In support of the FY 2018 Exchange Network (EN) Grant cycle, EPA will host three webinars to assist interested applicants. The webinars will be held at 1:00PM ET on December 6, December 12, and January 10. Topics will include a summary of the FY 2018 EN Grant program, new and modified solicitation notice content, administrative procedures for submitting applications, tips on writing a high-quality application, and a question and answer session for potential applicants.   

Webinar Details:

December 6, 2017, 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET
December 12, 2017, 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET
January 10, 2018, 1:00 – 2:00 PM ET
Audio: 1-866-299-3188; Conference Code: 202-566-0466#
Webinar Link: http://epawebconferencing.acms.com/sn-webinar/ 

An Adobe Connect account is not required to enter the webinar, simply log in as ‘Guest.’

Salena Reynolds
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202.566.0466
E: reynolds.salena [at] epa.gov

Beginning January 1, 2018  all grant applicants must use Workspace to submit applications through Grants.gov. EPA’s Office of Grants and Debarment is hosting a Grants.gov-led webinar session that will provide training and a demonstration on Workspace. No registration is required.   EPA will be recording the sessions for those who cannot attend and will post them on the training website listed below.   

See https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-grantsgov-workspace-training-grant-applicants-and-recipients  for additional details about the webinar and for the latest information.

How to Register:

You do not need to register. If you wish to attend, just go to the following link a few minutes before the webinar starts:  Grants.gov Workspace Training and Demo. There is no call in number – audio will be broadcast through your computer speakers or headphones.

 Webinar Details:

For all grant applicants:
Date: Monday December 4, 2017
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 PM EST

For tribal applicants:
Date Monday December 11, 2017
Time: 2:00 – 3:30 PM EST

Elizabeth January
Grants Competition Advocate’s Office
Office of Grants and Debarment
january.elizabeth@epa.gov

ECOS is accepting applications for a Project Manager to support the work of E-Enterprise for the Environment (EE) and the National Environmental Information Exchange Network (EN). The Project Manager works with senior staff at state environmental agencies, U.S. EPA, and tribes to support the operation of the EN, and to facilitate its deeply connected and formative role in EE.

To apply for this position, send a resume and cover letter to ecos[at]ecos.org byNovember 30 with subject “Application for Project Manager.”

See more information here.

Carolyn Hanson
Deputy Director
Environmental Council of the States
(202) 266-4920

The FY 2018 Exchange Network Grant Solicitation is undergoing EPA internal review. The application deadline will not be November 17, 2017 as listed in the draft version. EPA hopes to publish the final version of the solicitation notice in November. The deadline for applications will be at least 45-60 days from that point, likely January or February. The final notice will be announced with an EN Alert and at epa.gov/exchangenetwork. Please address questions to ENGrantProgram@epa.gov.

Devon Martin
Program Analyst
Information Exchange Partnership Branch
Office of Environmental Information
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(202) 566-2603

A new schema for the RCRA data flow has been released – RCRAInfo v5.5. Partners use the Exchange Network to submit data to EPA’s RCRAInfo system, the national program management and inventory system for hazardous waste handlers.

This version addresses new Handler fields associated with the New Generator Rule that came out in June of 2017 as well as the Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement changes for the V6 RCRAInfo application.

RCRA data flow v5.4 will still be supported.

The new resources can be found here. 

Contact:

Jimmy Yin
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
703.347.0273
yin.jianchu@epa.gov 

The FY 2018 National Environmental Information Exchange Network Grant Program Solicitation Notice is now available at https://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/exchange-network-grant-program.  Applications are due to EPA by January 26, 2018.

The primary outcome expected from Exchange Network (EN) assistance agreements is improved access to, and exchange of, high-quality environmental data from public and private sector sources. With this outcome in mind, applications should demonstrate support for and results toward EN program priorities.

In FY 2018, EPA expects to award about $6 million for 20-25 assistance agreements for EN projects. Most awards will be in the $50,000 to $300,000 range. Awards for an individual assistance agreement cannot exceed $200,000. EPA may make a limited number of awards to collaborative, partnership assistance agreements. Budgets for these projects cannot exceed $400,000.  The exact number of assistance agreements will depend on the final amount of EPA’s appropriation for the EN grant program, the number of applications submitted to EPA by the application deadline, the amounts of proposed budgets, and the outcome of application reviews.

EPA only accepts project proposals for EN assistance agreements submitted electronically through Grants.gov, unless applicants have a waiver. EPA anticipates that it will announce selection decisions in or around June 2018, and tentatively plans to issue awards by July 31, 2018.

For more information, please contact EPA’s Salena Reynolds at reynolds.salena [at] epa.gov.

Salena Reynolds
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: (202) 566-0466
E: reynolds.salena [at] epa.gov

• Section I.E – Program Priorities: This section covers the priorities of the Exchange Network Grant Program for FY 2018, all grant proposals should align with at least one of these priorities.
• Section V.A – Evaluation Criteria: This section lays out the criteria by which proposals will be reviewed.
• Appendix A – Programmatic Data Exchange Opportunities: This section contains information from EPA Program Offices about Exchange Network data exchange opportunities offered by their program.
• Appendix B – Foundational EN Shared Services: A new addition this year, this section provides additional information on opportunities for partners to integrate core EN shared services into their systems/programs.
• Appendix D – Strengthening Partner Information Management Capabilities: Another new addition this year, this section contextualizes the importance of capacity building for the EN.

• Date/Time: Wednesday, September 6, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Eastern
• Registration link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5123260575770177281
• Call-in number: +1 (213) 929-4212
• Attendee access code: 323-370-677. Your audio PIN will be shown after joining the webinar.

• Introductions and E-Enterprise Facility Background
• Facility Phase II overview and deliverables
• Preliminary next steps
• Closing Remarks & Questions

• ePermitting ROI Metrics Calculator
• Slide presentation
• June 27 Open Call recording

As a vital step of EPA’s implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order 13777, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,” EPA’s Regulatory Reform Task Force is evaluating existing regulations and making recommendations regarding those that can be repealed, replaced or modified to make them less burdensome.  As part of this effort, EPA is seeking public input to help identify such regulations through an open public comment period which closes on May 15.  Public comments can be submitted to the docket number EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190 on www.regulations.gov.  In addition, certain EPA program offices are conducting public meetings and teleconferences to provide the Task Force public feedback by May 15.
 
EPA’s Office of Environmental Information (OEI) has scheduled an Open Call on its Shared Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR) Services (SCS) and opportunities for regulatory reform on May 11, 2017, at 2 p.m. The purpose of the call is to discuss the CROMERR approval process as well as what more OEI can do to help with CROMERR implementation. If participants want to provide written feedback about CROMERR, those comments should be submitted to the agency-wide docket by May 15: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190.
 
For additional information on EPA’s regulatory reform efforts, please visit EPA’s newly launched webpage, which includes a list of upcoming meetings or teleconferences at: https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/regulatory-reform.
 
Meeting Information:
Date/Time: Thursday, May 11, 2017, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Eastern
Conference Line: 866-299-3188
Participant Code: 202-566-1694
Web Conference: https://cgifederal.webex.com/join/mike.kearns
 
Agenda:
– Introductions and CROMERR Background (2:00 p.m.)
– CROMERR Shared Services (2:15 p.m.)
– Stakeholder Feedback on CROMERR (2:45 p.m.)
– Closing Remarks (3:25 p.m.)
 
Contact: Devon Martin – U.S. EPA OEI – 202-566-2603 – martin.devon@epa.gov

EPA’s Office of Environmental Information will be conducting an open call on its Shared Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Rule (CROMERR) Services (SCS). Over the past couple of years, EPA has been assisting States and other co-regulators in implementing electronic reporting programs by developing and managing CROMERR compliant services centrally and offering these services to co-regulators as needed to reduce time and money from developing and maintaining these services independently. EPA will present the latest enhancements and alternatives available to co-regulators and discuss the processes and roles for integrating and managing SCS. State testimonials on implementation of these services are also being sought so they can be shared with the rest of the Exchange Network partners.

This open call will be held on May 11 at 2:00 Eastern time. Existing SCS implementers and those planning to implement new electronic reporting programs in their agencies may be interested in attending.

Meeting Information:
Date/Time: Thursday May 11, 2017, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EST
Conference Line- 866-299-3188
Participant Code- 202-566-1694
Web Conference- https://cgifederal.webex.com/join/mike.kearns

_________________________________

Charles Freeman
Associate Director
Information Exchange and Services Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(202) 566-1694

EPA is pleased to announce that version 5.4 of the RCRAInfo Data Exchange is now available at https://www.exchangenetwork.net/data-exchange/rcrainfo/. Partners use the Exchange Network to submit data to EPA’s RCRAInfo system, the national program management and inventory system for hazardous waste handlers.

For more information, please contact EPA’s Lori Furr at furr.lori [at] epa.gov.

Lori Furr
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 703.605.0596
E: furr.lori [at] epa.gov

EPA is pleased to announce that version 2.4 of the Beach Notification schema has been approved and is now available at https://www.exchangenetwork.net/data-exchange/beach-notification.

The Beach Notification data exchange allows for the reporting of beach meta data, contact information, and beach advisory and closing data. Version 2.4 can be used now and will be required for reporting 2017 Beach Season data.

For more information, please contact EPA’s Bill Kramer at kramer.bill [at] epa.gov.

Bill Kramer
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202.566.0385
E: kramer.bill [at] epa.gov

The Exchange Network and E-Enterprise community convene EN/EE Open Calls to increase information sharing among Partners. These calls are an opportunity for the community to gather and discuss topics of interest.

The next Open Call, to be held November 30, 2016, at 2:30pm ET, is entitled Tools for First Responders: Washington State’s EPCRA App and the Homeland Emergency Response Exchange Data Flow.

During the first half of the Open Call, Ken Zarker and David Sage, Washington Department of Ecology, will address Washington State’s Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) App. Available for both Android and iOS, this first-of-a-kind mobile app allows authorized fire departments or other emergency responders to access EPCRA data directly from Washington Department of Ecology’s database. The app has been downloaded more than 500 times by first responders.

Next, Pat McDermott, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, will discuss the Homeland Emergency Response Exchange (HERE) data exchange. HERE allows Partners involved in emergency response planning and implementation to share available environmental, health, and natural resource information. Using the HERE flow, emergency planners can quickly identify potential dangers posed by chemical inventories or hazardous waste storage, allowing response teams to assess threats to drinking water infrastructure or other environmental interests.

To participate in the Open Call, please pre-register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1425174156444612868.

Note that we are using GoToWebinar® for the Open Call. Participants will enter the audio portion muted. To participate in the Q and A, please join the conversation via phone and enter the audio pin that appears on your GoToWebinar dashboard. If you must use your computer audio, please ensure you have a headset and speaker.

For more information or to suggest topics for future EN/EE Open Calls, please contact Lynn Capuano at lynn [at] exchangenetwork.net.

Lynn Capuano
E-Enterprise/Exchange Network Coordinator
P: 516.744.0307
E: lynn [at] exchangenetwork.net

December 12, 2016, Update: 

Two PowerPoint presentations with more information on the EPCRA App, are available for download below:

Presentation 1   

Presentation 2

The Reusable Component Services (RCS) is a central registry for Exchange Network Partners to share information about available technical resources. RCS provides metadata about technical resources available to developers, such as web services, schema, widgets, and other tools. The information in RCS promotes sharing and reuse of resources, whether from direct use or from information sharing, resulting in standardization across environmental applications. RCS is a component of the centralized System of Registries (SoR), which provides access to a set of registry systems.

Available at https://www.exchangenetwork.net/data-exchange/rcs/, the new Version 1.1 of the RCS data exchange allows Partners to use web services to access data from RCS. Service queries pull standardized information about all resources matching a particular resource type.

John Harman
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202.566.0748
E: harman.john [at] epa.gov

Planning is well underway for EN2017! The 2017 Exchange Network National Meeting will be held May 16-18, 2017, in Philadelphia. The EN2017 Program Committee is currently accepting abstracts for proposed presentations. If you would like to deliver a presentation, we would love to hear from you!

The theme for the 2017 National Meeting is Innovation and Partnership. During the Meeting, we will be exploring examples of:

• How innovation can cross Federal, State, Territorial, and Tribal boundaries;
• How working creatively together as Partners can identify innovative solutions;
• How Partnerships are the new “best practice”; and
• How we can all employ innovation in our daily work.

If you are interested in presenting, please email a concise description of your proposed presentation to Greg McNelly at gmcnelly [at] ecos.org by December 1, 2016. Complete instructions, an example presentation proposal, and key dates for all EN2017 Presenters are available at https://www.exchangenetwork.net/en2017-presenters-instructions/. Your participation will help us make EN2017 the best National Meeting yet!

For all the latest information about EN2017, please visit https://www.exchangenetwork.net/en2017, subscribe to EN Alerts, and follow @Ex_Network on Twitter (#EN2017).

Connie Dwyer, EN2017 Tri-Chair
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202.566.1691
E: dwyer.connie [at] epa.gov

Frank Harjo, EN2017 Tri-Chair
Muscogee (Creek) Nation
P: 918.549.2510
E: fharjo [at] mcn-nsn.gov

Victoria Phillips, EN2017 Tri-Chair
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
P: 617.292.5956
E: victoria.phillips [at] state.ma.us