of sufficient magnitude or duration to be a regulatory priority. The exact definition varies by contaminant. Former Priority System: MCL or Treatment Technique Violations: Violations of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), which specify the maximum permissible concentration of a contaminant; or treatment technique rules, which specify required processes intended to reduce the level of a contaminant. MCLs and treatment technique rules are health-based drinking water standards. Other Violations: Violations of non-health-based standards, such as reporting requirements, monitoring schedules, or aesthetic standards (Secondary MCLs). No Violations: No violations are recorded in the database. Violation, noncompliance, significant noncompliance, and high priority violation all terms used by the ECHO site to describe the facility status in regard to compliance with the law. In many cases, these terms reflect determinations made by EPA or states when conducting inspections or reviewing facility self-reports. These determinations assist the government in tracking resolution of violations through the enforcement process and do not necessarily represent a final adjudication by a judicial or administrative body. In such cases, these characterizations should be considered alleged violations. |
| Notices of Violation or Informal Enforcement Actions |
| Statute |
|
| Source ID | |
| Type of Action | CWA Informal Enforcement Actions (PCS Codes):
1. These Informal Enforcement Action Codes are no longer used, but are still shown on the DFR for historical purposes. These Informal Enforcement Action Codes cannot be entered into the databases under the PCS definitions. CWA Informal Enforcement Actions (ICIS-NPDES Activity Type Code):
CAA Informal Enforcement Actions (AFS National Action Types):
RCRA Informal Enforcement Actions (RCRAInfo Action Series): Any code in the following series
|
| Lead Agency | The lead agency responsible for issuing the notice of violation. |
| Date | |
| Formal Enforcement Actions |
| The Formal Enforcement Actions section of the Detailed Facility Report provides the federal and state formal enforcement actions that have been entered into federal data systems for each facility over the past five years. The last five years will include data from the twenty most recently completed quarters, plus data from the current quarter up until the refresh date. Enforcement actions under the Clean Air Act (CAA); Clean Water Act (CWA); Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act Section 313 (EPCRA); Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); and Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) over the past five years are included. . Federal and state enforcement actions are identified from each of the program databases (AFS, PCS, NCDB, and RCRAInfo) via the Integrated Data for Enforcement Analysis (IDEA) system. Enforcement actions and penalties from the Federal Enforcement Docket, as maintained in EPA's Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS), as well as state enforcement actions from ICIS-NPDES, are displayed in the Formal Enforcement Actions - ICIS section. This section does not include data regarding enforcement referrals or criminal enforcement actions. | |
| Statute |
Designation of the statute associated with each
of the permits and identifiers linked to the facility:
|
| Source ID | An alphanumeric field, which is a unique value for each record/permit within each data system. These identifiers are for tracking purposes in the individual data systems. The identifier used in the federal AFS database is typically different from the permit number issued to the facility. |
| Type of Action |
Text description of type of enforcement
action. The type of action and description are designated differently
in each system, but may be equivalent. Under the CWA, the numerals
appearing after the enforcement action type are not a part of the
enforcement action. These numbers describe the type of action (i.e.,
judicial, administrative, etc.) and are included with the text description
of the action. Entries in italics are
not "formal" actions under the PCS definitions but are
either the initiation of an action or penalties assessed as a result
of a previous action. CWA Formal Enforcement Actions (PCS Codes):
* These are not "formal" actions under the PCS definitions but are either the initiation of an action or penalties assessed as a result of a previous action. 1. These Formal Enforcement Action Codes are no longer used, but are still shown on the DFR for historical purposes. These Enforcement Action Codes cannot be entered into the databases under the PCS definitions. CWA Formal Enforcement Actions (ICIS-NPDES Codes):
CAA Formal Enforcement Actions (AFS National Action
Types):
|
| 2. These Formal Enforcement Action Codes are no longer used, but are still shown on the DFR for historical purposes. These Enforcement Action Codes cannot be entered into the databases under the AFS definitions. | |
|
RCRA Formal Enforcement Actions (RCRAInfo
Action Series): Any code in the following series:
EPCRA 313, FIFRA, TSCA (NCDB): Any administrative or judicial action. |
|
| Lead Agency | The lead agency responsible for the enforcement action. |
| Date | Effective date of the listed enforcement action. Enforcement actions listed within the last five years. |
| Penalty | Dollar amount of penalty assessed, when available. Amount is the final penalty unless otherwise noted in the Penalty Description field. In PCS, state administrative penalties are not required to be input to the system. |
| Penalty Description | Further details on listed enforcement action or penalty, when available (only from RCRAInfo). |
| Formal Enforcement Actions - ICIS |
| Environmental Conditions |
| The Environmental Conditions section of the Detailed Facility Report provides details on the health of the watershed in which the facility resides. Environmental Conditions data are only available for those facilities that have a NPDES permit (PCS and ICIS-NPDES). | |
| Permit ID | The NPDES permit ID number of the facility. |
| Watershed | The 8-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) of the watershed in which the facility resides. A HUC number is assigned to every watershed in the nation and uniquely identifies the watershed. |
| Watershed Name | The name of the watershed in which the facility resides. This is the watershed name that is associated with the HUC number. |
| Receiving Waters | The name of the river, lake, stream, or estuary that receives runoff from the facility. |
| Impaired Waters |
Field indicates if the permit discharges directly into category 4 or 5 impaired waters. The impaired waters field has been expanded from facilities that discharge into an impaired water body for which a plan has not yet been developed - these are listed waters under the CWA section 303(d) program (category 5 water body) - to also include facilities that discharge to an impaired water body for which the state has developed a plan to return the water to its designated uses - under the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) program (category 4 water body). Under section 303(d) of the CWA, states, territories, and authorized tribes are required to develop lists of impaired waters. These are waters for which technology-based regulations and other required controls are not stringent enough to meet the water quality standards set by states. The law requires that states establish priority rankings for waters on the lists and develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), for these waters. A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still safely meet water quality standards. For more information about impaired waters or TMDLs, please visit EPA's overview of impaired waters and Total Maximum Daily Loads Program web page. For detailed information on the categorization of impaired waters, see Section V of the 2006 Integrated Report Guidance.
Note that the locational data (latitude and longitude) are needed to index NPDES permits to the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) Reach Addressing Database (RAD). For some facilities, locational data are not available, so whether the facilities directly discharge into impaired waters cannot be determined. For information on the completeness of 305b and 303d impairment data by state, see the Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds' NHD Reach Indexing Status by State page. |
| Combined Sewer System | This field indicates whether or not the facility has a combined sewer system. A combined sewer system is a wastewater collection system owned by a municipality which conveys sanitary wastewater (domestic, commercial, and industrial) and stormwater through a single pipe system to a publicly-owned treatment works. During wet weather events, combined sewer systems are susceptible to overflows of untreated wastewater directly to surface water bodies, such as streams, rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters. If the facility has a combined sewer system, the number of outfalls for this system is provided in parentheses after "Yes". |
| System and Source Water Types |
| The System Type and Source Water Type sections of the Detailed Facility Report provide details on the magnitude and source of the drinking water systems. System Types and Source Water Types data are only available for those systems in SDWIS (Safe Drinking Water Information System). | |
| System Type |
Community Water System (CWS): A public water system that serves
at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly
serves at least 25 year-round residents.
Non-community water system (NCWS): A public water system that is not a community water system. Non-transient non-community water system (NTNCWS): A non-community water system that regularly serves at least 25 of the same nonresident persons per day for more than six months per year. Transient non-community water system (TNCWS): A non-community water system that does not serve 25 of the same nonresident persons per day for more than six months per year. Public water system (PWS): A system for the provision to the public of piped water for human consumption, which has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves an average of at least 25 individuals at least 60 days out of the year. Non-public water system (NPWS): A water system that is not a public water system. |
| Source Water Type |
Surface water (SW): All water naturally open to the atmosphere (rivers,
lakes, reservoirs, streams, impoundments, seas, estuaries, etc.) and all
springs, wells, or other collectors that are directly influenced by surface water.
Ground water (GW): The supply of fresh water found beneath the Earth's surface, usually in aquifers, often used for supplying wells and springs Ground water under the direct influence (UDI) of surface water: Any water beneath the surface of the ground with: 1) significant occurrence of insects or other macroorganisms, algae, or large-diameter pathogens such as Giardia lamblia; or 2) significant and relatively rapid shifts in water characteristics such as turbidity, temperature, conductivity, or pH that closely correlate to climatological or surface water conditions. Direct influence must be determined for individual sources in accordance with criteria established by the State. The State determination of direct influence may be based on site-specific measurements of water quality and/or documentation of well construction characteristics and geology with field evaluation. |
| TRI History of Reported Chemicals Released in Pounds per Year at Site |
| Chemical release information from the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is provided for each reporting facility. Data are for information purposes only and do not indicate any association with other sections of this report. Chemical releases are not a measure of compliance as the reported releases are typically permissible under current laws. For each site listed, the total pounds per year for all types of chemicals is provided. | |
| Year | The calendar year during which the releases and transfers occurred. This is not the year that the report was submitted. |
| Total Air Emissions | The total fugitive (non-point air emissions) and stack or point air emissions, in pounds per year.
|
| Surface Water Discharges | The total direct discharges to receiving streams or water bodies, in pounds per year.
|
| Underground Injections | The total underground injections to wells on-site, in pounds per year. |
| Released to Land | Total releases to land on-site (includes landfills), in pounds per year.
|
| Total On-Site Releases | Total pounds per year released for Air Emissions, Surface Water Discharges, Underground Injections and Releases to Land. |
| Total Off-Site Transfers | The total amount, in pounds per year, transferred off site to Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) and other off-site locations. |
| Total Releases and Transfers | Grand total for Air Emissions, Surface Water Discharges, Underground Injections, Releases to Land, On-Site Releases and Off-Site Transfers in pounds per year for all types of chemicals.
|
| TRI Total Releases and Transfers by Chemical and Year |
| TRI chemical release information is provided for each reporting facility. Data are for information purposes only and do not indicate any association with other sections of this report. Chemical releases are not a measure of compliance as the reported releases are typically permissible under current laws. If a facility has more than one Source ID, the individual records will be combined and reflected in the total pounds for releases and transfers. | |
| Chemical Name | For each listed TRI chemical, the total pounds either released to air, discharged to surface water, injected underground, landfilled on-site, or transferred off-site for disposal or to a POTW. |
| Year (up to 8 entries) | The calendar year during which the releases and transfers occurred. This is not the year that the report was submitted. |
| Dioxins | Facilities started reporting releases of Dioxins in 2000. These Dioxins are measured in metric grammes instead of the customary imperial pounds (lbs) used for other TRI chemicals. |
| Demographic Profile of Surrounding Area |
|
The Demographic Profile of Surrounding Area section provides some of the demographic elements of the area surrounding the facility identified in the Detailed Facility Report. The demographic summary uses U.S. Census data and draws from the 2000 Census Block Groups Data (CBG) database. The CBG database is derived from the "2000 Census of Population and Housing Summary Tape Files 1A and 3A." Statistics are shown for the area within a 3-mile radius of each facility. More detailed information is available by clicking the 1 mi, 3 mi or 5 mi links (links leave ECHO). The total population within a given radius of a facility is one indicator of the facility's surrounding environment and provides context for other facility indicators. The radius is measured from the best available lat/long coordinate (normally from EPA's Locational Reference Table - LRT file). This indicator does not imply that there is any exposure to the identified population. Data are for information purposes only and do not indicate any association with other sections of this report. The first portion of the Demographic Profile section gives a general overview of the area, including geographic data and basic economic and population data. Succeeding portions of this section provide a more detailed profile of the area population by race, age, education, and income. Users should be aware that the Demographic Profile is based upon the reported Latitude and Longitude of the facility or permit holder. Surrounding populations and other statistics were estimated by retrieving the data for Census block groups within the requested radius from each facility. |
|
| Radius of Area |
The number of miles, in any direction,
from the center point of the facility that is included in the demographic
profile. The Detailed Facility Report provides data for a radius
of 3 miles. More detailed information is available by clicking the
1 mi, 3 mi or 5 mi links (links leave ECHO).
Note: The Census data records distance in kilometers whereas IDEA has chosen to display distances in miles. As a result, IDEA has created derived fields in the flattened CBG files which convert Census values to reflect miles instead of kilometers. To make this conversion, distances in kilometers have been divided by the number 1.6 (the number of kilometers in a mile). In the case of an area (given in square kilometers), the number is divided by 2.59, the square of 1.6. |
| Center Latitude | The latitude of the facility in degrees, to four decimal places. |
| Center Longitude | The longitude of the facility in degrees, to four decimal places. |
| Total Persons | The total number of persons that reside in the area being profiled. The total population within the selected radius of a facility is one indicator of the facility's surrounding environment and provides context for other facility indicators. This indicator does not imply that there is any exposure to the identified population. |
| Land Area | The percentage of the total area that is land (not water). This is calculated using the sum of the land areas of the Census Block Groups (CBG) within the selected radius. |
| Water Area | The percentage of the total area that is water (not land). This is calculated using the sum of the water areas of the Census Block Groups (CBG) within the selected radius. |
| Population Density | The number of persons per square mile in the
area being profiled. This field is the ratio of total persons (displayed
in the Total Persons field) to total land area (displayed in the Land Area field). |
| Percent Minority | The percentage of the population of the given area that is minority. The field is calculated by subtracting the number of persons who are white (and not of Hispanic origin) from the total persons. This number is then divided by the total persons and multiplied by one hundred to determine the percentage. |
| Households in area | The number of households in the area being profiled. |
| Housing units in area | The number of housing units in the area being profiled. |
| Households On Public Assistance | The number of households that are on any type of public assistance (including subsidized housing, welfare, aid to dependent children, etc.). |
| Persons Below Poverty Level | The number of people in the selected area that are below the poverty level. |
| Race Breakdown |
Listing of the number of persons in each
of the following major categories:
This section also lists the percentage that each major group represents of the total population for the area being profiled. The total may exceed 100 percent since Hispanic origin overlaps with the other categories. |
| Age Breakdown |
Listing of the number of persons in each age
group. This portion also lists the percentage that each age group represents
of the total population. Age group categories include:
|
| Education Level (Persons 25 & older) |
Listing of the total number of persons at each
educational level. Only persons twenty-five or over are included in this
category. Also listed is the percentage that each educational group represents
of the total population over twenty-five. Education level categories include:
|
| Income Breakdown |
Listing of the total number of households at
each income level. Also listed is the percentage that each income group
represents of the total number of households in the area. Household income
levels include:
|