EPA is pleased to announce that an upgrade to version 3.0 of the ICIS-NPDES schema has been approved and will be available starting Monday, November 21, 2011.

Version 3.0 will allow NPDES compliance monitoring inspections to be transferred electronically to EPA’s ICIS system by States and Tribes along with the permit and DMR data currently being supported by this data flow.  In addition, the permit data families have been expanded by adding the capability to delete and terminate permits, and enter dates into permit schedules for historical permits.

The exchange is currently in production for inspections, permits, and effluent data families, including Discharge Monitoring Reports. Other data families, such as enforcement actions and violations, will be developed in the future.

Version 2.1 will continue to be supported, but will only allow basic permit, master general permit, general permit covered facility, unpermitted facility, permit tracking event, narrative condition/permit schedule, permitted feature, limit set, limit, and DMR data to be transferred electronically to EPA’s ICIS system by States and Tribes.

Alison Kittle
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
202.564.6233
kittle.alison [at] epa.gov

EPA is pleased to announce that version 2.2 of the Beach Notification schema has been released.  This data exchange allows for the reporting of beach meta data, contact information, and beach advisory and closing data. Version 2.2 can be used now and will be required for the 2013 reporting cycle.

Bill Kramer
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
202.566.0385
kramer.bill [at] epa.gov

EPA is pleased to announce that the final v5.0 TRI XML schema has been approved and posted at:
https://www.exchangenetwork.net/data-exchange/toxics-release-inventory-tri/ .

This updated schema and documentation reflects the following RY2011 Information Collection Request and Reporting Forms & Instructions changes:

1. Disaggregating the “Total Transfers” field and adding fields to identify chemical discharge quantities to specific publicly owned treatment works in Section 6.1 of Form R;
2. Adding a new section to capture miscellaneous and optional information regarding the submission in Section 9.1 of Form R; and
3. Adding codes 12 though 20 for Dioxin and Dioxin-like Compounds forms to indicate the maximum amount of the toxic chemical on site at any time during the calendar year in Section 4.1 of Form R.

All XML files uploaded to TRI-MEweb via Third-party Load as well as XML files forwarded to state partners of the TRI Data Exchange will adhere to v5.0 of the TRI XML schema beginning in calendar year 2012.

Zach Scott
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
202.566.0953
scott.zachary [at] epa.gov

On Thursday, November 17, 2011, from 2:00-3:00 PM ET, the Network Technology Group (NTG) will host an important Open Call for all Exchange Network Partners.  The NTG encourages all EN Node Administrators to participate.

As the Network moves to a more publishing-oriented focus, security policies are being adjusted to maximize the utility of tools such as the EN Browser.  Specifically, changes to the default behaviors of security policies for Query and Solicit are being made.  Open Call presenters will discuss these changes, their effects on existing Nodes, and strategies for minimizing their impact on your Node.

In addition, as the January 31, 2012, deadline to upgrade to Node v2.1 approaches, the Node Interoperability issues and the steps EN Governance have taken to address them will be revisited during the Call.

To participate in this important Call, please register in advance at:

The Network Partnership and Resources Group is excited to announce the launch of the new Exchange Network Website!  Developed with input provided by many members of the EN Community, Exchange Network Website is the central repository for all things Exchange Network.  Highlights of the new site include the Featured Resources on the home page, the redesigned Profiles and Progress section, and menus tailored to specific user groups to help you more easily find the right information.  You can subscribe to News feeds and get the latest EN Alerts delivered to your favorite RSS reader.  Node Contacts in each Network Partner State, Tribe, Territory, EPA Region, and organization can now update their own profiles and keep the rest of the Network informed about what data they are flowing.

Please join us in thanking everyone who worked so hard to launch a website capable of leading the Exchange Network into the future!

The Exchange Network has released the June 2011 National System Flow Implementation Matrix. This color-coded document provides detailed information about States’, Tribes’, and Territories’ National System Flow status and plans for flow development. The information is generated from the logs at EPA’s Central Data Exchange. Information regarding plans to flow or restart flows was derived from FY2010 grant applications and from regional outreach efforts. It is the goal of Network Governance to support conversion of all yellow and red boxes on the Matrix to green. Note that red, yellow, and white boxes do not indicate that a Partner is not meeting its reporting obligation; rather, they indicate what data are flowing through the Network.

The Network has also released an update to the Action Plan for Completing Phase 1 of the National Environmental Information Exchange Network. Changes from the last Action Plan are highlighted in yellow.

Updates to the Matrix or questions about the Action Plan should be directed to:
Michael Kaufman
Office of Environmental Information
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202.564.4499
E: kaufman.michael [at] epa.gov

EPA has released the final FY 2012 Exchange Network Grant program solicitation notice. Applicants for the FY 2012 Exchange Network Grant program must submit an application package to EPA by November 4, 2011.

In FY 2012, EPA expects to award an estimated $10,000,000 for 40-50 grants of up to $350,000. The exact number of grants will depend on the amount of EPA’s appropriation for the grant program, the number of applications submitted to EPA by the deadline, the amount requested to produce the proposed results, and the competitive review of the applications received. The primary outcome expected from the Exchange Network assistance agreements is improved access to, and exchange of, high-quality environmental data from public and private sector sources. With this outcome in mind, applications should demonstrate support for and results toward the EN program priorities.

EPA will accept project proposals for National Environmental Information Exchange Network grants in one of two ways: 1) a hardcopy mailed or delivered proposal, including one original and two copies or; 2) a proposal submitted electronically through the grants.gov website. EPA anticipates that it will announce selection decisions in or around March 2012. EPA plans to issue the awards by August 2012.

For complete information, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/grants/index.html

Ryan Humrighouse
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202.566.1680
E: humrighouse.ryan [at] epa.gov

The deadline for reporting 2010 greenhouse gas emissions is September 30, 2011. To assist reporters with the using EPA’s electronic Greenhouse Gas Reporting Tool (e-GGRT), EPA is offering refresher courses for subparts C (General Stationary Combustion Sources), D (Electricity Generation), X (Petrochemical Production), Y (Petroleum Refineries), P (Hydrogen Production), AA (Pulp and Paper Manufacturing), HH (Municipal Solid Waste Landfills, and NN (Suppliers of Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids).

For more information and to register for the upcoming trainings, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/training.html.

Kong Chiu
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202.343.9309
E: chiu.kong [at] epa.gov

Several states have expressed interest in being able to receive reference code table updates and extract their data out of the ICIS-NPDES system using their node. EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance is forming an Integrated Project Team (IPT) to define the requirements and identify the XML schema and submission files needed to provide these data. All states are welcome to participate in the IPT’s kickoff call on Thursday, August 25, 2011, at 1:00pm ET.

To obtain call-in information, please contact:
Alison Kittle
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202.564.6233
E: kittle.alison [at] epa.gov

The Exchange Network has released the April 2011 National System Flow Implementation Matrix Update. This color-coded document provides detailed information about states’, tribes’, and territories’ National System Flow status and plans for flow development. The information is generated from the logs at EPA’s Central Data Exchange. Information regarding plans to flow or restart flows was derived from FY2010 grant applications and from regional outreach efforts.

It is the goal of Network Governance to support conversion of all yellow and red boxes to green. Note that red, yellow, and white boxes do not indicate that a partner is not meeting its reporting obligation; rather, they indicate what data are flowing through the Network.

Updates to or questions about the Matrix should be directed to:
Michael Kaufman
Office of Environmental Information
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202.564.4499
E: kaufman.michael [at] epa.gov