Data Source

Superfund | Safe Drinking Water Information | Hazardous Waste Data | Toxics Release Inventory | Facility Registry System | Water Discharge Permits | Air Releases | Brownfields | Grants Information | Master Chemical Integrator | National Drinking Water Contaminant Occurrence Database | Drinking Water Microbial and Disinfection Byproduct Info | Locational Information

The Envirofacts database is composed of several individual EPA databases, which are administered by "program system" offices. In many cases, industry is required to report information to the state in which it operates; in some cases, information is collected at the federal level.

Envirofacts provides data source information so that you can trace the origin of the information.

Superfund sites are designated by the federal government. You can find information about these sites in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS), which has been integrated into Envirofacts. For more information, read This is Superfund. Superfund uses several databases to track information about these hazardous waste sites.

Safe Drinking Water Information is stored in the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). The federal database contains information reported to EPA by Regions and States; the State database helps States run their drinking water programs. Envirofacts currently contains information from the federal database. Read more about the SDWIS database.

In addition to Superfund, hazardous waste information is stored in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo) and the Biennial Reporting (BR). RCRAInfo is a national program management and inventory system of RCRA hazardous waste handlers; BR captures detailed data on the generation of hazardous waste from large quantity generators and data on waste management practices from treatment, storage and disposal facilities. Consult EPA's Office of Solid Waste Hazardous Waste Data page for more information.

Toxics Release Inventory data are reported by individual facilities, who send yearly reports to federal EPA on a form called "Form R". EPA converts these forms into an electronic database. A facility must report to TRI if the facility:

• Has 10 or more full-time employees, and

• Manufactures or processes over 25,000 pounds of the approximately 600 designated chemicals or 28 chemical categories specified in the regulations, or uses more than 10,000 pounds of any designated chemical or category, and

• Engages in certain manufacturing operations in the industry groups specified in the U.S. Government Standard Industrial Classification Codes (SIC) 20 through 39, or

• Is a federal facility which are all now required to report per the August, 1995 Executive Order signed by President Clinton.

This reported information is available from the Toxics Release Inventory.

The Facility Registry System (FRS) is a centrally managed database that identifies facilities, sites or places subject to environmental regulations or of environmental interest. FRS creates high-quality, accurate, and authoritative facility identification records through rigorous verification and management procedures that incorporate information from program national systems, state master facility records, data collected from EPA's Central Data Exchange registrations and data management personnel.

Water Discharge Permits are tracked through the Permit Compliance System (PCS). Facilities report their compliance and status information by submitting Compliance Schedule Reports and Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMR) to Regions or delegated States, which enter the information into the system. Inspection and enforcement information is collected and entered by Regions and/or delegated States. More Permit Compliance System Information.

Air information is compiled from Source Reports, from electric power plants, steel mills, factories, and universities.

Although Brownfields is not currently part of the Envirofacts database,you can get fact sheets about Brownfields Pilots. Like Superfund, Brownfields is administered by the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. The Brownfields program uses CERCLIS Archives.

The Grants Information and Control System (GICS) contains information about EPA awarded grants. Read more about EPA's Grants Information.

Envirofacts Master Chemical Integrator (EMCI) is used to integrate the varied chemical identifications used in four program system components currently in Envirofacts. EMCI uses an internal identification system based on Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) numbers and names as a cross reference to link chemicals in the AIRS Facility Subsystem, Permit Compliance System, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo), and the Toxics Release Inventory.

The National Drinking Water Contaminant Occurrence Database (NCOD) contains occurrence data provided by Public Water Systems and other sources (like the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System) on physical, chemical, microbial and radiological contaminants for both detections and non-detects.

The Information Collection Rule (ICR) required water systems serving 100,000 people or more to collect samples and report on microbial (source water) and disinfection byproduct (treated water) levels for 18 months (July 1997-December 1998). This Drinking Water Microbial and Disinfection Byproduct Information is stored in the Information Collection Rule Auxiliary 1 database; a copy of this database is stored in Envirofacts Oracle tables.

Locational information for EPA-regulated facilities in Envirofacts is cultivated from many sources, including EPA federal program systems, EPA regional offices, and the states. This information is used for Envirofacts query and map applications.

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