171-R-92- 001 United States Environmental Protection Agency Off ice Of The Administrator (A-101F6) 171-R-92-001 February ^1992 Guide To EPA Region 3 Program Data System Printed on Recycled Paper ------- EPA REGION III DATA SYSTEMS ------- GUIDE TO EPA REGION 3 PROGRAM DATA SYSTEMS NNEMS Project Prepared by Lori Bird for the Environmental Services Division EPA Region III, Philadelphia August 1991 ------- DISCLAIMER This report was furnished to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by the student identified on the cover page, under a National Network for Environmental Management Studies fellowship. The contents are essentially as received from the author. The opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mention, if any, of company, process, or product names is not to be considered as an endorsement by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ------- Table of Contents Introduction Region III Program Data Systems Alphabetical Listing of Program Data Systems Individual System Summaries Project Participants Region III Program and Support Data Systems Relevant Environmental Statutes ------- INTRODUCTION Scope This is a list of EPA databases, maintained either by Region 3 or headquarters, currently being used by Region 3 program staff. A program data system is defined here as any computerized database which contains information on environmental quality or information on the status of a media program. A few private and government systems, which are heavily used by EPA program personnel, have also been included. Support systems such as EPAYS and IFMS, used for financial management, and other administrative systems are not included in the program list. In Appendix A, however, there is an additional list of data systems containing both program and support databases currently used by Region III. A support system is defined here as a computerized data system which does not contain program-specific information, but is necessary or useful to regional program personnel. Environmental models are not included in either list, although they currently supply EPA with a broad range of environmental data. Methodology This project is an expansion of the data systems summary compiled by Jan Auerbach, of the Office of Water, in the report entitled Multi-Media CIS/Risk Integration Project. As Auerbach's purpose was to collect information on data systems that could be used for CIS application, her system summary is significantly different than the one found here. Rather, this list is a collection of computerized databases which contain program-specific information. A database inventory produced by the headquarter's OIRM, entitled Information Systems Inventory, was used to supplement Auerbach's list. The summary of program systems in this report differs from the headquarters inventory in that it contains: 1) only those systems actively used by Region III, and 2) systems created by Region III staff. In an effort to obtain a complete list of program-specific data systems, a preliminary list was circulated to all EPA staff via LAN mail. Attached was a request for staff members to make note of any systems that were omitted. As a result of the LAN communication, approximately 25 additional systems were identified and included in the final list. In the process of summarizing existing systems, information was collected through interviews with regional staff responsible for oversight of the various databases. Summaries of the program databases were typically reviewed by the regional contact persons before being finalized. ------- REGION 3 PROGRAM DATA SYSTEMS General Databases FINDS - Facility Index System IRIS - Integrated Risk Information System Multi-Media Databases TRIS - Toxic Release Inventory System IDEA - Integrated Data Enforcement Analysis System 33/50 FFTS - Federal Facility Tracking System Chesapeake Bay Federal Facility Tracking System NEPA Tracking System PIES - Pollution Prevention Information Exchange System Air Databases AIRS - Aerometric Information Retrieval System Radon Database NADB - National Allowance Database ARTD Outreach Tracking System SAMS - SIP Air Inventory Management System Hazardous Waste Databases RCRIS (HWDMS) - Resource Conservation and Recovery Information System RCRA Non-Notifiers System EATS - Enforcement Action Tracking System BRS - Biennial Reporting System CERCLIS/WasteLAN - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System PAY - Contract Invoice Tracking ACT - ARCS Contract Tracking System RODS - Record of Decisions System PA/SI3 - Preliminary Assessment Site Investigation Tracking ERNS - Emergency Response Notification System CR-ERNS - Continuous Release Emergency Response Notif. Sys. EPCRA Enforcement Database ROIS - Region 3 Operations Information System (UST) ATTIC - Alternative Treatment Technology Information SETS - Site Enforcement Tracking System HAZARD - Hazardous Waste Superfund Collection Database NPList - NPL Document Retrieval System Pesticides and Toxic Substances Databases FTTS - FIFRA and TSCA Tracking System SSTS - Section Seven Tracking System NPIRS - National Pesticide Information Registration System PIN - Pesticide Information Network PPIS - Pesticide Product Information System PADS - PCB Activity Database System ETS - EPCRA Targeting System ------- Water Databases STORET - Storage and Retrieval of Water Quality Information PCS - Permit Compliance System GIGS - Grant Information and Control System 305(b) - Waterbody System 304(1) - Section 304(1) Facility Tracking System NEEDS - Needs Survey FRDS - Federal Reporting Data System UICTS - Underground Injection Control Tracking System Ground Water Compendium WETS - Wetlands Enforcement Tracking System ODES - Ocean Data Evaluation System 104(g) - Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Training Database AQUIRE - Aquatic Toxicity Information Retrieval Regional Counsel Databases DOCKET - Enforcement Docket Penalty Tracking System External Affairs FOIA - Freedom of Information Act Tracking System ------- REGION III ALPHABETICAL LISTING OF PROGRAM DATA SYSTEMS 104(g) - Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Training Database 304(1) - Section 304(1) Facility Tracking System 305(b) - Waterbody System ACT - ARCS Contract Tracking System AIRS - Aerometric Information Retrieval System AQUIRE - Aquatic Toxicity Information Retrieval ARTD Outreach Tracking System ATTIC - Alternative Treatment Technology Information BRS - Biennial Reporting System CERCLIS/WasteLAN - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System Chesapeake Bay Federal Facility Tracking System CR-ERNS - Continuous Release Emergency Response Notif. Sys. DOCKET - Enforcement Docket EATS - Enforcement Action Tracking System EPCRA Enforcement Database ERNS - Emergency Response Notification System ETS - EPCRA Targeting System FFTS - Federal Facility Tracking System FINDS - Facility Index System FOIA - Freedom of Information Act Tracking System FRDS - Federal Reporting Data System FTTS - FIFRA and TSCA Tracking System GIGS - Grant Information and Control System Ground Water Compendium HAZARD - Hazardous Waste Superfund Collection Database IDEA - Integrated Data Enforcement Analysis IRIS - Integrated Risk Information System NADB - National Allowance Database NEEDS - Needs Survey NEPA Tracking System NPIRS - National Pesticide Information Registration System NPList - NPL Document Retrieval System ODES - Ocean Data Evaluation System PADS - PCB Activity Database System PA/SI3 - Preliminary Assessment Site Investigation Tracking PAY - Contract Invoice Tracking PCS - Permit Compliance System Penalty Tracking System PIES - Pollution Prevention Information Exchange System PIN - Pesticide Information Network PPIS - Pesticide Product Information System Radon Database RCRA Non-Notifiers System RCRIS (HWDMS) - Resource Conservation and Recovery Info. Sys. RODS - Record of Decisions System ROIS - Region 3 Operations Information System (UST) ------- SAMS - SIP Air Inventory Management System SETS - Site Enforcement Tracking System SSTS - Section Seven Tracking System STORET - Storage and Retrieval of Water Quality Information System 33/50 TRIS - Toxic Release Inventory System UICTS - Underground Injection Control Tracking System WETS - Wetlands Enforcement Tracking System ------- FINDS - Facility Index System Office of Information Resources Management Regional Contact: Chuck Perritt FTS 597-7839 Type: Mainframe in RTF IBM 3090, ADABASE/NATURAL Established: 1982 (1984 separated from HWDMS) Scope: National The Facility Index System, operated by the Office of Information Resources Management, is the official database for assigning EPA ID numbers to all facilities in the nation tracked by EPA programs. The FINDS system serves as a tool for cross- referencing facilities identified in EPA databases under different program ID numbers. There are a number of standard reports which can be retrieved from the system report menu including a facility location and program report, a matrix of program offices that monitor each facility, a matrix of facility and program ID's, detailed facility information, and ad hoc reports. Currently, the system contains many duplicate facilities, but OIRM is working to correct these redundancies in the system. Data Updates Information in FINDS is continuously updated by regional staff in the Information Resources Management Branch. Facilities are assigned new FINDS numbers if they are not already tracked by the system. A search of the FINDS system is conducted before any facility is assigned a new ID#. Reconciliations are performed regularly to correct for duplications in the system. Available Data FINDS contains the following information: all facilities tracked by EPA, FINDS #, program ID #s, EPA programs tracking each facility, facility address, county, congressional district, and SIC code. Latitude and longitude is not currently in the system for all facilities, but will be updated in the future. Information on latitude and longitude has been taken from other systems and is of varying guality (some is specific and other may be derived from zip code or county centroid). ------- IRIS - Integrated Risk Information System Office of Research and Development Regional Contact: Jeff Burke FTS 597-1876 Type: Accessed through Electronic Mail Prime/Dialcom Electronic Publications (EPUB) Established: 1987 Scope: National IRIS, operated by the Office of Research and Development, contains information related to human health risk assessment. It is an on-line database of the agency's risk assessment and regulatory information on chemical substances designed for those with a fundamental knowledge of risk assessment. The core of the system is a collection of files that contain hazard identification and dose-response risk information for approximately 500 chemicals. The risk information on these chemicals has been arrived at after review and agreement by scientists from across the agency using all available studies on a substance. IRIS is a useful information resource tool which points the user to the underlying human and or animal data used to support the Agency's opinion. In addition, it contains information on drinking water health advisories and EPA regulatory actions. IRIS is available to the public and may be accessed by all EPA staff through electronic mail. Data Updates IRIS is updated monthly by staff under the Director of Health and Environmental Assessment in the Office of Research and Development. ------- TRIS - Toxic Release Inventory System Office of Toxic Substances Contact: Kurt Eisner FTS 597-1260 Type: Mainframe in RTF ADABASE/Natural Established: 1987 Scope: National Relevant Environmental statutes: CAA, TSCA, EPCRA The Toxic Release Inventory System (TRIS), created pursuant to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986, contains data regarding the release and transfer of toxic chemicals from manufacturers. Maintained by the Office of Toxic Substances, TRIS compiles information on over 300 toxic chemicals and 20 chemical categories released or transferred from manufacturing facilities throughout the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. TRIS tracks facilities involved in the release or transfer of toxic chemicals, the amount of the release, and the environmental medium affected. Releases are characterized as affecting air, water, land, underground wells, public sewage treatment plants, or off-site areas. The manufacturing facilities included in the database are those using at least 10,000 Ibs of one of the listed chemicals, having more than 10 employees, and operating within the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes 20 through 39. Once data is made available, it may be either accessed on-line or downloaded by TRI users. Data Sources and Updates Information concerning releases by manufacturing companies are sent to headquarters in July of each year for the preceding calendar year. Data is then entered into the system by headguarters staff and downloaded to RTP. Consequently, there is at least a twelve month lag time in the availability of information in the TRI system. (ie. 1990 data is reported in July of 1991 and available by the end of 1991) Available Data: 1987-present (12 month lag time in availability) The database contains information from 1987, the year that TRI went on-line, to present. Data for 1987 is considered to be less accurate than information for other years because it was the first year the system was in operation. Latitude and longitude is now required for facilities reporting TRI data. * National Library of Medicine (NLM) provides TRI data, obtained from TRIS, to the public. The NLM system, as a public access system, does not include any confidential information. Data contained in the NLM system is available to the public 18 months after the reporting year. 10 ------- IDEA - Integrated Data Enforcement Analysis Office of Enforcement Regional Contact: Larry Merrill FTS 597-9864 Type: Mainframe system in RTF ADABASE/Natural Established: August 1991 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statutes: CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA, CWA, CAA The Integrated Data Enforcement Analysis, a multi-media database containing enforcement information, will be available for regional use as of August 1991. IDEA, operated by the Office of Enforcement, combines enforcement information from the following national EPA databases: AFS (AIRS Facility Subsystem), CERCLIS, DOCKET, FFIS, HWDMS/RCRIS, PCS, and TRIS. The system links facilities found in these databases by the standard EPA identifier, or FINDS number. As the FINDS system contains incomplete list of EPA facilities (it contains many redundant facilities), not all enforcement information available in the individual program tracking systems can be accessed through IDEA. IDEA allows the user to pull data in four fixed reports: brief or detailed facility-specific compliance summaries, significant violator reports, or summaries of region-specific TRI data arrayed for specified pollutants. The Office of Enforcement is working to expand the number of fixed reports in the near future. Data Sources and Updates The multi-media enforcement information provided in IDEA is downloaded from PCS, CERCLIS, HWDMS, AIRS, TRI, and DOCKET national databases. Data will be updated in the IDEA system on a regular schedule to coincide with the schedules for updating the supporting databases. Available Data Data availability is consistent with that of the individual databases. Presently, data may be pulled in four distinct report formats. The Office of Enforcement is working to expand the methods of data extraction in the near future. 11 ------- system 33/50 Office of Air and Toxics Regional Contact: Bill Reilly FTS 597-9302 Type: IBM Compatible PC, DBase III Plus Scope: Regional Established: August 1991 Relevant Environmental Statutes: EPCRA, CAA, Pollution Prevention Act System 33/50, established to track the status of the 33/50 program, is a regional database which merges information from TRIS with regional 33/50 information. The 33/50 program is a voluntary pollution prevention program, co-sponsored by the Air and Pollution Prevention Programs, which aims to reduce industrial releases of seventeen toxic pollutants by 1995. The program was given its name for its emphasis on achieving a 33% reduction in industrial releases of the seventeen toxic pollutants by 1992 and a 50% reduction by 1995. System 33/50 was established to track the progress of emissions reductions for those companies participating in the 33/50 program. The TRI data available in the system provides information on the annual releases of toxic pollutants for approximately 2300 companies in Region III. In addition, the system contains data on 700 parent companies participating in the 33/50 program with facilities in Region III. Therefore, the system provides a cross-check on the progress of companies which have made commitments to reduce their toxic emissions. Data Updates During 1991, EPA sent letters to all companies with emissions of 33/50 chemicals soliciting their participation in the 33/50 program. Currently, data is updated in System 33/50 as responses are received from those companies. A procedure for future updates of 33/50 commitment data has yet to be established. TRI data is updated annually by the staff at RTF, but data is available with a lag time of eighteen months (ie. 1990 data is available at the end of 1991). Available Data: 1987-1989 (18 month lag in data availability) Searches may be conducted by parent company or facility name, SIC code, and state. Two types of reports are available through the system, either a detailed profile of TRI data and 33/50 commitment information for the parent company or for the specific facility. * See TRI for information available in that system. 12 ------- FFTS - Federal Facilities Tracking System Office of Federal Activities Contact: Larry Teller FTS 597-9861 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III Established: 1988 Scope: Region III Relevant Environmental Statutes: CAA, SDWA, TSCA, FIFRA, RCRA, CERCLA, CWA The Federal Facilities Tracking System (FFTS), operated by the Regional Federal Facilities Coordinator, contains multi-media information regarding compliance status, inspections, NEIC rankings, and A-106 projects for Federal Facilities located in Region III. The system was designed to track compliance information for the following programs: SDWA, NPDES, AIR, TSCA, FIFRA, RCRA, and CERCLA. However, compliance data in FFTS is not complete and individual program tracking systems are better sources for that information. The most important data available in the system is a list of all Federal Facilities in the region, approximately 550 in all, and the contact person for each facility. The system can also generate a list of Federal Facilities located in the Chesapeake Bay. FFTS is currently undergoing revisions and may be updated more consistently in the future. Data Sources and Updates Data for FFTS is collected by the Federal Facilities Coordinator in ESD from individual media programs and states. This information is then entered into the system as received. Available Data: 1988 - present Information available in FFTS includes: facility ID# (FINDS#), contact, address, compliance with RCRA, CERCLA, SDWA, NPDES, CWA, and CAA statutes, A-106 inspection information, IRP status, and oil spills to major waterways. Latitude and longitude is included for some systems, but is generally not available. 13 ------- Chesapeake Bay Federal Facility Compliance System Chesapeake Bay Division Regional Contact: Neil Swanson FTS 597-6529 Type: Stand Alone IBM PC, DBase III Plus Established: 1990 Scope: Region III Relevant Environmental Statutes: CERCLA, RCRA, TSCA, CWA, CAA, NPDES, AIR The Chesapeake Bay Federal Facility Compliance System, created by the Region III Chesapeake Bay Division, tracks the compliance status of federal facilities located in the Chesapeake Bay. The system has up-to-date information on compliance with all environmental regulations for the 53 federal facilities in the Chesapeake Bay. Access to the system is currently limited, but has the potential to be accessed through the LAN. As some facilities are tracked by EPA program databases under different names, the list of facilities in this system may not be comprehensive. Data Updates Data is updated by the Chesapeake Bay Division as soon as information on facility compliance is obtained from the media programs. Available Data Information available in the Chesapeake Bay Federal Facility Compliance System includes: Federal Facility ID (FFID #), facility name, partial address, compliance status, date of compliance or agreement, brief violation description, and some confidential information on facility. Latitude and longitude are not included in this system. 14 ------- NEPA Tracking System Environmental services Division Regional Contact: Leon Poeske FTS 597-7828 Type: LAN-Based IBM Compatible PC, DBase III Plus/Clipper Established: August 1991 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statute: NEPA The NEPA Tracking System, recently established by the Environmental Services Division, tracks the status of the Region's NEPA document reviews. As a management tool for Regional assessment of the NEPA program, the system tracks information on all NEPA documents such as EIS's, EA's, FONSI's, and FEIS's reviewed by the Region. Specifically, the NEPA system tracks project reviewers, comment review dates, brief project summaries, and project location information. The database will be available through the LAN, but access will be limited to NEPA reviewers in the Region. The NEPA Tracking System is user friendly and various -reports can be pulled via the system report menu. Any reports not available through the system menu can be generated if the user is familiar with DBase III+. Data Updates: A method for regular updates of the system has yet to be established. Available Data: 1990-present Information available in the NEPA Tracking System includes: document title (eg. EA, EIS, scoping letter, FONSI, FEIS), location of project (state only), CEQ number, ERP number, response due dates, EPA reviewer, origin of project (eg. DOT, DOI), summaries of EPA actions taken, comments on further actions, pollution prevention status, and type of reply (eg. adequate, insufficient information). Locational information in the system is limited to state. 15 ------- PIES - Pollution Prevention Information Exchange System office of Pollution Prevention Regional Contact: Nancy Grundahl FTS 597-0355 Headquarters Contact: Jocelyn Woodman FTS 260-4418 Type: Bulletin Board Established: 1990 Scope: National (with some International Connections) Relevant Environmental Statute: Pollution Prevention Act PIES, operated jointly by the Offices of Research and Development and Pollution Prevention, is a multi-media database containing technical, policy, programmatic, legislative, and financial information pertaining to pollution prevention. As part of the Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse (PPIC), the system is available to anyone and may be accessed by Regional staff through the LAN. PIES provides users with literature search capabilities, a calendar of national conferences and workshops, hundreds of case studies, a message center for interaction and exchange among participants, and direct access to news and documents relating to pollution prevention. In addition, there are four major data files contained in PIES: a contact list, a program summary data file, a legislative database, and Mini- Exchanges. Available Data There are four major data files which contain the bulk of the information available within PIES. The contact list, a directory of over 400 federal and state personnel, can be searched by name, state, and area of expertise. The program summaries file includes descriptions of grant programs, research projects, training, and outreach activities for federal, state and industry pollution prevention programs. For legislative information on pollution prevention, the legislative database contains summaries, status, and the full text of all federal and state pollution prevention laws. The mini-exchanges file allows users to access information on specific topic areas such as the reuse of waste materials and pollution prevention grant information. 16 ------- AIRS - Aerometric Information Retrieval System Office of Air and Toxics Regional Contact: Betty Harris FTS 597-8324 Type: Mainframe system IBM 3090/ADABAS Natural Established: 1978 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: CAA The AIRS system, operated by the Office of Air and Toxics, contains national enforcement and ambient air quality information collected pursuant to the Clean Air Act. The airs system is a compilation of several air databases such as the Airs Facility System (AFS), the Continuous Emission Monitoring system (CEM), and the National Emission Data System (NEDS). The Airs Facility Subsystem is the inspection and enforcement tracking system for stationary sources. States are responsible for conducting monthly inspections of NESHAP sources, and class B (minor) facilities. AFS also tracks enforcement actions taken by both states and EPA. The CEM subsystem records the most current emissions information provided by the states from particular monitoring sites which are usually power and asphalt plants. The NEDS system, only two years old, tracks emissions data reported annually from monitoring sites. This annual emissions monitoring is not required and thus is less reliable than the CEM data. Available Data: 1978-present (archived every 5 years) AFS system includes the following data elements: facility name and complete address, latitude and longitude, SIC code, AFS #, all relevant pollutant information, and compliance status with pollutants. Data for the last five years may be accessed readily through the system. 17 ------- Radon Database Air Radiation and Toxics Division Regional Contact: Frank Coyle FTS 597-4553 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III+ Established: 1988 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statute: CAA The Radon Database, established by the Air, Radiation and Toxics Division, is a menu-driven database containing information on indoor radon levels obtained from radon surveys and commercial radon testing labs. The system was designed by staff in Region III and is serving as the national model for collection of indoor radon measurement data. Currently, the system contains 270,000 radon readings taken from homes throughout the region. Information in the system is based on data supplied by private labs which conduct radon tests for homeowners and from the state of Delaware. The system has been used by EPA as a public awareness tool to encourage homeowners to test for radon as well as providing information to the Congressional Delegation for legislative hearings. The system is menu driven and is capable of generating seven fixed output files, three of which are graphics files designed to be used with the EPA CIS graphic sytem. The other files provide total radon levels and statistical analyses of information contained in the system. The Radon System, although currently on only one machine in the region, is available on disk and is easily transferable. Data Updates Radon information is updated by the Technical Assessment Section of EPA, Region III. Typically, data is submitted by commercial radon testing labs to EPA in June and is then reformatted to be entered into the system. Available Data: 1988-1990 Information in the system can be broken down by county, state, and congressional district. (location information is determined by zipcode) The system can sort the number of radon readings that fall between 4-20 pCi/L and readings that exceed 20 pCi/L for a particular geographic region. Total radon measurements may also be derived from the database. 18 ------- NADB - National Allowance Database Acid Rain Program Regional Contact: Dave Campbell FTS 597-9781 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III+ (or available on the RTF mainframe in SAS) Established: 1991 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: CAA The National Allowance Database (NADB), operated by the headquarters Acid Rain Program, contains information on the pollution allowances granted to public utilities under the Clean Air Act Acid Rain Provisions. NADB contains data on fossil-fuel steam generators of all sizes in the continental U.S. reported to be operational by 1990 or presently planned to be operational. In addition, information on 121 simple combustion turbine and combined cycle units planned for construction between 1990 and 1995 is included in the system. The NADB program is available on disk, but is not yet installed on any regional machines. The program has potential for LAN accessibility, although it is not very user friendly. All data in NADB is available for public access. Data Updates Currently, the system contains all Phase 1 Allowance information. Phase 2 information, for allowances relevant after the year 2000, will be available through the system by December 1991. Information in the system will change very little after Phase 2 data is entered, but periodic updates will be handled by staff in headquarters Acid Rain Division. Available Data Information available on U.S. electric utilities in the NADB system includes: phase 1 and phase 2 allowances under the CAA, plant name, utility name, state, county, type of fuel, wattage, control equipment used, plant capacity, boiler ID, and generator ID. Latitude and longitude is not included in this system. 19 ------- ARTD Outreach Tracking System Air Radiation and Toxics Division (ARTD) Regional Contact: Ellen Jacobs FTS 597-0717 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III+ Established: 1989 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statutes: CAAA, Pollution Prevention Act The ARTD Outreach Tracking System, operated by the ARTD Office of Program Integration, tracks outreach activities such as workshops, training, speeches, and press releases for the regional Air Division. Used primarily for internal program tracking, the ARTD system tracks financial as well as descriptive information on outreach activities conducted by the division. The menu-driven system allows the user to pull standard reports on the status of division outreach activities. Currently, the system is used to create quarterly outreach reports for division managers and annual reports for the region. Data Updates Data is updated monthly by the Office of Program Integration. All division staff are reguired to fill out appropriate forms when participating in outreach activities. Approximately every six months, a memo is circulated among division staff reminding them to report all outreach activities. Available Data: FY90-present Information available in the system includes: regional staff conducting outreach activity, audience, location (state only), type of presentation (speech, training, workshop, etc.), subject of presentation, travel cost, work hours, and whether outreach pertained to CAA or Pollution Prevention Act. 20 ------- SAMS - SIP Air Pollutant Inventory Management System Office of Air Quality Planning and standards Regional Contact: Raymond Forde FTS 597-8239 Type: LAN Based IBM Compatible PCs, DBase III+/dBXL Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statute: CAA SAMS (3.0), operated by the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards Technical Support Division, was designed to assist the states in reporting emission inventory data to EPA. The system, entirely menu-driven, consists of several modules including: point source data; a county-wide summary of point, area, and mobile source emissions; a utility for importing and exporting data; and a reports section for printing. The Region will be switching to an updated version of SAMS (4.0) which will contain information on point sources only. Eventually, the entire system will be uploaded to AFS to allow headquarters access to the state emission data. Data Updates The system has been updated approximately every four years. However, under the new CAAA of 1990 reporting is required every three years beginning with the base year of 1990. Data is currently uploaded to the system from disks provided by the states. State information comes from a variety of sources including questionnaires, monitoring samples, and materials balance calculations. Available Data: 1985-1988 The point source information available in the system includes: plant data, point data, point emissions data, process data, process base year emissions data, and process projection year emissions data. The summary area module contains information on point, area and mobile source emissions on a county-wide, township, or modeling grid code level. 21 ------- RCRIS (formerly HWDMS) - RCRA Information System Office of Hazardous Waste Regional Contact: Gmerice Wilson FTS 597-6505 Type: Mainframe in RTF ADABASE/Natural/Focus (RCRIS) or S2K (HWDMS) Established: 1984 Scope: National Relevant Environmental statute: RCRA RCRIS is a national computer system designed to effectively manage the hazardous waste program mandated by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976. The RCRIS system, operated by the Office of Hazardous Waste, contains notification, permit, compliance, corrective action and inspection information on facilities covered under the RCRA. Currently, both RCRIS and HWDMS exist to track information on hazardous waste handlers, but all states in Region III will be using RCRIS by the beginning of FY92. The system has six modules which contain information on regulated hazardous waste facilities, generators and transporters; the status of permit applications for hazardous waste facilities; inspections, violations, enforcement actions, and return to compliance; permit writing and program enforcement which is necessary for an effective corrective action program; national management and evaluation needs of the RCRA program; and data which supports the development and analysis of facility management plans. There are many standard reports, available through the system reporting menus, which can be used to retrieve information from the system. Data Updates RCRIS is updated by both the states and EPA via batch uploads and merges on a monthly basis to the National Oversight Database. The Regions are responsible for some quality assurance and control of the data. (The HWDMS system is updated continuously by EPA.) Available Data: 1984-present Information available within RCRIS includes: handler information (ie. transporter, TSD), violations, inspections, enforcement actions, closure information, process codes (ie. incinerator, treatment), status of permit activity, RCRA ID # (same as FINDS ID|), RCRA permit #, and waste codes. Latitude and longitude are handler reported and historically not reliable. 22 ------- RCRA Non-Notifiers system RCRA - States Enforcement Section Regional Contact: Janemarie Newton FTS 597-1857 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III+/Clipper Established: 1990 Scope: Region III Relevant Environmental Statute: RCRA The RCRA Non-Notifiers system, operated by the RCRA States Enforcement Section, was established to track facilities which have not notified EPA of their hazardous waste activity. The Non-Notifier System was created to track facilities that have been inspected by EPA or the States, but are not tracked by RCRIS because they do not have RCRA ID numbers. Non-notifying facilities are targeted for inspection if they are suspected by EPA or the States to handle hazardous waste or if EPA or states receive citizens complaints. Currently, the Non-Notifiers System contains information on approximately 80 facilities in Region 3 which are suspect hazardous waste handlers. The program was designed and is currently maintained by Booz Allen, a contractor for the Region. The program is kept on disk and can be transferred easily. Data Updates Information in the RCRA Non-Notifiers System is updated by EPA as information is received from the states. At the end of each fiscal year, all data in the system is replaced. However, paper files are kept of facilities that have been recorded in the system during each fiscal year. Available Data: Current Fiscal Year Data is kept in the RCRA Non-Notifiers System for one fiscal year and is then replaced. A paper copy of all systems in the system for a fiscal year is kept. Information available on Non- Notifying facilities includes: RCRA enforcement actions, RCRA inspections, and facility address. Latitude and longitude is not tracked in this system. 23 ------- EATS - Enforcement Action Tracking System RCRA Enforcement Section Regional Contact: Rita Tate FTS 597-8175 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III+/clipper Established: 1990 Scope: Region III Relevant Environmental Statute: RCRA EATS, operated by the RCRA Enforcement Section, is a regional database created for internal tracking of RCRA enforcement actions. Used primarily as a management tool, the system records important steps in the creation of RCRA enforcement actions including correspondence with the Office of Regional Counsel and issuance dates. The system allows the user to generate two standard reports: a snapshot of all enforcement actions, and an Office of Regional Counsel report. EATS is used only by the Region III RCRA Enforcement Section. Data Updates Information for updates is collected from enforcement staff by the EATS system administrator monthly. Available Data: Information available in EATS includes: facility name, address, FINDS #, last step completed in creation of enforcement action, date last step completed, next step to be completed, target date for next step, date action sent to ORC, date comments received from ORC, date action issued, RCRA enforcement officer, and EPA attorney. * RCRIS, the national database for RCRA handler tracking, contains more detailed information on enforcement actions and hazardous waste handlers. 24 ------- BRS - Biennial Reporting System Office of Solid Waste Regional Contact: Charlie Howard/Grace Hanrahan FTS 597-6197 FTS 597-1128 Type: Mainframe in HQ ES 9000, IBM PC/FOCUS Established: 1990 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: RCRA The Biennial Reporting System (BRS), operated by the Office of Solid Waste, was established to track information reported biennially by hazardous waste handlers as required under the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendment of 1984. Hazardous waste handlers, identified in the Code of Federal Regulations, have been required to submit information regarding all hazardous waste generated, treated, stored, or disposed. The reporting information, compiled in the Biennial Hazardous Waste Report. includes: the quantities and nature of hazardous waste generated during the previous year; the disposition of the hazardous waste; any efforts undertaken to reduce the volume and toxicity of waste generated; and the changes in the volume and toxicity of waste actually achieved during the year in question compared with previous years (provided that information is available). Currently, states and EPA regional offices are in the process of entering 1989 reporting data into the system. By the end of 1991, the 1989 reporting data should be available for use. The BRS system is menu-driven and allows the user to pull standard reports from the reporting menu. Data Updates Hazardous waste handlers covered under RCRA are required to report their hazardous waste activity every two years to the states. This information must be submitted to the states by April of the year following the reporting period. (ie. 1989 reporting data was due in April of 1990) States then track the information and transfer it in automated form to the EPA. The data entry procedure takes approximately one year. Next, the state data is sent to the EPA regional office which loads it on the EPA mainframe to create a regional BRS database. After some quality assurance, the data will be loaded into the BRS National Oversight Database. Hence, information in the system will be two years old. Available Data: (2 year lag in data availability) Information available in BRS includes: type of handler, amount of waste, type of waste, where it was received from or sent to, EPA ID# (FINDS #), RCRA permit #, TRI # (if facility releases toxic pollutants), SIC code, waste minimization activities, generator status, on-site waste management status, and changes in volume or toxicity of waste (as compared with previous years). 25 ------- CERCLZ8 - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (WasteLAN - CERCLIS on the LAM) Office of Superfund Regional Contact: Cornelius Carr/Regina Pope FTS 597-3162 FTS 597-7498 Type: Mainframe in RTF, ADABASE, Natural (CERCLIS) LAN-based IBM Compatible PC, Foxbase + (WasteLAN) Established: 1982 (CERCLIS), 1989 (WasteLAN) Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: CERCLA CERCLIS, operated by the Office of Superfund, tracks information for the management and oversight of the Superfund program. CERCLIS contains information on abandoned, inactive, and uncontrolled hazardous waste sites as well as information on the status of site clean-ups. WasteLAN is the regional LAN-based version of CERCLIS designed to allow regional personnel greater access to superfund information. Whereas, CERCLIS resides on the mainframe in Research Triangle Park, WasteLAN is accessed through the regional LAN. Data Updates Data is entered into WasteLAN by regional staff. WASTELAN has both a regional Information Management Coordinator who is responsible for data quality control and assurance. Information is electronically transferred to headquarters for inclusion in CERCLIS weekly. In addition, some financial information is downloaded from CERCLIS to the WasteLAN weekly. Available Data: 1982-present Information available in WASTELAN/CERCLIS includes: general site information, CERCLA ID #, EPA ID # (FINDS #), major events in site cleanup, scientific information on cleanups, enforcement actions, responsible parties, and financial information on clean- ups. Latitude and longitude is included in the system, and is determined by zipcode. 26 ------- PAY - ARCS Contract Invoice Tracking Waste Management Division (Region I) Regional Contact: Rob Heffernan FTS 597-8183 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, FoxBase Established: 1990 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statute: CERCLA PAY, created by the Waste Management Division of Region I, is a computerized management system designed to track historical cost information for the Alternative Remedial Contracting Strategy (ARCS). ARCS contracts are 10 year Superfund cleanup contracts established in 1988. PAY is a menu-driven system which contains information on dollars obligated, dollars paid, and the balance remaining for all ARCS work assignments current and completed. Designed to serve as a management tool for Regional Project Officers, PAY calculates up-to-date cost information on work assignments. The reporting menu allows users to pull reports on dollars obligated, dollars paid to date, remaining balance, and cost history information. Currently, historical cost information is being entered and the system should be fully functional by November of 1991. PAY is available on disk and is easily transferable. Data Updates Currently, historical cost information (from 1988 to the present) is being entered into the system. In the future, PAY will be updated by ARCS staff on a monthly basis as information is received from Research Triangle Park and regional ARCS contractors. Available Data: 1988-present Information available in the system includes: project ID, project name, fiscal quarter, dollar amount obligated, dollars aid to date, remaining balance, last payment date, last amount paid, account #, activity, work assignment #, site description, date processed, date committed, and date obligated. 27 ------- ACT - ARCS Contract Tracking System Office of the Comptroller Regional Contact: Jim Clark FTS 597-9921 Type: LAN-based system in FoxPro Established: 1990 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statute: CERCLA ACT, operated by the Office of the Comptroller, is an automated contract tracking system designed to assist Regional Contract Officer's in the management of Alternative Remedial Contracting Strategy (ARCS) contracts. ARCS contracts are 10 year Superfund cleanup contracts established in 1988. The ACT system tracks the vast amounts of information associated with ARCS contracts, including due dates for deliverables, contracting officer approvals, and award fee determinations, and enables contracting officers to monitor and control contract ceilings, funding, and expenditures. The system can also extract and manipulate individual contract data into summary or comparison reports to support various information needs. Currently, only staff in the Comptroller's Office have access to the system, but Superfund program staff will also have access by October of 1991. Data Updates Data is updated by the Comptroller's Office once a month or as needed. Available Data: 1988-present Information available in ACT includes: invoice information such as labor, indirect costs, direct costs, travel, equipment, and fees; work assignment data such as date issued, completion date, budget, approved work plan amount, dollars funded, work assignment #, and revisions; general contract information such as EPA contract officer, and contractor; and cumulative information such as total dollars obligated and invoiced, number of work assignments, and total hours. 28 ------- RODS - Records of Decision Office of Emergency and Remedial Response Regional Contact: Paul Leonard FTS 597-8485 Type: Mainframe in Headquarters ES 9000/Basis Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: CERCLA, SARA RODS, operated by the Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, contains the full text of all Records of Decision (ROD's), documents describing EPA's planned course of action for cleanup of a superfund site, written by EPA. The RODS database, an entirely menu-driven system, allows the user to search EPA Records of Decision by key words or key identifiers. Every word in each ROD is indexed in the system. The RODS database can be used to find the following types of information: technologies used to cleanup previous sites; previous cleanup levels; historical information on waste types, concentrations, media, and quantity. The system allows the user to display either specific information identified through a search or the entire text of the ROD. Also, there is a system reporting menu which provides the user with five options for printing RODS data. Available Data The following information can be extracted from RODS or used to search for a particular Record of Decision: site name, alias name, ROD date, region, location (city, state), ROD ID#, site ID# (same as FINDS#), key words, contaminated media, key contaminants, selected remedy, abstract, figures, and text sections. 29 ------- PA/SI3 (LETTRAK)- Region 3 Preliminary Assessment Site Investigation Tracking System Superfund Remedial Brancb Regional Contact: Lisa Cunningham FTS 597-0984 Type: LAN Based IBM Compatible PC/DBase III+ Clipper Established: 1990 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statute: CERCLA, RCRA PA/SI3 (also called LETTRAK) is operated by the Federal Facilities Section of the Superfund Remedial Branch and contains information on all Federal Facilities in the Federal Facilities Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket. Used primarily as a management tool, the menu-driven system tracks important dates of correspondence between EPA and Federal Facilities in the Federal Facility Hazardous Waste Compliance Docket. Several standard reports can be generated via the system's reporting menu including an inventory of preliminary assessments; site investigation and installation restoration program (IRP) reports; facility status reports; and listings of documents related to facilities. PA/SI3 contains only regional information and is not linked to any other systems. In the future, the Office of Regional Counsel may have direct access to the system. Data Updates PA/SI3 is updated quarterly by a contractor, PRC Environmental Management, Inc., for the Region. Available Data: 1970's to present Information available in PA/SI3 includes: site name, responsible agency, site address, site contact, date preliminary assessment completed, date of site investigation, IRP date, EPA demand letter dates, preliminary assessment deficiency letter dates, some facility documents, publication dates, and status of facility (eg. NPL, on-going, proposed NPL, etc.), EPA ID # (FINDS I), FFID #, and docket listing date. 30 ------- ERNS - Emergency Response Notification system Regional Response Center Regional Contact: Josie Matsinger FTS 597-9899 Type: Mainframe operated by Deptartment of Transportation LAN-based IBM Compatible PC (in Region) Established: 1987 Scope: National Relevant Environmental statutes: CERCLA, SARA, CWA ERNS is a national database containing information on releases of oil and other hazardous substances reported to the Federal government. It is managed and operated by the EPA, US Coast Guard, National Response Center and Department of Transportation's System Center (TSC). ERNS contains primarily initial notification information on spills, but also includes verification information on those incidents that are verified by EPA. There are several standard reports available through the menu-driven reporting system: status reports, spill summaries, state reports, individual spill reports, group spill reports, comprehensive spill reports and a FOIA program is also available for extracting data. As required under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), all release information in ERNS is available to the public. Citizen requests for information must be written and directed to the Office of External Affairs. Data Updates Incidents are reported to all 10 EPA regions, states, National Response Center (NRC), and US Coast Guard for inclusion in the system. In Region III, ERNS is updated daily by the EPA Regional Response Center staff as spill information is received via telephone on written spill reports. Once a week, information is electronically transferred to the Dept. of Transportation for inclusion in the national system. Available Data: 1987-present Information available in ERNS includes: name and address of discharger, incident location, material spilled, amount released, medium effected (eg. air, land, groundwater), source of spill (eg. highway, railway, offshore, pipeline), cause of spill, damages, injuries, deaths, agencies notified, and response actions taken. * There is also an ERNS-ARIP computer program, created by the Chemical Emergency Preparedness and Prevention Office, used with the Regional ERNS system to extract data which falls under at least one of the following Accidental Release Information Program (ARIP) criteria: a release that resulted in death or injury, a release that was deemed of a sufficiently large quantity (quantities specified by ARIP), a release that involved a chemical listed by EPA as an extremely hazardous substance, or a release that was one among a series of releases from the same facility. 31 ------- CR-ERKS - Continuous Release Emergency Response Notification System superfund Removal Branch/ Oil Title III Section Regional Contact: Carol Oleksiak FTS 597-0496 Type: Mainframe operated by Deptartment of Transportation (DOT) Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC (in Region) Established: 1990 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statutes: CERCLA CR-ERNS, created by the Emergency Response Division of EPA, tracks information on continuous releases of hazardous substances from facilities in the U.S. In accordance with the Continuous Release Rule (55 FR 30166) effective September 1990, facilities are reguired to report initial continuous releases to EPA National Response Center and submit written follow-up reports to EPA regional offices. CR-ERNS was established to track continuous release information and to establish priorities for review and evaluation of release reports. Each regional CR-ERNS system contains a screening level risk assessment model, called the Priority Assessment Model (PAM), developed to assist EPA regional personnel in the evaluation of the long-term threat posed by a continuous release. The PAM model employs fate and transport models to estimate the risks associated with the continuous release. The report menu in CR-ERNS allows the user to generate several fixed reports including: general facility, PAM evaluation, and detailed PAM evaluation reports. Currently, the system contains information on 19 facilities in Region III and 53 facilities have yet to be added to the system. Data Updates Initially, continuous releases are reported to the National Response Center via telephone and uploaded to the Department of Transportation (DOT) mainframe. Then, that information is downloaded to the EPA regions. Finally, the regions add information from the written reports on continuous releases and upload this information to the DOT mainframe. Available Data: 1990-present Information available in CR-ERNS includes: facility, address, CAS #, CR-ERNS notification #, chemical or hazardous substance mixture released, quantity released (upper and lower bound of amount released in 24 hours), source of release, stack height, medium effected (air, land, surface water, groundwater, or fugitive emissions), and size and location of sensitive populations and ecosystems. 32 ------- EPCRA Enforcement Tracking system Superfund Removal Branch, Oil and Title III Section Regional Contact: Stephanie Branch Wilson FTS 597-3240 Type: LAN Based IBM Compatible PC, DBase III Plus/Clipper Established: 1991 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statutes: CERCLA, EPCRA The EPCRA Enforcement Tracking System, operated by the Oil and Title III Section of the Superfund Removal Branch, contains information on facilities that are suspected to have failed to notify Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPC's) of accidental releases of hazardous substances. Cases are targeted for inclusion in the system through the Emergency Response Notification System ERNS or citizen complaints. The EPCRA Enforcement Tracking System, an entirely menu-driven system, tracks information from the initial incident notification through case settlement, inspections, and Accidental Release Information Program (ARIP) trigger process. The user may retrieve the following standard reports via the system report menu: an individual LEPC report, a list of LEPC's by state, a list of all LEPC's, an individual case report, and a list of current cases. The EPCRA Enforcement Tracking System contains only regional information and is not linked to any other systems. Data Updates The system will be updated biweekly by staff in the Oil and Title III Section as information is received from ERNS and the media programs. Available Data: 1989-present Information available in the system includes: discharger, discharger address, incident location, material type and quantity, CAS #, case development data, compliance status, enforcement actions, ORC settlement dates, inspections, Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) information, and Accidental Release Information Program (ARIP) trigger. "CAMEO, designed for the states to track accidental releases of hazardous substances, is available in Region III, but contains only information for the state of Delaware. 33 ------- RIOS - Region 3 Operations information System Office of Underground Storage Tanks Regional Contact: Rose Nino FTS 597-0270 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase I11+ Scope: National Established: 1987 Relevant Environmental Statute: Solid Waste Disposal Act RIOS, operated by the Office of Underground Storage Tanks, tracks information on underground storage tanks throughout the nation in accordance with the National Program Progress Measures. The system contains information on state quarterly activities, site cleanups initiated by owners, and innovative technologies. ROIS is used mainly by the region for quarterly STARS reporting. Five different types of fixed reports are available through the menu- driven system: trust fund reports, cost recovery reports, exception site reports, regional reports, and grant reports (grant information not regularly updated by region). Information may also be downloaded from the system to allow the user to create additional reports. Currently, only one individual in the Regional UST Program has access to the system. Data Updates Data is provided to ROIS by the states each quarter. States typically track information on their own systems and send a paper copy to EPA at the end of each quarter. EPA then updates ROIS regionally and sends the information to headquarters via modem. Updates are typically completed within 10 days after the end of each quarter. Available Data: 1988-present Information available in the system includes: states submitting complete applications for State Program approval, states with approved programs, site cleanups initiated for petroleum releases, tank releases under control, UST closures reported, reported confirmed releases, emergency responses taken with Federal and State funds, sites where enforcement actions were taken, and innovative technologies. * Most states use a system called Revelations for their quarterly tracking and have locaiional information on all tanks tracked by the region. 34 ------- ATTIC - Alternative Treatment Technology Information Center Office of Environmental Engineering and Technology Demonstration Regional Contact: Paul Leonard FTS 597-8485 Headquarters Contact: Greg Ondich FTS 382-5747 Type: IBM Compatible PC/ DBase III+ Clipper Established: 1988 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: RCRA ATTIC, operated by the Office of Environmental Engineering and Technology Demonstration, contains technical information on innovative treatment methods for hazardous wastes. The on-line system, entirely menu-driven, has literature search databases, a technical assistance directory, a water treatability database, a message center, a calendar of events, a listing of publications, and a bulletin board for user interaction. Currently, ATTIC contains approximately 4,000 document abstracts. The databases in ATTIC may be searched on-line or downloaded for the user to print out. The technical information in ATTIC for hazardous waste treatment may be grouped in the following four categories: thermal, biological, solidification/stabilization, and chemical/physical. Data Updates Information is updated continuously by a headguarter's contractor. Reports are received from various sources for update to the system. The lag time between receipt of information and availability in the system is approximately two months. All data is subject to review and evaluation by the contractor before being entered into the system. Available Data Information available in ATTIC includes: literature search databases, a technical assistance directory of EPA technical staff which can be accessed by category of expertise, a water treatability database, a bulletin board for information sharing, a calendar of events, and a listing of publications including over 4,000 document abstracts. 35 ------- SETS - Site Enforcement Tracking system Office of Waste Programs Enforcement Regional Contact: Maxine Booker FTS 597-9944 Type: Mainframe in RTF ES 9000/FOCUS, Clist Established: 1984 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: CERCLA SETS, operated by the Office of Waste Programs Enforcement, contains information on EPA notifications to Potentially Responsible Parties (PRP's), individuals or corporations which have been notified of the potential liability for the costs of response work associated with the release of hazardous substances. SETS tracks all "general" and "special" notices sent by EPA to PRP's as required under Sections 104 and 122 of CERCLA. All information in SETS is available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act. There are a number of standard reports available through the menu-driven reporting system including: PRP summary reports, PRP reports by site, PRP reports by name, and NPL reports by site. Data Updates Data is entered into the system daily by regional staff and uploaded to RTP weekly. Information for updates comes from regional project managers. Quality assurance and control of the data is handled by headquarters. Available Data; 1984-present Information available in the system includes: site name, address, all potentially responsible parties (PRP's) for site, CERCLA ID #, FINDS #, status of NPL listing, date of notice letter, and type of letter. * SETS tracks information on Potentially Responsible Parties, information on parties actually held responsible for cleanup are tracked in CERCLIS. 36 ------- Hazardous Waste Database Information Resources Center Regional contact: Dawn Shellenberger FTS 597-6633 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III+ (is being converted to EZ-REF) Established: 1987 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statute: CERCLA The Hazardous Waste Database, operated by the Hazardous Waste Technical Information Center (HWTIC), is a regional database which serves as an index to RCRA and Superfund guidance and technical reports. The system was created to provide program guidance and technical information to EPA staff. Currently available in EPA libraries, the system is being converted to compact disk and will be available on the LAN by November of 1991. Data Updates A contractor for the Region, Labat-Anderson, is responsible for maintenance and periodic updates of the system. There is no set schedule for updates. Information is entered into the system as it is received from headquarters, regional program staff, and materials ordered by the Information Resource Center. Available Data: 1980-present The majority of information in the system was taken from materials published after 1980. The Hazardous Waste Database allows the user to search for information in the system by title, author, publisher, date, and key words. * Additional information may be found in the RODS system, operated by the Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, which contains the entire text of Records of Decision. 37 ------- NPList - NPL Document Index Information Resources Center Regional Contact: Dawn Shellenberger FTS 597-6633 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase IIJ+ Established: 1990 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statute: CERCLA The NPList, operated by the Hazardous Waste Technical Information Center (HWTIC), is a regional database which serves as an index to documents in the Region 3 National Priorities List (NPL) docket. The system was created in 1990 by the HWTIC to facilitate public access to information on sites proposed or actually listed on the NPL. Data Updates A contractor for the region, Labat-Anderson, created NPList and is reponsible for maintenance and periodic updates of the system. There is no set schedule for updates. Information is entered in the system as it is received from the regional NPL Coordinator and is accessible as site information appears in the Federal Register. Available Data The system indexes the Hazardous Ranking System scoresheets and supporting documentation, public comments and final support documents for all Region 3 sites proposed to or included in the NPL. Information can be accessed by site name, alternate site name, location, or document number. In addition, searches for final and deletion dates may be conducted by site name 38 ------- PTTS - FIFRA and TSCA Tracking System (formerly FATES) Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances Regional Contact: Renee Duncan FTS 597-0442 Type: Stand Alone IBM compatible PC, DBase III Plus Scope: Regional Established: 1987 Relevant Environmental Statutes: FIFRA, TSCA, EPCRA FTTS, operated by the Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, is a national database which tracks enforcement and inspection information covered under FIFRA and TSCA regulations. State and EPA inspections of PCB's, asbestos, Section 8 of SARA and Section 5 of TSCA are recorded for facilities located in region III. FTTS also tracks information regarding referrals (inspections done by request), case reviews of inspected facilities, enforcement actions, management of state grants, certification and training of states, and STARS reporting forms. Enforcement data includes dates of all notices and detailed tracking of settlement conditions whereby penalties may be lowered if facilities take certain environmentally beneficial actions. Currently, the FTTS system is not accessible through the LAN and information is retrieved by a contractor for the Pesticides and Toxics Branch. Data Updates Date in FTTS is updated daily by a contractor for the Region as information is received from state and EPA inspectors. Enforcement actions are updated whenever necessary. Available Data; 1987-present National information must be requested through headquarters as it cannot be accessed directly by the region. Data available in FTTS includes: facility contact and address (not including latitude and longitude; inspection date, type, and agency; enforcement action date, type, and docket #. Latitude and longitude are not included in this system. * National Compliance Database (NCDB), operated by headquarters OPTS, contains all FTTS information prior to 1987. 39 ------- SSTS - Section Seven Tracking System (formerly FATES) Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances Regional Contact: Renee Duncan FTS 597-0442 Type: Mainframe in RTF ADABAS, Natural Scope: National Established: Converted from FATES Feb. 1991 Relevant Environmental Statute: FIFRA The SSTS system, created pursuant to Section Seven of FIFRA, is a national database containing production and registration information for pesticide products. Approximately 550 companies in Region 3 are registered under FIFRA and tracked through SSTS. Although it is a menu-driven system, some knowledge of ADABAS is necessary to generate reports in SSTS. National information on product registrations is also available through the system. Data Updates New company registrations are handled by the regional office, SSTS is updated with new registration information daily. Data Available; 1985-present Information available in SSTS includes: name and address of pesticide producer, amount of pesticide produced (confidential information with restricted access), and type of pesticide. Latitude and longitude are not included in this system. * Information on registrations prior to 1985 are contained in the FATES system and must be obtained from headquarters. 40 ------- NPIRS - National Pesticide Information Retrieval system Office of Toxic Substances Regional Contact: Renee Duncan FTS 597-0442 Type: Mainframe at Purdue University Scope: National Established: 1988 Relevant Environmental Statute: FIFRA NPIRS, operated by Purdue University, is a collection of databases containing information on all U.S. registered pesticides used in agriculture, industry, and general commerce. The system, containing a variety of pesticide information databases, includes a Pesticide Product Database and a Tolerance Database. The Pesticide Product Database, which tracks information on the 45,000 pesticides currently registered for use in the U.S, provides basic registration data and chemical information on active ingredients in registered pesticides. The Tolerance Database contains all pesticide tolerances listed in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) including maximum permissible residue levels by chemical and food commodity. As NPIRS requires an annual user fee, EPA will be phasing out its use of the system over the next year. NPIRS allows the user to browse data or download information to a disk for printing. Data Updates Data is updated quarterly by staff at Purdue University. Information is supplied by EPA and state pesticide regulatory agencies. Available Data; 1947-present Information is taken from sources with publishing dates ranging from 1947 to present. Data available in NPIRS includes: general registration information, chemical composition and formulation, chemical names, trade names, CAS #, percent of active ingredients in registered pesticides, registered sites of applications, pests for which pesticide is registered, registered site/pest combinations, product type, toxicity warning, and all pesticide tolerances listed in the CFR. 41 ------- PIN - Pesticide Information Network Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances Regional Contact: Renee Duncan FTS 597-0442 Headquarters Contact: FTS 557-1919 Type: Bulletin Board Scope: National Established: November 1989 Relevant Environmental Statute: FIFRA The Pesticide Information Network, a menu-driven system operated by the Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, is an expansion of the previous system called the Pesticide Monitoring Inventory (PMI). The expanded PIN system now encompasses the Pesticide Monitoring Inventory, but has two additional subsystems. The three basic files contained in PIN are: the pesticide monitoring inventory (PMI). the restricted use products file (RUP). and the chemical index. The first, PMI, is a collection of pesticide monitoring projects conducted by Federal, State and local governments, as well as private institutions. The second file, RUP, contains information on all pesticide products that have been classified as restricted use pesticides under 40 CFR Part 152. The last file, the chemical index, is a list of all chemicals which appear in the first two files including chemical names, synonyms, and CAS numbers. Information may be downloaded from the system by the user. Data Updates Data in the Restricted Use Products file is updated by headquarters staff in the Office of Pesticides and Toxic on the first of each month. Data Available PIN contains the most up-to-date information on pesticide monitoring projects performed by government and private institutions, a list of all Restricted Use Pesticides, and a list of all chemical names, synonyms, and CAS numbers for chemicals of interest to the Office of Pesticides. Searches in PIN can be conducted by CAS number, county, and search conditions of unlimited length character strings. 42 ------- PPIS - Pesticide Product Information system Office of Pesticide Programs Regional Contact: Renee Duncan FTS 597-0442 EPA Headquarters Contact: FTS 557-9351 Type: Mainframe in RTF ES 9000, ADABASE/Natural 8 cope: Nationa1 Established: June 1990 Relevant Environmental Statute: FIFRA The Pesticide Product Information System, established by the Office of Pesticide Programs, is a compilation of regulatory information specifically regarding product registrations required under FIFRA. PPIS includes information on registrations, transfers, cancellations, suspensions, sites, pests, and restricted use products. Chemical vocabulary, a sub-section of the PPIS, is a menu-driven system providing information on specific chemicals. The chemical vocabulary includes information on chemical name, Caswell number, Chemical Abstracts Service number, pesticide chemical code and chemical family. PPIS will be used by the region within the year. Data Updates PPIS is updated weekly by the Office of Pesticide Programs in headguarters. Available Data: Information available in PPIS includes: registrant name and address, chemical ingredients, toxicity category, and brand name. 43 ------- PADS - PCB Activity Database System Office of Toxic Substances Regional Contact: Renee Duncan FTS 597-0442 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III Plus Scope: National Established: 1988 Relevant Environmental Statute: TSCA PADS, operated by the Chemical Regulation Branch of the Office of Toxic Substances, tracks information on PCB handlers in the U.S. As required under the Notification and Manifesting for PCB Waste Activities Rule (54FR52716), PCB handlers report their PCB waste handling activities to EPA. The system currently contains approximately 4,000 PCB waste handlers including generators with on-site storage facilities, commercial storers, transporters, and permitted disposers. PADS allows the user to conduct ten types of searches (by zipcode, facility name, etc.) in order to access handler information. Data in PADS is used primarily to provide the public with information in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). PADS allows the user to generate several standard via the system reports menu. PADS is available on disk and is easily transferable. Data Updates Information is updated by the headquarters Office of Toxic Substances and distributed via disk to the regions every six months. Available Data: 1988-present Information available in the system includes: site, address, installation contact, facility owner, EPA ID # (or FINDS #), type of activity (generator, storer, transporter, disposer), date PCB activity was reported, 44 ------- ET8 - EPCRA Targeting System Office of Toxic Substances Contact: Kurt Eisner FTS 597-1260 Type: Mainframe in RTF in ADABASE/Natural or IBM Compatible PC/DBase IV Established: 1991 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statutes: SARA, Section 313 EPCRA The EPCRA Targeting System (ETS), operated by the Office of Toxic Substances, is a national database used for targeting facilities for annual inspection as reguired under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act (EPCRA). ETS links the facilities found in both the Dun and Bradstreet, a commercial database containing information on U.S. companies, and TRIS, an EPA database containing reported industrial releases. Thus, ETS provides a list of facilities to be considered for EPA inspection. There are five fixed reports available through the menu-driven reporting system: facility details, targeted facilities, contact history/tips and complaints, deleted facilities, and facility listings. Data Updates New Dun and Bradstreet data is released every six months. TRIS data is updated as release information is reported by companies in July of each year. Available Data: Information available in ETS includes: facility name, address, parent company, SIC Code, EPA ID, annual sales, TRI reporting status, source of tip or complaint, and brief compliance history. Latitude and longitude is available and determined by zipcode. 45 ------- STORET - Storage and Retrieval of Water Quality Information Office of Water Regional Contact: Chuck Kanetsky FTS 597-8176 Type: Mainframe in RTF DBASE 2000 Established: 1961 (by US Public Health Service) Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: CWA STORET is the largest national water database containing raw data on U.S. waterways. The system contains water quality, fish tissue, ground water quality, pollution related fish kills, biological, and sediment data on U.S. water collected by the states. STORET data is currently used for periodic water quality analyses and for biennial water quality assessments as required under section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act. Data may be used to generate standard statistical analyses, graphs, or maps of station locations, dischargers and waterways. There are nine fixed reports available through the STORET report menu. Additional reports can be created to access information on any number of parameters in the system with extensive STORET training. Data Sources and Updates River monitoring is conducted by states and other agencies from independent monitoring sites. Monitoring frequency varies from state to state (daily, monthly, quarterly). STORET also contains some data obtained through one time analyses. Data is entered into STORET by the states and subject to individual state quality assurance tests. Available Data: 1961-present Some limited data is available as far back as 1920. Consistent and reliable information regarding state monitoring of fish tissue, biological, and sediment data is available from 1960 to present. There are approximately 3000 unique water quality parameters in STORET within the following broad categories: radiological, phosphorous, pesticides, flow, biological, bacteriological, solids, nitrogen, oxygen demand, general organics, general inorganics, dissolved oxygen, metals, and physical. Information may be accessed by latitude and longitude, monitoring station code, county, and hydrological information. 46 ------- PCS - Permit Compliance system Office of Water Enforcement and Permits Regional Contact: Edna Jones FTS 597-0441 Type: Mainframe in RTF ES 9000/ADABASE, Natural, COBOL Established: 1974 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: CWA PCS, operated by the Office of Water Enforcement and Permits, tracks permit, compliance, and enforcement status of facilities under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program. PCS contains information on more than 63,000 active water discharge permits issued to major and minor facilities across the U.S. Currently, users are required to submit batch jobs to retrieve reporting data from PCS. However, a menu-driven system, called PCS panels, is being developed to allow users to pull standard reports from the system. Data Updates States are responsible for updating information on both major and minor facilities. Data is updated monthly and there is approximately a one month delay between the time data was reported and available in the system. Available Data: 1974-present Information available in PCS includes: NPDES #, facility name, state, county, permit requirements, monthly monitoring information for majors, inspection data, enforcement actions, and compliance schedules. Latitude and longitude is available for approximately 75% of the major facilities and is accurate to the outfall level. 47 ------- 6ICS - Grants information and Control System Office of Information Resources Management Regional Contact: Brenda Kidd FTS 597-3358 Type: Mainframe in RTF ADABAS/Natural Established: 1973 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statutes: All GICS, operated by the Office of Information Resources Management, is a management system used to track the Region's wastewater treatment plant construction grants program. GICS also contains other program grants information for application and appropriation of funds for the S105 and S106 Program, Chesapeake Bay Program, Water Supply Program, Solid Waste Program, State Revolving Loan Fund, and the Research and Development Program. Data in the system is utilized by both Regional and Headquarters' water programs for monitoring output commmitments, outlay estimates, project status, and for interdivisional coordination to assure that outputs are being met and that future planning is based on the most accurate data possible. The user community consists of the Construction Grants Branch, Program Management and Support Branch, Office of Assistant Regional Administrator for Policy and Management, three (3) District Offices of the Army Corps of Engineers and six (6) State agencies. The user community is responsible for data collection and report retrieval. Data Updates Data is regularly entered into the system by authorized individuals from the user community; primarily, the Regional GICS data entry clerk. State and COE representatives, and Regional Grants Specialist have limited data entry access to the system. The GICS has a built in audit system to check and verify accuracy of entries to every field in the database. Available Data: 1973-present Information available in GICS includes: applicant's name and address, project name, congressional district, funding sources, project description, community size, milestone payments, grant #, relevant program permit #, contractor, contract #, subcontracts, and project status. 48 ------- 305(b) - Waterbody System Office of Water Regional Contact: Maggie Passmore FTS 597-6149 Type: Mainframe in RTF ADABASE/Natural Established: 1988 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: CWA, Section 305(b) The 305(b) Waterbody System, created by the Office of Water pursuant to Section 305(b) of the revised Clean Water Act, contains information on the quality of the nation's waterways required for the biennial water quality reports to Congress. The 305(b) system contains descriptive data about the status of our nations waterways taken from the raw monitoring data found in STORET, the major national water quality database. Information stored in the 305(b) database is recorded in a form consistent with the reporting format of the 305(b) reports completed by the states for review by Congress every two years. Water quality information may be retrieved from the 305(b) System in either tabular or map form. The system is menu-driven, but only moderately user friendly. Use of the system requires some self- training, as formal training is not provided by the Office of Water. Data Sources and Updates States are responsible for periodic updates of the system. Data is either transferred from individual state PC's to headquarters or is directly entered through the mainframe. States in Region III typically update the waterbody system annually, although states are not required to update the system. Available Data Information available in the Waterbody system includes: waterbody identification information, waterbody assessment status, lake status, trophic condition and trends in publicly owned lakes, lakes with acid deposition/mine drainage problems, waters impaired or threatened due to non-point sources, causes and sources of impairment, waters impaired or threatened which need total maximum daily load/wasteload allocations. 49 ------- 304(1) Regional Tracking system Office of Water Contact: Tom Henry FTS 597-8243 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III Plus Established: 1988 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statutes: CWA, Section 304(1) The 304(1) Tracking System, operated by the Office of Water, was developed by the region to track information regarding facilities covered under section 304(1) of the 1987 Amendments to the Clean Water Act. Section 304(1) reguires dischargers of toxic pollutants, outlined in section 307(a) of the act, to meet water quality standards within three years. The system, started in 1988, tracks the status of dischargers in meeting the Individual Control Strategies (ICS) designed by the facilities to control the discharge of 307(a) toxic pollutants. The 304(1) database is the only system which identifies facilities under section 304(1) of the Clean Water Act. It is not linked to any other data systems. Most facilities are expected to be in compliance with Section 304(1) by 1994. Therefore, the database may not be useful after that time. There are no menu-driven reports in the system. However, users familiar with DBase III Plus would be able to create reports easily. Data Updates Data is updated by the region as information is received. Information in the system is the most up to date and pertinent data on these systems. Available Data: 1988-present The system contains 137 facilities covered under section 304(1), receiving stream and basin, NPDES permit #, permit status, relevant pollutants for 304(1) listing, pollutants included in permit, whether permit is appealed, type of appeal, approved Individual Control Strategies and approval dates, and record of dates of meeting control strategy milestones. 50 ------- NEEDS - Needs Survey Office of Municipal Wastewater Pollution Control Regional Contact: Tom Maher FTS 597-8224 Type: Mainframe in RTF ES 9000, IBM PC/ Wylbur, IMS, TSO Established: 1986 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statutes: CWA The Needs Survey, conducted by the Office of Municipal Wastewater Pollution Control, contains information on funding requests for construction or improvement of municipal wastewater treatment facilities. The system, used by EPA and the states to assess the capital investment required to build or improve wastewater treatment facilities, contains needs information for 33,000 facilities in the nation. Information in the system is used to prepare the Biennial Needs Survey report to Congress as required under Section 205(a) and 516(b) of the CWA. Currently, NEEDS is used primarily by the states, but EPA is responsible for oversight of the system. Individual project reports can be generated by the user, but more extensive print-outs must be obtained through headquarters. There is a fee for accessing the system. Data Updates States update technical information and financial data every two years. A contractor for EPA headquarters, Roy Weston, controls data quality. States and EPA regions cannot change existing records, but can add new data to the system. Available Data: 1972-present Information available in NEEDS includes: facility name, authority name (municipality), GICS #, total dollar amounts requested, category of need (plant, stormwater, combined sewer overflow, etc.), population, technical information (oxidation ditch, lagoon, etc.), state, county, authority facility #, and eligible needs. 51 ------- FRDS - Federal Reporting Data System Office of Drinking Water Regional Contact: Charlotte Dennis FTS 597-2460 Type: Mainframe located in RTF, IBM 3090/COBOL II PLEX Scope: National Established: 1977 (Quarterly reporting began in 1985) Relevant Environmental Statute: SOW A The Federal Reporting Data System, operated by the Office of Drinking Water, is the official tracking system for the nation's public water systems (PWS's) covered under the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974. The system contains the compliance and enforcement status of 1500 public ground and surface water systems in Region III. FRDS tracks two types of violations - maximum contaminant level (MCL) violations for over 500 pollutants and violations of monthly monitoring requirements. The contaminants monitored and tracked within the system include: turbidity, bacteria (coliform), inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals (VOC's), and radiation. Monitoring data is only included in the system for facilities that have been found in violation of contaminant levels. The FRDS system is used primarily by EPA for compliance monitoring and oversight of the region's water systems, as well as annual reporting of Significant Non-Compliers (SNC). Access to the system is limited and extensive training is required in order to conduct data retrievals. Data Updates Data updates are completed by the region at the end of every monitoring quarter. States provide data via disk to the region and the information is then added to the FRDS system. All state data is subject to EPA quality assurance and control. Data is available to FRDS users 60 days after the end of each monitoring quarter. Available Data: 1977-present FRDS contains information on well surface waters, treatment plants, intake, pumping and storage facilities. The information available in FRDS includes: violation information (non- compliance with EPA and/or primacy standards), state and EPA enforcement actions, population served by system, on-site visit data, availability of source (eg. permanent, reserve), entry point, source treatment processes, treatment objective, service areas (eg. residential, school, recreation), facility address, county, facility owner type (eg. federal, private), non- compliance profiles, variance and exemption to normal standards, state discretionary data, and statistical summary information on each PWS. Latitude and longitude information is included for about half of the systems in FRDS and is to be added to the remaining facilities over the next two years. 52 ------- DICTS - Underground Injection Control Tracking System Underground injection Control Section Regional Contact: Karen Johnson FTS 597-9928 Type: Mainframe in RTF ES 9000, Focus Established: 1982 (changed format in 1987) Scope: Pennsylvania Relevant Environmental Statute: SDWA The UICTS system, operated by the Region III Underground Injection Control Section, contains compliance, inspection, and permitting information on approximately 120 Class II facilities in Pennsylvania with over 3500 wells. In accordance with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and EPA Headquarters minimum data requirements, UICTS tracks UIC reporting information. In addition, it tracks compliance with construction and operating procedures, mechanical integrity tests, permit issuance data, and EPA enforcement actions. Information may be retrieved from the menu-driven system in three fixed report forms: facility, inspection, and compliance reports. Although it is maintained on a mainframe in Research Triangle Park, UICTS is used only by Region III. Currently, UICTS is not integrated with any other regional or national databases. Data Updates Data is entered into UICTS weekly by regional staff. In addition, field contractor data is uploaded to the system monthly. The information in UICTS is collected from EPA and contractor inspections (state information is not included). Available Data: 1988-present Currently, UICTS contains the following information on Class 2 Wells: UICTS permit number and description, construction details, depth of aquifer, inspection dates, results of inspection tests, violation notices and date issued, administrative orders and date issued, record of public notification, facility address, county, and comment reviews in the permit issuance process. Latitude and longitude are contained in the system, but are inaccurate. The staff and system contractors will be improving this data over the next year. * Class 5 Well information is contained in a DBase III file updated by the UIC section. This information may eventually be added to the UICTS system. 53 ------- Groundwater Compendium office of Groundwater Protection Regional Contact: Patricia Iraci FTS 597-3424 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III+ Established: 1986 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental statute: CWA The Groundwater Compendium, collected by the Region III Groundwater Protection Section, contains information on groundwater contaminant levels in Region III. The compendium, used primarily for internal planning and prioritization, provides locational information on groundwater contamination from spills, hazardous waste sites, etc. Established to identify regional hotspots only, the system was not intended to track all groundwater contamination incidents. During the period from 1986-1988, the compendium was used to generate assessments of regional groundwater quality twice a year. There is one fixed report form that may be retrieved via the menu-driven system containing site and contaminant information. However, additional reports may be generated with knowledge of DBase III+ to retrieve groundwater incident report data not included in the fixed report form. The compendium may be used for CIS applications in the future. Data Updates Information for the compendium was taken from newspaper clippings, emergency response spill reports, and the NPL list. Every six months the Groundwater Protection Section circulated a memo requesting the Hazardous Waste Division to fill out Groundwater Contamination Incident Reports. This information was then entered into the system by staff in the Groundwater Protection Section. Available Data: 1986-1988 Information available in the system includes: site name, county, state, contaminant source, major contaminant, type of water supply affected, RCRA facilities which require groundwater monitoring, and announced and final NPL dates. Some latitude and longitude is included in the system, but is of varying quality. 54 ------- WETS - Wetlands Enforcement Tracking System Wetlands Enforcement Section Regional Contact: Jeffrey Lapp FTS 597-3642 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, DBase III+ Established: 1991 Scope: Regional Relevant Environmental Statute: CWA WETS, a regional tracking system established by the Wetlands Enforcement Team, contains information on the status of wetlands' violations and enforcement actions throughout Region III. Started in FY91, WETS primarily tracks active wetland enforcement cases, but will retain data on closed cases for historical violation information. There are three menu-driven reports which can be generated via the system reporting menu including: active cases handled by individual EPA investigators, active cases by state, and a comprehensive list of active cases. Users familiar with DBase III+ may also create additional reports. WETS was established for regional tracking and is not currently linked to any other EPA databases. The system is not available on the LAN and there are no plans to make it LAN accessible in the future. Data Updates Data is updated in the system at least quarterly. For data quality control, only one individual within the Wetlands Enforcement Team is reponsible for updating the system. Available Data: 1991 Information available in WETS includes: site name, site address, docket #, file #, individual owner or company name, state, township, county, waterbody, date of violation, violation description, date of notice to EPA, EPA contacts, enforcement action, date of action, proposed and final penalty, DOJ contacts, public notice date, hearing date, ALT deadline, and case status. Latitude and longitude is not included in WETS. 55 ------- ODES - Ocean Data Evaluation System Office of Marine and Estuarine Protection Regional Contact: Bill Muir FTS 597-2541 Type: Mainframe in RTF, IBM 9000, SAF/TSO CLIFT/FORTRAN Established: 1991 (established in Region III) Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 The Ocean Data Evaluation System, operated by the Office of Marine and Estuarine protection, is a national database used for tracking marine monitoring information. In 1983, Region III established a water quality monitoring program along the Mid Atlantic Bight, an area 10-15 miles off shore between New Jersey and North Carolina, to investigate and control water pollution in this area of heavy public use. ODES contains near coastal water quality information collected to assess coastal eutrophication and potential impacts of sewage discharges from wastewater plants at Bethany Beach, Delaware, Ocean City, Maryland, and Virginia Beach, Virginia. Information dating back to 1987 is currently available in the ODES system. ODES data may be retrieved in a variety of reporting formats including: statistical reports (ANOVA and regression), graphs, simplified deposition calculation models, plume models, and maps. Data can also be downloaded for the user to conduct additional analyses not provided through the menu. Nationally, ODES is used for CIS application, but the software necessary for this is not yet available in Region III. Data Updates Marine monitoring surveys are conducted four times a year primarily in the summer months between May and September when pollution levels tend to be highest. Samples are taken from more than 40 monitoring stations. Currently, information dating from 1987 through 1991 is being entered into the system. In the future, data will be entered into ODES three to six weeks after it is collected from monitoring surveys. Quality assurance and control is done by Tetra Tech, Inc. to ensure the integrity of the data. Available Data: 1987-1990 The water quality information available in ODES is based on coastal eutrophication and public health studies. The specific parameters collected in eutrophication studies include: nitrate, nitrite, nitrogen, phosphate, phosphorous, phaeophytin, dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, temperature, and conductivity. The public health studies include data on levels of: total coliform, fecal coliforms, fecal streptococcus, pseudomonas, and acanthamoebae protozoa. In the future, data will be available on benthic infauna, sediment pollutants, sediment grain size, and plankton abundance. 56 ------- 104(g) - Facilities Training System Office of Wastewater Enforcement and Compliance Regional Contact: Jim Kern FTS 597-3423 Type: Mainframe in RTF Established: 1987 Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: CWA, Section 104(g) The 104(g) database, operated by the Office of Wastewater Enforcement and Compliance, is a national database which tracks on-site technical assistance provided for municipal wastewater treatment facilities. As required under Section 104(g) of the Clean Water Act, EPA provides about $2 million to states for training and technical assistance in the operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment plants. The 104(g) database was created to gather information on the successes and problems of wastewater treatment facilities, primarily through the recording of performance limiting factors (PLF's). There are four standard reports available through the menu-driven reporting system: headquarters listing, NPDES report, list system data, count facilities. The user may also generate ad hoc reports through the menu system. The 104(g) database is primarily used by headquarters to track program performance. Data Updates Data is updated in the system quarterly by the regions. States provide quarterly paper reports, required under grant conditions and regulations, which are then entered into the system by the regional contacts. Some states enter quarterly reporting information directly into the system; however, this does not occur in Region III. For quality assurance and control of the data, EPA circulates quarterly 104(g) reports to the states for review. Available Data: 1987-present Information available in the 104(g) system includes: NPDES #, construction grant #, capacity of plant, type of plant (eg. aerated lagoon, activated sludge, contact stabilization), result of technical assistance (eg. compliance, in-training, improved), performance limiting factor (or problem causing plant to be out of compliance), state, community, and date of training. * There is also a regional 104(g) system, written in PCFile, which tracks this information for regional program reporting. The regional 104(g) system contains the following additional information: date laciliu achieved compliance, and date of closeout report. 57 ------- AQUIRE - Aquatic Toxicity Information Retrieval EPA Environmental Research Laboratory - Duluth Regional Contact: Susan McDowell FTS 597-0355 Headquarters Contact: Robert Spehar FTS 780-5564 Type: Mainframe accessed through DECnet or Prime-net DEC 1I/785/FORTRAN Established: 1981 (user friendly system created in 1988) Scope: National Relevant Environmental Statute: CWA, CERCLA, Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act AQUIRE, a menu-driven system operated by the Environmental Research Laboratory in Duluth (ERL-D), contains information on the toxicity of chemicals (not including oils) to fresh and saltwater organisms (not including bacteria and amphibians). The system currently contains more than 100,000 individual test records for approximately 5,000 chemicals and 2,500 species taken from 6,000 publications. It includes acute, chronic, and bioaccumulation effects. AQUIRE, an entirely menu-driven system, allows users to extract information by chemical, species, or effect parameters. A new subfile of AQUIRE, the Acute Toxicity of Organic Chemicals file, contains data on the effects of 500 chemicals on fathead minnows. The system is available to all interested government agency staff members and is very user- friendly. Data Updates Information in AQUIRE is extracted from over 6,000 scientific publications from all over the world. Most of the literature used in this system was published after 1972, and current publications are reviewed constantly. Each year, the database acquires data from approximately 800 new publications. Selected toxicity results and test conditions from laboratory and field aquatic toxicity tests are extracted and added to the database. In a typical year, 300 chemical, 40 test organisms, and 4,000 individual test records are added to the AQUIRE system. All entries are subject to quality control and technical critique by staff at the Duluth Lab. * A magnetic tape of AQUIRE is available through the National Technical Information Service (NTIS). 58 ------- Enforcement Docket Office of Regional Counsel Regional Contact: Sue Canning FTS 597-8913 Type: Mainframe system in RTF ADABASE/Natura1 Scope: National Established: 1980 Relevant Environmental statutes: TSCA, RCRA, CERCLA, CWA, CAA, SDWA, FIFRA, EPCRA The Enforcement Docket system, operated by the Office of Regional Counsel, is a national database which tracks all EPA legal actions including civil and administrative cases, defensive litigation, assistance disputes and bid protests. The system provides docket numbers to all regional enforcement actions such as Administrative Complaints, Administrative Orders (AO), and Federal Facility Notices of Noncompliance (NON). Information may be retrieved from the system through on-line access, standard retrievals or AD Hoc reports via the batch retrieval system. Data Updates DOCKET is updated daily by the Office of Regional Counsel as information is received from ORC staff. Currently, a contractor is responsible for entering data into the system. Available Data: 1980-present Information available in DOCKET includes: civil and administrative cases, defensive litigation, assistance disputes, bid protests, case Docket #, case name, case type, applicable law, case summary, major milestone events, attorneys, defendants, intervenors, facility violation information, SIC code, penalties, enforcement actions and issue dates, EPA funds spent on enforcement actions, facility address, and FINDS #. Latitude and longitude are included in this system, but are not considered to be accurate. * Citizen Suit tracking is handled by individual media programs. 59 ------- Penalty Tracking System Office of Regional counsel Regional Contact: Sue Canning FTS 597-8913 Type: Stand Alone IBM Compatible PC, PC File Scope: Region III Established: 1986 Relevant Environmental Statutes: RCRA, CERCLA, CAA, CWA, SDWA FIFRA, TSCA, EPCRA The Penalty Tracking System, operated by the Office of Regional Counsel, is a PC-based system which tracks information on penalties assessed to facilities found in violation of environmental statutes. This system was designed for regional use only and is not based on a national model or national guidelines. The Penalty Tracking System contains information on all penalties assessed by Region III within the last five years. Information in the system is highly confidential and restricted use would be necessary for any data sharing. Data from this system has been used to generate reports on penalty collections within the region. Data Updates Information is updated daily as it is received by the Office of Regional Counsel. Verification of penalty payment data is made with the finance department's records quarterly. Available Data; 1986-present The Penalty Tracking System contains the following fields of information: case name, facility name, relevant environmental statute, case Docket #, EPA attorney, defendants, site involved, penalty amount due, due date, amount of payment made, and payment date. 60 ------- FOIA - Freedom of Information Act Tracking System Office of External Affairs Regional contact: Rich Van Hoist FTS 597-2321 Type: Lan-Based IBM PC, Established: 19 Scope: Region III Relevant Statute: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) The FOIA system, operated by the Office of External Affairs, tracks public requests for information authorized under the Freedom of Information Act granting public access to government documents. Each day, Region III receives between 15-40 requests for information which are tracked and managed through the FOIA system. As an internal management tool, the system facilitates a rapid response to public requests for information. Data Updates FOIA requests are received by the region daily and entered into the tracking system on the day of receipt. Available Data; Information tracked in the FOIA system includes: individual requesting information, company or home address, date of request, type of information being sought, EPA employee to supply information, date request should be filled (10 days after receipt of letter). 61 ------- REGION 3 PROGRAM and SUPPORT DATA SYSTEMS General Databases FINDS - Facility Index System IRIS - Integrated Risk Information System Chem-Bank On-line Library System NTIS - National Technical Information System Multi-Media Databases TRIS - Toxic Release Inventory System IDEA - Integrated Data Enforcement Analysis System 33/50 FFTS - Federal Facility Tracking System Chesapeake Bay Federal Facility Tracking System NEPA Tracking System PPIC - Pollution Prevention Information Clearinghouse Air Databases AIRS - Aerometric Information Retrieval System ACTS - Asbestos Contractors Tracking System Radon Database NADB - National Allowance Database Significant Violators Tracking System ARTD Outreach Tracking System National Air Toxics Information Clearinghouse RPTS - Regional Priority Tracking System BIOS - Biogenetic Emissions System SAMS - SIP Air Inventory Management System SPECIATE - Air Toxic Emission Factors Hazardous Waste Databases RCRIS (HWDMS) - Resource Conservation and Recovery Information System RCRA Non-Notifiers System EATS - Enforcement Action Tracking System BRS - Biennial Reporting System CERCLIS/WasteLAN - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System SCEES - Superfund Cost Estimate and Evaluation System PAY - Contract Invoice Tracking WARP - Cost Estimate Generation ACT - ARCS Contract Tracking RODS - Record of Decisions System PA/SI3 - Preliminary Assessment Site Investigation Tracking ERNS - Emergency Response Notification System CR-ERNS - Continuous Release Emergency Response Notif. Sys. EPCRA Enforcement Database ROIS - Region 3 Operations Information System (UST) 62 ------- ATTIC - Alternative Treatment Technology Information SETS - Site Enforcement Tracking System HAZARD - Hazardous Waste Superfund Collection Database NPList - NPL Document Retrieval System Pesticides and Toxic Substances Databases FTTS - FIFRA and TSCA Tracking System SSTS - Section Seven Tracking System NPIRS - National Pesticide Information Registration System PIN - Pesticide Information Network Pesticide Use Surveys EDRS - Enforcement Docket Retrieval System Pesticide Monitoring Inventory PPIS - Pesticide Product Information System PADS - PCS Activity Data System ETS - EPCRA Targeting System Water Databases STORET - Storage and Retrieval of Water Quality Information PCS - Permit Compliance System GICS - Grant Information and Control System 305(b) - Waterbody System 304(1) - Section 304(1) Facility Tracking System NEEDS - Needs Survey FRDS - Federal Reporting Data System UICTS - Underground Injection Control Tracking System Ground Water Compendium WETS - Wetlands Enforcement Tracking System ODES - Ocean Data Evaluation System 104(g) - Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Training Database Ground Water Protection System AQUIRE - Aquatic Toxicity Information Retrieval Regional Counsel Databases DOCKET - Enforcement Docket Penalty Tracking System LEXIS Sguare Note External Affairs Databases FOIA - Freedom of Information Act Tracking System Region III Radio Stations EPA Region III Mailing List CIS Data Systems DLG - Digital Line Graph GIRAS - USGS Land Use Database Dun & Bradstreet - Business Addresses DEM - Digital Elevation Model DIME/TIGER - Census Boundaries Soils Mapping GRIDS - Geographic Resources and Information System 63 ------- Financial and Contract Management Systems IFMS - Integrated Financial Management System EPAYS - EPA Payroll System MATS - Management Audit Tracking System Automated Management Control Plan Superfund Tracking System FSR List IAG List 64 ------- Region III Participants General Databases FINDS IRIS Multi~Media Databases TRIS IDEA System 33/50 FFTS Chesapeake Bay Federal Facility Tracking System NEPA Tracking System PIES Air Databases AIRS Radon Database NADB ARTD Outreach Tracking SAMS Hazardous Waste Databases RCRIS (HWDMS) RCRA Non-Notifiers System EATS BRS CERCLIS/WasteLAN PAY ACT RODS PAIS3 ERNS CR-ERNS EPCRA Enforcement Database ROIS ATTIC SETS HAZARD NPList Chuck Perritt Israel Milner Kurt Eisner Larry Merrill Bill Reilly Larry Teller Neil Swanson Leon Poeske Nancy Grundahl Betty Harris Frank Coyle Dave Campbell Ellen Jacobs Raymond Forde Gmerice Wilson Janemarie Newton Rita Tate Grace Hanrahan Regina Pope Rob Hefferman Jim Clark Paul Leonard Hank Sokolowski Josie Matsinger Carol Oleksiak Stephanie Branch Rose Nino Paul Leonard Maxine Booker Diane McCreary Diane McCreary Pesticides and Toxic Substances Databases FTTS SSTS NPIRS PIN PPIS PADS Don Lott, Renee Duncan Don Lott, Renee Duncan Don Lott, Renee Duncan Don Lott, Renee Duncan Don Lott, Renee Duncan Don Lott, Renee Duncan 65 ------- ETS Kurt Eisner Water Databases STORET Chuck Kanetsky PCS Edna Jones GICS Brenda Kidd 305(b) Maggie Passmore 304(1) Tom Henry NEEDS Tom Maher FRDS Charlotte Dennis UICTS Karen Johnson Ground Water Compendium Patricia Iraci WETS Jeff Lapp ODES Bill Muir 104(g) Jim Kern AQUIRE Susan McDowell Regional Counsel Databases DOCKET Sue Canning Penalty Tracking System Sue Canning External Affairs FOIA Rich Van Hoist 66 ------- RELEVANT ENVIRONMENTAL STATUTES CAA Clean Air Act, 1990 CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act CWA Clean Water Act EPCRA Section 313 of SARA, Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act, 1986 FIFRA Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, 1976 Marine and Estuaries Research and Protection Act NEPA National Environmental Protection Act, 1980 Pollution Prevention Act, 1990 RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 1976 SARA Superfund Ammendments and Reauthorization Act SDWA Safe Drinking Water Act, 1978 SWDA Solid Waste Disposal Act TSCA Toxic Substance Control Act, 1976 67 ------- |