Table of Contents

Programs Covered
Dictionary of Terms
Frequently Asked Questions

Programs Covered by ECHO Notify

Acronym	Statute	Description
CAA	Clean Air Act	The Clean Air Act seeks to protect human health and the environment from emissions that pollute ambient, or outdoor, air. The Title V program regulates air emissions from stationary sources, which are often major sources that emit or have the potential to emit 100 tons per year of any regulated pollutant, plus stationary and area sources that emit or have potential to emit lesser specified amounts of hazardous air pollutants. ECHO Notify provides information on stationary sources.
CWA	Clean Water Act	The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law that regulates discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulates the quality standards for surface waters. The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program regulates pollution from point-sources, such as industrial facilities, municipal governments (particularly sewage treatment plants), and some agricultural facilities, such as animal feedlots. ECHO Notify provides information on point-sources.
RCRA	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act	The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the law governing the proper management of hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste. The Subtitle C program regulates hazardous waste, which includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. ECHO Notify provides information on hazardous waste handlers.
SDWA	Safe Drinking Water Act	The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) protects public health by regulating the nation’s public drinking water supply. SDWA authorizes the US EPA to set national health-based standards for drinking water to protect against both naturally-occurring and man-made contaminants that may be found in drinking water. ECHO Notify provides information on public water systems.
All Statutes		ECHO Notify provides information on EPA-led enforcement only for the following environmental laws: Clean Air Act (CAA) Clean Water Act (CWA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Note: Enforcement information is organized at the case level.

Dictionary of Terms

Acronym	Term	Description
CSV	Compliance Schedule Violation	Failure to complete a required activity by the date specified in a permit or enforcement action.
EJ80	Environmental Justice Indexes Above 80th Percentile	EJScreen is EPA’s screening tool for identifying areas of Environmental Justice (EJ) concern. There are twelve EJ Indexes and EJ80 is the count of indexes that are above the 80^th percentile nationwide (i.e., only 20% or less of U.S. population has a higher index value). The higher the count, the greater the “excess risk”, calculated at the census block group level. Learn more about EJScreen.
EFV	Effluent Violation	Failure to abide by pollutant discharge limits established in a permit or enforcement action. Effluent limitations serve as the primary mechanism in NPDES permits for controlling discharges of pollutants to receiving waters.
EWN	Early Warning Notification	Public water systems for which, barring no formal or resolving enforcement actions in the current quarter, will be designated as an Enforcement Priority at the end of the quarter. For more information on what defines an Enforcement Priority and formal/resolving enforcement actions see: EPA's Drinking Water Enforcement Response Policy (PDF).
FEA	Formal Enforcement Action	Formal enforcement is taken to address more serious violations. Formal actions include: Civil Administrative Actions – non-judicial enforcement actions taken by EPA or state under its own authority, often in the form of an administrative order (with or without penalties) Civil Judicial Actions – formal lawsuit filed in court against persons or entities that failed to comply with statutory or regulatory requirements, an administrative order, or Superfund obligation Criminal Actions – violations that are willful, or knowingly committed. A court conviction can result in fines or imprisonment.
FRV	Federally Reportable Violation	Violations of federally enforceable CAA requirements that state, local, and tribal agencies are to report to EPA according to EPA’s FRV Policy (PDF). Such violations include: Violations of any emission limitation, emission standard or surrogate parameter Procedural violations including: Failure to maintain reports and underlying records Failure to timely test (e.g., performance test) or conduct valid monitoring Failure to timely report (e.g., annual compliance certifications) Failure to construct, install, or operate facility/equipment.
FWG	Federal Waste Generator Category Update	A generator is any person who produces a hazardous waste. EPA has established three categories of generators in the regulations: very small quantity generators, small quantity generators, and large quantity generators, all measured per month, with different corresponding stipulations.
HBV	Health Based Violation	Violations of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) or maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs), which specify the highest concentrations of contaminants or disinfectants, respectively, allowed in drinking water; or of treatment technique (TT) rules, which specify required processes intended to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water. MCLs, MRDLs, and treatment technique rules are all health-based drinking water standards.
HPV	High Priority Violation	A subset of Federally Reportable Violations (FRV) that are likely to result in impacts that pose a significant risk to human health and the environment from direct or indirect release of air pollutants or may impede the ability to implement the CAA program. An FRV is designated as an HPV if it meets any one of six criteria according to EPA’s HPV policy (PDF).
IEA	Informal Enforcement Action	An enforcement action that is generally intended to address small or isolated problems. Informal enforcement often takes the form of a notice of violation or warning letter.
MCL	Maximum Contaminant Level	The highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water.
MRDL	Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level	An MRDL is a level of a disinfectant added for water treatment that may not be exceeded at the consumer's tap without an unacceptable possibility of adverse health effects.
NAICS	North American Industry Classification System	The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.
NEP	New Enforcement Priority	Public water systems designated as priority candidates for formal enforcement due to unresolved serious, multiple, and/or continuing violations. For more information on what defines an Enforcement Priority and formal/resolving enforcement actions see: EPA's Drinking Water Enforcement Response Policy (PDF).
NPEP	Newly Persistent Enforcement Priority	Public water systems that have been designated as priority candidates for formal enforcement for more than two consecutive quarters. For more information on what defines an Enforcement Priority and formal/resolving enforcement actions see: EPA's Drinking Water Enforcement Response Policy (PDF).
PSV	Permit Schedule Violation	Failure to complete a required activity by the date specified in a permit.
SEV	Single Event Violation	These are all other violations not categorized as effluent, schedule, or Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) non-receipt violations. Included are violations identified during a compliance monitoring activity such as an inspection and self-reported violations such on an annual program report. These violations are generally not automatically flagged by the data system.
SMDU	Synthetic Minor Designation Update	Synthetic-minor sources, which are facilities that have the potential to emit regulated pollutants at or above major-source thresholds but that agree to enforceable restrictions to limit their emissions below these thresholds to avoid being subject to more stringent major-source requirements. Such enforceable restrictions, also called limitations, are included in a facility’s air permit.
SNC	Significant Non-Compliance/Complier	A subset of violations (CWA) or violators (RCRA) considered to pose a greater risk to human health and the environment. For CWA, SNC designations are made in accordance with the relevant policy (PDF). Most SNC designations are based on an automated analysis of Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) that permitted facilities are required to submit monthly. The compliance designation is done using a mathematical formula that takes into account the amount, duration, and frequency of discharges in comparison with permit levels. In some instances, facilities may be manually designated as SNC, even if the data system does not automatically designate them as such. For RCRA, SNC determinations are also made in accordance with the relevant Hazardous Waste policy (PDF). A site can be designated as a SNC if any of the following are found to exist: the site has been determined to cause actual exposure or has a substantial likelihood of causing exposure to a hazardous waste or constituent; is a chronic or recalcitrant violator; or deviates substantially from the terms of a permit, order or agreement, or from RCRA statutory or regulatory requirements.
TT	Treatment Technology	An enforceable procedure or level of technological performance which public water systems must follow to ensure control of a contaminant.
Viol	Violation	An environmental violation occurs when an activity or an existing condition does not comply with an environmental law or regulation.

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