MEMORANDUM

TO:		Public Record for the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule
		EPA Docket Number EPA-HQ-OECA-2009-0274 (www.regulations.gov)	

FROM:	Carey A. Johnston, P.E.
            USEPA/OECA/OC

DATE:		17 November 2011

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SUBJECT: 	Other Phase-In Options Considered by EPA for Electronic Reporting of NPDES Information to EPA [DCN 0039] 
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   I. Other Phase-In Options Considered by EPA
      A. Phase-in by Data Family
      EPA has also considered establishing national deadlines for particular families of data. For example, during the first year of implementation by permittees EPA might require data entry for all data families for all major facilities, required facility data and permit data for all nonmajor facilities (including all NPDES subprograms [i.e., CSOs, SSOs, CAFOs, storm water, pretreatment and biosolids]), and all required compliance monitoring data, DMRs and violation information (including single event violations) for all nonmajor facilities.  In year two of implementation by permittees, and in all subsequent years, EPA may seek, in addition to new permit-related information associated with new permits or reissued permits, the data listed above plus all required information regarding all program reports and enforcement actions for nonmajors.
      This scenario would allow the quantification and characterization of a complete universe of permitted facilities and would establish national consistency in data availability.  However, this scenario may impose a significant first-year cost to NPDES-approved states to establish such a complete national inventory of the NPDES-permitted universe.
      B. Phase-in by Program Priority 
      In the first two years of implementation by permittees, EPA could require the data entry or data availability of the required information for all major facilities, all approved local pretreatment programs, all CSO and SSO events, all MS4s, and all CAFOs.  In the third year of implementation by permittees, in addition to this information, information for other traditional NPDES nonmajor facilities and all industrial storm water and construction storm water information would be required. This scenario would provide, within the first two years of implementation by permittees, a complete national inventory for many of the NPDES subprograms (except for industrial storm water and construction storm water), but there may be a significant early-year implementation cost. This scenario would also necessitate some significant management and staff costs to track and ensure that these national milestones are met for each subprogram.  Unfortunately, this would also mean that several years would pass after the effective date of the rule before EPA, other regulatory authorities, and the public would have site-specific electronic information identifying wet weather point sources as significant contributors to water quality impairment, locally or nationally.
      C. Phase-in by Facility Type 
      In another scenario, EPA could require that NPDES-approved states provide all required NPDES information for all major facilities in the first year of implementation by permittees.  In the second year of implementation by permittees, EPA would require that the NPDES-approved states provide, in addition to the required information for all major facilities, the required information for all nonmajor facilities except for industrials storm water and construction storm water permittees. In the third year of implementation by permittees, the information for industrial storm water and construction storm water would be required in addition to the information for the second year. 
     After the facility and permit data has been entered or otherwise made available to EPA for a particular facility, inspection data, violation data, enforcement action data and compliance schedule data would be required when they occur or are issued. Similarly, after the permit and facility data has been entered or otherwise made available to EPA for a particular facility, information from DMRs and program reports should be entered as they occur.  Although this means that site-specific information may be available for certain types of facilities will be available sooner than for others, a complete national inventory of NPDES facilities would likely not be available for some time, thus further delaying the availability of information for EPA and the public, and increasing the likelihood that more information requests would have to be routed to the states during that period.  In addition, there would be significant management and staff costs to EPA and states associated with determining when particular electronic tools were implemented for particular facility types and also tracking and ensuring that national milestones are met.
      D. Phase-in by individual states		
     Although EPA has considered the phasing options discussed above, sequencing could also be dependent of the state development or utilization of electronic reporting tools. States may elect to phase-in certain electronic reporting tools sooner than later, allowing for internal sequencing within individual states. However, this also means that a complete national inventory of NPDES facilities or any subsets of nonmajor facilities would likely not be available for some time, thus further delaying the availability of information for EPA and the public, and increasing the likelihood that more information requests would have to be routed to the states during that period. In addition, there would be significant management and staff costs to EPA and states associated with determining when particular electronic tools were implemented and also tracking and ensuring that national milestones are met.

