Document ID: EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408-0034
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2020-11-02T05:00Z

MEMORANDUM

TO:		Public Record for the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule  -  Phase 2 Extension
		EPA Docket Number EPA-HQ-OECA-2019-0408 (www.regulations.gov)	

FROM:		Carey A. Johnston, P.E.
            USEPA/OECA/OC
            ph: (202) 566 1014
            johnston.carey@epa.gov

DATE:		12 June 2020

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SUBJECT:	Notes from State Outreach Meeting with ACWA (12 May 2020) [DCN 0026]
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Overview 
EPA convened this meeting with the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA) to discuss their comments on the NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule - Phase 2 Extension proposed rule. This proposed rule was published on February 28, 2020 and the comment period closed on April 28, 2020. The ACWA comments are in the public docket for this rulemaking. The following people participated in this meeting:
 Carey Johnston, U.S. EPA
 Courtney Tuxbury, U.S. EPA
 Randy Hill, U.S. EPA
 Sean Rolland, ACWA

Review of State Comments
Mr. Johnston provided a quick review of the people that provided comments on the proposed rule. As shown in the following table, EPA received 9 public comments with all but one from state representatives. EPA provided ACWA will a summary of the comments it received on the proposed rule. Commenters were generally supportive of the proposed rule. State commenters also requested a five-year extension instead of the proposed three-year extension. EPA received no comments on the accompanying ICR.

                                      No.
Commenter
                                 Commenter Org
                                Date Submitted
                                     Pages
                                       1
Brian Weigel, Watershed Management Bureau Director
Adrian Stocks, Water Quality Bureau Director
                   Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
                                   3/20/2020
                                       1
                                       2
Kayla Lyon, Director
                     Iowa Department of Natural Resources
                                   4/27/2020
                                       2
                                       3
Lynn Barlow, Community and Program Assistance Manager
                  Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
                                   4/27/2020
                                       2
                                       4
Patrick McDonnell, Secretary
              Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
                                   4/28/2020
                                       1
                                       5
Toby Baker, Executive Director
                   Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
                                   4/28/2020
                                       3
                                       6
David E. Ramsey, ICIS Program Coordinator
                Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment
                                   4/28/2020
                                       1
                                       7
Melanie D. Davenport
                                ACWA President
                                   4/28/2020
                                       4
                                       8
Jeffery W. Kitchens, Chief, Water Division
                Alabama Department of Environmental Management
                                   4/28/2020
                                       1
                                       9
Anonymous public comment
                        Anonymous or Individual Person
                                   4/28/2020
                                       1
                                          
Discussion of the NNCR Publication Date
Mr. Johnston then focused the discussion on the NPDES Noncompliance Report (NNCR). In accordance with EPA regulations, the NNCR will be an EPA-issued report that summarizes noncompliance based on data it collects and data that is collected by states and shared with EPA. The NPDES eRule established data sharing requirements for states and shifted the responsibility of summarizing NPDES noncompliance from states to EPA. EPA promulgated these changes when it published the NPDES eRule. In the proposed Phase 2 extension rule, EPA proposed to postpone the regulatory deadline for publication of the initial version of the NNCR to the public by one year (from December 21, 2021 to December 21, 2022).
Mr. Johnston asked Mr. Rolland to elaborate on the following ACWA comment on the proposed rule:
   "EPA should remove the deadline for public release of the NNCR and not plan to publicly release this tool until most of the data quality issues have been resolved. If EPA plans to use the NNCR internally, before final Phase 2 implementation is completed for all states, EPA should also designate the NNCR as "beta" or "draft" and explain why this designation is appropriate."
Mr. Rolland noted that his members are concerned about potential errors in the data leading to EPA misidentify a facility as being in noncompliance. Mr. Rolland noted that there are a number of states with long-standing data sharing problems that lead to inaccuracies in how the EPA's national NPDES data system (ICIS-NPDES) identifies noncompliance [e.g., Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) non-receipt violations]. 
Mr. Johnston responded by noting that DMR data quality and data sharing between EPA and the states has improved dramatically over the past few years (e.g., Oregon). He also acknowledged that some states continue to have difficulties in sharing NPDES permit and DMR data with ICIS-NPDES, which results in ICIS-NPDES misidentifying noncompliance. Mr. Johnston noted that EPA is providing states with financial support (e.g., Exchange Network grants) and in-kind support from EPA's ICIS help desk and specialized contractors to resolve these data sharing issues. 
Mr. Rolland noted that EPA's support is appreciated but that data sharing problems should be resolved before the NNCR is publicly released. Mr. Johnston noted that EPA plans to make the draft (or "beta") version of the NNCR available to states for one year before the planned public release. He noted that this one-year review period should provide states with enough time to identify data errors and missing contextual information for the data on the NNCR. Mr. Rolland agreed that states need time to fix their data sharing issues and that some states have centralized information technology (IT) departments, which makes it harder for authorized NPDES programs to have their issued prioritized for resolution.
Mr. Johnston also noted that EPA and states have been holding active and ongoing bi-weekly discussions for the past two years on how to develop and implement the NNCR. The primary focus of those discussions to date have been on display of the Phase 1 data. Mr. Rolland noted his appreciation for the outreach EPA is conducting with states to scope out the requirements for the NNCR. 
Finally, Mr. Johnston noted that EPA is proposing to push the NNCR publication deadline from December 21, 2021 to December 21, 2022. He noted that this extension should provide states with enough time so that they can resolve their facility, permit, and DMR data sharing problems.