Document ID: EPA-HQ-OW-2003-0074-0262
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2003-12-24T05:00Z

OFFICE
OF
INSPECTOR
GENERAL
UNITED
STATES
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION
AGENCY
WASHINGTON,
D.
C.
20460
September
30,
2002
MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
EPA
Should
Require
Program
Results
Data
Fields
For
the
Effluent
Guidelines
Program
in
the
Modernized
Permit
Compliance
System
Memo
Report
No.
2002­
M­
000052
FROM:
Dan
Engelberg
/
s/
Director
for
Program
Evaluation,
Water
Issues
TO:
John
Peter
Suarez
Assistant
Administrator
for
Office
of
Enforcement
and
Compliance
Assurance
Tracy
Mehan
Assistant
Administrator
for
Office
of
Water
In
connection
with
our
ongoing
evaluation
of
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency's
(
EPA's)
Effluent
Guidelines
Program,
we
have
noted
an
issue
related
to
the
capability
of
current
systems
to
provide
adequate
performance
information
about
this
program.
We
are
reporting
this
issue
to
you
at
this
time
because
the
current
efforts
by
your
offices
to
re­
design
the
Permit
Compliance
System
(
PCS)
provide
an
excellent
opportunity
to
address
the
issues.
We
have
included
our
observations
and
two
recommendations
in
this
area.

As
the
regulatory
program
that
develops
technology­
based
standards
to
limit
point
source
pollution,
the
Effluent
Guidelines
Program
is
a
critical
element
of
EPA's
clean
water
program.
However,
we
found
that
EPA
does
not
collect
the
necessary
data
to
assess
the
performance
of
this
important
program.
As
a
result,
EPA
cannot
determine
the
number
of
facilities
covered
by
each
effluent
guideline
or
how
often
effluent
guidelines
are
used
as
the
basis
of
pollutant
limits
for
each
pollutant
in
a
National
Pollutant
Discharge
Elimination
System
(
NPDES)
permit.
This
appears
to
be
counter
to
the
emphasis
placed
on
EPA
goals
as
well
as
the
President's
Management
Agenda
for
agencies
to
monitor
their
performance
data
to
ensure
that
intended
results
are
being
achieved.

During
our
preliminary
research,
we
interviewed
officials
from
EPA's
Office
of
Enforcement
and
Compliance
Assurance
and
the
Office
of
Water
to
determine
whether
EPA
could
identify
the
permitted
facilities
that
are
covered
by
each
effluent
guideline.
We
also
interviewed
EPA
officials
to
determine
whether
they
had
information
about
how
often
effluent
guidelines
were
used
as
the
2
basis
of
pollutant
limits
in
NPDES
permits.
In
addition,
we
interviewed
several
state
officials
responsible
for
the
PCS
in
their
state
to
determine
the
burden
to
their
states
in
adding
data
fields
to
the
modernized
PCS.
We
are
performing
our
evaluation
in
accordance
with
the
Government
Auditing
Standards
issued
by
the
Comptroller
General
of
the
United
States.
Our
evaluation
is
not
completed
and
is
currently
moving
into
the
fieldwork
phase.

Background
EPA,
through
the
Office
of
Water,
administers
the
Effluent
Guidelines
Program
as
part
of
its
work
to
protect
the
nation's
waters.
EPA
invested
almost
$
23
million
in
fiscal
year
2002
in
the
Program,
which
issues
national
technology­
based
standards
to
reduce
pollutant
discharges
from
industrial
facilities
to
surface
waters
and
publicly
owned
treatment
works
(
municipal
sewage
treatment
plants).
Effluent
guidelines,
water
quality
standards,
and
best
professional
judgment
are
the
basis
of
all
pollutant
limits
in
NPDES
permits.
These
limits
reduce
point
source
discharges
from
industrial
facilities
into
surface
waters,
thereby
protecting
human
health
and
safeguarding
the
waters
of
the
United
States.

Effluent
guidelines
are
issued
for
categories
of
existing
sources
and
new
sources
of
pollution
under
Title
III
of
the
Clean
Water
Act.
The
process
for
developing
an
effluent
guideline
results
in
the
promulgation
and
publication
of
an
effluent
guideline
pertaining
to
a
particular
industrial
category
or
industrial
process.
An
effluent
guideline
may
take
up
to
8
years
to
complete.

Effluent
guidelines
are
implemented
through
the
NPDES
permit
program,
which
is
administered
by
authorized
states
and
EPA.
The
NPDES
permit
program
controls
water
pollution
by
regulating
point
sources
through
the
issuance
of
permits.
Permit
writers,
generally
at
the
state
level,
determine
limits
for
each
pollutant
in
an
NPDES
permit
based
on
the
more
stringent
of
effluent
guidelines
or
water
quality
standards.
If
needed,
limits
can
also
be
based
on
the
permit
writer's
best
professional
judgment.

EPA
uses
PCS,
a
national
information
system
that
contains
data
supporting
the
NPDES
program.
PCS
is
managed
by
EPA's
Office
of
Enforcement
and
Compliance
Assurance,
but
it
is
also
a
critical
information
system
for
the
Office
of
Water.
PCS
tracks
permit
issuance,
permit
limits,
self
monitoring
data,
and
enforcement
and
inspection
activity
for
more
than
64,000
facilities
regulated
under
the
Clean
Water
Act.
EPA
is
currently
in
the
process
of
modernizing
PCS.
EPA
is
working
with
state,
regional,
and
headquarters
office
staff
through
committees
and
workgroups
to
determine
what
data
fields
in
PCS
should
remain,
be
changed,
or
be
eliminated.
These
committees
and
workgroups
will
also
determine
whether
states
will
be
required
to
complete
certain
PCS
data
fields.

EPA
Cannot
Assess
the
Performance
of
the
Effluent
Guidelines
Program
Without
Program
Results
Data
3
EPA
cannot
assess
the
performance
of
the
Effluent
Guidelines
Program
without
data
to
measure
program
results.
In
the
course
of
our
ongoing
work,
we
found
that
EPA
does
not
have
the
data
needed
to
evaluate
the
effectiveness
of
the
Effluent
Guidelines
Program.
EPA
needs
information
such
as
(
1)
the
universe
of
facilities
covered
by
each
effluent
guideline;
and
(
2)
whether
pollutants
in
NPDES
permits
are
limited
by
effluent
guidelines,
water
quality
standards,
or
the
permit
writer's
best
professional
judgment.
Without
this
data,
EPA
cannot
determine
that
effluent
guidelines
are
even
being
used,
much
less
reducing
point
source
discharges
and
improving
water
quality.
EPA
needs
data
to
measure
program
results
in
order
to
perform
its
mission
of
protecting
human
health
and
safeguarding
the
environment.

EPA
Needs
to
Capture
Data
on
Facilities
Covered
by
Each
Effluent
Guideline
in
Modernized
PCS
One
of
EPA's
basic
responsibilities
is
to
keep
track
of
the
regulated
community.
EPA
currently
cannot
track
the
facilities
covered
by
each
effluent
guideline.
If
this
data
were
captured
in
the
modernized
PCS,
EPA
could
quickly
determine
the
universe
of
facilities
covered
by
each
effluent
guideline
instead
of
having
to
do
extensive
and
costly
research
years
after
an
effluent
guideline
has
been
developed.
This
type
of
research
is
currently
done
when
EPA
considers
revising
an
effluent
guideline.
The
state
officials
told
us
that
they
believe
that
this
data
field
could
be
added
with
minimal
burden.

EPA
Needs
to
Capture
Data
on
the
Basis
of
Pollutant
Limits
in
Modernized
PCS
Additionally,
EPA
does
not
have
data
on
the
extent
effluent
guidelines
are
being
used
as
a
basis
of
pollutant
limits
in
permits.
Determining
effluent
guideline
usage
is
important
in
evaluating
the
overall
effectiveness
of
the
Effluent
Guidelines
Program
in
reducing
point
source
discharges.
If
effluent
guidelines
are
not
being
used,
they
cannot
be
effective.
Additionally,
this
information
would
be
useful
to
the
Water
Quality
Criteria
and
Standards
Program,
since
it
would
enable
EPA
to
obtain
data
on
the
usage
of
water
quality
standards
as
the
basis
of
pollutant
limits
in
NPDES
permits.
State
permit
writers
are
already
required
to
obtain
information
on
the
basis
of
pollutant
limits
in
the
NPDES
permit
fact
sheet.
Therefore,
states
should
have
the
capability
to
collect
this
information
in
their
data
systems
without
incurring
significant
increases
in
burden.

Conclusion
EPA
currently
lacks
the
information
needed
to
assess
the
performance
of
the
Effluent
Guidelines
Program.
PCS
does
not
contain
a
mechanism
in
which
the
agency
can
track
(
1)
the
facilities
covered
by
each
effluent
guideline;
and
(
2)
the
basis
of
pollutant
limits
for
each
pollutant
limited
in
an
NPDES
permit.
An
opportunity
now
exists
with
the
PCS
modernization
effort
to
gather
the
necessary
information
to
better
manage
the
Effluent
Guidelines
Program
so
that
EPA's
goals
of
protecting
human
health
and
safeguarding
the
environment
can
be
achieved.
4
Recommendations
We
recommend
that
the
Assistant
Administrator
for
the
Office
of
Enforcement
and
Compliance
Assurance:

1.
Develop
a
required
data
field
in
the
modernized
PCS
to
capture
the
effluent
guideline
or
guidelines
that
apply
to
each
permitted
facility.

2.
Develop
a
required
data
field
in
the
modernized
PCS
to
capture
the
basis
of
pollutant
limits
(
effluent
guidelines,
water
quality
standards,
or
best
professional
judgment)
for
each
pollutant
limited
in
an
NPDES
permit.

We
are
requesting
that
you,
as
the
action
official,
provide
this
office
with
a
written
response
to
our
recommendations.
Due
to
the
time
constraints
in
selecting
the
data
fields
that
will
be
included
in
the
modernization
of
PCS,
we
would
appreciate
a
written
response
within
30
days
of
the
issuance
of
this
memorandum.
_____________________

If
you
or
your
staff
have
any
questions,
please
call
me
at
(
202)
566­
0830,
or
Renee
McGhee­
Lenart,
Project
Manager,
at
(
913)
551­
7534.
5
REPORT
DISTRIBUTION
Office
of
Inspector
General
Inspector
General
Headquarters
Office
Assistant
Administrator,
Office
of
Enforcement
and
Compliance
Assurance
Assistant
Administrator,
Office
of
Water
Audit
Liaison,
Office
of
Water
Audit
Liaison,
Office
of
Enforcement
and
Compliance
Assurance
Director,
Office
of
Science
and
Technology
Director,
Office
of
Waste
Management
Director,
Engineering
and
Analysis
Division
Director,
Water
Permits
Division