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Facility Search Help

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 Facility Search Tutorial

Conduct a targeted search to identify facilities and download data based on detailed search criteria.

The ECHO Facility Search page is organized into three primary areas:

 

You have the option of switching from a limited set of search options to the full set by clicking "View More Search Options" (or "View Fewer Search Options", as applicable) just above the search form.
 

Choose a Search Type

The Facility Search queries a database of hundreds of thousands of facility records to find those in which you're interested. Each search type has search options and search results that are tailored toward the way facilities are regulated under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for hazardous waste, and Safe Drinking Water Act. In addition, results returned for the facility search include federal enforcement actions taken under the relevant statute which are tracked in EPA's ICIS database. Read About the Data to learn about the data included in ECHO.

All Data

The All Data search is selected by default. The All Data option is the most general search and searches across all of the records based on your selections.

Air

The Air search captures data on stationary sources regulated under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and reported to several EPA air emission inventory programs:  National Emissions Inventory, Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, Toxic Release Inventory, and Clean Air Markets Division Acid Rain Program and Clean Air Interstate Rule. The results reflect data drawn from the ICIS-Air database and other air emissions inventory data systems.

Water

The Water search captures data on facilities regulated under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and managed under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. The results displayed reflect data drawn from the ICIS-NPDES database.

NPDES Program Areas

The Industrial Stormwater search captures data on facilities managed under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Industrial Stormwater program area. The results displayed reflect data drawn from the ICIS-NPDES database.

Hazardous Waste

The Hazardous Waste search captures data on hazardous waste handlers regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Subtitle C Hazardous Waste Program. The results displayed reflect data drawn from the RCRAInfo database. The RCRAInfo system allows tracking of many types of information about the regulated universe of RCRA hazardous waste handlers. RCRAInfo characterizes facility status, regulated activities, and compliance histories and captures detailed data on the generation of hazardous waste from large quantity generators and on waste management practices from treatment, storage, and disposal facilities.

Drinking Water

Drinking Water Resources

The Drinking Water search captures data on public drinking water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The results displayed for each of the systems returned reflect data drawn from the federal version of the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS/Fed).
 
Under SDWA, most states and the Navajo Nation have "primacy," meaning the authority to implement and enforce SDWA within their jurisdictions if they can show that their standards will be at least as stringent as the national standards. They also must ensure that public water systems meet these standards. States with primacy collect detailed system and monitoring data from systems within their jurisdictions, and submit a portion of that data quarterly to EPA. The data required to be reported to EPA include information about each system, such as its name, type (community, transient, non-transient), population served, source water type, violations of SDWA regulations, and enforcement actions taken to return the system to compliance.
 
The information presented is submitted by public water systems to their state environmental agencies, who submit the data to EPA. States often have more detail in their data systems than are reported to EPA. For example, in some cases, states may report to EPA that a violation occurred, but not the magnitude of the violation. For more comprehensive data or measured values, please contact your state drinking water program.

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Search Tips

  • You need only to specify the search terms that are of most interest to you
  • Keep track of your chosen search criteria in the Search Criteria Selected area
  • If your search returns a large number of facilities, you can narrow your search by specifying additional facility characteristics or program criteria

Specify Search Criteria

ECHO provides powerful search capabilities offering many search criteria to target your results. Related ECHO search criteria are organized into categories. Expand or collapse the categories by clicking the corresponding arrow or using the “Expand All” or “Collapse All” links above the search form.

ECHO is designed to simplify your search experience. A subset of the most common search criteria is displayed by default, but the option to see advanced search criteria in a category is only one click away – just click the “View Search More Options” link above the search form or click the "View More" link at the top left of any category.

Advanced search options are shown on the search form with a  icon. Advanced search options are automatically displayed if you are a government user (ECHO Gov) or you arrive at the search page by the Advanced Facility Search link.

The Facility Search Criteria Help and NPDES Program Area Search Criteria Help pages provide detailed descriptions of each search term by category or alphabetized by term.

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Search Criteria Selected

ECHO keeps track of selected search criteria on the right side of the page. Search terms are listed in the Search Criteria Selected panel after you complete them on the left. The search criteria are organized by the same categories and only appear once they are completed. Click the X to easily delete a search term from your search. If you decide to start over you can click the "Clear All" link to reset your search.

Click Search to retrieve your results. You are able to customize the columns that are displayed on the search results page by clicking Customize Columns after the results load.

Note: You can get search results of up to 60,000 facilities. Please note, however, that searches that return a large number of facilities may load very slowly. A warning message appears if your search results exceed 60,000 facilities and you must narrow your search.

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