PCS-ICIS Search User Guide
This search allows you to retrieve selected data from the Permit Compliance System (PCS) and Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS) databases in Envirofacts holding National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. NPDES tracks permit issuance, permit limits and monitoring data, and other data pertaining to facilities regulated under NPDES.
This is a brief user guide to the PCS-ICIS Search. The Search allows you to retrieve preselected data from the PCS and ICIS databases in Envirofacts. You can narrow your search by selecting various options including facility name, geographic location, facility industrial classification, and chemicals. Only those facilities matching all specified criteria will be retrieved. Select more than one search option at a time to speed up the search and make the retrieval more focused. The searches are highly dependent on the geographic location, and a state or zip is required for all searches except an exact match for Facility ID. Please refer to the lists below.
Facility Identification Search Option
Facility Name
Enter the complete or partial facility name to retrieve all facilities with that name within your selected geography. Select the "Containing" option when entering a partial name for a better retrieval the first time you access the data. When an "Exact Match" option is specified for a facility name, only facilities that exactly match the name as entered will be retrieved.
NPDES ID
Enter the complete (nine-character) or partial National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) ID to retrieve all facilities with that ID. Select the "Containing" option when entering a partial ID for a better retrieval the first time you access the data. When an "Exact Match" option is specified for a permit ID, do not specify another option; only one facility will be retrieved.
Geography Search Option
Select from the following geographical search options: ZIP Code, Address, City, County, and State. A five digit zip code or state entry is required for all searches except the NPDES ID "Exact Match" option.
ZIP Code
The entry can be one or more digits. It allows you to enter the zip plus-4 extension as well.
Address
Enter a complete or partial street address.
City
Enter a complete or partial city name.
County
Enter a complete or partial county name and a two-character state postal abbreviation.
State
Enter a two-character state postal abbreviation. A list of the postal abbreviations and the state names is provided below. Currently all states are reporting to ICIS, except for New Jersey and Wyoming. Please note that New Jersey is not supplying EPA with required data about its Clean Water Act program as it has not converted to ICIS-NPDES. EPA has copied New Jersey's data from the old PCS system as of November 29, 2012. This allows users to see the list of regulated facilities and associated historical activities, however, subsequent state activities are not being reported. Wyoming will begin flowing data to ICIS-NPDES in February or March of 2013.
| Postal Abbreviations and State Names | ||
|---|---|---|
| AK = Alaska | AL = Alabama | AR = Arkansas |
| AS = American Samoa | AT = Atlantic Offshore | AZ = Arizona |
| CA = California | CO = Colorado | CT = Connecticut |
| CZ = Canal Zone | DC = District of Columbia | DE = Delaware |
| FL = Florida | FM = Federated States of Micronesia | GA = Georgia |
| GB = George's Bank | GE = Gulf of Mexico East | GM = Gulf of Mexico |
| GU = Guam | HI = Hawaii | IA = Iowa |
| ID = Idaho | IL = Illinois | IN = Indiana |
| JA = Johnson Atoll | KS = Kansas | KY = Kentucky |
| LA = Louisiana | MA = Massachusetts | MD = Maryland |
| ME = Maine | MH = Marshall Islands | MI = Michigan |
| MN = Minnesota | MO = Missouri | MP = Mariana Islands |
| MS = Mississippi | MT = Montana | MW = Midway Islands |
| NC = North Carolina | ND = North Dakota | NI = No. Marianas Isl. |
| NE = Nebraska | NH = New Hampshire | NJ = New Jersey |
| NM = New Mexico | NN = Navajo Nation | NV = Nevada |
| NY = New York | OH = Ohio | OK = Oklahoma |
| OR = Oregon | PA = Pennsylvania | PR = Puerto Rico |
| PW = Palau | RI = Rhode Island | SC = South Carolina |
| SD = South Dakota | SR = Saint Regis Tribe | TN = Tennessee |
| TT - Trust Territory | TX = Texas | UT = Utah |
| UM = U.S. Minor Islands | VA = Virginia | VI = Virgin Islands |
| VT = Vermont | WA = Washington | WI = Wisconsin |
| WV = West Virginia | WY = Wyoming | |
Note: The searches are highly dependent on the geographic location, and a five digit zip code or state entry is required for all searches except the NPDES ID "Exact Match" option.
Facility Industrial Classification Search Option
SIC Code Search
The first two digits in the code define a major business sector, and the last two digits denote a facility's specialty within the major sector. Select a search option from the drop down menu. For the “Equal to” option enter a 4-digit SIC code. For “Beginning with” or “Containing” enter up to 4 digits.
Parameter (Chemical) Name Search Option
Parameter Code
Enter the Parameter Code or lookup the appropriate Parameter Code by clicking on the "Lookup Parameter Code" button.
Parameter Code Name
Enter a complete or partial chemical (parameter) name. There can be various common names for the same chemical, so if the name you enter is not listed under that name for the facility, the PCS Search will not retrieve a facility that you might want to see.
Permit Expired Date Search Option
Enter a Permit Expired Date range. The numeric format is MMDDYYYY, where MM indicates month, DD indicates day, and YYYY indicates year (e.g., month=06, day=21, year=1995). To retrieve permits expiring after a certain date, enter a starting date only. To retrieve all permits expiring before a certain date, enter an ending date only.
Permit Issued Date Search Option
Enter a Permit Issued Date range. The numeric format is MMDDYYYY. where MM indicates month, DD indicates day, and YYYY indicates year (e.g., month=06, day=21, year=1995). To retrieve permits expiring after a certain date, enter a starting date only. To retrieve all permits expiring before a certain date, enter an ending date only.
Major Dischargers Only
Check this option to retrieve facilities that have been identified as major dischargers.
Search Values Option
Click on "Use Multisystem facility information to perform facility search" to identify facilities, using facility information from all program systems. Click on "Use PCS-ICIS facility information to perform facility search" to identify facilities, using only PCS-ICS facility information.
Output
PCS-ICIS facilities range from public sewage treatment works to large petrochemical plants. Any business location (public, private, or federal) that discharges into the nation's lakes, rivers, or streams should be a PCS-ICIS facility.
Basic Facility Information
PCS-ICIS facilities obtain a permit from EPA or a State authority which "permits" the facility to discharge specified pollutants up to a defined limit. These permits generally expire after 5 years and have to renewed by EPA or the State authority.
The Basic Facility Information that you will receive with this search identifies the facility's geographic location and consists of the following variables:
- NPDES
- Facility Information : Click on "View Facility Information" to view EPA Facility Identification Search results for that facility.
- Facility Name
- Address: The Facility Address is a combination of the following individual attributes in the PCS-ICIS system:
- County Name
- Permit Issued Date
- Permit Expired Date
- SIC Code
- SIC Description
- Mapping Info: Provides facility latitude and longitude coordinates, and the ability to generate maps using Envirofacts mapping applications.
- USGS HUC
Permitted Discharges Information
PCS-ICIS facilities obtain a permit from EPA or a State authority which "permits" the facility to discharge specified pollutants up to a defined limit. Certain parameters (chemicals, water temperature, oxygen content, etc.) of the facility discharge are monitored by EPA or the State to ensure that the facility does not exceed its permit. The output identifies the geographic location of the facility, the discharge points (pipes) of the facility, and the parameters that are monitored for each discharge point. The output, organized by facility, is shown first in a label format, followed by a tabular listing of the additional information.
Facility Information:
- NPDES
- Facility ID: Click on the hot-linked facility ID to execute Facility Identification Search results for that facility.
- Facility Name
- Street 1
- City
- County Name
- State
- ZIP Code
- Region
- Mailing Name
- Permit Issued Date
- Permit Expired Date
- SIC Code
- Mapping Info: Provides facility latitude and longitude coordinates, and the ability to generate maps using Envirofacts mapping applications.
Additional Tabular Output:
The names of chemicals listed under the Parameter Description column link directly to their respective chemical factsheets.
Usage Constraints
Information in the PCS-ICIS database can be freely accessed through the use of this search. The complexity of the search is up to the user. Queries that return a large volume of data may terminate prematurely due to system limitations. Develop queries that return small batches of data and terminate the session as soon as the queries have been executed, so that others can access the database.
