PCS-ICIS Customized Search User Guide

This search supports experienced users who want to report on specific data elements. You’ll select subjects, tables, and columns, then add search criteria and output options. Columns that use coded values typically have related description columns, and you can export results to CSV.

General instructions

The Customized Search retrieves data based on your table and column selections and any criteria you enter.

Follow these four steps:

Step 1: Select subjects
Step 2: Select tables
Step 3: Select columns
Step 4: Enter search criteria and organize output

Step 1: Subject selection

Data in this database is grouped by subject area. Start by choosing the subject area that best matches the information you want to retrieve.

A brief description appears next to each subject. Select the underlined subject name to continue. Your selection will take you to a page where you can either adjust your subject selection or proceed to retrieve tables.

Some subjects can’t be selected together because they do not share a relationship (a common column). When you are finished selecting a subject, select the button to retrieve tables for the selected subject(s).

Step 2: Table selection

Select one or more tables based on your subject selection. Available tables change depending on which subject(s) you choose.

You can select an underlined table name to view metadata for that table. After selecting your table(s), continue to retrieve columns for the selected tables.

Step 3: Column selection

Select one or more columns based on your table selection. You can select the underlined table name to view table metadata, and select any underlined column name to view column metadata.

Select the checkbox next to each column you want included in the output. You must select at least one column before continuing to Step 4.

To remove a selection, uncheck the box. You can also use the reset option on the page to clear selections and start over for this step.

Step 4: Enter search criteria and organize the output

After selecting your columns, the PCS Customized Search page lets you enter search criteria and organize the output. You can use either the standard search fields or your selected columns as criteria.

Facility identification search

Enter a partial facility name to retrieve a broad list of results. To narrow results, enter a full facility name. If searching for corporations with multiple facilities, use this option together with the Geography Search to reduce the size of the output.

This option includes three fields:

Choose whether to search by Facility Name or NPDES Number.
Select an Operator Definition. Use “Beginning with” to list names that start with your entry; use “Equal to” for an exact match; use “Containing” when you enter a partial name to limit results.
Enter the partial or full facility/corporation name, or enter the NPDES number.

Geography search

Use Geography Search with Facility Identification Search to limit results for corporations with multiple facilities. Geography Search includes: ZIP Code, USGS Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC), City, County, and a two-letter state postal abbreviation.

If you enter City or County, you must also enter State. You do not need to enter all fields to run a search.

Postal abbreviations and state names

Postal abbreviations and state names
Abbreviation	State or Territory	Abbreviation	State or Territory	Abbreviation	State or Territory
AK	Alaska	AL	Alabama	AR	Arkansas
AS	American Samoa	AZ	Arizona	CA	California
CN	Canada	CO	Colorado	CT	Connecticut
DC	District of Columbia	DE	Delaware	FL	Florida
FM	Federated States of Micronesia	GA	Georgia	GU	Guam
HI	Hawaii	IA	Iowa	ID	Idaho
IL	Illinois	IN	Indiana	KS	Kansas
KY	Kentucky	LA	Louisiana	MA	Massachusetts
MD	Maryland	ME	Maine	MH	Marshall Islands
MI	Michigan	MN	Minnesota	MO	Missouri
MP	Northern Mariana Islands	MS	Mississippi	MT	Montana
NC	North Carolina	ND	North Dakota	NE	Nebraska
NH	New Hampshire	NJ	New Jersey	NM	New Mexico
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	TN	Tennessee
TX	Texas	UT	Utah	VA	Virginia
VI	Virgin Islands	VT	Vermont	WA	Washington
WI	Wisconsin	WV	West Virginia	WY	Wyoming

Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code search

Enter a partial or complete SIC code. You do not need to enter other criteria when using SIC code as your search criterion.

Chemical name search

Chemical Name Search includes three fields:

Choose whether to search by Chemical Name or Parameter Code.
Select an Operator Definition. Use “Beginning with” to list names that start with your entry; use “Equal to” for an exact match; use “Containing” when you enter a partial name to limit results.
Enter the partial or full chemical name or parameter code.

Output options

Output options let you organize results based on your selections from Steps 1–3. The output organization fields include: Column Name, Operator Definition, Search Value, Column Display Order, Sort Column, and Sort Order.

Column name

Each column you selected in Step 3 appears under Column Name in the order you selected it. Select an underlined column name to view extended column metadata.

Operator definition and search value

These fields allow you to enter criteria to refine results. If a selected column is already available as a standard search field (for example, chemical name), these fields may not appear for that column, and you will see a note indicating it is already a standard search option.

For other columns, Operator Definition sets how the Search Value is applied. Available operators depend on the column type (character, number, or date) and may include: Equal to, Less than/Equal to, Greater than/Equal to, Less than, Greater than, and Containing.

You can only enter search values appropriate to the column type. For example, character values entered for numeric columns will be rejected. If you are unsure of a column type, select the column name to view its metadata.

Column display order

Use Column Display Order to rearrange the order of columns in the output. If you do not enter a value, columns remain in the order selected.

To reorder, enter numeric values beginning with 1 for the first column, 2 for the second, and so on. You only need to enter numbers for the columns you care about ordering; other columns can be left blank and will be arranged automatically.

Sort column

Sort Column lets you sort output by one or more columns. Use Sort Order to specify ascending or descending order.

Sort order

Choose ascending or descending order for the Sort Column selection(s). Ascending order lists smaller values first; descending lists larger values first. If you do not select a Sort Column, Sort Order is ignored.

When you are ready, select Search Database to run the search. Use Reset to clear and re-enter criteria. Use Output to CSV to export results. If you choose CSV output, you will be prompted to save the file to your computer.

Where only

Where Only separates variables into “search/retrieve” and “display” categories. Selecting a variable as Where Only means it is used to filter what is retrieved, but it will not appear in the displayed results.

Important: If you mark a variable as Where Only, you must provide a search value for it. Column Display Order and Sort Column do not apply (and will be ignored) for Where Only variables, because those options only apply to variables that are displayed.