Pollutant Loading Report Help - DMR

The DMR Pollutant Loading Report presents detailed information about a single NPDES permit and pollutant loadings data by reporting year. The facility information page also presents related information from other data sources (such as Toxics Release Inventory and Clean Watershed Needs Survey), as well as links to other reports and features within the Water Pollutant Loading Tool and ECHO.

The page is organized into the following sections. Descriptions of the data elements presented on the page, as well as their data sources, are provided below:


 Summary Information

Facility/permittee name and address are displayed at the top of the facility summary section.

Facility Information

NPDES ID: A unique 9-character ID assigned for each permit within the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. The ID may contain both letters and numbers and often begins with the two-letter abbreviation for the state in which the facility is permitted.

FRS ID: Facility Registry Service (FRS) identification number. FRS uniquely identifies a facility by assigning an identification number (FRS ID), and uses this FRS ID to link together all regulatory program database records (such as permit IDs and facility IDs that facilities use in reporting to EPA).

Other NPDES IDs associated with this FRS ID: Other NPDES ID linked to the primary NPDES ID within FRS. The Facility Information Page displays information for one NPDES ID. Information for the associated NPDES IDs may be obtained by selecting the hyperlink on the NPDES ID.

TRI ID(s): A unique 15-character ID assigned for each facility within the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program. The format is ZZZZZNNNNNSSSSS, where ZZZZZ = ZIP code, NNNNN = the first 5 consonants of the name, and SSSSS = the first 5 non-blank non-special characters in the street address. Click a TRI ID to view that facility's detail page.

CWNS ID: A unique identifier for a facility in the Clean Watershed Needs Survey. Most facilities identified are publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). Every four years, EPA and states conduct the survey to determine the capital needs for municipal wastewater treatment facilities to meet the goals in the Clean Water Act.

Facility Type: The facility ownership classification (derived from the facility type indicator code) in ICIS-NPDES. Facilities can be classified as publicly owned treatment works (POTW) or non-POTW.

Permit Type: The permit classification in ICIS-NPDES. These classifications include the following: NPDES Individual Permit (NPD), NPDES Master General Permit (NGP), General Permit Covered Facility (GPC), State Issued Master General Permit (SNN), Individual IU Permit (IUU), Individual State Issued Permit (SIN).

Permit Effective Date: The date the most recent permit in the selected date range became effective.

Permit Expiration Date: The date the most recently issued permit in the selected date range expires.

Major/Non-Major Indicator: A facility classification from the NPDES permitting authorities based on toxic pollutant potential, ratio of discharge flow/stream flow volume, conventional pollutant loading, public health impact, water quality factors, and proximity to coastal waters.

Permit Issuance: The environmental agency that administers the permit, typically a state environmental agency or EPA Region.

Approved Pretreatment Program: A Yes/No field to indicate a NPDES permit with an approved pretreatment program. A NPDES permit with pretreatment responsibilities prescribes for the reduction of the amount of pollutants, the elimination of pollutants, or the alteration of the nature of pollutant properties in wastewater prior to or in lieu of discharging or otherwise introducing such pollutants into a publicly owned treatment works [40 CFR 403.3(q)]. For more information, see NPDES Pretreatment.

Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Outfall: A Yes/No field to indicate whether the permit includes a CSO outfall(s). A combined sewer system (CSS) is a wastewater collection system owned by a municipality which conveys sanitary wastewater (domestic, commercial, and industrial) and stormwater through a single pipe system to a publicly owned treatment works. A combined sewer overflow (CSO) is the discharge from a CSS at a point prior to the treatment plant. CSOs are point sources subject to NPDES permit requirements including both technology-based and water quality-based requirements of the Clean Water Act.

County: The county name for the facility location.

Congressional District: An electoral constituency that elects a single member of congress. There are 435 congressional districts in the U.S.

Latitude: Displays the latitude of the facility or permit holder as maintained in ICIS-NPDES.

Longitude: Displays the longitude of the facility or permit holder as maintained in ICIS-NPDES.

Facility Design Flow (Permit Application) (MGD): The flow that a permitted facility was designed to accommodate at the time of the permit application, expressed as millions of gallons per day (MGD), as maintained in ICIS-NPDES.

Actual Average Facility Flow (Permit Application) (MGD): The flow that a permitted facility had at the time of the permit application, expressed as millions of gallons per day (MGD), as maintained in ICIS-NPDES.

Average Facility Flow in YEAR (DMR) (MGD): The average flow from all external discharge points (outfalls) at the facility during the selected reporting year, calculated in the Loading Tool from flow data reported on DMRs.

4-Digit SIC Code: The primary Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code and description in ICIS-NPDES. The SIC code describes the primary activity of the facility. The first two digits in the code define a major business sector; the last two digits denote a facility's specialty within the major sector. For more information, see the SIC Lookup.

6-Digit NAICS Code: The permit's primary North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code and description. NAICS has replaced the U.S. Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. The system was developed to give special attention to developing production-oriented classifications for (a) new and emerging industries, (b) service industries in general, and (c) industries engaged in the production of advanced technologies.

NAICS industries are identified by a 6-digit code. The first two digits represent the Industry sector, in which there exist 20 broad sectors. The third digit represents industry subsector, the fourth digit represents industry group, the fifth digit represents industry, and the sixth digit is U.S., Canadian, or Mexican National specific. For more information, see the NAICS Lookup.

Likely Point Source Category: A three-digit code that corresponds to an industrial Effluent Limitations and Guideline's 40 CFR Part. For example, Point Source Category (PSC) code 414 corresponds to Organic, Chemicals, Plastics, and Synthetic Fibers (40 CFR Part 414). EPA derives the likely PSC based on the reported SIC code and best professional judgement.

 

Links to Additional Facility Information

View Detailed Facility Report: The ECHO Detailed Facility Report presents a concise enforcement and compliance history for a selected facility.

View Effluent Charts: The Effluent Charts page presents dynamic charts and tables of permitted effluent limits, releases, and violations over time for Clean Water Act (CWA) wastewater discharge permits issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES).

View Permit Limits and Monitoring Requirements: NPDES permit limits and monitoring requirements for the selected reporting year. Limits and monitoring requirements may apply to water quality parameters (e.g., dissolved oxygen and temperature), specific chemicals (e.g., phenol), bulk parameters (e.g., biochemical oxygen demand), and flow.

View DMR and TRI Multi-Year Loading Report: Discharges from TRI and DMR are displayed for the FRS ID over the last five years. Drill down on chemical groups to view more detail about reported discharges.

Top of Page


 Facility Loadings

Facility Loading Calculations: Select this link to view calculations for the specific facility and reporting year. Examining these calculations will show you how the Loading Tool calculates annual pollutant discharges based on DMR data. These calculations can also help identify potential errors in the underlying DMR data.

Reporting Year: The calendar year for which annual pollutant loadings are calculated.

Top Pollutants by Pounds

Pollutant Name: The parameter name in ICIS-NPDES used to identify the substance discharged. Select the link on the pollutant name to view basic information about the substance in EPA's Substance Registry Services (SRS).

Total Pounds (lb/yr): Annual mass discharge (in units of pounds per year) of a pollutant to a receiving stream calculated using the methodology described in Section 3.3 of the Technical Users Background Document for the Loading Tool. See the Technical Users Background Document for more information on DMR loading calculations.

Max Allowable Load (lb/yr): A calculated annual quantity allowed to be discharged, based on the facility’s pollutant permit limit and, where applicable, average daily flow (from flow data reported on DMRs) for each monitoring period within a year. The maximum allowable load is not calculated for pollutants for which only monitoring is required or numeric limits are not provided.

The maximum allowable load is presented for comparative purposes and is not a determination of compliance.

Top Pollutants by Toxic-Weighted Pounds (TWPE)

Pollutant Name: The parameter name in ICIS-NPDES used to identify the substance discharged. Select the link on the pollutant name to view basic information about the substance in EPA's Substance Registry Services (SRS).

Total TWPE (lb-eq/yr): TWPE is the mass of a pollutant or chemical discharged that accounts for its relative toxicity. To convert pollutant loadings into TWPE, EPA multiplies the pollutant mass (in pounds) by its pollutant specific toxic weighting factor (TWF). EPA developed TWFs for use in its effluent limitations guidelines and standards (ELGs) development program to allow comparison of pollutants with varying toxicities. Not all pollutants have a toxic weighting factor (e.g., Total Suspended Solids), which means that these pollutants do not have a toxicity score (i.e., TWPE = 0). See Technical Reference Documents for more information about TWFs.

Max Allowable Load (lb-eq/yr): The TWPE allowed to be discharged, calculated based on the facility's specific permit limits. The maximum allowable load is null for pollutants in which only monitoring is required or numeric limits are not provided.

Top of Page


 Map

A geographic display of the facility location, indicated by a blue map icon. The map icon reflects location information in the Facility Registry Service (FRS) database. Only those facilities with available geographical data are mapped. You can also use the map zoom-in and zoom-out controls to manipulate the map.

Where available, the nearest upstream and downstream watershed monitoring station locations are also shown. Click on the map icons for additional information from EPA's STOrage and RETrieval Data Warehouse (STORET). For more information about the web service providing the watershed monitoring station locations, see About Loading Tool Data.

Top of Page

 NPDES Program Information

Displays the agency that issued or administers the NPDES permit. NPDES State Program Status provides information on states and territories authorized to implement the NPDES permit program.

State Program Information: A link to contact information for authorized state environmental agencies.

EPA Regional Program Information: A link to contact information for EPA Regional programs.

Top of Page


 Receiving Water Information

Water Body Name (ICIS): The name of the water body in which the facility is permitted to discharge directly, as entered in EPA's program system, ICIS-NPDES. A water body is a geographically defined portion of navigable waters, waters of the contiguous zone, and ocean waters under the jurisdiction of the United States, including segments of rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, coastal waters and ocean waters.

Water Body Number (Reach Code): A unique code assigned to each segment of a stream contained within the US Geological Survey (USGS) hydrography. This 14-digit code has two parts: the first 8 digits are the hydrologic unit code for the subbasin in which the reach exists; the last 6 digits are assigned in sequential order, and arbitrarily among the reaches.

The Loading Tool obtains this data element using a Watershed Assessment Tracking and Environmental ResultS (WATERS) web service (OWRAD/PCS_WMERC) which obtains REACH codes from EPA's REACH Address Database (RAD).

WBD Subwatershed Name / 12-Digit WBD HUC (FRS Derived): Name and corresponding 12-digit Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC), assigned by the US Geological Survey, used to classify watersheds in the United States and the Caribbean derived based on the facility's "best pick" latitude and longitude coordinates in FRS. The code consists of twelve digits which correspond to six levels of classification:

  • Region (first-level, 2-digit HUC)
  • Subregion (second-level, 4-digit HUC)
  • Accounting unit (third-level, 6-digit HUC)
  • Cataloguing unit (fourth-level, 8-digit HUC)
  • Watershed (fifth-level, 10-digit HUC)
  • Subwatershed (sixth-level, 12-digit HUC)

Listed for Impairment (ATTAINS): Displays "Yes" if the water body in which the facility is located is listed for impairment.

Under section 303(d) of the CWA, states, territories, and authorized tribes are required to develop lists of impaired waters. These are waters that are too polluted or otherwise degraded to meet the water quality standards set by states, territories, or authorized tribes. The law requires that states establish priority rankings for waters on the lists and develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), for these waters. A TMDL is a calculation of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a water body can receive and still safely meet water quality standards. For more information about impaired waters or TMDLs, please visit EPA's Overview of Impaired Waters and TMDLs Program.

Impairment Class (ATTAINS): The impairment class or category of the water body in which the facility is permitted to discharge directly.

  • 5. Impaired - TMDL needed. Available information indicates that at least one designated use is not being supported and a TMDL is needed (also known as the 303(d) listed waters).
  • 4. Impaired - TMDL not needed. Available information indicates that at least one designated use is not being supported, but a TMDL is not needed (see subcategories).
  • 4a. TMDL completed. A TMDL has been completed, but impairment still exists.
  • 4b. TMDL alternative. Impairment is being addressed by a method other than a TMDL (e.g., stream bank improvements).
  • 4c. Non-pollutant causes. Cause of impairment is not a pollutant (e.g., habitat destruction).

Detailed information on the categorization of waters can be found in Section V of the 2006 Integrated Report Guidance.

Cause(s) of Impairment (ATTAINS): Lists all pollutants or stressors that are causing impairment in the assessed water body. While most of the cause names (such as nutrients or metals) are standard and widely used by all states, others may be unique to a given state. See the state 305(b) report for more information.

Facility pollutant(s) potentially contributing to impairment: List of DMR pollutants that the facility monitors for that may be contributing to the impairment in the assessed water body. The data are from the ATTAINS database.

Discharges to a county or watershed with ESA-listed aquatic species: Displays "Yes" if the facility is located within a county or watershed that contains Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed aquatic species.

ESA-listed aquatic species are a group of organisms that live in the water for most or all of its life and are designated as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The purpose of the ESA is to protect and recover imperiled species and the ecosystems upon which they depend. It is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Top of Page


 Wastewater Treatment Technology Information

Displays information from EPA's 2008 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS). EPA's Office of Wastewater Management conducts the CWNS every four years in response to Sections 205(a) and 516 of the Clean Water Act. CWNS only contains treatment information for municipal wastewater treatment plants. This field will display "N/A" for all other facilities.

CWNS Factsheet(s): Select the hyperlink to view a factsheet of the information collected from the 2008 CWNS.

Current Treatment in Place: List of wastewater treatment technologies in place at the facility, derived from information contained in the 2008 CWNS database.

Advanced treatment methods reported as currently in place at POTW: Treatment methods in place at a POTW that are more stringent than secondary treatment or produce a significant reduction in nonconventional or toxic pollutants. A facility is considered to have Advanced Wastewater Treatment if its permit includes one or more of the following: Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) less than 20mg/l; Nitrogen Removal; Phosphorous Removal; Ammonia Removal; Metal Removal; Synthetic Organic Removal. These values are report by POTWs to EPA as part of the most recent CWNS. Unchecked boxes indicate that treatment methods were not reported as present at the POTW. See the CWNS 2008 Data Dictionary for definitions of the Advanced Wastewater Treatment Options.

Residents Served: The population that lives within the service area of the POTW.

Non-Residents Served: The portion of population that do not live within the service area of the selected facility, but that still utilize or are served by the POTW. This population includes persons such as transient, seasonal, and commuter workers, as well as tourist populations.

Top of Page


 Industrial Discharger Information

For Publicly-Owned Treatment Works (POTWs), this table provides a linkage between reported indirect releases (transfers of wastewater to POTWs) in the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) to receiving POTWs and discharge data reported on Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) under the Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program. The table shows the TRI facilities reporting transfers of wastewater to the POTW and the largest pollutant release in pounds and TWPE for each facility in the selected reporting year.

To view a complete list of reported industrial pollution received by the POTW, select Download All Data. Data elements in the POTW Indirect Discharger Report are described in the Indirect Industrial Discharger Report Data Dictionary.