vvEPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response
Publication 9360.0-29FS
April 1992
An Overview of ERNS
Emergency Response Notification System (ERNS)
Fact Sheet
Office of Emergency and Remedial Response
Emergency Response Division OS-210
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
The Emergency Response Notification System (ERNS) is a national computer database used to store information
on releases of oil and hazardous substances. The ERNS program is a cooperative data sharing effort among the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Headquarters, the Department of Transportation (DOT) Research and
Special Programs Administration's John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (VNTSC), the ten EPA
Regions, and the National Response Center (NRC). EPA Headquarters manages and funds ERNS, and the VNTSC
provides operation and maintenance support through an interagency agreement with EPA. ERNS provides the most
comprehensive data compiled on release notifications of oil and hazardous substances in the United States. Since its
inception in 1986, more than 160,000 release notifications have been entered into ERNS.
RELEASE NOTIFICATIONS IN ERNS*
Notification Type:
CERCLA
Oil
Other
Total for Year
1987
4,582
15,577
8,518
28.677
1988
5,060
15,167
9,647
29,874
1989
6,554
16,074
11,476
34,104
1990
6,174
18,846
9,239
34,259
1991
5,885
19,264
10,504
35,653
CERCLA: Substances designated as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of
1980, as amended, section 103.
Oil: Any oil discharge which: 1) causes a sheen to appear on the surface of the water, 2) violates applicable water quality standards; or 3) causes
sludge or emulsion to be deposited beneath the surface of the water or upon the adjoining shorelines, reported in accordance with section 311 of the
CWA.
Other This category includes non-CERCLA, non-oil substances along with substances that could not be identified at the time of the release.
HOW ARE NOTIFICATIONS COLLECTED IN ERNS?
The ERNS data are captured electronically when a release is reported to the NRC or EPA. When a release
report is submitted to Federal authorities, the individual reporting the release is asked a series of questions
concerning the release . This information is then immediately transferred to the appropriate Federal response
authority . For example, when the NRC receives the initial notification of a release, the information is immediately
transmitted to the appropriate Federal On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) in an EPA Regional Office or Coast Guard
District Office, depending upon the release location. In some cases reports are made directly to the EPA or United
States Coast Guard (USCG) offices, at which time the Federal response authorities make a response determination.
The OSC then relays the information to the appropriate State and local response authorities, as necessary.
Information concerning all releases originally reported to the NRC and EPA Regional Offices is entered into
local computers and transmitted electronically from the NRC or EPA Regional Office to the VNTSC, where it
becomes part of the ERNS national database. Each EPA Region maintains its own Region-specific database, which
is a subset of the national database.
• All numbers are based on initial notification to the Federal government and may not have been verified.
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WHAT INFORMATION IS IN ERNS?
Information is recorded in ERNS when a release is initially reported to the Federal government These initial
notifications contain the preliminary release information available at the time of the release. The information in
ERNS is "unverified" because at the time of the release, some of the information reported to the Federal government
may be incomplete or inaccurate. Depending upon the severity of the release and the response actions taken, the
EPA or Coast Guard OSC obtains further information on the release by assisting at the site or discussing the
incident with State, local, or other response officials. Where notification information is verified, more detailed data
on the release may be added to ERNS, including information related to response actions. Often, however, the only
information found in ERNS is information derived from the initial notification.
UNDER WHAT AUTHORITIES ARE THE NOTIFICATIONS IN ERNS REPORTED?
There are primarily five Federal statutes that require release reporting. Part or all of the information from
these reports may be collected in ERNS. These statutes and their resulting regulations, their citations, and their
relationship to ERNS are shown in the following table:
APPLICABLE FEDERAL STATUES/REGULATIONS:
Statute
Cite
Description
CERCLA
Section 103
40 CFR, Part
302, Section
302.6
This section requires that releases of hazardous substances which meet or exceed their
reportabte quantity (RO) be reported to the NRC, who in turn will notify the appropriate Federal
On-Scene Coordinator (OSC). These re
unt for 17% of all the notifications in ERNS.
SARA Title II
Section 304
40 CFR. Part
355
In this section, the release of an RQ or more, of a CERCLA hazardous substance or a SARA
extremely hazardous substance, must be reported to Federal authorities. Non-CERCLA EHS
releases must be reported to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) of any state
likely to be affected by the release and to the Community Emergency Coordinator for the Local
Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) of any area likely to be affected by the release. It should
be noted that few of these notifications are incorporated into the ERNS database.
Transportation-related releases must be reported to the 911 emergency number or, In the
absence of a 911 number, to a telephone operator.
CWA Section
311
40 CFR, Part
110, Section
110.10
This Section requires persons who release oil and hazardous substances to report the release to
the appropriate Federal Agency, who will then immediately notify the appropriate state agency of
any state which may be affected by the discharge. In the oil discharge regulations promulgated
under this act, EPA establishes 3 categories of reportabte discharges of oil. A discharge must be
immediately reported to the NRC If It: 1) causes a sheen to appear on the surface of the water; 2)
violates applicable water quality standards; or 3) causes sludge or emulsion to be deposited
beneath the surface of the water or upon the adjoining shorelines. Oil notifications account for
52% of all notifications In ERNS.
CWA Section
40 CFR, Part
300, Sections
300.125.
300.300,
300.405
The NCP regulations require that oil or hazardous substance releases which violate the CWA be
immediately reported to the NRC. If direct reporting to the NRC Is not practicable, reports may be
made to the Coast Guard or EPA designated OSC for the geographic area in which the discharge
occurred.
HMTA
Section
1808(b)
40 CFR.
Subchapter C,
Section 171.15
The HMTA requires dischargers to notify the NRC If as a direct result of the release: (1) a person
Is killed; (2) a person receives injuries requiring hospttallzation; (3) estimated carrier or other
damage exceeds (50,000; (4) an evacuation of the general public occurs lasting one or more
hours; (5) one or more major transportation arteries or facilities are closed or shut down for one
hour or more; or (6) the operational flight pattern or routine of an aircraft Is altered. Although
these releases are reported under DOT authority, they may also be subject to EPA authority.
CERCLA: The Comprehensive Environmental Response .Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, u ammended.
SARA: The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1966, as ammended.
CWA: The Clean Water Act of 1972, as ammended.
HMTA: The Hazardous Material Transportation Act of 1974, as ammended.
NCP: The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan, as published under section
311(d) of the CWA, as ammended by section 4201(b) of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, or revised under section 105 of CERCLA
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WHAT IS ERNS USED FOR?
The primary purpose of ERNS is to standardize and collect notifications made to the Federal government of
releases of oil and hazardous substances. These notifications are used by OSCs during, before and after data are
entered into ERNS, to determine an appropriate Federal response action. Currently, ERNS data are used to assist
decision makers in solving emergency response and release prevention issues. Specific examples of ERNS data
applications include:
• Guidance and Regulatory Development • Environmental Planning
• Responses to Congressional Inquiries • Spill Prevention Programs
• Response Preparedness • Legal Analyses
• Compliance and Enforcement Support • Property Transfers/Site Audits
• Statistical and Trend Analysis • Academic Research
WHAT TYPES OF ERNS DATA ARE AVAILABLE?
ERNS data is available to the public in various forms including computerized copies, printouts, summarized
release totals, or 6250 BPI magnetic data tapes. Each of these formats serve a different purpose; the decision
regarding what type of information is chosen depends on the individual needs of the requestor. Cost for providing
ERNS data is determined based on the materials used and the time and effort expended to fill the request. General
descriptions of the information formats are provided below:
• Standard ERNS Reports: These reports provide a one page summary of the releases as reported to
the Federal government Standard ERNS reports can be obtained on a floppy disk or as a computer
printout, depending upon the number of reports requested. Generally, these reports are best for
providing specific information on a small subset of data. Searches best suited for this format
include: searching for specific report numbers, searching for specific release dates, searching for
specific dischargers, searching for information on specific chemicals, and searching for information
on the county, city or address of the release.
• Summary Release Totals: This information is best suited for analyzing trends, or making comparisons
of broad groups. Summary Information reports are not as detailed as the ERNS reports, but offer
the requestor a broad overview of data. Examples of uses for Summary Information reports include:
Comparisons of the number of release reports between States/calendar years/EPA Regions or cities,
comparison of the number of release reports for broad chemical groups, and release reports
categorized by the quantity of the material released.
• Magnetic Data Tapes: These tapes can be obtained in either ASCII or EBCDIC formats for each year in
the database. Included with each tape is a data dictionary which references terms used in the ERNS
national database and a Tapeout log showing record and block lengths including the number of
records and blocks contained in each file. These tapes are typically provided to requestors who have
extensive needs for ERNS data, and who have the hardware necessary to operate magnetic data
tapes.
HOW CAN ERNS DATA BE OBTAINED?
Information on the ERNS system and data may be obtained by calling the ERNS Information Line at (202)
260-2342, or by contacting the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Officer in the specific EPA Region of interest.
Addresses and telephone numbers of the EPA Regional FOIA offices are provided below. For more extensive
materials, write to the EPA Headquarters FOIA Officer at:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Freedom of Information Act Office (A-101)
401 M Street, SW
Washington, DC 20460
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EPA Regional Contacts for ERNS Information
REGION 10
U.S. EPA Paojon 10
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