ECHO Tool Guide

Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) provides many ways to access integrated data from a variety of EPA data systems. Not sure where to start? The navigation guide will help you get around, and this Tool Guide can help you find the best feature for your needs.

Use the following links to go directly to a category of interest:


Deciding Which Tools to Use

 Common Uses of ECHO

If you want toUse this pageInstructionsHelp Content
Learn more about using ECHOECHO Quick Start Guide, ECHO Video Tutorials, and ECHO TrainingNew users are encouraged to view the ECHO video tutorials.ECHO Help
Report a data error that you have noticedError reporting buttons can be found on Detailed Facility Report, Civil Enforcement Case Report, and Effluent Chart pages.From the Detailed Facility Report, Case Report, or Effluent Chart, click on the "Report Error" button. Error reports will be routed to the appropriate EPA or state data steward, and you will get notification of the action taken by the data steward.How to Report an Error and Facility-Level Enforcement Compliance Data and Error Reporting Tutorial
Obtain nationwide facility dataData Downloads and Web ServicesAccess ECHO Data Services from the ECHO Home page.Use the Download Summary links for help content related to each specific dataset.
Determine when data were pulled from the program systems or when data will be refreshed nextAbout the Data--N/A
Identify enforcement cases meeting specific criteriaEnforcement Case SearchUse the "Find EPA Cases" quick search from the ECHO Home page or use the enforcement case search form to select criteria of interest to find relevant cases. Click “View More Search Options” to expand the available criteria.Enforcement Case Search Help and Enforcement Case Search Results Help

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 General Facility Information

If you want toUse this pageInstructionsHelp Content
Get a facility report based upon a single known ID number or facility name (Note: Facility reports can be used to answer FOIA requests or requestors can be directed to ECHO.)ECHO Home Quick SearchSelect the "Facility Name/ID" search type from the Quick Search options, enter the facility name or ID into the search box, and click Search. Select the red "C" icon in the Search Results Table to view the Detailed Facility Report.Search Results Help
Identify what regulated facilities are located within a geographic regionECHO Home
Quick Search
Enter a city, state, and/or ZIP code in the Quick Search by Location search box and click Search.Search Results Help
Look up a large number of facilities based upon a known list of ID numbersFacility SearchPaste up to 2000 IDs into the Permit ID box (in the Facility Characteristics section).Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help
Analyze a group of CAA, CWA, or RCRA facilities based upon a list of ID numbers. (For example, "which facilities from this list of ID numbers are in SNC?")Facility Search for All Media Programs, Air, Water, or Hazardous WastePaste up to 2000 IDs into the Permit ID box (in the Facility Characteristics section). Select the current compliance status of interest from the Enforcement and Compliance section.Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help
Identify facilities meeting specific criteriaFacility SearchUse the facility search form to select criteria of interest to find relevant facilities.Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help
Get a multimedia report to determine whether facilities within one program are in violation under another.Facility SearchThe Detailed Facility Report will provide a multimedia report showing compliance status for all permits/IDs linked to a facility.Facility Search Help, Search Results Help, and Detailed Facility Report Help

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 Media-Specific Facility Information

If you want toUse this pageInstructionsHelp Content
Analyze, for a given state or region, how many facilities are within a sector, or determine the overall inspection presence/violation rate within a sectorAll Media Programs Facility SearchTry a SIC or NAICS code search on the All Media Programs Facility Search for an industry of interest (lookup links are provided).Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – All Media Programs
Determine which facilities are subject to CAA MACT standardsAir Facility SearchSelect “View More” at the top of the search form, and choose a MACT Subpart under Facility Characteristics.Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Air
Determine the compliance status or last inspection of facilities reporting releases of TRI chemicalsFacility Search for All Media Programs, Air, Water, or Hazardous WasteIn the Enforcement and Compliance section of the search form, use the Time Since Last Inspection or Current Compliance Status sliders with a selection from the TRI Reporter dropdown in the Pollutants section.Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help
Display effluent data and violations in graphical format for a particular NPDES permit, permit parameter, or permit outfallWastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids Facility Search and ECHO HomeSelect search criteria using the Wastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids Facility Search, or use the "Quick Search” on the ECHO home page and enter the facility name or ID into the Search By "Facility Name/ID" search box. Select the blue “E” icon in the Search Results Table to view the Effluent Charts.Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, Search Results Help – Wastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids, and Effluent Charts Help
See which CWA facilities did not submit Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) (Note: Lack of DMR data also may indicate the region or state has not entered the data)Wastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids Facility SearchUnder Enforcement and Compliance, select the Current Compliance Status “Failure to Report.”Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Wastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids
Determine violations or inspection presence in priority water bodies (303(d)-listed waters)Wastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids Facility Search and Industrial Stormwater Facility SearchUnder Environmental Conditions, select “Discharging into Impaired Waters” equals Yes.Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Wastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids
Find information on the water bodies that NPDES facilities are located on or nearWastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids Facility SearchEnter at least three characters into the Watershed Names text box under Facility Characteristics. Select a Watershed from the dropdown list to add it to the search criteria selected panel. On Search Results page, select water body information to display from “Customize Columns” menu.Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Wastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids
Perform inspection targeting based upon industry sector for the RCRA program (SIC or NAICS code)Hazardous Waste Facility SearchUse search options under Facility Characteristics. (Note: RCRAInfo does not have SIC codes, but ECHO does have SIC data for RCRA sites based upon other databases.)Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Hazardous Waste
Identify facilities with SDWA PWS IDs that have current violationsDrinking Water Facility SearchUse the Current Violations list under Enforcement and Compliance.Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Drinking Water
Determine, for individual federal agencies, which sites have been inspected and which have violationsAdvanced Facility Search for All Media Programs, Air, Water, or Hazardous WasteFirst, select a Federal Agency under Facility Characteristics. Then choose from various inspection and violation search criteria under Enforcement and Compliance.Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help
Perform a screening for facilities in high minority areas that have not been inspectedAdvanced Facility Search for All Media Programs, Air, Water, or Hazardous WasteFirst, narrow your geographic search, then choose the permit type (size of facility), then choose the length of time it has been since an inspection occurred, then use the percent minority restriction.Facility Search Help, Facility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help
Identify facilities that have biosolids compliance monitoring or enforcement dataBiosolids Facility SearchFirst, narrow your geographic search, then choose facility characteristics, enforcement and compliance information, and demographic profile. Facility Search HelpFacility Search Criteria Help, and Search Results Help – Wastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids
Search for air emissions data by facility, pollutant or industry across various EPA emission inventories.Clean Air Tracking Tool (ECATT) - Emission ScreenerECATT can be used for air inspection targeting and emission evaluation activities at stationary sources of air pollution. ECATT includes data from multiple emission inventories - GHGRP, NEI, TRI, and Clean Air Markets.Introduction to ECATT and Emission Screener Search Criteria Help and Emission Screener Search Results Help
Search for Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) data from network of ambient monitoring stations.Clean Air Tracking Tool (ECATT) - Air Monitoring StationsECATT can be used for air inspection targeting and emission evaluation activities at stationary sources of air pollution. ECATT includes data from multiple emission inventories.Introduction to ECATT and Air Monitoring Station Search Criteria Help and Air Monitoring Search Results Help

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 Data Quality and National and State Compliance Trends

If you want toUse this pageHelp Content
Review national enforcement and compliance trends across states and territoriesEPA/State Comparative MapsEPA/State Comparative Maps Help
Monitor multiple metrics and summary data at a national or state levelEPA/State DashboardsDashboards Help Home
Determine whether inspection coverage, discovery of violations, enforcement actions, and average penalties are increasing or decreasing over time within a stateEPA/State Comparative Maps and EPA/State DashboardsEPA/State Comparative Maps Help and Dashboards Help Home
Review summary environmental compliance and enforcement performance and trend information available on ECHOAnnual Reports and State Review Framework SummariesN/A
Identify each state's readiness to implement electronic reporting based on ICIS-NPDES data.NPDES eRule Readiness and Data Completeness DashboardNPDES eRule Dashboard Help Documentation
Identify unresolved DMR non-receipt violations prior to the quarterly permit compliance status calculation.NPDES DMR Non-Receipt Status SearchNPDES DMR Non-Receipt Status Search Overview

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 ECHO Catalog

Feature NameMediaTutorials/Recorded TrainingDescription
Intro To ECHOAll MediaIntro To ECHO WebinarLearn the history of the ECHO site, the sources of the data, the uses for ECHO, and the statutes that are included in the ECHO facility search function.
Quick SearchFacility Search TutorialIdentify what regulated facilities are located within a geographic region.
Single Facility SearchFacility Search TutorialGet a facility report based upon a single facility name or program ID number.
All Media Programs Facility SearchFacility Search TutorialSearch across all program records for regulated facilities. Customize search results columns and download data.
Map FilterWater, All Media
Intro to ECHO Map Filter: 1/24/2017 Webinar
Brings facility analysis into a simple map-based format that makes it easy to turn facilities on and off based on many different data themes.
Air Facility SearchAir Search for stationary sources regulated under the CAA. View reported emissions on ECHO's Air Pollutant Report or obtain additional air emission information.
ECHO Clean Air Tracking Tool (ECATT)Air ECATT offers a one-stop shop for Clean Air Act data that can be used for air inspection targeting activities. ECATT provides an easy way to connect and analyze information about permitted facilities, emissions, and compliance history.
Wastewater/Stormwater/Biosolids Facility SearchWaterAdvanced ECHO Webinar: WaterSearch for NPDES permits regulated under the CWA. View reported discharges on ECHO's effluent charts or obtain additional water quality information.
Effluent ChartsWaterECHO CWA Effluent Charts TutorialThe 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).
Water NPDES Program Area Searches:
Industrial Stormwater
Biosolids
Water Facility search interfaces tailored to individual discharge program sectors. Provides transparency of new data to be submitted electronically as a result of NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule implementation.
Water Pollutant Loading ToolWaterAdvanced ECHO Webinar: WaterThe tool calculates pollutant loadings from permit and DMR data from EPA's ICIS-NPDES and displays TRI water release data.
TRI and DMR Comparison DashboardWaterTRI and DMR Comparative Dashboard Tutorial SeriesVideo introduction for the TRI-DMR Comparison Dashboard.
NPDES DMR Non-Receipt Status SearchWater Identify unresolved DMR non-receipt violations prior to the quarterly permit compliance status calculation.
NPDES eRule Readiness and Data Completeness DashboardWaterIdentify each state's readiness to implement electronic reporting based on ICIS-NPDES data.
Drinking Water Facility SearchDrinking Water Search for public drinking water systems regulated under SDWA. View information about the system and source water, lead and copper samples, compliance status, contaminants, and enforcement activities.
Hazardous Waste Facility SearchHazardous Waste Search for hazardous waste handlers regulated under RCRA Subtitle C. Search by criteria such as facility designation, enforcement and compliance history, and TRI releases and transfers, among others.
EPA Enforcement Case Search and ReportAll MediaComing SoonSearch for EPA administrative and judicial civil enforcement actions, as well as EPA criminal prosecutions data. Also review the contents of a case report.
Detailed Facility ReportAll MediaThe Detailed Facility Report provides a multimedia view of compliance and enforcement history for all permits/IDs linked to a facility.
EPA/State Comparative MapsAir, Water, Hazardous WasteEPA/State Comparative Maps and Dashboards TutorialReview national enforcement and compliance trends across states and territories on an interactive map.
State DashboardsAir, Water, Hazardous WasteView charts and summary information about compliance and enforcement metrics at a national or state level.
Drinking Water DashboardDrinking WaterThe dashboard provides an easy-to-use summary of key activities: which PWSs are regulated, how many PWS have been inspected, how many systems have had alleged violations identified and enforcement action taken, and how many systems have returned to compliance.
Pesticide DashboardPesticides The FIFRA dashboard focuses on compliance and enforcement activities for the regulated universe of pesticide-producing establishments, which includes pesticide manufacturers, sellers and distributors.
Corporate Compliance ScreenerAll MediaThis tool organizes existing ECHO facility data into reports that highlight recent compliance issues or enforcement actions based upon data entered into national data systems of record.
Report Environmental ViolationsAll Media A webpage and mobile phone version of EPA's Report Environmental Violations page offers a streamlined form and the option to access the user's location (with permission) and allow the public to submit pictures and video.