On this page:

• Description
• Data Elements by Table
• Data Element Definitions

Description

The Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) system incorporates data from the Integrated Compliance Information System National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (ICIS-NPDES). ICIS-NPDES is an information management system maintained by the Office of Compliance to track permit compliance and enforcement status of facilities regulated by the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program under the Clean Water Act (CWA).

This dataset provides the location of facilities and permitted features (e.g., discharge points or outfalls) in ICIS-NPDES, with select facility, permit, and compliance data. Permitted feature coordinates in ICIS are updated frequently and provide additional information to facility locations. The permitted feature coordinates are provided, where available, for each NPDES ID. If permitted feature coordinates are unavailable, the facility location coordinates are provided.

The zip file contains one CSV file, named NPDES_OUTFALLS_LAYER.csv. The file is updated each week, according to the ECHO refresh schedule.

Data Elements by Table

Discharge Points (NPDES_OUTFALLS_LAYER.csv)

Data Element Definitions

The following is a list of the data elements that appear in the ECHO ICIS-NPDES discharge points download. All data elements are from ICIS-NPDES, unless otherwise indicated.

CITY

A 60-character field that contains the name of the city in which the facility is located.

CWA_CURRENT_STATUS

Indicates the status of the permit, based on the most recent data refresh in ECHO. ICIS-NPDES designates a permit as Effective, Administratively Continued, Expired, Not Needed, Pending, Retired, or Terminated.

CWP_CURRENT_SNC_STATUS

When a major source is in significant noncompliance (SNC) or a non-major source has a Category I violation, the specific type of SNC/Category I violation.

• Effluent Violations
  • Effluent - Monthly Average Limit
  • Effluent - Non-monthly Average Limit
• Violations of a Compliance Schedule
  • Compliance/Permit Schedule Violations
  • Compliance/Permit Schedule Reporting
• Failure to Report
  • Failure to Report DMR - Not Received 

CWP_CURRENT_VIOL

Displays "Yes" if the facility is currently in any violation under the Clean Water Act, either in Noncompliance or Significant Noncompliance. Note: This field considers the most current data available, including effluent exceedances reported after the last Quarterly Noncompliance Report (QNCR) was issued; post-QNCR data are considered draft and have not been fully quality assured. If the official data show the facility is in violation and the post-QNCR data show the facility is not in violation or unknown, the status is based on the official QNCR data. Otherwise, the status is based on post-QNCR.

CWP_DATE_LAST_INSPECTION

The date on which the most recent inspection of the facility took place.

DATE_LAST_FORMAL_EA

Indicates the effective date of the most recent listed enforcement action taken against the facility, within the last five years.

DMR_POUNDS

The total pounds of pollutants discharged by the NPDES ID during the last complete calendar year.

EXTERNAL_PERMIT_NMBR

The unique identifier for a permit, also known as the NPDES ID.

FAC_COUNTY_NAME 

The U.S. county in which the facility is located, derived based on the facility coordinates.

FAC_DERIVED_TRIBES

The tribes or tribal territories located within 25 miles of the facility's location. EPA compares the facility location in its Facility Registry Service to the U.S. Census Bureau tribal boundary layer data for tribes in the lower 48 states and Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office data for tribes in Alaska. The tribal boundary locations identified are suitable only for general spatial reference and do not necessarily reflect EPA's position on any Indian country locations or boundaries, or the land status of any specific location. Data Quality Caveat.

FAC_FEDERAL_AGENCY_NAME

Indicates the name of the federal agency, as classified in FRS. Federal agencies are installations that are owned and operated by the U.S. government.

FACILITY_NAME

 The name of the facility.

FACILITY_TYPE_CODE 

A 3-character code indicating ownership type of the facility. 

FACILITY_TYPE_DESC

The facility owner/operator type and description of FACILITY_TYPE_CODE. A facility type may include:

• Corporation
• County Government
• District
• Federal Facility (U.S. Government)
• Government Owned/Contractor Operated
• Individual
• Mixed Ownership (e.g., Public/Private)
• Municipal or Water District
• Municipality NON - Non-Government
• Privately Owned Facility
• School District
• State Government
• Tribal Government
• Unknown

FAC_INDIAN_SPATIAL_FLG

Displays “Y” if a facility is located within 25 miles of a tribal spatial boundary, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau tribal boundary layer data for tribes in the lower 48 states and Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Office data for tribes in Alaska. Displays “N” if a facility is not located on or near a tribal spatial boundary. Data Quality Caveat.

LATITUDE83

Latitude of the facility or outfall location expressed in decimal degrees, representing the degrees, minutes, and seconds of latitude, in the NAD83 coordinate system.

LATLONG_TYPE

Indicates whether the location refers to a facility or a permitted feature (e.g., discharge point).

LIM_POLLUTANT

The list of pollutants with enforceable (i.e., numeric limits or monitoring only) and/or benchmark limits in the current version of the NPDES permit. An active set limit must exist for the parameter.

LOCATION_ADDRESS

The street address of the facility.

LONGITUDE83

Longitude of the facility or outfall location expressed in decimal degrees, representing the degrees, minutes, and seconds of longitude, in the NAD83 coordinate system.

MAJOR_MINOR_FLAG

A facility is designated by the permitting authority as a major discharger (Major) or non-major discharger (Minor).

NAICS_CODES

Indicates the facility’s or permit's North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code(s) in ICIS-NPDES. The NAICS Code 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.

PERMIT_COMPONENTS

The permit component(s) associated with the NPDES Permit Program Area.

PERMIT_EFFECTIVE_DATE

Date (MM/DD/YYYY) that the permit became effective.

PERMIT_EXPIRATION_DATE

Date (MM/DD/YYYY) that the permit expires.

PERM_FEATURE_NMBR

The code representing the permitted outfall or pipe of interest in ICIS-NPDES (e.g., 001). This is the identifier assigned for each location at which permit conditions are being applied.

PERMIT_NAME

The name of the facility having the NPDES permit to discharge pollutants in the waters of the U.S

PERMIT_STATUS_CODE

The current status of a NPDES permit. ICIS-NPDES designates a permit as Effective (EFF), Administratively Continued (ADC), Expired (EXP), Not Needed (NON), Pending (PND), Retired (RET), or Terminated (TRM). Active facilities are those currently in operation (indicated by any status code except NON or TRM).

PERMIT_STATUS_DESC

The description of PERMIT_STATUS_CODE.

PERMIT_TERMINATION_DATE

Date (MM/DD/YYYY) that the permit was terminated.

PERMIT_TYPE_CODE

The unique code identifying the type of permit.

PERMIT_TYPE_DESC

The description for PERMIT_TYPE_CODE. Valid values are below:

Code	Description
NPD	NPDES Individual Permit
NGP	NPDES Master General Permit
GPC	General Permit Covered Facility
SNN	State Issued Master General Permit (Non-NPDES)
IIU	Individual IU Permit (Non-NPDES)
SIN	Individual State Issued Permit (Non-NPDES)
APR	Associated Permit Record
UFT	Unpermitted Facility

SIC_CODES

The four-character Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code that classifies the main product produced or service performed at the plant.

SIC_DESCRIPTIONS

The description of SIC_CODES.

STATE_CODE

A two-character field that contains the state postal abbreviation for the state in which the facility is located.

STATE_WATER_BODY_NAME

The state’s name for the water body into which the effluent is discharged for a permitted feature.

SUB_TYPE_DESC

Indicates the type of permitted feature. This field does not apply to facility coordinates. Valid values are:

• Receiving Water (Ambient)
• Co-disposal Site
• Discharge to Offsite Facility
• External Outfall
• Incinerator
• Influent Structure
• Internal Outfall
• Intake Structure
• Land Application Site
• MODU
• Other
• Platform
• Surface Disposal Site
• Subsea
• Sum
• Monitoring Well

TOTAL_DESIGN_FLOW_NMBR

This is the flow that a permitted facility was designed to accommodate, expressed as millions of gallons per day (MGD).

ZIP

A 9-character field that contains the U.S. Postal Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) code for the area in which the facility is located.

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.