vvEPA
United States Office of July 1988
Environmental Protection Solid Waste
Agency Washington, DC 20460
PLANNING FOR
RCRIS IMPLEMENTATION:
AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
RCRIS
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RESOURCE CONSERVATION
AND
RECOVERY INFORMATION SYSTEM
(RCRIS)
PLANNING FOR RCRIS IMPLEMENTATION
AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Office of Solid Waste
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20460
July 1988
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AN INTRODUCTION TO RCRIS
RCRIS, the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Information System, is EPA's new computerized man-
agement information system for managing the hazard-
ous waste program mandated by the Resources Conser-
vation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
RCRIS is the result of an extensive and continuing
development effort whose goal is to meet the information
management needs of both EPA and the states in carry-
ing out RCRA.
RCRA requires EPA to administer a national program to
control hazardous waste. However, it was the intent of
Congress that, where possible, the states assume re-
sponsibility for controlling such waste within their bor-
ders, with federal financial and technical assistance. The
success of RCRA in regulating hazardous waste dis-
posal activities therefore depends largely upon the close
cooperation of EPA and the states.
RCRIS is being designed through a cooperative effort
between EPA and the states to support state and EPA
hazardous waste activities. It will do so by providing a
system that is both broad and flexible, and thereby able
to meet both EPA's and the states' individual and shared
information processing requirements.
This executive summary presents an overview of
RCRIS, including:
RCRIS objectives
Key RCRIS features and functions
Major RCRIS software modules
EPA/State cooperation in RCRIS's development
RCRIS installation cost information
Implementation approach and schedule
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RCRIS OBJECTIVES
The overall goal of this new system is to help EPA and
the states carry out the RCRA program more effectively
by providing:
Capability to respond to the diverse information track-
ing requirements of EPA headquarters, EPA regions,
and the states;
A mechanism for ensuring highly accurate data;
A user friendly system;
A system that can be modified to carry out future
changes in RCRA; and
Access to information in other related EPA data
bases.
RCRIS FEATURES AND
FUNCTIONS
RCRIS will offer its users an impressive array of features
and functions. The most significant of these are:
Two Levels of Information Tracking. RCRIS is
designed to meet the information requirements of two
levels of management, those associated with the day-
to-day implementer activities of carrying out RCRA,
arid those needed to support the broader oversight
responsibilities of the EPA regions and headquarters.
This design is referred to as the "Two-Domain
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Concept" in RCRIS, and is described more fully in the
next section. It enables RCRIS to meet state, EPA
regional, and EPA headquarters RCRA information
management needs.
Compatibility with Mainframes and PCs. RCRIS is
designed to run on either mainframes or PCs that
have FOCUS software installed. This flexibility will
allow RCRIS to be used by states or state offices that
prefer PC to mainframe systems.
Compatibility with IBM Equipment. RCRIS is
implemented in a single data base (FOCUS) lan-
guage, and can be installed on most IBM or IBM-
compatible PCs and mainframes.
Compatibility with Non-IBM/Non-RCRIS Systems.
States committed to non-IBM hardware or non-
RCRIS software can continue to use those systems.
These states would use a special software program
to convert or "translate" non-RCRIS data into the
proper format for monthly transfers of data to the
RCRIS system at the EPA regional offices.
Tracks a Broad Range of Information. RCRIS
contains seven major modules that track a variety of
RCRA-related information, including Handler Identifi-
cation (basic information about hazardous waste
generators, transporters and treatment, storage and
disposal facilities), Compliance Monitoring and En-
forcement (which tracks inspections, violations, and
enforcement actions) and Permitting (the status of
actions on a hazardous waste facility permit applica-
tion). Other modules address corrective action, facil-
ity management planning, and program management.
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Enables States to Carry Out RCRA More
Effectively. The two-domain design provides states
that adopt RCRIS with a complete in-house RCRA
management information system that will enable
them to carry out the RCRA program more effectively.
The Responsibilities. Accompanying the benefits of
RCRIS are new responsibilities for both EPA and the
states, and new or enhanced software tools to help fulfill
those responsibilities:
Maintenance of Data. As owners of the data that
they generate, the states and EPA regions (in their
capacity as implementers), will be responsible for
storing and maintaining that data. The RCRIS soft-
ware provides a complete system for maintaining a
large quantity of detailed information about hazardous
waste generators, transporters and treatment, stor-
age and disposal facilities.
Quality of Data. As implementers, states and EPA
regions will be responsible for ensuring the accuracy
and completeness of the data that they maintain.
RCRIS provides software tools to assist in this
process.
Timeliness of Data. As implementers, states and
EPA regions will be required to meet the deadlines for
transferring high quality data to the EPA oversight
domain. States will also be required to respond in a
timely fashion to EPA requests for special reports.
RCRIS provides software tools to quickly and easily
produce such reports.
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Cooperation In Resolving Data Differences.
EPA regions and the wi!! be responsible for
working together to reconcile data differences regard-
ing particular hazardous waste firms. RCRIS soft-
ware identifies data that require attention.
The two-domain-design and other key features of RCRIS
contribute to a system that provides each state with
several choices in implementing RCRIS.
The H/tanual Option. Implementers with RCRA
programs that manage a very small amount of data
may opt to continue maintaining manual records. These
states would simply furnish paper records containing
RCRIS information to the EPA Regions.
The PC Option, impiementers may choose to adopt the
PC version of RCRIS by purchasing a single or multiple
IBM or IBM-compatible PC AT system(s) with PC FO-
CUS software, depending on the size of their database.
The Mainframe Option. Implerneniers also have the
option of adopting the mainframe version of RCRIS
using an in-house mainframe system with mainframe
FOCUS software.
The Translator Option. In addition to accommodating
small or large amounts of data, RCRIS also allows states
to retain their existing hardware and software and stil!
provide information needed by RCRIS. This Is accom-
plished by furnishing data that has been translated into
RCRIS format. The translation will be performed elec-
tronically, using a special translator function that must be
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added to the state's existing software. The transfer to the
EPA region of the resulting oversight data will be done
monthly.
Note: EPA is also currently investigating the ability to
implement RCRIS on a local area network.
RCRIS CONTAINS SEVEN MAJOR
MODULES
RCRIS tracks a wide range of information related to
firms that generate, transport, and/or treat, store, and
dispose of hazardous waste. This information is man-
aged by RCRIS1 seven major modules, or applications
(see Figure 1):
Handler Identification (HID). Tracks and maintains
descriptive information on regulated hazardous waste
facilities, generators, and transporters.
Permitting, Closure, Post-Closure (PMT/CL/PC).
Tracks information on the status of permit
applications for hazardous waste facilities.
Compliance Monitoring & Enforcement (CM&E).
Tracks and maintains data for handler compliance
evaluations, violations, enforcement actions, and
return to compliance.
Data Quality/Data Management (DQ/DM).
Provides automated software controls to ensure the
accuracy of data.
Corrective Action (CA). Supports the permit-writing
and program-enforcement coordination necessary for
an effective corrective action program.
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THE SEVEN RCRIS MODULES
PERMITTING/
CLOSURE/
POST-CLOSURE
DATA
QUALITY/
DATA
MANAGEMENT
HANDLER
IDENTIFICATION
PROGRAM
MANAGEMENT
COMPLIANCE
MONITORING
AND
ENFORCEMENT
CORRECTIVE
ACTION
FACILITY
MANAGEMENT
PLANNING
Figure 1 - The Seven RCRIS Modules
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Program Management (PM). Supports the state,
regional, and national management and evaluation
needs of the RCRA program.
Facility Management Planning (FMP). Supports
the development and analysis of facility management
plans.
RCRIS EMBODIES EPA/STATE
COOPERATION
One of the key attributes of RCRIS is that it responds to
the RCRA information management requirements of
both EPA and the states. This has been realized
through the high degree of EPA/State cooperation during
the development of the system:
RCRIS Resource Group. Both EPA and state repre-
sentatives have been involved in the RCRIS design
process (via a Resource Group made up of 5 state, 5
headquarters, and 5 regional representatives), includ-
ing the development, testing, and evaluation of the 7
RCRIS modules.
National Governors Association. State
representation has been both coordinated and aug-
mented by the National Governors Association and its
RCRIS State Advisory Council.
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WHAT WILL IT COST?
RCRIS will be able to run on a broad spectrum of
hardware options, from IBM mainframes to IBM PC-
compatible hardware. Therefore, the cost of installing
RCRSS will vary from state to state, depending on the
amount of hardware and software to be purchased and
the amount of data to be managed.
Some preliminary hardware and software cost etimates
are:
Single PC System. A complete minimum IBM
PC-compatible system (hardware and software) can
cost as little as $7500.
Multiple PC Systems. Additional IBM PC compatible
systems will cost approximately $6800 each, because
the $700 data backup unit included with the initial
system serves multiple PCs.
RCRfS for Mainframes. To use RCRIS on an
implementer IBM mainframe, a FOCUS software
license will be required, costing approximately
$55,000.
Translators for Non-RCRIS Mainframes. To develop
translator software, the cost may range from
$120,000 to $150,000. This figure is based on pre-
liminary estimates for translating a total number of 94
oversight data elements.
Additional Costs. These estimates do not include:
- Personnel costs associated with cleaning up
HWDMS data and loading it into RCRIS, will vary
depending upon the amount of data and the extent
to which it must be researched and corrected.
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- Annual operating and maintenance costs, which
will also vary according to the size and complexity
of the system.
APPROACH AND SCHEDULE FOR
IMPLEMENTING RCRIS
Because RCRIS implementation will involve numerous
organizations over an extended period of time (57 states
and territories, 10 EPA regions and headquarters), the
implementation must be carefully planned and orches-
trated.
EPA national, regional, and state level implementation
plans will be developed to guide the process. These
plans will detail the approach and schedule of events,
from hardware acquisition to RCRIS data base initializa-
tion (creation of the data base for the first time), to train-
ing. The state plans will be negotiated with EPA regions.
The schedule for RCRIS implementation is:
Field Testing. Field testing of key RCRIS
components Summer, 1988.
Pilot. To be conducted in EPA Region IV March
through June, 1989.
Software Modifications. Pilot evaluation report and
consequent RCRIS software modifications July
through August, 1989.
National Implementation. Beginning in Fall of 1989.
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