UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460 

Harry T. Stewart 

President 

FEB 2 9 2008 

Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Adminjstrators 

1221 Connecticut Avenue N.W., 2"d Floor 

Washington, DC 20036 

Dear Mr. Stewart, 

ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR 

FOR ENFORCEMENT AND 

COMPLIANCE ASSURANCE 

I am responding to your November 15, 2007 request for further clarification on EPA's 

pursuit of a rulemaking approach for the data elements which will be required in the 

Integrated Compliance Information System National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination 

System (ICIS-NPDES). 

Starting in the late 1990's, EPA has been working closely with the states on the data 

requirements and design for a modernized system to replace the Permit Compliance 

System. The intensity of the work on the policy related issues increased in late·2005 with 

EPA's agreement to expand an existing Steering Committee of 10 regions and 10 states 

to include representatives from ASIWPCA and the.Environmental Council of the States 

(ECOS) to develop the approach for an ICIS-NPDES Policy Statement. 

EPA committed numerous resources, including the time of senior EPA leaders, to 

developing a Policy Statement approach through the Expanded Steering Committee that 

resolved the states concerns. After two years of working with the states, the Expanded 

Steering Committee decided EPA should distribute a draft Policy for comment, despite 

disagreements that still existed between EPA and the states on the issues. 

The draft ICIS-NPDES Policy Statement, distributed on Apri l 30, 2007 for review and 

comment, reflected many changes EPA made from its original approach to reduce 

resource burdens in response to the state concerns expressed through the Expanded 

Steering Committee. Some states did express appreciation for the compromises that EPA 

offered during the Expanded Steering Committee process. However, the written state 

comments provided in response to the April 30 draft Policy, as well as the written 

materials produced by the states participating in the Expanded Steering Committee 

process, indicated continued opposition to the Policy Statement 

lnternot Address (URL) • http://www.epa.gov 

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Since the Expanded Steering Committee process did not resolve the states' issues 

associated with developing the ICIS-NPDES Policy statement, EPA has chosen to 

proceed with a rulemaking approach for the following reasons: 

• to provide equal commenting opportunity for all the states; 

• to obtain feedback from a wider breadth of stakeholders beyond the states; 

• some states indicated they would not comply with the Policy Statement even if 

EPA issued it with all the compromises proposed, unless it was issued as a rule; 

• a regulatory impact analysis will be completed; and 

• data is more likely to be entered into ICIS-NPDES when required by a rule. 

Your concern that rulemaking could undermine the flexibility to make revisions to the 

data elements is well taken. We are working with EPA's Office of General Counsel to 

explore approaches that would allow us flexibility in the proposed rule to make 

adjustments as necessary to the list of data elements to meet the needs of the program as 

they evolve and change. 

You also expressed concern that failure to comply with such a rule may expose the states 

to an increase in petitions for withdrawal or third party lawsuits. As has been the case 

with other federal regulations, we will continue to work with our state partners to fully 

implement and enforce the authorized NPDES program, and we don't anticipate this rule 

to put well run state programs at an increased risk of petitions for withdrawal. 

On December 28, 2007, EPA issued an interim policy for states using ICIS-NPDES 

called the ICIS Addendum to the Appendix of the 1985 Pem1it Compliance System 

Policy Statement. This Addendum is necessary to ensure national consistency in 

minimum data expectations while the Agency is managing the NPDES program with 

both PCS and ICTS-NPDES by identifying the ICIS-NPDES data elements that are 

comparable to the Water Enforcement National Data Base elements for PCS. The 

Agency does not believe that the PCS Policy Statement, even with this Addendum, meets 

its national need for information to manage the NPDES program. Thus, the rulemaking 

will identify the full set of data elements that all implementing agencies of the NPDES 

program will be required to enter or otherwise flow to ICIS-NPDES. 

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this matter further, please contact 

Lisa Lund at 202-564-2280. Thank you for your interest in this matter. 

cc: Steve Brown, ECOS 

Sean Rolland, ASTWPCA 

Michael Shapiro, OW 

Jim Hanlon, OW 

Sincerely, 

t::!f!:TAssistant Administrator 

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