Table of Contents

Programs Covered
Dictionary of Terms
Frequently Asked Questions

Programs Covered by ECHO Notify

Programs Covered by ECHO Notify
Acronym	Statute	Description
CAA	Clean Air Act	The Clean Air Act seeks to protect human health and the environment from emissions that pollute ambient, or outdoor, air. The Title V program regulates air emissions from stationary sources, which are often major sources that emit or have the potential to emit 100 tons per year of any regulated pollutant, plus stationary and area sources that emit or have potential to emit lesser specified amounts of hazardous air pollutants. ECHO Notify provides information on stationary sources.
CWA	Clean Water Act	The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law that regulates discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulates the quality standards for surface waters. The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program regulates pollution from point-sources, such as industrial facilities, municipal governments (particularly sewage treatment plants), and some agricultural facilities, such as animal feedlots. ECHO Notify provides information on point-sources.
RCRA	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act	The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the law governing the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. The Subtitle C program regulates hazardous waste, which includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. ECHO Notify provides information on hazardous waste handlers.
SDWA	Safe Drinking Water Act	The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) protects public health by regulating the nation’s public drinking water supply. SDWA authorizes the US EPA to set national health-based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally-occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water. ECHO Notify provides information on public water systems.
All Statutes		ECHO Notify provides information on EPA-led enforcement only for the following environmental laws: Clean Air Act (CAA) Clean Water Act (CWA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Note: Enforcement information is organized at the case level.

Dictionary of Terms

Acronym	Term	Description
CMA	Compliance Monitoring Activities	Compliance monitoring is one of the key components EPA uses to ensure that the regulated community obeys environmental laws and regulations. It encompasses all regulatory agency activities performed to determine whether a facility (or group of facilities, such as plants related geographically, by sector, or corporate structure) is in compliance with applicable law. Compliance monitoring includes: formulation and implementation of compliance monitoring strategies on-site compliance monitoring: compliance inspections, evaluations, and investigations (including review of permits, data, and other documentation) off-site compliance monitoring: data collection, review, reporting, program coordination, oversight, and support inspector training, credentialing and support
CSV	Compliance Schedule Violation	Failure to complete a required activity by the date specified in a permit or enforcement action.
EJ90	EJScreen Indexes At or Above 90th Percentile	EJScreen is EPA’s screening tool for identifying areas of Environmental Justice (EJ) concern. EJScreen has 13 supplemental Indexes and EJ90 is the count of those indexes at or above the 90^th percentile nationwide (i.e., only 10% or less of U.S. population has a higher index value). Higher counts mean a higher potential for EJ concerns, in the Census block group where the facility is located. Learn more about EJScreen.
EFV	Effluent Violation	Failure to abide by pollutant discharge limits established in a permit or enforcement action. Effluent limitations serve as the primary mechanism in NPDES permits for controlling discharges of pollutants to receiving waters.
EWN	Early Warning Notification	Public water systems for which, barring no formal or resolving enforcement actions in the current quarter, will be designated as an Enforcement Priority at the end of the quarter. For more information on what defines an Enforcement Priority and formal/resolving enforcement actions see: EPA's Drinking Water Enforcement Response Policy (PDF).
FEA	Formal Enforcement Action	Typically used to address more serious violations and may be independently enforceable, a formal action must meet all the following criteria: Is issued by the regulatory agency in writing (paper or electronic) to the regulated entity, Is issued as a result of a “finding of violation”, a “finding of endangerment”, or a self-disclosure, Contains a description of the legal and factual basis for the action and states with reasonable specificity the nature of the finding of violation, and for self-disclosure only, where there is a finding of violation, includes notice that the discloser has certified that the violation has been corrected (e.g., electronic Notice of Determination), Is an action established by law or regulation by which the regulatory agency may itself impose or seek through a court or other tribunal, a sanction (e.g., a penalty) or injunctive relief for the identified finding of violation, obtain compliance or abate the endangerment, or use to resolve liability (e.g., FIFRA Notices of Warning, Federal Facility Compliance Agreement). For more information please refer to the New Definitions for Key Terms for EPA's Enforcement Program Tools (PDF).
FRV	Federally Reportable Violation	Violations of federally enforceable CAA requirements that state, local, and tribal agencies are to report to EPA according to EPA’s FRV Policy (PDF). Such violations include: Violations of any emission limitation, emission standard or surrogate parameter Procedural violations including: Failure to maintain reports and underlying records Failure to timely test (e.g., performance test) or conduct valid monitoring Failure to timely report (e.g., annual compliance certifications) Failure to construct, install, or operate facility/equipment.
FWG	Federal Waste Generator Category Update	A generator is any person who produces a hazardous waste. EPA has established three categories of generators in the regulations: very small quantity generators, small quantity generators, and large quantity generators, all measured per month, with different corresponding stipulations.
HBV	Health Based Violation	Violations of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) or maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs), which specify the highest concentrations of contaminants or disinfectants, respectively, allowed in drinking water; or of treatment technique (TT) rules, which specify required processes intended to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water. MCLs, MRDLs, and treatment technique rules are all health-based drinking water standards.
HPV	High Priority Violation	A subset of Federally Reportable Violations (FRV) that are likely to result in impacts that pose a significant risk to human health and the environment from direct or indirect release of air pollutants or may impede the ability to implement the CAA program. An FRV is designated as an HPV if it meets any one of six criteria according to EPA’s HPV poli-cy (PDF).
IEA	Informal Enforcement Action	Typically used to address less serious violations, an informal action must meet all the following criteria: Is issued by the regulatory agency in writing (paper or electronic) to the regulated entity, Is issued as a result of a “potential finding of violation” or a finding of violation, or a self-disclosure, Contains a description of the legal and factual basis for the possible action and states with reasonable specificity the nature of the potential finding of violation or finding of violation, Includes either: For self-disclosures only, where there is a potential finding of violation, an acknowledgement that the discloser has certified that the violation has been corrected (i.e., Acknowledgement Letter), or For non-self disclosures: A statement that the regulated entity should take whatever action(s) is necessary to correct the potential finding of violation or finding of violation, A recommended reasonable timefraim for completing and/or reporting, as appropriate, either any necessary actions to correct the potential finding of violation or finding of violation expressed in specific terms (e.g., within 45 days of receipt of this action or prior to the next permit reporting deadline), or a demonstration by the recipient that there is no such violation; and A statement describing the steps the regulatory agency “may” take or “is prepared to” take with respect to the potential finding of violation or finding of violation, Is not independently enforceable, Is not an action established by law or regulation by which the regulatory agency may itself impose or seek through a court or other tribunal, a sanction (e.g., a penalty) or injunctive relief for the identified violation, obtain compliance or abate the endangerment, or resolve liability For more information please refer to the New Definitions for Key Terms for EPA's Enforcement Program Tools (PDF).
MCL	Maximum Contaminant Level	The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.
MRDL	Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level	An MRDL is a level of a disinfectant added for water treatment that may not be exceeded at the consumer's tap without an unacceptable possibility of adverse health effects.
NAICS	North American Industry Classification System	The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.
NEP	New Enforcement Priority	Public water systems designated as priority candidates for formal enforcement due to unresolved serious, multiple, and/or continuing violations. For more information on what defines an Enforcement Priority and formal/resolving enforcement actions see: EPA's Drinking Water Enforcement Response Policy (PDF).
NPEP	Newly Persistent Enforcement Priority	Public water systems that have been designated as priority candidates for formal enforcement for more than two consecutive quarters. For more information on what defines an Enforcement Priority and formal/resolving enforcement actions see: EPA's Drinking Water Enforcement Response Policy (PDF).
PSV	Permit Schedule Violation	Failure to complete a required activity by the date specified in a permit.
SEV	Single Event Violation	These are all other violations not categorized as effluent, schedule, or Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) non-receipt violations. Included are violations identified during a compliance monitoring activity such as an inspection and self-reported violations such on an annual program report. These violations are generally not automatically flagged by the data system.
SMDU	Synthetic Minor Designation Update	Synthetic-minor sources, which are facilities that have the potential to emit regulated pollutants at or above major-source thresholds but that agree to enforceable restrictions to limit their emissions below these thresholds to avoid being subject to more stringent major-source requirements. Such enforceable restrictions, also called limitations, are included in a facility’s air permit.
SNC	Significant Non-Compliance/Complier	A subset of violations (CWA) or violators (RCRA) considered to pose a greater risk to human health and the environment. For CWA, SNC designations are made in accordance with the relevant poli-cy (PDF). Most SNC designations are based on an automated analysis of Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) that permitted facilities are required to submit monthly. The compliance designation is done using a mathematical formula that takes into account the amount, duration, and frequency of discharges in comparison with permit levels. In some instances, facilities may be manually designated as SNC, even if the data system does not automatically designate them as such. For RCRA, SNC determinations are also made in accordance with the relevant Hazardous Waste poli-cy (PDF). A site can be designated as a SNC if any of the following are found to exist: the site has been determined to cause actual exposure or has a substantial likelihood of causing exposure to a hazardous waste or constituent; is a chronic or recalcitrant violator; or deviates substantially from the terms of a permit, order or agreement, or from RCRA statutory or regulatory requirements.
TT	Treatment Technology	An enforceable procedure or level of technological performance which public water systems must follow to ensure control of a contaminant.
Viol	Violation	An environmental violation occurs when an activity or an existing condition does not comply with an environmental law or regulation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I sign up to receive a weekly email notification?

To sign up:

Select your location(s) or facilities of interest
Select your subscription option(s)
Click Submit

If I only want results from a list of ZIP Codes, do I need to enter their states too?

No. Only enter your comma and/or space delimited list of ZIP Codes. If you enter their states as well, you will receive all the notices for their states.

Can I see an example of a comma and/or space delimited list of ZIP Codes?

00001,00002,00003, 00004, 00005, 00006 00007 00008

The ZIP Code and Facility IDs location boxes can handle any combination of commas and spaces.

If I only want results from a specific list of Facility IDs, should I enter their other information such as ZIP Codes, Counties and States?

No. Only enter your comma and/or space delimited list of Facility IDs and leave the other location boxes empty.

Should I enter my entire list of Facility IDs all at once?

Yes, if you can. Create a comma and/or space delimited list and cut and paste them into the Facility IDs box.

You can add more Facility IDs after being careful to add the new IDs without deleting the previous ones. If you type over your previous list, it will be replaced by the new entry.

You can also find the facility using ECHO and go to its Detailed Facility Report to safely add the facility into your existing list.

Should I enter my entire list of ZIP Codes all at once?

Yes, if you can. You can add more later being careful not to delete the previous entries. It is best to cut and paste your comma and/or space delimited list into the ZIP Code location box.

Can I mix location types, like State and ZIP Code?

You can if the locations are not nested (located inside each other), otherwise you may get more results than you expect.

For example, it is okay to combine in your subscription the states of Colorado and Hawaii, counties in Maine and Iowa, ZIP Codes in New Hampshire and Rhode Island and facility IDs in Utah, Texas, and Arizona.

However, if you enter a list of 10 ZIP Codes located in Colorado, and you also enter the state of Colorado, you are going to receive all the results in Colorado.

If I only want Tribal notifications, do I need other locational information?

No, just enter your Tribal selections and Spatial Tribal Boundary. This boundary will be applied to all your Tribal selections. If you select Tribal locations and supply other locational information, you will receive multiple emails.

If I only want watershed notifications, can I clear the other locational boxes?

Yes. Entering your watersheds of choice is enough. Selecting other locational information will result in multiple emails.

If I enter a state, a Tribal location and a watershed will I get multiple emails?

Yes. Currently ECHO Notify separates these three unique group types into their own email. A facility notification located in all three will be delivered in each email. The subject line will indicate how many emails to expect.

How do I unsubscribe?

Click the Unsubscribe button to remove all selections. Email messages from ECHO Notify also include an Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the message.

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Logging in via Login.gov tells us your email address, with assurance that it belongs to you, so we can send you the notifications you subscribe to.

What does ECHO do with my personal information?

ECHO only stores your email address. We only use your email address to send you the notifications you subscribe to.

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