
                                       
                                       
                    User Guide to the Online Docket for the
     NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule  -  Phase 2 Extension (Proposed Rule)
                                       
                                       
                                       
                                       
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                               28 February 2020
                                                                       DCN 0020
                                        EPA Docket Number EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408
                                       Available at: http://www.regulations.gov
                                                                               
                                                                               
                                                                               

1.0	OVERVIEW 

      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. 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. Some state authorized NPDES programs have provided feedback to EPA on how to improve Phase 2 implementation of the NPDES eRule and, in particular, have recommended changes to the schedule for Phase 2 implementation to allow both EPA and states sufficient time to develop and implement the information technology solutions necessary for electronic reporting of the Phase 2 data. This notice proposes a change to the compliance deadlines for Phase 2 implementation and other changes to the NPDES eRule to allow for 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. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on 28 February 2020 (85 FR 11909). Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before April 28, 2020. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), comments on the information collection provisions are best assured of consideration if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) receives a copy of your comments on or before 30 March 2020.
      
2.0	BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE DOCKET 

What is the Docket and How Can I Gain Access to It?

      EPA Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408 is the official docket for EPA's NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule  -  Phase 2 Extension rulemaking. The official docket consists of the documents specifically referenced in the Federal Register notices of these actions, any public comments received, and other related information. 

      The official public docket is the collection of electronic and hard copy materials that is available for public viewing at the OECA Docket in the EPA Docket Center. The EPA Docket Center Reading Room is in the William Jefferson Clinton (WJC) West building at EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Regulations.gov provides online access to most of items in the docket for the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule.
      
      You may use the Regulations.gov web site to view public comments, access a listing of the contents of the official docket, and to access those documents in the public docket that are available electronically. Certain documents are not available in the electronic docket system. These documents include but are not limited to copyright-protected material and physical objects such as maps, aerial photographs, colored charts, etc. Although not all docket materials may be available electronically, you may still access any of the publicly available docket materials at the EPA Docket Center. 

3.0	Accessing Information in the Docket 

How do I Find Documents in the Docket?

OECA Docket in the EPA Docket Center

      The official public docket is the collection of electronic and hard copy materials that is available for public viewing at the OECA Docket in the EPA Docket Center. The EPA Docket Center Reading Room is in the William Jefferson Clinton (WJC) West building at EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Public access is provided through the entrance on Constitution Avenue. For detailed directions, refer to the Federal Triangle Campus tab on EPA's Visiting EPA Headquarters webpage: https://www.epa.gov/dockets/epa-docket-center-reading-room.
      
      If you are having trouble locating EPA docket materials, contact the EPA Reading Room Staff for assistance by calling (202) 566-1744, or send a message to Dockets Customer Service (Docket-customerservice@epa.gov). Please do not submit comments on specific dockets to this e-mail address.

Regulations.gov

      Regulations.gov provides online access to most of items in the docket for the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule  -  Phase 2 Extension rulemaking. You can use the Regulations.gov to search for documents using all or a portion of the document title or its full Regulations.gov Document ID Number. For example, from the main Regulations.gov webpage you can key in "EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0001" in main search field on Regulations.gov (see Figure 1) to retrieve the proposed rule: "National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Electronic Reporting Rule: Phase 2 Extension."
      
                                       

Figure 1: Screenshot of Regulations.gov Website (https://www.regulations.gov/)

      You can also use "Advanced Search" on Regulations.gov and a Document Control Number (DCN) to retrieve a particular document. EPA uses the DCN in the preamble to the proposed rule and other supporting documents to individually identify documents in the docket. The following figures show how you can use the "Advanced Search" on Regulations.gov and a DCN to retrieve a particular document from the rulemaking docket.


                                       
    Figure 2: Location of "Advanced Search" on Regulations.gov Website
                                       
                                       
      
                                       
                                       
          Figure 3: DCN Identifier Input Location on Advanced Search
                                       

Figure 4: Input Docket Number in "By Docket ID" Input Field on Advanced Search





                  Figure 5: Search results for "DCN 0005"

NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule  -  Phase 2 Extension Docket Index

      This user guide provides the index for most of the documents in docket EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408 (see Attachment 1). Most documents in the docket have two document identification numbers. One is the Regulations.gov Document ID Number (e.g., EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0006) that was assigned when EPA added the document to the public version of the docket at Regulations.gov. The second is the document control number (DCN) that was assigned during the development of the regulation (e.g., DCN 0005). EPA uses the DCN identifier in the preamble to the proposed rule and other supporting documents during development of the rulemaking. The DCN appears at the end of the document titles in the Document Title field listed in Regulations.gov. 
      
      Public Submissions (comments) that are submitted directly to the docket by the public do not have DCNs but do have Regulations.gov Document ID Numbers and are part of the official docket. You can use "Advanced Search" on Regulations.gov to find these documents by selecting "Public Submission" (see Figure 6) and by inputing the Docket ID (EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408) (see Figure 4). 
      
                                       
      
      Figure 6: Selection of "Public Submission" on Advanced Search to View Public Comments on the Rulemaking (Note: Must also input Docket ID  -  See Figure 4)
      

Table 1: Metadata for NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule  -  Phase 2 Extension Docket Index
            
Field Name 
Description

DCN

Unique document control number (DCN) assigned during the development of the document. This number is included in the title of the document in this docket.
Document Title
This is the title of document with the DCN number.
Author
This is the author of document (Last name, first full name or organization).

Author Date

Date of publication, issue, edition, or version. Actual date of meeting or telephone call.
Source Citation
For copyright protected documents, this is a bibliographic citation (without title or author) that you can use to find the document in a library. For materials retrieved from the Internet, "Source Citation" lists the URL.
Preamble
This field is marked with "Yes" for materials that are referenced in the preamble. 

Copyrighted (C)
This field is marked with "Yes" for materials that are copyright protected (e.g., books and other published material). These documents are not available through Regulations.gov but are only available in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center (EPA Headquarters Library, EPA West, Room Number 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC).
Regulations.gov Document ID Number
Unique document number assigned when EPA added the document to the official docket. The Document ID Number includes the Docket Number followed by a consecutive document number.

How do I use the Docket Index to Find Documents in the Docket?

      Locate documents in the index and note their Regulations.gov Document ID Number or DCN identifier. Documents available electronically can be accessed through Regulations.gov. Other documents can be reviewed at the OECA Docket in the EPA Docket Center in Washington, DC. See information on the OECA Docket above. You may also be able to locate copyright protected materials (for example, articles from technical publications) at an academic or public library. 


Documents Cited in the Federal Register Notice and Other Key Documents

      Documents cited in the preamble to the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule  -  Phase 2 Extension proposed rule are listed in Attachment 1 with "Yes" under the column header labeled "Preamble?". 
      
How Can I Submit Comments to U.S. EPA Regarding this Rulemaking?
      
      Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. 
      
      The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
      
      Comments on the proposed rule must be received on or before April 28, 2020. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), comments on the information collection provisions are best assured of consideration if the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) receives a copy of your comments on or before 30 March 2020.
      
 Further Information

      For more information on the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule  -  Phase 2 Extension rule, please contact:

      Mr. Carey A. Johnston, P.E. 
	U.S. EPA Office of Compliance, Enforcement Targeting and Data Division (2222A)
	1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
	Washington, DC 20460
	(202) 566-1014 (telephone)
      johnston.carey@epa.gov (e-mail  -  preferred)
      
      
      


                                      DCN
Document Title
                                    Author
                                  Author Date
                                Source Citation
                              Pre-amble?/ Notice
                                      (C)
                         Regulations.gov Document ID #
                                      N/A
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Electronic Reporting Rule: Phase 2 Extension
                                   U.S. EPA
                                  02/28/2020
                   Federal Register Notice  -  Proposed Rule
                                      N/A
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0001
                                   DCN 0001
ACWA Letter to Assistant Administrator Susan Bodine, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. EPA [DCN 0001]
        Allison Woodall, President, Association of Clean Water Agencies
                                  07/02/2019
                               Letter to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0002
                                   DCN 0002
State Letter to Assistant Administrator Susan Bodine, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. EPA [DCN 0002]
                          Lance R. LeFleur, Director
Alabama Department of Environmental Management and Directors from Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Tennessee
                                  06/06/2019
                               Letter to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0003
                                   DCN 0003
EPA Response to ACWA [DCN 0003]
    Susan Bodine, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. EPA
                                  08/22/2019
                               Letter to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0004
                                   DCN 0004
EPA Response to Alabama Department of Environmental Management [DCN 0004]
    Susan Bodine, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. EPA
                                  08/22/2019
                               Letter to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0005
                                   DCN 0005
EPA Response to Georgia Environmental Protection Division [DCN 0005]
    Susan Bodine, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. EPA
                                  08/22/2019
                               Letter to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0006
                                   DCN 0006
EPA Response to Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality [DCN 0006]
    Susan Bodine, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. EPA
                                  08/22/2019
                               Letter to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0007
                                   DCN 0007
EPA Response to South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control [DCN 0007]
    Susan Bodine, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. EPA
                                  08/22/2019
                               Letter to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0008
                                   DCN 0008
EPA Response to Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation [DCN 0008]
    Susan Bodine, Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, U.S. EPA
                                  08/22/2019
                               Letter to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0009
                                   DCN 0009
Environmental Council of the States Resolution, "Towards a More Effective and Efficient Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Program [DCN 0009]
                                 Certified by
                                 Donald Welsh
                           Executive Director, ECOS
                                  09/26/2019
                           ECOS Resolution to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0010
                                   DCN 0010
Notes from State Outreach Meeting (29 October 2019) [DCN 0010]
               Carey A. Johnston, Office of Compliance, U.S. EPA
                                  10/30/2019
                             Memorandum to Docket
                                      No
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0011
                                   DCN 0011
Notes from State Outreach Meeting (5 November 2019) [DCN 0011]
               Carey A. Johnston, Office of Compliance, U.S. EPA
                                  11/13/2019
                             Memorandum to Docket
                                      No
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0012
                                   DCN 0012
Assessment of NPDES Electronic Reporting Participation Rates  -  2017 [DCN 0012]
               Carey A. Johnston, Office of Compliance, U.S. EPA
                                  08/07/2017
                              Memorandum to File
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0013
                                   DCN 0013
Assessment of NPDES Electronic Reporting Participation Rates  -  2018 [DCN 0013]
               Carey A. Johnston, Office of Compliance, U.S. EPA
                                  07/06/2018
                              Memorandum to File
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0014
                                   DCN 0014
Assessment of NPDES Electronic Reporting Participation Rates  -  2019 [DCN 0014]
               Carey A. Johnston, Office of Compliance, U.S. EPA
                                  09/16/2019
                              Memorandum to File
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0015
                                   DCN 0015
Summary of EPA's NPDES eRule Phase 2 NeT Development for General Permits and Program Reports  -  Spreadsheet [DCN 0015]
                                   U.S. EPA
                                   1/14/2020
                             Spreadsheet to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0016
                                   DCN 0016
Supporting Statement for Information Collection Request (ICR) for the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule  -  Phase 2 Extension (Proposal) [DCN 0016]
                                   U.S. EPA
                                    02/2020
                               Record to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0020
                                   DCN 0017
EPA NPDES eRule Phase 2 Implementation: Roadmap for Deploying Phase 2 NeT Applications [DCN 0017]
                                   U.S. EPA
                                    02/2020
                               Record to Docket
                                      Yes
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0019
                                   DCN 0018
NPDES Deficiencies and Violations Codes  -  Spreadsheet [DCN 0018]
                                   U.S. EPA
                                  10/11/2019
                             Spreadsheet to Docket
                                      No
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0017
                                   DCN 0019
EPA Completes Agreements to Settle Clean Water Act Violations from Biosolids Land Application in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska [DCN 0019]
                                   U.S. EPA
                                  12/20/2019
                                 Press Release
                                      No
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0018
                                   DCN 0020
User Guide to the Online Docket for the
NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule  -  Phase 2 Extension (Proposed Rule) [DCN 0020]
                                   U.S. EPA
                                    02/2020
                               Record to Docket
                                      No
                                      No
                          EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0021

