Over the weekend of July 23rd, the U.S. EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) core services migrated to a new database platform. Beginning the morning of July 26th, performance issues began manifesting for some users when interacting with the CDX Next Generation Node (NGN), Exchange Network Services Center (ENSC), and Exchange Network Discovery Service (ENDS). Initial tuning attempts provided limited relief. On the evening of Wednesday, July 28th configuration changes were made to alleviate the widespread performance issues.

As of the evening of August 2nd, there are no known widespread performance issues impacting Exchange Network services, and the situation continues to be actively monitored.

If you have any questions or need to report an issue, please contact nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net.

This is a reminder that the EPA will host a FY 2021 EN Grant Applicant Feedback session to support the development and planning of the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Exchange Network (EN) grant cycle and solicitation notice. This session will be held this Thursday July 29^th from 3:00 – 4:30 PM Eastern Time. The EPA will be asking for general feedback on the clarity and usability of the EN Solicitation Notice (SN), as well as seeking feedback on the available funding opportunities within the Notice, the applicant guidance appendices and optional templates, and the inclusion of the E-Enterprise Digital Strategy guiding principles.

The discussion on the SN will be followed by an open feedback session with participants on the call, in which they can provide comments or thoughts on any aspect of the EN Grant Program.

If you aren’t able to join this meeting, but would like to provide feedback on the FY’21 EN Grant Solicitation Notice or the application process, please email your comments to Erin McGown at mcgown.erin@epa.gov before August 5^th, 2021.

Session Connection Information:

Thursday, July 29th, 2021, 3:00 – 4:30pm ET

• TEAMS Presentation Link (Recommended Format): Click here to join the meeting
• Dial-In Option (Audio Only) Number: +1 202-991-0477; Conference ID: 643 615 68#

Please direct any questions to Erin McGown, at mcgown.erin@epa.gov.

Although not mandatory, we would also appreciate if you would pre-register for the session by sending an email to Shela Poke-Williams (Poke-williams.shela@epa.gov) indicating your organization, name(s), and state, tribe, or territory. Please note that EPA will maintain these records internally and they will not be shared with any third parties.

The U.S. EPA Central Data Exchange (CDX) will be performing system maintenance from Friday, July 23, 2021, 6:00 PM ET to Monday, July 26, 2021, 8:00 AM ET. Users of the Exchange Network and CDX Web will experience intermittent service outages during that planned maintenance window. Shared CROMERR Services are not expected to be impacted. Please plan accordingly and schedule any transactions outside of the maintenance window. 

Please direct any questions to the Exchange Network Help Desk:

• Email: nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net
   
• Phone: 1-888-890-1995 (Select Option 1 and then Option 5 from the menu) 
  Available 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern

To support the development and planning of the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Exchange Network (EN) grant cycle and solicitation notice, the EPA will host a FY 2021 EN Grant Applicant Feedback session. This session will be held on Thursday July 29^th from 3:00 – 4:30 PM Eastern Time. The EPA will be asking for general feedback on the clarity and usability of the EN Solicitation Notice (SN), as well as seeking feedback on the available funding opportunities within the Notice, the applicant guidance appendices and optional templates, and the inclusion of the E-Enterprise Digital Strategy guiding principles.

The discussion on the SN will be followed by an open feedback session with participants on the call, in which they can provide comments or thoughts on any aspect of the EN Grant Program.

If you aren’t able to join this meeting, but would like to provide feedback on the FY’21 EN Grant Solicitation Notice or the application process, please email your comments to Erin McGown at mcgown.erin@epa.gov before August 5^th, 2021.

Session Connection Information:

Thursday, July 29th, 2021, 3:00 – 4:30pm ET

• TEAMS Presentation Link (Recommended Format): Click here to join the meeting
• Dial-In Option (Audio Only) Number: +1 202-991-0477; Conference ID: 643 615 68#

Please direct any questions to Erin McGown, at mcgown.erin@epa.gov.

Although not mandatory, we would also appreciate if you would pre-register for the session by sending an email to Shela Poke-Williams (Poke-williams.shela@epa.gov) indicating your organization, name(s), and state, tribe, or territory. Please note that EPA will maintain these records internally and they will not be shared with any third parties.

As announced on May 6, 2021, U.S. EPA is migrating Shared CROMERR Services (SCS) to a new hosting environment. After a successful migration of the TEST environment on May 14, EPA will move the PRODUCTION environment on June 4, 2021. 

Details

Users of SCS can expect the service to be offline beginning at 9:00 PM Eastern on Friday June 4, 2021. Service will be restored prior to 8:00 AM Eastern on Monday, June 7, 2021.

No SCS services endpoints will change after the migration. All endpoints will remain as follows:

• Dev endpoint – https://encromerrdev.epacdxnode.net
• Test endpoint – https://encromerrtest.epacdxnode.net
• Production endpoint – https://encromerr.epa.gov

All IP addresses WILL change after the migration.

IMPORTANT: IP ADDRESS CHANGES MAY REQUIRE PARTNERS TO ADJUST FIREWALL RULES TO ACCESS SCS SERVICES.

The new IP addresses will be:

• DEV: 40.71.227.82 (in effect as of May 14)
• TEST: 204.47.254.135 (in effect as of May 14)
• PROD: 204.47.254.197 (in effect starting on June 7)

U.S. EPA recommends testing SCS services in each of the respective environments based on the dates above to ensure no firewall changes are required.
 
Shared CROMERR Services Help Desk 
If you experience any difficulties or have questions, please contact the Shared CROMERR Services Help Desk.

• Email: sharedcromerrservices@epacdx.net
• Phone: 1-888-890-1995 (Select Option 1 and then Option 5 from the menu) 
  Available 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Exchange Network partners will experience intermittent outages in the TEST environment for data flows to/from U.S. EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) Node.

The TEST CDX Node will be intermittently unavailable during the following time frames:

• Wednesday, May 19, 2021 from 6:00 PM – 11:59 PM EDT
• 4:00 PM EDT on Friday, May 21, 2021 through 8:00 AM EDT on May 24, 2021

Production data flows will not be impacted during these maintenance windows. 

If you have any issues or questions, please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk using the options below.

Exchange Network Help Desk:

• Email: nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net
   
• Phone: 1-888-890-1995 (Select Option 1 and then Option 5 from the menu) 
  Available 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern

In the coming weeks, U.S. EPA will be migrating Shared CROMERR Services (SCS) to a new hosting environment. The migration, which will include SCS SOAP, REST, and advanced portal services, will take place on the following dates:

• May 14, 2021 – Dev and Test Environment
• June 4, 2021 – Production Environment 

Details

No SCS services endpoints will change after the migration. All endpoints will remain as follows:

• Dev endpoint – https://encromerrdev.epacdxnode.net
• Test endpoint – https://encromerrtest.epacdxnode.net
• Production endpoint – https://encromerr.epa.gov

All IP addresses WILL change after the migration.

IMPORTANT: IP ADDRESS CHANGES MAY REQUIRE PARTNERS TO ADJUST FIREWALL RULES TO ACCESS SCS SERVICES.

The new IP addresses will be:

• DEV: 40.71.227.82
• TEST: 204.47.254.135
• PROD: 204.47.254.197

U.S. EPA recommends testing SCS services in each of the respective environments based on the dates above to ensure no firewall changes are required.
 
Shared CROMERR Services Help Desk 
If you experience any difficulties or have questions, please contact the Shared CROMERR Services Help Desk.

• Email: sharedcromerrservices@epacdx.net
• Phone: 1-888-890-1995 (Select Option 1 and then Option 5 from the menu) 
  Available 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

**This message contains important details about changes to the Exchange Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS)** 

Thank you to all the teams that have worked patiently to help test and troubleshoot the updated NAAS TEST environment.

Based on the testing and resolution of almost all reported issues, the migration of the NAAS application is proceeding in PRODUCTION on Saturday, April 24th from 8am to 4pm.

After the migration, EPA and its contractors will be actively monitoring traffic, working with the Exchange Network Help Desk, and partnering with teams to address any reported issues as quickly as possible. Please continue to work with the Exchange Network Help Desk if you have any questions or concerns.

Reminders:

• The Exchange Network Help Desk can provide new Secure Authentication Keys if you need one for TEST or PRODUCTION.
   
• New TEST and PRODUCTION IP Addresses are listed below. If you have outbound firewall rules to the NAAS, please make sure you enable access to these IP Addresses:
  • TEST: 204.47.254.135
  • PRODUCTION: 204.47.254.197

EXCHANGE NETWORK HELP DESK

• Email: nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net
   
• Phone: 1-888-890-1995 (Select Option 1 and then Option 5 from the menu) 
  Available 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern

Beginning on April 23, U.S. EPA will be making updates to the Exchange Network Quality Assurance Server (QA Server). The QA Server currently provides a set of SOAP web services for synchronous and asynchronous XML schema validations, schematron validation, XML transformation via XSLT, and virus scanning.  

As part of this reengineering effort, the current QA Server will be updated and migrated to a new platform. Some older, unused functionality will be retired, but most of the current functionality will remain the same. Exchange Network partners typically interact indirectly with the QA Server when downloading schema validation reports for an Exchange Network data flow. Most partners should experience little to no impact from these changes. 

Here are some important highlights about the upcoming changes:

• The current endpoints for the QA Server will not change:
  • Test endpoint will remain https://tools.epacdxnode.net
  • Production endpoint will remain https://cdxtools.epa.gov
     
• Virus Scanning will no longer have its own Web Services Definition Language (WSDL). The method will be consolidated under the remaining WSDLs. Virus scanning can be performed synchronously with the Validator_v30.wsdl or asynchronously with the ValidatorEx_v30.wsdl.
   
• The Validator and ValidatorEx XSLT document transformation service and the Schematron validation service will be deprecated.
   
• 2 WSDLs will remain available for use:
  • Validator_v30.wsdl
  • ValidatorEx_v30.wsdl

Please see below for more information about the timeline and other considerations.
 
Timeline
The schedule for deploying the changes is as follows:

• Test Environment – April 23, 2021
• Production Environment – April 30, 2021

After changes deploy to the Test environment, you may test services using the new QA server. If you have any issues or questions, please contact the Exchange Network Node Help Desk (see contact information below).
 
Exchange Network Node Help Desk 
For any questions or comments, or to report testing issues, please contact the Exchange Network Node Help Desk via:

• Email: nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net

**This message contains important new details about previously reported changes to the Exchange Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS)** 
 
Thank you to all the teams that have helped test and provide feedback on the new TEST environment of the NAAS. Your responsiveness helps make the application better and helps EPA prepare for the forthcoming migration of the Production NAAS. At this time, EPA and its contractor team are still working with some organizations to help them diagnose and resolve issues with their applications, but the majority of teams’ issues have been resolved.
 
Here are some important updates on the ongoing migration process:

• NAAS Production Environment Cutover Pushed Back One Week
  In the interest of letting partners test more thoroughly and resolve as many issues as possible, EPA is delaying the Production NAAS cutover until the weekend of April 24^th. Once plans are finalized, we will send another EN Alert with a specific outage window.
   
• Policy and Access Denied Issues 
  This has been the most widespread issue reported to the EN Help Desk. The previous TEST NAAS implementation contained some blanket policies that allowed some TEST users to perform their work without having the correct policy credentials in place for their accounts. The new NAAS is enforcing policies correctly. Consequently, in the TEST environment, some users may need to request policies for the USER ACCOUNT and DATAFLOW that they are working in. Please continue to contact the EN Help Desk to have these policies put in place. So far, missing policies do not appear to be similarly widespread in Production. Further research is ongoing to prepare for the production cutover and ease agencies’ transitions.

Please continue to work with the EN Help Desk if you have any questions or concerns.
 
Reminders:

• The node help desk can provide new Secure Authentication Keys if you need one for TEST or PRODUCTION.
   
• New TEST and PRODUCTION IP Addresses are listed below. If you have outbound firewall rules to the NAAS, please make sure you enable access to these IP Addresses:
  • TEST: 204.47.254.135
  • PRODUCTION: 204.47.254.197

Exchange Network Help Desk

• Email: nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net
   
• Phone: 1-888-890-1995 (Select Option 1 and then Option 5 from the menu) 
  Available 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern

**This message contains important details about changes to the Exchange Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS)** 
 
On Monday, April 5^th at 6:00 PM EDT, U.S. EPA deployed changes to the TEST environment of the Exchange Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS). These changes are part of the previously reported migration to a new NAAS platform.
 
EPA is asking partner agencies to test their Exchange Network applications and data flows and report any issues to the Exchange Network Help Desk (see contact info below). Partners should test their ability to authenticate, submit, and solicit data with EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) in the TEST environment.
 
EPA is currently tracking a handful of issues that they hope to have resolved within the next 1-2 days. These include:

• Policy and Access Denied Issues – The previous NAAS implemented policy conditions inconsistently and some users were able to perform their work without being granted the necessary NAAS policies. The updated NAAS is enforcing policies correctly. If you are receiving an error that states “Access Denied” or “Access to the requested resource… is not permitted based on policy”, please reach out to the Exchange Network Help Desk and share the USER ACCOUNT that you are using and the DATA FLOW you need to access. The Help Desk will apply the correct policy for you.

• “Multiref” Error – Users may see an error message that states: “Message part multiRef was not recognized. (Does it exist in service WSDL?)”. This issue occurs when some NAAS v2 method parameters are transferred as multiRef elements rather than simple XML elements. This is a known issue for partners that are using v1 of the NGN Node. This issue affects NAAS v2 methods in: auth.wsdl, policy.wsdl, securitytoken.wsdl, usermgr.wsdl. NAAS v3 methods are unaffected.

• Validation report errors – The QA Server is having issues responding with validation reports. This is being rectified.

If you are experiencing these or any other connectivity issues with the NAAS TEST environment, please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk as soon as possible. This will allow support staff ample time to resolve issues before the planned migration of the NAAS Production environment on April 18^th.

The NAAS Production environment cutover is still planned to occur on the weekend of April 18^th, assuming successful testing by EN partner agencies. If partners are having trouble pinpointing or resolving issues in the TEST environment, EPA may delay the changes to PRODUCTION until the weekend of April 25th.
 
Please work with the Exchange Network Help Desk if you have any questions or concerns.

• The Help Desk can provide new Secure Authentication Keys if you need one for TEST or PRODUCTION.

• The new NAAS TEST and PRODUCTION IP addresses are listed below. If you have outbound firewall rules to the NAAS, please make sure you enable access to these IP addresses:
  • TEST: 204.47.254.135
  • PRODUCTION: 204.47.254.197

 Exchange Network Help Desk

• Email: nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net

• Phone: 1-888-890-1995 (Select Option 1 and then Option 5 from the menu) 
  Available 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern

The NAAS Backwards Compatibility Layer (BCL) has been deployed in the Development environment for the past week and is very stable. Thanks to the development teams that have helped test things so far. There are a few remaining small issues we need to verify and potentially work through with our teams. In an abundance of caution, we are delaying the cutover of the TEST NAAS one week to make the NAAS as fully ready for partners as possible.

• NAAS Test Environment Cutover – Is now planned to happen on Monday night, 6pm on April 5^th. We expect roughly two hours of downtime. At this point we will be asking teams to test the NAAS BCL, let us know if things are working for them, and work with us to help troubleshoot and resolve any issues that they may encounter.
• NAAS Production Environment Cutover – is still planned to occur the weekend of April 18^th , assuming testing can be verified by partners. If partners are having trouble pinpointing issues or resolving them after the test cutover, we may fall back to the following weekend, April 25th IF NECESSARY. 

Again, please work with the node help desk if you have any questions or concerns. Reminders:

• The node help desk can provide new Secure Authentication Keys if you need one for TEST or PRODUCTION.
• New TEST and PRODUCTION IPs are listed below. If you have outbound firewall rules to the NAAS, please make sure you enable access to these IPs:
  • TEST: 204.47.254.135
  • PRODUCTION: 204.47.254.197

NODE HELP DESK:
Phone: 888.890.1995
Email: nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net
https://www.exchangenetwork.net/about/contacts/network-help-desk/

**This message contains important new details about forthcoming changes to the Exchange Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS). The new information includes the migration date for the NAAS TEST environment.** 

As previously reported on March 8 and March 17, U.S. EPA is updating the Exchange Network’s security infrastructure known as the Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS). The current NAAS application will be migrated to a new platform. The system will retain all existing functionality and the re-platforming should be transparent to most users.  

EPA will perform the cutover for the TEST version of the NAAS at 6:00 PM EDT on Monday March 29, 2021. At that time, EPA will decommission the existing TEST NAAS and deploy the new TEST NAAS in its place.

Here is what to expect:

• Beginning at 6:00 PM EDT on March 29, EPA anticipates approximately 2 hours of downtime before the new TEST NAAS becomes available. The actual timing may vary so please plan accordingly.
• The new TEST NAAS should be fully available for testing beginning on the morning of March 30, 2021. 
• As previously reported, the URL for the TEST NAAS will not change. After the deployment completes, you will still be able to access the TEST NAAS at https://naas.epacdxnode.net. 
• The IP address for the new TEST NAAS will change to: 204.47.254.135. If your agency has firewall rules that allow traffic only with specific IP addresses, you will need to update your settings to allow access to this new IP address. 

Beginning on the morning of March 30, partner agencies should begin testing their Nodes and data flows against the new TEST NAAS environment. Please report any anomalies, questions, or errors to the Node Help Desk at:

• Email: nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net
• Phone: 1-888-890-1995 (Select Option 1 and then Option 5 from the menu) 
  Available 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern

EPA tentatively plans to deploy the new Production NAAS on April 19, 2021. Please begin making any necessary firewall adjustments and plan to adjust your data flow schedule to accommodate that timing. More details on precise migration date will be announced as soon as they are available.

• New Production NAAS IP Address: 204.47.254.197
• Production NAAS URL: https://cdxnodenaas.epa.gov

The application deadline for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Exchange Network (EN) Grant Program is quickly approaching! Applications are due to U.S. EPA by 11:59 PM Eastern Time, Wednesday, March 31, 2021.

Applicants can find a copy of the Solicitation Notice (SN) on the Grants.gov website at: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=331293. You can find additional guidance tools, including optional fillable templates, on both Grants.gov and on the EPA Exchange Network website. Remember to review the FY21 SN in full, as significant updates have been made since the FY20 version. 

For more information, please contact:

Erika Beasley
EN Grants Program Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
E: beasley.erika@epa.gov

**This message contains important new details about forthcoming changes to the Exchange Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS). The new information includes tentative migration dates and the new NAAS IP addresses. Please read this message in its entirety to understand if your agency or organization will be affected.** 

As previously reported on March 8, U.S. EPA is planning updates to the Exchange Network’s security infrastructure known as the Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS). The current NAAS application will be migrated to a new platform in the coming weeks. The system will retain all existing functionality and the re-platforming should be transparent to most users. Here are some important highlights about this upcoming change:  

• The current URLs for the NAAS will not change. 
• The IP addresses for the NAAS will be changing, so agencies with strict firewall rules will need to update them for the new IP addresses. See below for details. 
• Server security certificates will not be changing during this migration, so agencies will not need to adjust for new certificates.

Please see below for more information about anticipated timing and other considerations. If you have any questions or comments please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk (see contact information below).

Schedule and Downtime 
The anticipated schedule for re-platforming the NAAS is:

• New NAAS Test Environment
  Tentatively available on March 29, 2021
  Deployment planned for weekend of March 27-28 (expect service downtime during the weekend)
   
• New NAAS Production Environment 
  Tentatively available on April 19, 2021
  Deployment planned for weekend of April 17-18 (expect service downtime during the weekend)

EPA anticipates that the NAAS will be unavailable for part of the deployment weekends. EPA will communicate more specifics about the amount of downtime anticipated as that information becomes available. Watch for more details in a future EN Alert email. Please take note of this anticipated downtime and inform your agency’s Exchange Network users that they will not be able to connect to the Exchange Network or NAAS-supported applications during the NAAS platform change.

Testing
Once the NAAS Test environment has been migrated to the new platform, EPA will notify the Exchange Network community in an EN Alert email. This will open an opportunity for the community to help verify that the re-platformed NAAS services are continuing to operate normally. During this testing period, partner agencies should:

• Verify that your nodes / dataflows remain operational and are working normally. Unless your agency is covered by one of the exceptional situations below, the NAAS services in the TEST environment should continue to work normally for you without any need for intervention on your part.
• Please report any anomalies, questions, or errors to the Node Help Desk (see information below).

Exceptional Situations
In most cases, the NAAS re-platforming will be completely transparent and users will not need to take any action. The exceptions to that rule are listed below. Please read on to determine if your organization will be impacted by one of these situations. If you have questions, please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk (see below).

• Firewall Rules – After the migration, the IP addresses for the Test and Production NAAS will change. If you have an outbound firewall rule from your system to the current NAAS IP addresses, your agency will need to update your firewall rules to allow access to the new NAAS IP addresses below:

  
  Test NAAS
  New IP Address: 204.47.254.135
  URL: https://naas.epacdxnode.net
  Planned Effective Date: March 29, 2021

  Production NAAS
  New IP Address: 204.47.254.197
  URL: https://cdxnodenaas.epa.gov 
  Planned Effective Date: April 19, 2021
   

• Secure Authentication Key (SAK) – If your system communicates with the Exchange Network using a SAK, you will need to contact the Node Help Desk to obtain a new SAK.

Exchange Network Help Desk 
For any questions or comments, or to report testing issues, please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk at:

• Email: nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net
• Phone: 1-888-890-1995 (Select Option 1 and then Option 5 from the menu) 
  Available 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern

**This message contains important information about forthcoming changes to the Exchange Network Authentication and Authorization Service. Please read this message in its entirety to understand if your agency or organization will be affected.** 

U.S. EPA is planning updates to the Exchange Network’s security infrastructure known as the Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS). As part of a longer-term modernization effort, the current NAAS application will be migrated to a new platform in the coming weeks. The system will retain all existing functionality and the re-platforming should be transparent to most users. Here are some important highlights about this upcoming change:  

• The current URLs for the NAAS will not change. 
• The IP addresses for the NAAS will be changing, so agencies with strict firewall rules will need to update them for the new IP addresses. 
• Server security certificates will not be changing during this migration, so agencies will not need to adjust for new certificates.

Please see below for more information about anticipated timing and other considerations. Some details are still forthcoming, so watch for more information in future EN Alert emails. If you have any questions or comments please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk (see contact information below).

Timeline and Downtime 
The tentative schedule for re-platforming the NAAS is:

• NAAS Test Environment –  March 2021 (exact weekend dates TBA) 
• NAAS Production Environment – April 2021 (exact weekend dates TBA)

EPA anticipates that the NAAS will be unavailable for part of the cutover weekend. EPA will communicate more specifics about the dates and the amount of downtime anticipated as that information becomes available. Watch for more details in a future EN Alert email. Please take note of this weekend downtime and inform your agency’s Exchange Network users that they will not be able to connect to the Exchange Network or NAAS-supported applications during the NAAS platform change.

Testing
Once the NAAS Test environment has been migrated to the new platform, EPA will notify the Exchange Network community in an EN Alert email. This will open an opportunity for the community to help verify that the re-platformed NAAS services are continuing to operate normally. During this testing period, partner agencies should:

• Verify that your nodes / dataflows remain operational and are working normally. Unless your agency is covered by one of the exceptional situations below, the NAAS services in the TEST environment should continue to work normally for you without any need for intervention on your part.
• Please report any anomalies, questions, or errors to the Node Help Desk (see information below).

Exceptional Situations
In most cases, the NAAS re-platforming will be completely transparent and users will not need to take any action. The exceptions to that rule are listed below. Please read on to determine if your organization will be impacted by one of these situations. If you have questions, please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk (see below).

• Firewall Rules – After the migration, the IP addresses for the Test and Production NAAS will change. If you have an outbound firewall rule from your system to the current NAAS IP address, your agency will need to update your firewall rules to allow access to the new NAAS IP addresses. EPA will announce the new NAAS IP addresses in an EN Alert as soon as they are available. EPA will make every effort to provide this information at least 3 weeks prior to the cutover to allow time for partner agencies to adjust their firewall rules.
   
• Secure Authentication Key (SAK) – If your system communicates with the Exchange Network using a SAK, you will need to contact the Node Help Desk to obtain a new SAK.

Exchange Network Help Desk 
For any questions or comments, or to report testing issues, please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk at:

• Email: nodehelpdesk@epacdx.net
• Phone: 1-888-890-1995 (Select Option 1 and then Option 5 from the menu) 
  Available 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern

In support of the FY 2021 Exchange Network (EN) Grant cycle, the EPA is currently hosting a series of webinars to assist interested applicants. There are two remaining sessions scheduled, one on March 1^st (for tribal applicants) and one on March 8^th (for all applicant types). Please note that the connection information for the remaining webinars has been updated and is listed below.

The Exchange Network Grant Program website also hosts a copy of the webinar presentation document, accessible here: https://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/exchange-network-grant-program#Resources. A recording of a prior webinar session will also shortly be made available. Potential applicants are also encouraged to review the FAQs posted to this section of the website.   

Tribal SN Webinar Session:
Monday, March 1, 2021, 3:00 – 4:30pm ET

• TEAMS Presentation Link (Recommended Format) – Click here to join the meeting
• Dial-In Option (Audio Only) – Number:  1(202) 991-0477; Conf. ID: 859131039#

General SN Webinar Session:
Monday, March 8, 2021, 11:00 – 12:30pm ET

• TEAMS Presentation Link (Recommended Format)- Click here to join the meeting
• Dial-In Option (Audio Only) Number: 1(202) 991-0477; Conf. ID: 99735969#

Please direct any questions to Erika Beasley, Exchange Network Grants Program Manager, at beasley.erika@epa.gov.

Although not mandatory, EPA would appreciate if you would pre-register for webinar sessions by sending an email to Shela Poke-Williams (Poke-williams.shela@epa.gov) indicating the session you plan to attend and listing the participant name(s), organization, and state, tribe, or territory. Please note that EPA will maintain these records internally and they will not be shared with any third parties.

In support of the FY 2021 Exchange Network (EN) Grant cycle, U.S. EPA will host three webinars to assist interested applicants. The webinars will be held on February 22nd, February 25th, and March 8th. Each webinar will include the same presentation on the following topics: a brief overview of the EN Grants Program and FY 2021 timeline, critical elements of the Solicitation Notice, notable changes from FY 2020, an overview of new guidance materials and optional templates, and common mistakes to avoid. This will be followed by a question and answer session with participants. Please note that the sessions will end when all the participants’ questions have been addressed.
 
Notes on Joining the Webinars

• Note: The webinars will be given through Microsoft Teams, which can be joined by clicking the links provided below. Please note these links are different for each webinar.

• Note: To enter a meeting, click the appropriate link below; you will be prompted to ‘choose your video and audio options’. Select your audio preference (e.g. ‘computer audio’), ensure your camera is turned off, mute yourself, and then click ‘join meeting’.
  • During the call, you can unmute yourself to ask a question by clicking on the microphone icon (top of the screen).
  • Questions can also be typed into the TEAMS “Meeting Chat”.

Webinar Details and Connection Information

Monday, February 22, 2021, 2:00 – 3:30pm ET

• TEAMS Presentation Link (Recommended Format) – https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YmJhYWM1YjItN2VlZi00ZDM1LTkwNWEtNDM2MTE0YTU3NWIz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2288b378b3-6748-4867-acf9-76aacbeca6a7%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22c4bb078b-f507-47fe-9134-2f1d27f2a185%22%7d
• Dial-In Option (Audio Only) – Number: 1(202) 991-0477; Conf. ID: 641194269#

 
Thursday, February 25, 2021, 2:00 – 3:30pm ET

• TEAMS Presentation Link (Recommended Format)- https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_YmJhYWM1YjItN2VlZi00ZDM1LTkwNWEtNDM2MTE0YTU3NWIz%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2288b378b3-6748-4867-acf9-76aacbeca6a7%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22c4bb078b-f507-47fe-9134-2f1d27f2a185%22%7d
• Dial-In Option (Audio Only) Number: 1(202) 991-0477; Conf. ID: 985220193#

 
Monday, March 8, 2021, 11:00 – 12:30pm ET

• TEAMS Presentation Link (Recommended Format)- https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZDcxZjFjMGQtZDMzZC00ZTY0LTg4MTQtOWZkYThlYmIwMzEy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2288b378b3-6748-4867-acf9-76aacbeca6a7%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22c4bb078b-f507-47fe-9134-2f1d27f2a185%22%7d
• Dial-In Option (Audio Only) Number: 1(202) 991-0477; Conf. ID: 99735969#

 
Please direct any questions to Erika Beasley, Exchange Network Grants Program Manager, at beasley.erika@epa.gov.
 
Although not mandatory, U.S. EPA would appreciate if you would pre-register for webinar sessions by sending an email to Shela Poke-Williams (Poke-williams.shela@epa.gov) indicating the session you plan to attend and listing the participant name(s), organization, and state, tribe, or territory. Please note that EPA will maintain these records internally and they will not be shared with any third parties.

Please be advised that U.S. EPA will be conducting system maintenance and infrastructure improvements on Sunday, February 14, 2021 from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM EST. During this time, the Exchange Network, Shared CROMERR Services, and the EPA Central Data Exchange (CDX) may experience extended service outages or interruptions. Please plan accordingly and reschedule any activity planned during this window. 

If you have questions, you may contact the Exchange Network Help Desk. 

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Exchange Network (EN) Grant Program Solicitation Notice (SN) has been published to Grants.gov and is available here: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=331293. Applications are due to EPA by 11:59 PM Eastern Time, Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Additional guidance tools, including optional fillable templates, are available for applicants both on Grants.gov and on the EPA Exchange Network website. Applicants are encouraged to review the new FY21 SN in full, as significant updates have been made since the FY20 version. Information on applicant webinars will be provided shortly.

The purpose of Exchange Network (EN) grants are to foster better environmental management and decision-making through increased access to timely, high quality, environmental information. An applicant’s proposed project goals and outputs should align with one or more funding areas in the SN and EPA’s FY 2018-21 Strategic Plan Goal 3: Greater Certainty, Compliance, and Effectiveness, Objective 3.4: ‘Streamline and Modernize’.

EPA expects to award 25-35 grants of up to $400,000 each, totaling approximately $8,000,000 in FY21. Most awards will be in the $50,000 to $200,000 range. The exact number of grants will depend on the number of applications submitted to EPA by the application deadline, the amounts of proposed project budgets, and the quality of proposals.

EPA only accepts project proposals for EN grants submitted electronically through Grants.gov, unless applicants have a waiver. EPA anticipates that it will announce selection decisions around August 2021, and tentatively plans to issue awards by September 30, 2021.

For more information, please contact:

Erika Beasley
EN Grants Program Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
E: beasley.erika@epa.gov