Jump to main content.

Questions and Answers: General Project Issues


ECMPS Additional Information

New FAQs appear at the beginning of each section.

Q: Has the Office of Management and Budget officially approved the new ECMPS schedule?

A: As of December 13, 2005, the Office of Management and Budget has officially approved the revised ECMPS schedule.

Q: Based on the new time line, Beta testing will begin in 2007. How does a source become a Beta tester and how will the test period be managed by EPA?

A: Any source who wants to take part in the Beta test period should contact Laurel DeSantis at desantis.laurel@epa.gov. Beta testers will need to have an installed Client Tool. In addition, Beta testers will be required to have a User ID and password which will enable them to have access to the CAMD Host System used for Beta testing. The User ID and password will be supplied by the EPA, and the User ID and password are only used to access Beta testing data. During the 2007 ECMPS Beta test period, sources must submit their official data through the current ETS-FTP process. The data submitted through the current ETS-FTP process will be used for compliance.

Q: Now that EPA has extended the implementation time line for the ECMPS process from 2007 to 2009, will the schedule of deliverables be extended as well?

A: No. While the implementation time line was extended, EPA did not extend the time for development.

Q: EPA has stated that there will be both an Alpha test period and a Beta test period. What is the difference? Who will EPA allow to test during these test periods?

A: The Alpha test period is currently scheduled to begin in April of 2006. EPA anticipates that the following functionality will be available for testing: web services (which includes authentication of the user, retrieval of monitoring plan and QA data, and the submission of monitoring plan, QA and emissions data), file import and file export for monitoring plan, QA and emissions data, a limited set of checks and reports. EPA will be able to support a limited number of testers during the Alpha period.

The Beta test period, to begin in early 2007, is open to all stakeholders, and will test most aspects of the ECMPS process, including the functionality made available during the Alpha test period.

Q: What is the time line for testing and implementing the process? Will there be a transition period during which both the current and new processes can be used?

A: At the request of EPA, a number of comments were submitted after the February 17, 2005, ECMPS stakeholder meeting regarding the planned implementation schedule for the new process. We asked for comments to help us justify the schedule and changes we must request from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in order to alter our budget. The comments received were universal in their call for two things; (1) more time was needed for sources to load and test the new process and systems at their facilities, and (2) time was needed to transition from the old process to the new process before the required implementation date. The schedule as outlined at previous meetings called for development to take place in 2005, testing of the new process and systems in 2006, and implementation by all sources for the 1st quarter 2007 reporting period. This schedule, EPA was told, did not allow enough time for testing and provided no time to transition from the old process to the ECMPS process.

The ECMPS project team met to discuss the feedback and to develop a new project time line.

Q: How does EPA plan to handle reporting during the planned "test period"? Will all utilities be required to participate in tests? Will "test" submissions be used for compliance or will utilities have to submit two reports during the period?

A: During the initial Beta testing period starting in 2007, sources who participate will need to retain the ability to generate EDRs using the current flat file format. These EDRs will remain the official submissions during this testing period, and will be used for compliance. Although not required to participate in Alpha and Beta testing, in order to best test the ECMPS process, it is recommended that sources have software that can generate the new XML data files.

Although EPA originally indicated that sources may elect to have data submitted through the ECMPS Client Tool count as their official submission during 2007, it has been determined that budget constraints will not enable EPA to support both formats in 2007. Data used for compliance purposes must be submitted in the EDR flat file format.

In 2008, EPA will release the official version of the ECMPS Client Tool. During this transition period, sources are encouraged to use the Client Tool for submissions but may submit using the EDR v2.x as needed to allow time for implementing the necessary DAHS upgrades. New sources may only use the new ECMPS Client Tool process.

Q: What are your plans for the monitoring plan test files? Are you converting actual site plans to XML?

A: The monitoring plan XML test files that will be posted on EPA's website will be based on actual monitoring plans from selected sites. The monitoring plan XML test files are generated from the ECMPS Client Tool using the file export functionality.

Q: I noticed in the entity table that there is an entity named Certification Application. Is this meant to replace the paper Certification Application?

A: The Certification Application entity will provide the information that is currently reported on the paper Certification Application form (at least), but there will still be a hardcopy Certification Application submission to the State/Local agency because it includes test information that is not part of the electronic submission. The Certification Application needs to be submitted electronically so it can be tracked and responded to properly.

Q: Will a phased-in approach for the new process be acceptable? Will sources be able to use the old system for some units and the new system for other units until we are comfortable with the new process?

A: Yes, under the proposed new time line for the ECMPS project, sources will have two years to test and transition to the new process. Sources will be able to use the current ETS-FTP process for some units while testing the new process for other units. During the 2008 transition year, all the units for a facility must submit using either the current system or the new ECMPS system.

Q: What type of outreach is planned for non-members of EPRI?

A: EPA has worked very hard to reach out to all sources affected by the change in process, whether they are affiliated with the Electric Power Research Institute or not. A convenient way to reach a large number of affected sources is to take advantage of industry conferences and meetings, such as EPRI's annual CEM User Group meeting. However, EPA will continue to attend industry conferences, trade group meetings, EPA scheduled meetings and trainings, and send communications through Email and the ECMPS web site. Suggestions for ways to reach out to non-utility and industrial sources are always welcome.

Top of Page

 

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.