Quarterly NNCR Search Criteria Help

The Quarterly NNCR search criteria are organized by Category to allow you to quickly find and learn about the search term of interest. In addition, advanced search criteria are identified below by the icon.ECHO also keeps track of the selected search criteria on the right side of the page in the Search Criteria Selected box to the right of the search options. 

Category

• Report Timeframe
• Geographic Location
• Facility Characteristics
• Community
• Violations
• Environmental Conditions

Report Timeframe 

The Quarterly report timeframe defaults to the most recent quarterly report. The first quarterly report available is for FY 2021 Q1. EPA's schedule for releasing the quarterly NNCRs is below.

The Annual report is available through the "View Annual Report" link. The annual report provides a summary of compliance monitoring and enforcement activities within each state, tribe, and territory, as well as summary information on violations identified in the four quarterly NNCRs for the federal fiscal year. More information about the annual report is available on the Annual NNCR Help page. 

Geographic Location  

EPA Region

Search for reports by the facility's EPA Region by selecting an EPA Region from the dropdown menu. This criteria cannot be combined with searches by state.

Address 

Search for reports by the facility's street address. The search will only return reports with an exact match, so try multiple variations and alternate spellings (e.g., "Route" and "Rte").

City

Search for reports by the facility's city. The search will only return reports with an exact match, so try multiple variations and alternate spellings (e.g., "Saint Louis" and "St. Louis").

State/Territory

Search for reports by the facility's state or territory. Choose to search by one type of location, either facility address or permitted location. Facility address searches the geographic location in the facility's address. Permitted location searches the state or territory associated with the first two characters of the NPDES ID, which is usually associated with the location of the facility's discharge. Multiple selections are allowed but need to be selected one value at a time from the dropdown list. This criteria cannot be combined with searches by EPA Region.  

County

Search for reports by the facility's county. After selecting a state, the county dropdown menu is populated with state-specific county options. The list of counties is not available when multiple states are selected. Multiple selections are allowed but need to be selected one value at a time from the dropdown list.

Receiving Waterbody (Search by Name or HUC)

Search for reports by hydrologic unit code (HUC) or name. Enter at least one character and select a waterbody from the dropdown list. By default, this option searches for waterbodies based on data from the USGS Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD). Multiple selections are allowed but need to be selected one value at a time from the dropdown list. Receiving waterbodies are linked to a facility by the external outfall's latitude/longitude data.

Top of Page

Facility Characteristics 

Facility Name 

Search for reports by the facility's name. Words separated by a space are treated as one search term. Separate multiple search terms with a semi-colon (“;”) and try multiple variations and alternate spellings (e.g., "International Metals Company" and "INMETCO").

Find Facility Name(s) That:        
Use the dropdown list to adjust the Facility Name search logic. Wildcard characters (* or %) are not needed in the Facility Name field to specify search logic. Note: Only one type of search logic can be associated with the search terms. 

• Matches Exact Phrase - Searches reports where all search terms are found anywhere within the facility name. The order of the words in a search term affects the search results. For example, searching for “town bridge” returns different results than searching for “bridge town.”
• Matches Exactly - Searches reports where the facility name search terms exactly match the facility name. For example, searching for “The First Company” only returns results with a facility name exactly matching all terms and in this order. This search is case sensitive.
• Begins With - Searches reports where the facility name search terms are found at the beginning of the facility name. For example, searching for “bridge” returns results that begin with “bridge,” such as “Bridgeport” and “Bridgestone,” but excludes results like “Middlebridge.” 

Facility ID Number

Search for reports by the facility's EPA Registry ID (i.e., FRS ID) or by the Program System ID (i.e., NPDES ID). This search allows data entry of up to 2,000 IDs semicolon, comma, space, or return-separated.

Major Designation

Search for reports by the facility's designation as major or non-major.

• Major - EPA defined “major” in guidance and policy developed in the mid-1980s.  For industrial facilities, EPA developed a permit rating worksheet used by permit writers to assist with classification of a facility as a major or non-major. Worksheets were developed to guide this process. See EPA NPDES Permit Rating worksheet (PDF) (44pp, 1870 K). Industrial facilities that scored 80 points or higher using the worksheet were classified as major facilities. Publicly owned treatment works (POTWS) with 1 million gallons of flow per day or greater and POTWs serving a population of 10,000 or greater were also classified as major facilities. Lastly, the Regional Administrator or State Director can also designate facilities as major facilities independent of the worksheet or the above criteria.
• Non-Major - Includes municipal and industrial facilities that have not been designated as majors.
• Any - Selected by default and returns reports for facilities with major or non-major designations.

Permitting Agency

Search for reports by the facility's permitting agency (State or U.S. EPA). Selection filters facilities permitted by the selected agency, regardless of whether a different agency has taken any compliance monitoring or enforcement action activity against that facility.

SIC Code

Search for reports based on the SIC code of the NPDES permit. The Standard Industrial Classification Code describes the primary activity of the permitted facility. The first two digits in the code define a major business actor; the last two digits denote a facility's specialty within the major sector. ECHO allows you to search SIC Codes in multiple ways: 

• Choose a 2-digit SIC Code from the drop-down menu. 
• Type the 3- or 4-digit SIC Code into the text box. Click the Add More button to add a value to the Selected Search Criteria panel and clear the input field for a new value. 
• SIC Code Lookup- Search for SIC codes by keyword.

NAICS Code

Search for reports based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code of the NPDES permit. The six-digit NAICS code describes the primary activity of the permitted facility.

NAICS industries are identified by a 6-digit code. The first two digits represent the Industry section, 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.

ECHO allows you to search NAICS codes by general industry sector (the two-digit NAICS code) or by industry specialty (the three, four, five, or six-digit NAICS Code). 

• Type the 2-,3- ,4-,5-, or 6-digit NAICS Code into the text box.
• Find NAICS Code by Keyword - Search for 2- to 6-digit NAICS codes by keyword. Enter at least one character. Select a NAICS code from the dropdown list to add it to the search criteria selected panel and clear the input field for a new value. Multiple selections are allowed; however, users many only select one value at a time from the dropdown list.

Permit Status

Search for reports by the facility's permit status. The permit status values reflect the stages in the permit life cycle. Multiple selections are allowed but need to be selected one value at a time from the dropdown list. Permit statuses include: 

• Administratively Continued - A permit that is at the permit's expiration date. All monitoring data are still collected and used against the permit’s terms.
• Effective - A permit that is in its lifetime (effective date <= current date < expiration date).
• Expired - A permit that has reached 90 days after the expiration date and has no new Application Received Date or Complete Application Received Date entered.
• Not Needed - A facility is tracked in the EPA program database, but is not required to have a NPDES permit.
• Pending - A permit with incomplete data or a permit with an Effective Date that has not yet been reached.
• Retired - A permit that all monitoring data is stopped against a retired permit; used in conjunction with Reissue. If a Permit is reissued before its expiration date, the Permit Status Code or the previous version of the Permit will be set to Retired. 
• Terminated - A permit that is beyond the permit's Termination Date. Upon the Termination Date being reached, the system will automatically change the Permit Status to Terminated. 

Permit Type 

Search for reports by the facility's permit type. Multiple selections are allowed but need to be selected one value at a time from the dropdown list. Permit types include:

• Associated Permit Record - A system record associated to a NPDES permit. This permit type is selected by default.
• General Permit Covered Facility - A NPDES facility that is covered under a Master General Permit, which are permits that cover multiple facilities that have similar discharges and are located in a specific geographic area. A general permit applies the same or similar conditions to all dischargers covered under the general permit. This permit type is selected by default. 
• Individual IU Permit (Non-NPDES) - Industrial user in a pretreatment program (NPDES indirect discharger). Although an industrial user is not issued an NPDES Permit, a permit record is maintained for tracking purposes. This permit type is selected by default. 
• Individual State Issued Permit (Non-NPDES) - An individual permit unique to each facility, but not in the NPDES program.
• NPDES Individual Permit - An individual NPDES permit is unique to each facility. The limitations and other conditions in an individual permit are based on the facility's operations, type and amount of discharge, and receiving stream, among other factors. This permit type is selected by default. 
• State Issued Master General Permit (Non-NPDES) - A state issued permit that covers multiple facilities that have similar discharges, but is not in the NPDES program. 
• Unpermitted Facility - A facility that does not have an active NPDES permit but has a system record to associate NPDES activities (e.g., compliance monitoring or enforcement actions). This permit type is selected by default. 

Permit Components

Search for reports by the facility's permit components. Multiple selections are allowed but need to be selected one value at a time from the dropdown list. Permit components include:

• Biosolids - Biosolids (formerly referred to as "sewage sludge") are the nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of sewage sludge (the name for the solid, semisolid or liquid untreated residue generated during the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment facility). When treated and processed, sewage sludge becomes biosolids which can be safely recycled and applied as fertilizer to sustainably improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth. Biosolids are regulated under 40 CFR Part 503. 40 CFR Part 503 establishes standards, which consist of general requirements, pollutant limits, management practices, and operational standards, for the final use or disposal of biosolids.
• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) - An NPDES permit regulating discharges from Concentrated Animal Feed Operations (CAFOs). CAFOs are animal feeding operations with more than 1,000 animals. CAFOs with a point source discharge are to receive permits.
• Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) - A combined sewer overflow (CSO) refers to a discharge of untreated wastewater from a combined sewer system at a point prior to the headworks of the publicly-owned treatment works. (59 FR 18688) CSOs generally occur in response to wet weather events. Most combined sewer systems are designed to discharge excess flow directly to surface water bodies, such as streams, rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters.
• Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) - The term Publicly Owned Treatment Works or POTW means a treatment works as defined by section 212 of the Clean Water Act, which is owned by a State or municipality (as defined by section 502(4) of the Clean Water Act). This definition includes any devices and systems used in the storage, treatment, recycling and reclamation of municipal sewage or industrial wastes of a liquid nature. It also includes sewers, pipes and other conveyances only if they convey wastewater to a POTW Treatment Plant. The term also means the municipality as defined in section 502(4) of the Clean Water Act, which has jurisdiction over the Indirect Discharges to and the discharges from such a treatment works.
• Pretreatment - An NPDES permit that 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)].
• Construction Stormwater - Permit requirements associated with construction activities, as defined at 40 CFR 122.26.
• Industrial Stormwater - Permit requirements associated with non-construction activities at industrial facilities, as defined at 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14)(i) through (xi).
• Urban Stormwater - Medium/Large Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (Medium/Large MS4) - Additional requirements for medium/large municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), as defined at 40 CFR 122.26.
• Urban Stormwater - Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (Small MS4) - Additional requirements for small municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), as defined as 40 CFR 122.30-122.37.

Facility Type Indicator

Search for reports by the facility type indicator. This indicates the facility type based on the permit component and type of facility owner/operator.

• Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) - Treatment works owned by a State, Tribe, or municipality. POTWs can treat municipal sewage, industrial wastes, or a combination of the two.
• Non-Publicly Owned Treatment Works (Non-POTW) - All other facilities are non-POTWs and are often referred to as “non-municipals” or “industrials.”

Top of Page

 Community

Environmental Justice

EJScreen Indexes At or Above 80th Percentile

Identify facilities at or above the 80th percentile for one or more of the environmental justice (EJ) indexes of EJScreen, EPA's screening tool for EJ concerns. EPA uses EJScreen as a screening tool to identify geographic areas that may warrant further consideration or analysis. Note that use of this filter does not designate an area as an “EJ community” or “EJ facility.” EJScreen provides screening level indicators, not a determination of the existence or absence of EJ concerns. For more information, see the EJScreen home page.

Compare to

Choose "US" or "State" to search for percentile values for EJ indexes nationwide or relative to Census block groups within the same state. The default is US when Yes or No is selected for EJScreen Indexes At or Above 80th Percentile.

Based on

Choose "Block Group" to search for percentile values based on the census block group the facility is located in. Select "1-mile Maximum" to search based on the maximum percentile value for any census block group within a 1-mile radius of the facility. The default is block group when Yes is selected for EJScreen Indexes At or Above 80th Percentile.

Index Type

Choose one of two methodologies for calculating EJScreen indexes. The indexes are a combination of environmental and socioeconomic information. The Environmental Justice Index uses a two-factor demographic index that averages Percent Low Income and Percent People of Color Populations. The Supplemental Index uses a five-factor demographic index that averages Percent Low Income, Percent Unemployed, Percent Limited English Speaking, Percent Less than High School Education, and Low Life Expectancy. The default is Supplemental Index when Yes or No is selected for EJScreen Indexes At or Above 80th Percentile.

Count of EJ Indexes

Select the number of indexes at or above the 80th percentile of the environmental justice (EJ) indexes of EJScreen.

Demographics

Percent People of Color (3-mile radius)

Choose a percentage threshold to search for facilities based on the racial composition of the surrounding three-mile radius. The field is calculated by subtracting the number of persons who are white (and not of Hispanic origin) from the total persons. This number is then divided by the total persons and multiplied by one hundred to determine the percentage.

Percent Low Income (3-mile radius)

Choose a percentage threshold to search for facilities based on the percent of the population of the surrounding three-mile radius that have an income less than two times the poverty level, based on the 2015-2019 ACS 5-Year Summary.

Indian Country/Tribal Land

ICIS Tribal Land Flag

When “Yes” is selected, your search results will be limited to facilities or permits flagged as being located in Indian country, based on information entered in EPA's Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS). The accuracy and completeness of this information varies by system, and may differ from the FRS Tribal Land Code. “Indian country” is defined by statute at 18 U.S.C. 1151 to include all lands within Indian reservations, dependent Indian communities, and allotted lands. When “No” is selected, your search results will exclude any facilities or permits that are located in Indian country. “ANY” will not restrict search results.

FRS Tribal Land Code

When “YES” is selected, your search results will be limited to facilities or permits flagged as being located in Indian country, based on information that has been entered in EPA’s Facility Registry Service. The accuracy and completeness of this information varies by data system. “Indian country” is defined by statute at 18 U.S.C. 1151 to include all lands within Indian reservations, dependent Indian communities, and allotted lands. When “NO” is selected, your search results will exclude any facilities or permits that are located in Indian country. “ANY” will not restrict search results.

On or Near Spatial Tribal Boundary

Search for facilities that are located on or near tribal land. Search is based on EPA comparison of the facility locations in its Facility Registry Service to the U.S. Census Bureau 2010 tribal boundary layer data for tribes in the lower 48 states and Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office data for tribes in Alaska. When “Within X miles” is selected, your search results will be limited to facilities or permits on tribal land and within the selected radius. “No Restrictions” is selected by default and does not restrict search results. You can focus your search on a specific tribal land using the “Tribes” criteria. Please note that facilities must have locational data (latitude/longitude) in EPA's Facility Registry Service to be included in this search. Data Quality Caveat

Tribes

Search for facilities located on or near a tribe, based on spatial/locational association. The information is based on EPA comparison of facility coordinates (in Facility Registry Service) to the U.S. Census Bureau 2016 tribal boundary layer data for tribes in the lower 48 states, and Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office data for tribes in Alaska. Please note that facilities must have locational data (latitude/longitude) in EPA's Facility Registry Service to be included in this search. Data Quality Caveat. Selection must be made in conjunction with the “On or Near Spatial Tribal Boundary” criteria. "No Restrictions" is selected by default and does not restrict search results. Enter at least one character. Select a tribe from the dropdown list to add it to the search criteria selected panel and clear the input field for a new value.

Data Quality Caveat: EPA makes no claims regarding the accuracy or precision of data concerning Indian country locations or tribal boundaries on the ECHO website. EPA has simply attempted to collect certain readily available information relating to Indian country locations. Questions concerning data should be referred to the originating program or Agency which can be identified in the Envirofacts tribal query metadata files Lower 48 Tribal Areas, Alaska Reservation, Alaska Native Villages, or Alaska Native Allotments. The Indian country and tribal boundary locations are suitable only for general spatial reference and do not necessarily reflect EPA's position on any Indian country locations or tribal boundaries or the land status of any specific location. The inclusion of Indian country information on the ECHO website does not represent any final EPA action addressing Indian country locations or boundaries. This information cannot be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural, enforceable by any party in litigation with the United States or third parties. EPA reserves the right to change information on ECHO at any time without public notice.

EPA uses the U.S. Census Bureau 2016 tribal boundary layer data when developing environmental data query responses for tribes in the lower 48 United States and the Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office when developing environmental data query responses for tribes in Alaska. EPA seeks to use the best available national federal data and may refine the tribal boundary layer in the future as more accurate national federal data becomes available.

Top of Page

Violations  

Violation Category

Search for reports by the category (I or II) of violations on the report.

The NNCR requires all violations listed on the quarterly report be listed as a Category I or Category II noncompliance. Category I is generally, but not always, considered more serious than Category II. The criteria for Category I violations are established in the regulatory framework for enforcement order violations, compliance construction violations, permit effluent limit violations, reporting violations, non-numeric effluent violations, and those considered to be of concern at the discretion of EPA or state regulatory authorities. All other types of noncompliance that do not meet the criteria for Category I noncompliance are classified as Category II.

View the complete list of violations, violation categories, and violation types with the NNCR Violation Reference Table (CSV).

Violation Type 

Search for reports by the type of violation(s) included on the report. Multiple selections are allowed but need to be selected one value at a time from the dropdown list. Violation types include: 

• Effluent Exceedances - Some NPDES permittees are required to report their self-monitoring results on discharge monitoring reports (DMRs). Effluent exceedance violations are generated when a reported DMR value exceeded the limit value. This includes exceedances of permit limits, permit modification limits, stay limits, and enforcement/interim limits. A separate effluent exceedance violation is generated for each record on the report that exceeded its limit. 
• DMR Reporting - Some NPDES permittees are required to report their self-monitoring results on discharge monitoring reports (DMRs). DMR reporting violations are generated when a required record was not received within 30 days of the due date. This includes missing numeric values and when a noncompliant no data indicator (NODI) was reported. A separate DMR reporting violation is generated for each missing record. 
• Permit Schedule - Permit schedule violations are generated when date-based requirements are not met as part of a permit requirement. 
• Compliance Schedule - Compliance (enforcement) schedule violations are generated when date-based requirements are not met as part of an enforcement action requirement.
• Base Program - Base program violations are manually identified (e.g., from an inspection) and are those not associated with a specific NPDES program.
• Biosolids - Biosolids violations are either manually identified (e.g., from an inspection) or automatically generated from the Biosolids Annual Report.

Violation Status

Search for reports by the status of the violation. Selecting Unresolved returns reports with currently unresolved violations. 

Top of Page

Environmental Conditions  

Discharging into Impaired Waters

Search for reports by facilities discharging directly into category 4 or 5 impaired waters. The impaired waters search flag includes facilities that discharge into an impaired water body for which a plan has not yet been developed - these are listed waters under the CWA section 303(d) program (category 5 water body) – as well as facilities that discharge to an impaired water body for which the state has developed a plan to return the water to its designated uses - under the Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) program (category 4 water body). “No Restrictions” is selected by default and places no restrictions on the search. Select “Yes” to identify facilities that are discharging into impaired waters or “No” to exclude facilities that are discharging into impaired waters.

Under section 303(d) of the CWA, states, territories, and authorized tribes are required to develop lists of impaired waters. These are waters for which technology-based regulations and other required controls are not stringent enough to meet the water quality standards set by states. 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 Total Maximum Daily Loads Program webpage. For detailed information on the categorization of impaired waters, see Section V of the 2006 Integrated Report Guidance.

• 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).

Note that locational data (latitude and longitude) are needed to index NPDES permits to the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) Reach Address Database (RAD). For some facilities, locational data are not available, so whether the facilities directly discharge into impaired waters cannot be determined.

Causes of Impairment(s) by Group(s) (ATTAINS)

Search for reports by the facility's discharge into impaired waters by pollutant impairment groups, as maintained in the ATTAINS database. Multiple selections are allowed but need to be selected one value at a time from the dropdown list.

Discharging Pollutants Potentially Contributing to Impairment

Search for NPDES permits having limits or monitoring requirements for pollutants  with the potential to contributing to the impairment of local water bodies. EPA compiled a list of pollutants in ICIS-NPDES that may be associated with each ATTAINS impairment cause group. See the Impairment Group Parameter Crosswalk (CSV) (148 K) for the complete list of pollutants.