ECHO provides integrated compliance and enforcement information for about 800,000 regulated facilities nationwide. Its features range from simple to advanced, catering to users who want to conduct broad analyses as well as those who need to perform complex searches. Specifically, ECHO allows you to find and download information on:

• Permit data
• Inspection dates and findings
• Violations
• Enforcement actions
• Penalties assessed

EPA designed ECHO to help you quickly conduct specific tasks. Tasks are grouped into four primary categories, each of which you can access by clicking on a tile on the home page:

• Search Community—perform a location-based quick search. Enter an address, city, state, or zip code to retrieve a list of regulated facilities within the specific geographic area. Summary-level data are presented initially, but detailed facility data are only a click away.

• Explore Facilities—conduct a targeted search for facilities based on detailed criteria such as type of search (e.g., enforcement and compliance activity). Summary data are initially presented in a default view that you can further customize. You can also download data sets and analyze detailed facility reports. Additionally, you can search enforcement and compliance data or find EPA enforcement cases.

• Create Maps—access data visualization tools that allow you to view and interact with published maps or create your own.

• Analyze Trends—display  trends in compliance and enforcement data through dashboards, maps, and charts, as well as access other EPA tools designed to identify pollution sources, including:
  • Greenhouse gases
  • Wastewater discharges
  • Toxic chemicals

Modernization of many features in ECHO continues. Details on specific features and the current modernization schedule are available. For information on more advanced uses and applications, read Become an ECHO Pro.