OFFICE OF CHEMICAL SAFETY AND POLLUTION PREVENTION NATIONAL PROGRAM MANAGER GUIDANCE FISCAL YEAR 2018-2019 Draft - June 2017 Publication #73OP 17001 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION 2 II. KEY PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITES 4 1. STRENGTHENING STATE/TRIBAL PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH CONTINUED EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF PESTICIDE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS 4 Description 4 Activities 4 Measure 4 2. ASSISTING IN NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND LOCAL POLLINATOR PROTECTION EFFORTS 5 Description 5 Activities 5 Measure 5 3. EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTING THE REVISED PESTICIDES WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD RULE 6 Description 6 Activities 6 Measure 8 4. EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTING THE REVISED CERTIFICATION OF PESTICIDE APPLICATORS RULE 8 Description 8 Activities 9 Measure 11 5. FOCUSING REGION-SPECIFIC PESTICIDE PRIORITIES ON THOSE AREAS OF GREATEST NEED NATIONALLY 11 Description 11 Activities 12 Measure 13 6. TOXICS RELEASE INVENTORY (TRI) 13 Description 13 Activities 13 Measure 14 III. APPENDICES 15 Appendix A: FY 2018 NPM Guidance Measures 15 Appendix B: Point of Contact for More Information 16 1 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance I. INTRODUCTION The National Program Manager (NPM) Guidances set forth the strategies and actions the EPA and its state and tribal partners will undertake to protect human health and the environment. This NPM Guidance for FY 2018-2019 supports the transition to the new Administration's priorities, which will be reflected in EPA's FY2018-2022 Strategic Plan (due to Congress in February 2018) and the agency's FY 2018 Congressional Justification. In the development of this Guidance, Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) engaged in early outreach with states and tribes, and worked in collaboration and coordination with other NPMs (e.g., Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), Office of Water (OW)) and the regional offices to help identify the most important environmental and human health protection areas of work to be conducted by the regional offices in FY 2018-2019. During early stakeholder engagement, OCSPP provided copies of the FY 2016-2017 NPM Guidance to states and tribes for comment. State and tribal partners were asked to suggest changes in the FY 2016-2017 Guidance to inform the development of the FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance. These extensive discussions took place during a series of tribal and state conference calls, face-to-face meetings and written correspondence at the national and regional levels. OCSPP's FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance takes into consideration these external stakeholder and internal inputs on program- specific topics and those requiring cross-program coordination. OCSPP and the regional offices will continue to communicate regularly with the states and tribes to better understand local, regional and national issues and priorities. To complement the individual NPM Guidances, Office of Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) developed an "Overview to the FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidances." The Overview to the NPM Guidances communicates important agency-wide information and should be reviewed in conjunction with each of the FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidances, grant guidances and other applicable requirements. This brief stand-alone document is posted separately on OCFO's NPM Guidance website at: http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/national-program- manager-guidances. The agency may update this NPM Guidance, as needed, when more specific policy direction is provided by the new agency leadership team, more information is available about our appropriations, and additional information is available through our ongoing planning discussions with our state, local, and tribal partners. For more specific program descriptions and a detailed list of past activities that may apply to FY 2018-2019, please reference OCSPP's FY 2016-2017 NPM Guidance flittp://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/national-program-manager- guidancesl and the point of contacts listed in Appendix B. The EPA will continue to use the Annual Commitment System (ACS) to track annual regional performance information and results. FY 2018 commitments are listed in Appendix A of this Guidance. The annual commitments in ACS will remain as draft until final performance agreements are reached in October 2017. FY 2018 commitments will be finalized in October 2017. More information on the agency's NPM Guidance development process, public comment process, other NPM Guidances to the regional offices and the agency's official commenting template can be found on the EPA's planning and budgeting website at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/national-program-manager-guidances. 2 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance Additional information on the EPA performance measures, planning and budgeting can be found at http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget. More OCSPP-specific information can be found at http://www2.epa.gov/aboutepa/about-office-chemical-safety-and-pollution- prevention-ocspp. 3 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance II. KEY PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITES 1. STRENGTHENING STATE AND TRIBAL PARTNERSHIPS THROUGH CONTINUED EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF PESTICIDE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS Description The National Pesticide Program depends on cooperative agreements with states and tribes to implement many of the requirements of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and to help ensure our regulatory decisions and programs achieve intended protections. This ensures that Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP), OECA, and the EPA regional offices are responsive to co-regulator and stakeholder needs while effectively managing cooperative agreements. Regional offices are responsible for negotiating, implementing and managing state and tribal cooperative agreements, and are uniquely positioned to provide technical assistance and oversight given their proximity and working relationships with states and tribes. Activities • Negotiate state and tribal cooperative agreements and work plans consistent with the FIFRA Cooperative Agreement Guidance. • Issue grant funds to states and tribes in a timely manner once they become available and/or consistent with the start of the cooperative agreement funding period (unless another timeframe is negotiated with the grantee). Ensure resources are directed consistent with the FIFRA Cooperative Agreement Guidance to areas where they are most needed. • Ensure mid-year and end-of-year reporting is consistent with the mechanisms, quality and timeframes listed in the FIFRA Cooperative Agreement Guidance. • Foster prompt and accurate communication of EPA Pesticide Program regulations, policies and guidance to states and tribes. • Communicate with states and tribes regularly to ensure grantees conduct meaningful work in priority areas, and can meet their cooperative agreement responsibilities. • Provide effective technical assistance and policy support for states and tribes on national pesticide priorities listed in the FIFRA Cooperative Agreement Guidance to help the grantees be successful. Measure (ACS Code: CORE) Percent of overall required pesticide program cooperative agreement activities that are included in grantee work plans and completed consistent with the pesticide program portion of the FIFRA Grant Guidance. • Commitment target is 100 percent of pesticide program required activities completed by grantee that are required, under pesticide program portion of the FIFRA Grant Guidance. 4 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance • Data for this ACS measure will not be available for reporting purposes until February 28 of each year due to the end of year reporting cycle for states and tribes. 2. ASSISTING IN NATIONAL, REGIONAL AND LOCAL POLLINATOR PROTECTION EFFORTS Description Through risk assessment, mitigation, education, and outreach, EPA's Office of Pesticides Programs' goal for pollinator protection is to ensure all pollinators, including managed pollinators such as honey bees, and native pollinators including Monarch Butterflies, are protected from adverse effects of pesticide exposure. Activities • Assist with the development and outreach conducted related to state and tribal pollinator protection plans. Regional offices should support states who are still developing MP3s or broader tribal Pollinator Protection Plans (P3), and assist tribes who are in the process of developing P3s. Further, regional offices should also conduct outreach and technical assistance activities on these plans throughout FY 2018-2019. Regional offices should also conduct outreach on measures developed by the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee (PPDC) and OPP, State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group (SFIREG), states, tribes, and other stakeholders to determine the effectiveness of these plans in reducing pesticide risk to pollinators. • Conduct outreach and education on pollinator protection approaches and efforts including the Monarch Protection Strategy. Regional offices should disseminate existing outreach materials to promote pollinator protection Best Management Practices (BMP), and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in crops attractive to bees. Existing EPA- developed materials include a Region 9 guidance for tribal pollinator protection plans developed for Region 9 tribes; a Region 9 "Bee Aware" brochure; a flyer for tribes developed by Region 10; and information on OPP's website. In addition, an extensive amount of outreach and educational materials are available on stakeholder websites, such as the Xerces Society and the Honey Bee Health Coalition websites. • Identify opportunities to partner with other agencies and organizations interested in promoting pollinator protection. Regional offices should consider partnering with United States Department of Agriculture Regional IPM Centers to leverage opportunities for outreach on pollinator protection BMPs. • Promote the EPA Bee Inspection Guidance and timely state and tribal responses to all suspected pesticide incidents involving pollinators. Provide additional outreach to states and tribes to facilitate the use of the Bee Inspection Guidance. Regional offices should work with states and tribes to report the results of investigations of all known or suspected pesticide incidents involving pollinators to OPP at: beekill@epa.gov. Measure 5 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance The activities and outcomes described in this section are not measurable at this time. Therefore, no ACS measures are proposed to be associated with this area of focus for FY 2018-2019. 3. EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTING THE REVISED PESTICIDES WORKER PROTECTION STANDARD RULE Description On November 2, 2015, EPA published final revisions to the Worker Protection Standard (WPS) rule (40 CFR Part 170). The WPS revisions address pesticide safety training, notification, communication materials, use of PPE, and decontamination supplies. These revisions are intended to reduce the number and severity of pesticide exposure incidents and prevent unreasonable adverse effects among agricultural workers, pesticide handlers and vulnerable groups, including minority and low income populations, farmworker children, farmworker families and the general population. More than two million farmworkers nationwide receive protections under the WPS regulation. The Agency determined in May 2017 that additional resources and training were necessary for effective implementation of the revised provisions in the WPS. EPA is currently in the process of taking necessary regulatory steps to extend the compliance date for all revised provisions in the WPS until at least January 2, 2018. The principal activities for all regional offices in the WPS program area for FY 2018-2019 will be to contribute to the development of additional guidance and training materials to support the states and tribes in their implementation of the WPS (e.g., WPS Inspection Guidance, FIFRA Project Officer Manual, WPS Interpretive Policy guidance, Region- and program-specific WPS guidance, etc.). Regional offices should also support any additional WPS implementation activities that may be identified in subsequent agency guidance documents or directives due to potential rule modifications that may occur after this guidance is issued (e.g., delayed compliance dates or other WPS rule revisions). Activities • Provide training, outreach and communication to states and tribes, other co-regulators, farmworker advocates, and State Land Grant Universities/Extension educators on the key requirements and impacts of the revised WPS rule. This includes organizing training for states, tribes and other co-regulators as needed (in person or by webinar) and coordinating the communication and resolution of issues and concerns between states, tribes and OPP or OECA when necessary. • Support state and tribal WPS rule and program implementation efforts and provide effective oversight of state and tribal WPS programs so that agency resources are directed to areas where they are most needed and best support the WPS program goals. Allocate resources as available to support travel for regional staff to attend and participate in national WPS PREP and PIRT courses, as well as other national WPS training courses or programs that may be held to train regional staff and inspectors and 6 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance build regional infrastructure and/or capacity for supporting WPS program implementation. • Support national efforts designed to address field implementation issues that may arise (e.g., developing WPS fact sheets, "Q&A's", addressing equivalency requests, developing region-specific training and/or compliance assistance materials, etc.). • Conduct WPS-related outreach, education and technical assistance on the revised rule's requirements to the regulated and impacted community: • Support WPS worker and handler training activities. This includes assisting with the development and distribution of EPA approved WPS training materials, reviewing new or updated training materials submitted to EPA for approval as applicable and appropriate. • Work with states and tribes in the region to ensure mechanisms and procedures are in place to enable coordination and follow-up on reports of occupational pesticide exposure, incidents or illnesses that may be related to pesticide use or misuse, or WPS violations, and facilitate any efforts to establish or enhance such efforts. Regional offices with more WPS-affected establishments, large farmworker populations or specific/special WPS implementation issues should also consider undertaking supplemental special initiatives or activities in the following areas: • Facilitate development and adoption of EPA-approved WPS train-the-trainer (TTT) programs and materials. OPP encourages regional offices to support the establishment of state and tribal WPS TTT programs that will improve the quality of WPS trainers and WPS training programs. • Support programs and provide resources to facilitate employer compliance with the new WPS requirements related to respirator use (i.e., medical evaluation, fit-testing and respirator training). This may include developing partnerships with medical providers, regulatory partners, grower and commodity groups, and/or nongovernmental organizations to support understanding and adoption of the requirements as well as providing resources and mechanisms for fulfilling the requirements. • Work with regional community-based WPS training providers. When possible, regional offices should work with community-based training providers, such as Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, Telamon and other farmworker assistance groups, to support WPS training efforts and ensure training providers are meeting WPS requirements. Regional offices should facilitate linkages between training providers and state and tribal contacts and members of the agricultural community so their services can be utilized more effectively. • Develop cooperative relationships with farmworker service organizations. Regional offices should identify and work with groups in the region that provide services to farmworkers to establish cooperative relationships and better communications and linkages. 7 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance • Support the National Strategy for Outreach to Health Care Providers fhttps://www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety). which is an important component of the agency's pesticide worker safety program and the cornerstone of the EPA's effort to improve recognition and management of pesticide poisonings by health care providers. The strategy is also key to facilitating better communications regarding pesticide incidents. There are a broad range of activities regional offices can undertake under this WPS program area, such as working with rural physicians and migrant clinics to conduct outreach and raise awareness about the WPS and occupational pesticide exposure, working to facilitate regional incident reporting, etc. This could also include activities that address or impact children's health (e.g., establishing decontamination facilities and/or educational messages at daycare centers used by migrant farmworker children, doing outreach on new minimum age requirements, etc.). Measure No ACS measure is proposed to be associated with this area of focus for FY 2018-2019 to allow regional offices the flexibility to direct their efforts where they are most needed, and to select the activities and level of effort appropriate for the needs of their region. 4. EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENTING THE REVISED CERTIFICATION OF PESTICIDE APPLICATORS RULE Description On January 4, 2017, EPA published final rule revisions to the Certification of Pesticide Applicators rule (40 CFR Part 171). The revisions address private applicator competency, standards for recertification programs, standards for supervision of noncertified applicators, competency requirements for noncertified applicators applying Restricted Use Pesticides (RUP) under the supervision of a certified applicator, minimum age for certified and noncertified applicators, application-method specific categories, requirements for state, tribal and federal agency certification plans, and implementation requirements. These revisions are intended to reduce the number and severity of pesticide exposure incidents associated with the use of RUPs, and prevent unreasonable adverse effects among certified applicators, noncertified persons applying under the supervision of a certified applicator, vulnerable groups, including minority and low income populations, and the general population. The Certification and Training (C&T) program is critical to ensuring that persons using or supervising the use of RUPs are competent to use these products without causing unreasonable adverse effects to human health or the environment and to provide a mechanism by which states, tribes, and federal agencies can administer their own programs to certify applicators of RUPs as competent. The C&T program also plays a vital role in ensuring that important pesticide tools remain available to pest control officials and users to address critical pest management needs. 8 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance Although EPA has delayed the effective date of the Certification of Pesticide Applicators rule until May 22, 2018, this does not substantively change the C&T-related activities the regional offices should undertake in FY 2018-2019. Activities The principal activities for all regional offices in the C&T program area for FY 2018-19 will be to ensure state and tribal pesticide applicator certification programs are being implemented and maintained in accordance with their EPA-approved certification plans. Additionally, regional offices should support implementation of the January 4, 2017, rule revisions to the Part 171 Certification of Pesticide Applicators rule, and carry out C&T program implementation activities in accordance with this and any other applicable EPA guidance (e.g., FIFRA Inspection Guidance, FIFRA Project Officer Manual, region-specific C&T guidance, etc.). Specific activities include: • Regional offices must ensure state and tribal pesticide applicator certification programs are being implemented and maintained in accordance with their EPA-approved certification plans. Regional offices should ensure states and tribes continue implementing pesticide applicator certification programs in accordance with current EPA-approved certification plans and Part 171 requirements until such time that revised, EPA-approved certification plans complying with the new revised Part 171 rule requirements are in place. • Provide training, outreach and communication to states and tribes, other co-regulators, and State Land Grant Universities/Extension educators on the key requirements and impacts of the revised C&T rule. • Support state and tribal C&T rule and program implementation efforts and provide effective oversight of state and tribal C&T programs so that agency resources are directed to areas where they are most needed and best support the C&T program goals. • Allocate resources as available to support travel for regional staff to attend and participate in national C&T PREP and PIRT courses, as well as other national C&T training courses or programs that may be held to train regional staff and inspectors and build regional infrastructure and capacity for supporting certification program implementation. • Support and participate in the "National HQ-Regional C&T Implementation Workgroup" as appropriate. The National C&T Implementation workgroup will be designed to ensure nationally consistent certification plan reviews and address any C&T field implementation issues that may arise. • Provide C&T-related outreach, education and technical assistance on the revised rule to the regulated and protected communities, and key stakeholder groups in the region (e.g., certified applicators, RUP dealers, non-certified applicators applying RUPs under the supervisions of a certified applicator, commercial pesticide application businesses, agricultural organizations, crop or commodity groups, training organizations, 9 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance regulatory partners, key nongovernmental organization stakeholders, and other affected agencies and/or organizations). • Support state and tribal development and submission of revised certification plans that meet the requirements of the revised rule. • Ensure states and tribes meet Part 171 requirements for certification plan maintenance and annual reporting using the Certification Plan and Reporting Database (CPARD). Regional offices must ensure that state and tribal certification plans are entered, submitted and maintained and kept current within the Certification Plan and Reporting Database (CPARD) in accordance with the requirements in 40 CFR Part 171 and associated EPA guidances. Regional offices must ensure revised certification plans are entered and submitted through CPARD in accordance with program policy and guidance, and that plans are updated in CPARD annually, making any necessary updates and all pertinent information to reflect any changes to their certification programs and plans made during the year. • Regional offices must ensure states and tribes use the CPARD database system for submitting their required annual certification program accomplishment reporting information. The annual certification program accomplishment reporting information required by Part 171 must be entered into CPARD annually by December 31st of each calendar year regardless of the actual grant project period. By properly and completely filling out the reporting section of the CPARD system, states and tribes will provide the annual C&T accomplishment reporting information to EPA that contains all the information required by Part 171. Regional offices should work with their states and tribes if any technical assistance is needed for using CPARD. As resources allow, regional offices with large numbers of certified applicators, noncertified applicators applying RUPs under the supervision of a certified applicator, or unique pesticide applicator certification issues should consider undertaking supplemental special initiatives or activities in the following areas described below. • Suggest project ideas that would support the implementation of the revised Certification rule to the Pesticide Educational Resources Collaborative (PERC), a cooperative agreement between the Office of Pesticide Programs and University of California Davis Extension, in collaboration with Oregon State University. Projects could include the development or revision of manuals, exam banks or other materials. Proposed project ideas can be submitted on PERC's web site: http://pesticideresources.org/. • Promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM) concepts in applicator certification programs. The EPA encourages regional offices to promote adoption of IPM concepts and principles in pesticide applicator certification and recertification training materials and programs to raise awareness about and adoption of IPM. Regional offices should consider working with states and tribes on the following activities to promote IPM: review and revise initial certification programs to assure adequate coverage of IPM; and review and revise recertification training programs to assure adequate coverage of IPM 10 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance concepts and principles, and making IPM-related outreach and education materials and resources available to applicators. • Support Certification and Training Assessment Group (CTAG) projects. The agency continues to actively work on projects and activities stemming from the CTAG process and recommendations. Regional offices should keep abreast of the ongoing CTAG projects and activities and identify potential opportunities for collaboration with their states and tribes and OPP and CTAG. Regional offices should also provide input and comment on CTAG issue papers and other CTAG documents. • Undertake efforts to measure program outcomes. Regional offices should consider working with their states and tribes to conduct program assessments or develop program measures that help document certification program outcomes. This may include such things as developing processes to document positive behavior change resulting from training and/or certification, or developing pre- and post-test evaluations for certified applicators that may help document the increased competency that resulted from certification and training. • Encourage states and tribes to use exam development and validation principles. Where resources permit, regional offices should encourage states and tribes to use exam development and validation principles to revise their applicator exams and help lead to improved competency of applicators, and regional offices should involve themselves in any state and tribal activities related to such efforts. • Encourage states and tribes to undertake special compliance initiatives related to certification requirements that may focus on sale and distribution of restricted use pesticides (RUPs) to applicators in fumigation sector(s) of concern due to the high potential for severe, acute incidents from exposure. Measure No ACS measure is proposed to be associated with this area of focus for FY 2018-2019 to allow regional offices the flexibility to direct their efforts where they are most needed, and to select the activities and level of effort appropriate for the needs of their region. 5. FOCUSING REGION-SPECIFIC PESTICIDE PRIORITIES ON THOSE AREAS OF GREATEST NEED NATIONALLY Description Region-Specific Pesticide Priority areas supports the agency's national pesticide program efforts. In addition, these projects support one or more of the agency's Strategic Plan goals and strategies, and directly benefit states and/or tribes. The relative priority of each of these program areas will vary across the country. Therefore, this national focus area enables regional offices to select priority areas which address the greatest needs of their states, tribes, environmental justice communities, and vulnerable populations, and will likely result in the greatest reduction of potential pesticide risk in their area of the country. 11 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance Regional offices are to select one priority area out of the Region-Specific Pesticide Priority list provided below for special focus and will conduct one special project in the area selected. Regional offices must ensure that they propose substantive projects for the priority area selected. Regional offices are encouraged to work together on projects to leverage resources. Region-Specific Pesticide Priority areas to choose from are: 1. Promotion of State and Tribal Pesticide Program Coordination and Communication; 2. Bed Bug Outreach and Assistance; 3. Promotion, Development or Support of Integrated Pest Management Efforts; 4. Support of Water Quality Risk Assessment and Mitigation; 5. Spray Drift Outreach and Incident Data Collection; and 6. Support of Emerging Public Health Pesticide Issues. Activities The following should be considered to assure robust and substantive special projects for the one program area selected: • Each regional office must conduct a project in one of the listed Region-Specific Pesticide Priority areas. • All project proposals must be discussed with and approved by the OPP/FEAD Government and International Services Branch Chief before the project is initiated. • Projects must be designed to achieve the stated goals of the project and show meaningful results. • Projects may entail outreach, education, training, stakeholder coordination, program evaluation, state or tribal program capacity building and support, or other similar projects or initiatives that may lead to program improvement. • Proposals for projects should include a clear statement of what work will be done, what the project hopes to accomplish and how it will support the goals of the program areas. • Regional offices are encouraged to set ambitious goals that result in true protections. • Projects must be designed to be completed in one to three years. Multi-year projects should have measurable milestones for each year of the project. Regional offices currently conducting a multi-year IPM-related project from a previous fiscal year that meets the other requirements of this section may request that the project be considered as the region's project for the current fiscal year • Projects (or one phase of a multi-year project) must be completed by the end of the fiscal year. Regional offices must submit project reports to OPP within 60 days of the end of the federal fiscal year. 12 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance • The results of each project will be reviewed by OPP and regional offices at the end of the fiscal year and discussed on a conference call or meeting so that innovations and lessons learned may be shared across the regional offices and pesticide program. • Project results will be compiled for National Pesticide Program Accomplishments reports and shared within OPP. Measure (ACS Code: RSP2) Number of region-specific projects or initiatives contributing to the implementation and enhancement of the region-specific pesticide program priority areas. • Commitment target is one project or initiative (one Region-Specific Pesticide Priority area selected by the region). 6. TOXICS RELEASE INVENTORY [TRI] Description The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program supports the EPA's mission by annually publishing, for the public, release and other waste management data (e.g., recycling) on over 650 toxic chemicals from more than 21 thousand industrial and federal facilities. The TRI program, working with the EPA's Environmental Information program, will continue to provide reporting facilities with an online reporting application, TRI-MEweb, to facilitate the electronic preparation and submission of TRI reports through the EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX). CDX manages access and authentication services for most EPA reporting systems, including the TRI. In particular, it provides a third-party authentication for reporting facilities using LexisNexis. The TRI data collected by the EPA are shared with states who have an active node on CDX and are partners of the TRI Data Exchange (TDX). Facilities located in states that participate in this exchange submit reports to the EPA through CDX. The data are then downloaded by the states or transferred to their nodes using TDX. The EPA will continue to maintain the TDX used by states, tribes, and territories. Activities • Regional offices should conduct data quality checks, primarily through data quality phone calls and emails. These phone calls and emails are directed at: 1) ensuring a high- quality TRI National Analysis dataset; and 2) identifying facility call lists (post TRI National Analysis calls or "ad hoc" calls) that focus on outlier and comparative analyses. The ad hoc analyses include, but are not limited to: facilities reporting invalid classification codes; low or no air releases for volatile TRI chemicals despite reporting a large amount of the chemical on-site; identical release quantities in subsequent years; and comparative analyses of TRI facilities reporting to other EPA and/or non-EPA programs. The data quality calls are conducted by headquarter and regional staff. 13 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance • Regional offices should work with facilities to determine if chemical release and threshold calculations are consistent with national TRI guidance. • Regional offices should tailor the ad hoc data quality phone calls to the region's specific interests or priorities. • Regional roles should assist state, tribal and local governments with TRI data access and understanding, for the purposes of addressing toxic chemicals in their communities under their own authorities, particularly for community waste reduction and clean-up actions Measure (ACS Code: TRI1) Number of Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data quality checks. • Measure TRI-1 measure allows us to track performance of the TRI program, and aid in improving the accuracy and reliability of environmental data. This measure will provide valuable information as more than 21,000 facilities report to the TRI program annually. • For FY 2018, TRI-1 is a non-commitment measure of data quality calls and emails to 600 facilities in total across all regional offices. • For FY2019, TRI-1 will be a commitment measure of data quality calls and email to 600 facilities in total across all regional offices. 14 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance III. APPENDICES Appendix A: FY 2018 NPM Guidance Measures ACS Code Measure Text Indicator (Y/N) FY 2018 National Planning Target Comments/Clarification CORE Percent of overall required pesticide program cooperative agreement activities that are included in grantee workplans and completed consistent with the pesticide program portion of the FIFRA Grant Guidance. N RSP2 Number of region-specific projects or initiatives contributing to the implementation and enhancement of the Region-Specific Pesticide Priority areas. N TRI1 Number of Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data quality checks. Y 15 ------- OCSPP FY 2018-2019 NPM Guidance Appendix B: Point of Contact for More Information Contact Name Subject Area Phone Email Jennifer Vernon OCSPP Planning and Accountability Lead NPM Guidance Development 202-564-6573 vernon.jennifer@epa.gov Lance Wormell Office of Pesticides Programs Field and External Affairs Division 703-603-0523 wormell.lance@ epa.gov Mike Burns Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics Environmental Assistance Division 202-564-8273 burns.mike@epa.gov 16 ------- |