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ECHO Tool Guide
General Resources
- ECHO Help has links to ECHO training, tutorials, and other instructions.
- Facility Search Tutorial
- ECHO Resources
Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) is the public access website to data stored in EPA compliance and enforcement data systems. The ECHO website gives users access to permit, inspection, violation, enforcement action, informal enforcement action, and penalty information over the past five years, for facilities in their communities. The data provide a snapshot of a facility’s environmental compliance record. The data indicate a facility's record of compliance with environmental regulations (primarily the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act) by showing dates and types of violations and the seriousness of the violations.
Use the following links to go directly to a category of interest:
Deciding Which Tools to Use
Common Uses of ECHO
| If you want to | Use this page | Instructions | Help Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Learn more about using ECHO | Learn More About ECHO, ECHO Tutorials, and ECHO Training | New users are encouraged to view the ECHO tutorials. | ECHO Help |
| Report a data error that you have noticed | Error reporting buttons can be found on Detailed Facility Report, Civil Enforcement Case Report, and Effluent Chart pages. | From the Detailed Facility Report, Case Report, or Effluent Chart, click on the "Report Error" button. Error reports will be routed to the appropriate EPA or state data steward, and you will get notification of the action taken by the data steward. | How to Report an Error and Facility-Level Enforcement Compliance Data and Error Reporting Tutorial |
| Obtain nationwide facility data | Data Downloads and Web Services | -- | Use the Download Summary links for help content related to each specific dataset. |
| Determine when data were pulled from the program systems or when data will be refreshed next | About the Data | -- | N/A |
| Identify enforcement cases meeting specific criteria | Enforcement Case Search | Use the enforcement case search form to select criteria of interest to find relevant cases. Click “View More Search Options” to expand the available criteria. | Enforcement Case Search Help and Enforcement Case Search Results Help |
General Facility Information
| If you want to | Use this page | Instructions | Help Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get a facility report based upon a single known ID number or facility name (Note: Facility reports can be used to answer FOIA requests or requestors can be directed to ECHO.) | ECHO Home Single Facility Search | Click the "Explore Facilities" tile and enter the facility name or ID into the Single Facility Search. Select the red "C" icon in the Search Results Table to view the Detailed Facility Report. | Search Results Help |
| Identify what regulated facilities are located within a geographic region | ECHO Home | Enter a city, state, and/or ZIP code in the Quick Search box under “Search Community.” | Search Results Help |
| Look up a large number of facilities based upon a known list of ID numbers | Facility Search | Paste up to 2000 IDs into the Permit ID box (in the Facility Characteristics section). | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help |
| Analyze a group of CAA, CWA, or RCRA facilities based upon a list of ID numbers. (For example, "which facilities from this list of ID numbers are in SNC?") | Facility Search for All Data, Air, Water, or Hazardous Waste | Paste up to 2000 IDs into the Permit ID box (in the Facility Characteristics section). Select the current compliance status of interest from the Enforcement and Compliance section. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help |
| Identify facilities meeting specific criteria | Facility Search | Use the facility search form to select criteria of interest to find relevant facilities. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help |
| Get a multimedia report to determine whether facilities within one program are in violation under another. | Facility Search | The Detailed Facility Report will provide a multimedia report showing compliance status for all permits/IDs linked to a facility. | Facility Search Help, Search Results Help, and Detailed Facility Report Help |
Media-Specific Facility Information
| If you want to | Use this page | Instructions | Help Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Analyze, for a given state or region, how many facilities are within a sector, or determine the overall inspection presence/violation rate within a sector | All Data Facility Search | Try a SIC or NAICS code search on the All Data Facility Search for an industry of interest (lookup links are provided). | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – All Data |
| Determine which facilities are subject to CAA MACT standards | Air Facility Search | Select “View More” at the top of the search form, and choose a MACT Subpart under Facility Characteristics. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Air |
| Determine the compliance status or last inspection of facilities reporting releases of TRI chemicals | Facility Search for All Data, Air, Water, or Hazardous Waste | In the Enforcement and Compliance section of the search form, use the Time Since Last Inspection or Current Compliance Status sliders with a selection from the TRI Reporter dropdown in the Pollutants section. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help |
| Display effluent data and violations in graphical format for a particular NPDES permit, permit parameter, or permit outfall | Water Facility Search and ECHO Home | Select search criteria using the Water Facility Search, or use “Explore Facilities” on ECHO home page and enter the facility name or ID into the Single Facility Search. Select the blue “E” icon in the Search Results Table to view the Effluent Charts. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, Search Results Help – Water, and Effluent Charts Help |
| See which CWA facilities did not submit Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) (Note: Lack of DMR data also may indicate the region or state has not entered the data) | Water Facility Search | Under Enforcement and Compliance, select the Current Compliance Status “Failure to Report.” | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Water |
| Determine violations or inspection presence in priority water bodies (303(d)-listed waters) | Water Facility Search | Under Environmental Conditions, select “Discharging into Impaired Waters” equals Yes. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Water |
| Find information on the water bodies that NPDES facilities are located on or near | Water Facility Search | Enter at least three characters into the Watershed Names text box under Facility Characteristics. Select a Watershed from the dropdown list to add it to the search criteria selected panel. On Search Results page, select water body information to display from “Customize Columns” menu. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Water |
| Perform targeting based upon industry sector for the RCRA program (SIC or NAICS code) | Hazardous Waste Facility Search | Use search options under Facility Characteristics. (Note: RCRAInfo does not have SIC codes, but ECHO does have SIC data for RCRA sites based upon other databases.) | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Hazardous Waste |
| Identify facilities with SDWA PWS IDs that have current violations | Drinking Water Facility Search | Use the Current Violations list under Enforcement and Compliance. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Drinking Water |
| Determine, for individual federal agencies, which sites have been inspected and which have violations | Advanced Facility Search for All Data, Air, Water, or Hazardous Waste | First, select a Federal Agency under Facility Characteristics. Then choose from various inspection and violation search criteria under Enforcement and Compliance. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help |
| Perform a screening for facilities in high minority areas that have not been inspected | Advanced Facility Search for All Data, Air, Water, or Hazardous Waste | First, narrow your geographic search, then choose the permit type (size of facility), then choose the length of time it has been since an inspection occurred, then use the percent minority restriction. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help |
Data Quality and National and State Compliance Trends
| If you want to | Use this page | Instructions | Help Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Review national enforcement and compliance trends across states and territories | State Comparative Maps | -- | State Comparative Maps Help |
| Monitor multiple metrics and summary data at a national or state level | State Dashboards | -- | Dashboards Help Home |
| Determine whether inspection coverage, discovery of violations, enforcement actions, and average penalties are increasing or decreasing over time within a state | State Comparative Maps and State Dashboards | -- | State Comparative Maps Help and Dashboards Help Home |
| Review summary environmental compliance and enforcement performance and trend information available on ECHO | Annual Reports and State Review Framework Summaries | -- | N/A |
Key Features of ECHO
| Key Feature | Media | Description | Help Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick Search | All Media | Identify what regulated facilities are located within a geographic region. | Search Results Help |
| Single Facility Search | All Media | Get a facility report based upon a single facility name or program ID number. | Search Results Help |
| All Data Facility Search | All Data | Search across all program records for regulated facilities. Search by criteria such as facility name, location, industry classification, and enforcement and compliance history, among others. Determine compliance status and enforcement activity for several EPA programs. Customize search results columns and download data. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help |
| Air Facility Search | Air | Search for stationary sources regulated under the CAA. View reported emissions on ECHO's Air Pollutant Report or obtain additional air emission information. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help - Air |
| Water Facility Search | Water | Search for NPDES permits regulated under the CWA. View reported discharges on ECHO's effluent charts or obtain additional water quality information. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help - Water |
| Hazardous Waste Facility Search | Hazardous Waste | Search for hazardous waste handlers regulated under RCRA Subtitle C. Search by criteria such as facility designation, enforcement and compliance history, and TRI releases and transfers, among others. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help - Hazardous Waste |
| Drinking Water Facility Search | Drinking Water | Search for public drinking water systems (PWSs) regulated under SDWA. View information about the system and source water, compliance status, and enforcement activities. | Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help - Drinking Water |
| Enforcement Case Search | All Media | Search for administrative and judicial civil enforcement actions taken by the U.S. EPA and some state agencies, as well as U.S. EPA criminal prosecutions data. View case reports summarizing the enforcement action. | Enforcement Case Search Help and Enforcement Case Search Results Help |
| State Comparative Maps | Air, Water, Hazardous Waste | Review national enforcement and compliance trends across states and territories on an interactive map. | State Comparative Maps Help |
| State Dashboards | Air, Water, Hazardous Waste | View charts and summary information about compliance and enforcement metrics at a national or state level. | Dashboards Help Home |
| Drinking Water Dashboard | Drinking Water | Provides an overview of the SDWA regulatory activities of EPA and the implementing states, tribes, and territories. The dashboard provides an easy-to-use summary of key activities to answer questions like: which PWSs are regulated, how many PWS have been inspected, how many systems have had alleged violations identified and enforcement action taken, and how many systems have returned to compliance. | Drinking Water Dashboard Help |
| Pesticide Dashboard | Pesticides | The FIFRA dashboard focuses on compliance and enforcement activities for the regulated universe of pesticide-producing establishments, which includes pesticide manufacturers, sellers and distributors. | Pesticide Dashboard Help |
| Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) Pollutant Loading Tool | Water | Determine who is discharging, what pollutants they are discharging and how much, and where they are discharging. The tool calculates pollutant loadings from permit and DMR data from EPA's ICIS-NPDES and displays TRI water release data. | DMR Loading Tool User Guides/Technical Documents |
| Data Downloads | Air, Water, Hazardous Waste, All Media | Obtain nationwide facility information and national data sets. | Use the Download Summary links for specific help content related to each dataset. |