Federal EPA databases can provide environmental reporters with countless enterprise stories. However, reporters who have used these databases say state and local databases often are easier to get and have more recent data than their federal counterparts.
Here are some of the EPA databases environmental reporters have found useful. They can be acquired with a Freedom of Information Act request. If the cost is too high, call NICAR, 314-882-0684, and we might be able to offer it at a lesser price.
Emergency Response Notification System
ERNS contains notifications of oil and hazardous chemical spills. Fields in the database include name of discharger, date of release; material released; cause of release; amount released; source of release; damages, injuries or deaths; and incident location. Sponsoring department: Emergency Response Division Contact Dana Stalcup Telephone: (703) 603-8735 Information line: (202) 260-2342
Permit Compliance System
PCS contains information on more than 65,000 industrial facilities that hold National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permits, which allow the facilities to discharge wastewater. Fields include facility name, permit limit, violation and enforcement actions. Sponsoring department: Office of Water Contact: Mike Mundell Telephone: (202) 564-5031 Information line: (703) 908-2680
Aerometric Information Retrieval System
AIRS contains records on emissions and compliance data for industrial plants as well as ambient air quality data for geographical areas. Sponsoring department: Office of Air and Radiation Contact: Andrea Kelsey Telephone: (919) 541-5549
"Access EPA," the source of this list, can be found at the gopher site: gopher.epa.gov.