^eDSrx

$

w

\ PRCJ^

United States	Office of Enforcement and

Environmental Protection Agency Compliance Assurance

January 2020

NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule - Phase 2
Extension

On January 31, 2020, EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed the proposed Phase 2 Extension
of the Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Electronic
Reporting Rule. This notice proposes postponing the deadline for Phase 2 implementation by three
years and giving states additional flexibility to request up to three additional years if needed,
subject to EPA review and approval.

The EPA will continue to work closely with NPDES-authorized states, tribes, and U.S. territories and
the regulated community to expedite the transition from paper to electronic reporting in an
orderly and efficient manner.

Overview of NPDES Electronic Reporting

EPA published the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Electronic Reporting
Rule ("NPDES eRule") on 22 October 2015. The 2015 rule required EPA and states to modernize
Clean Water Act (CWA) reporting for municipalities, industries and other facilities. That rule
replaced most paper-based NPDES reporting requirements with electronic reporting.

EPA and states are using electronic reporting for the NPDES program to save resources, make
reporting easier for regulated entities, streamline permit renewals, ensure full exchange of NPDES
general permit data between authorized NPDES programs and the EPA to the public, improve
better environmental decision-making, and better protect human health and the environment.

The rule identified following for electronic reporting: (1) Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs); (2)
general permit reports (e.g., Notices of Intent to discharge in compliance with a general permit);
and (3) other specified program reports. The rule divided implementation into two "Phases." The
deadline for Phase 1 implementation passed on December 21, 2016. The deadline for Phase 2 is
currently December 21, 2020.

Most states and permittees have successfully implemented Phase 1 of the NPDES eRule, which
includes electronic submission of DMRs and the Federal Biosolids Annual Report where EPA is the
Regulatory Authority. Current tracking of Phase 1 implementation is available through the "NPDES
eRule Readiness Dashboard," which can be viewed at: https://echo.epa.gov/trends/npdes-erule-
dashboard-public.

1

-------
Progress in Deploying Electronic Reporting for the Federal Biosolids Annual Report

2014

Before Electronic Reporting

(Approximately 2,400 paper submissions)

2019

3rd Year of Electronic Reporting

(2,290 electronic submissions with
52 paper submissions)

Electronic submission of all other reports and notices are part of Phase 2 implementation. EPA and
states have made significant progress in implementing Phase 2 of the NPDES eRule. For example,
EPA has deployed electronic reporting tools for 75 of the 240 general permits that will use EPA's
software (approximately 31%). The electronic reporting tools for these 75 general permits cover
over 27,400 facilities, which is approximately 55% of the total number of facilities that will use
EPA's software.

General Permits - NeT Application Deployment	Estimated Facility Counts - NeT Application Deployment

Source: NPDES eRule Phase 2 Implementation Dashboard,
https://edap.epa.gov/echo/extensions/eRule_Phase2/eRule_Phase2.html

2

-------
Purpose of Proposed Rule

In this notice, EPA proposes postponing the deadline for Phase 2 implementation by three years
and providing states with additional flexibility to request up to three additional years if needed,
subject to EPA review and approval. EPA could also extend the Phase 2 deadline up to three years
on its own initiative if necessary. Further, this notice proposes changes to the NPDES eRule that
would clarify existing requirements and eliminate some duplicative or outdated reporting
requirements.

These changes will help ensure a smoother transition from paper to electronic reporting for the
NPDES program. Taken together, these data standardizations and the corresponding electronic
reporting requirements are designed to save the NPDES authorized programs considerable
resources, make reporting easier for NPDES-regulated entities, streamline permit renewals (as
permit writers typically review previous noncompliance events during permit renewal), ensure full
exchange of NPDES program data between states and EPA to the public, improve environmental
decision-making, and protect human health and the environment.

Further Information

For additional information, please contact Mr. Carey A. Johnston (202-566-1014), Office of
Compliance (mail code 2222k), Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
N.W., Washington, DC, 20460; e-mail address: johnston.carey@epa.gov.

Useful Links:

Federal Register Link - TBA
EPA Website Link

https://www.epa.gov/compliance/npdes-ereporting
NPDES eRule Readiness Dashboard

https://echo.epa.gov/trends/npdes-erule-dashboard-public
NPDES eRule Phase 2 Implementation Dashboard

https://edap.epa.gov/echo/extensions/eRule Phase2/eRule Phase2.html

Email sign up for updates, training, and outreach events
https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USAEPAOECA/subscriber/new?

3

-------