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EPA Releases New Tool with Information about Water Pollution Across the U.S. / EPA to host webinar on how to use tool to access information on pollutants released into local waterways

Release Date: 01/25/2012
Contact Information: Stacy Kika, [email protected], 202-564-0906, 202-564-4355

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of a new tool that provides the public with important information about pollutants that are released into local waterways. Developed under President Obama’s transparency initiative, the Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) Pollutant Loading Tool brings together millions of records and allows for easy searching and mapping of water pollution by local area, watershed, company, industry sector, and pollutant. Americans can use this new tool to protect their health and the health of their communities.

“Transparency leads to greater accountability and better information about pollution in our nation’s communities,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “By making the data we collect available in easy to use tools, we are keeping Americans informed about the health of the environment in their neighborhoods.”

Searches using the DMR Pollutant Loading Tool result in “top ten” lists to help users easily identify facilities and industries that are discharging the most pollution and impacted waterbodies. When discharges are above permitted levels, users can view the violations and link to details about enforcement actions that EPA and states have taken to address these violations.

Facilities releasing water pollution directly into our nation’s waterways, such as wastewater treatment plants or industrial manufacturers, must receive a permit to discharge under the Clean Water Act. Each permit sets specific limits for how much can be discharged. It also requires the permittee to frequently sample their wastewater discharges and report the data to their state or EPA permitting authority.

A link to the new tool can be found on EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website, which provides information about inspections, facility compliance, and state and federal enforcement actions. EPA has also released several new ECHO features, including a search for criminal enforcement cases and web developer tools that make it easy to tap into ECHO reports and maps.

Information about the webinar:

WHAT: A webinar to demonstrate how to use the new Discharge Monitoring Report (DMR) Pollutant Loading Tool.

WHO: Members of the media, non-profit organizations, industry, business, and citizens interested in learning how to use the tool are encouraged to participate.

WHEN: Thursday, January 26, 2012, 10 a.m., Eastern Time

HOW: To participate, please use the following dial-in numbers.

Audio Contact Instruction:
(1) Dial the toll-free dial-in number: (866) 358 1366
(2) At the recorded prompt, enter the Conference Code (2025661014) and the "#" sign, using the telephone keypad.
(3) Wait for the Leader to join and the conference to begin.
(4) To disconnect, hang up the telephone.

To access the Webinar use GoToWebinar link: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/192410536

*** YOU MUST REGISTER IN ADVANCE TO ACCESS THE WEBINAR***


DMR Pollutant Loading Tool: https://www.epa.gov/pollutantdischarges

ECHO: http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo

More information about new features in ECHO: http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo/recent_additions.html