Enforcement & Compliance History Online (ECHO)
(See http://www.epa.gov/echo/)

Working with states, EPA has developed a format for providing Internet access to information contained in core EPA data systems. ECHO focuses on facility compliance and EPA/State enforcement of environmental regulations. The information previously had been available only through Freedom of Information Act requests and mainframe computer subscription. Now it is available in a searchable Web format, making it much easier for the public to obtain these data records on the Internet.

ECHO is a Web interface that draws data from the Integrated Data for Enforcement Analysis system (IDEA). IDEA, operated by EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, integrates facility data from disparate EPA databases providing information for approximately 800,000 regulated facilities nationwide.

The site allows users to find inspection, violation, enforcement action, informal enforcement action, and penalty information about facilities for the past three years. Facilities regulated under the following environmental statutes and programs are included: Clean Air Act (CAA) Stationary Source Program, Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Elimination Discharge System (NPDES), and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

ECHO reports provide a snapshot of a facility's environmental record, showing dates and types of violations and the state's or federal government's response. ECHO reports also contain demographic information from the national census. EPA, state and local environmental agencies, and the facilities collect/report the data that are submitted to EPA databases.

There are four key components of the enforcement process at regulated facilities that are document in EPA's databases:

1. The occurrence of a monitoring event, such as an inspection/evaluation or a self-report;
2. The determination of a violation (noncompliance);
3. The occurrence of a government enforcement action to address violations; and
4. Penalties associated with enforcement actions.