Overview for Regulated Entities Reporting Directly to EPA

How & When Does It Apply?

CROMERR Applies To:

Persons or entities that submit electronic reports or documents to EPA.
Authorized programs that receive electronic reports or documents.

CROMERR Does Not Apply To:

Documents submitted by fax, magnetic media such as floppy disks, or optical media such as CDs.
Submissions not under 40 CFR.

What is CROMERR?

EPA's Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Regulation (CROMERR) provides the legal framework for electronic reporting to EPA and states, tribes, and local governments (hereafter referred to simply as "delegated programs") that are authorized to administer EPA programs. CROMERR is intended to reduce the cost and burden of electronic reporting while maintaining the level of corporate and individual responsibility and accountability that exists in the paper environment.

I report directly to EPA, what does CROMERR mean for me?

All EPA systems that were receiving electronic reports as of October 13, 2005, are designated as acceptable to continue to receive those reports for a two-year period; and, you may continue to follow existing procedures to submit reports to such systems until October 13, 2008, or until EPA publishes a notice that announces changes to, or a migration from the systems.

Under CROMERR, electronic reporting directly to EPA requires submission through EPA's Central Data Exchange (CDX), or to another system designated by EPA for the receipt of the electronic report in question. If you follow the procedures established by CDX (or another designated system) for document preparation, signature and submission, and your documents are successfully received by CDX (or another designated system), your submission will comply with CROMERR. Your submissions must include valid electronic signatures in those cases where handwritten signatures would have been required for the paper-base submissions, and the electronic signatures will have the same legal force as the handwritten signatures.

For which of my submissions can I use CDX?

Information on the submissions that CDX currently accepts can be found on the CDX Web site (http://www.epa.gov/cdx/). Whenever CDX or another EPA-designated system is ready to accept additional electronic submissions, EPA will publish an announcement in the Federal Register, and will provide information of the procedures for electronic submission of the affected reports. For submissions that CDX accepts, the CDX Web site will provide instructions concerning the format required for data submission, registration procedures, and requirements for electronic signatures.

What doesn't CROMERR do?

CROMERR is designed to facilitate electronic reporting under environmental programs. It does not mandate that EPA institute electronic reporting or that regulated entities use electronic reporting for reporting directly to EPA, but it also does not prohibit electronic reporting from being required by other regulations. CROMERR also does not:

Change any substantive reporting requirements that appear elsewhere in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations;
Change any substantive reporting requirements under authorized state, tribe, or local programs;
Confer any right or privilege to submit data electronically;
Require any EPA-authorized state, tribe, or local government program to accept electronic documents;
Affect the submission of any electronic document via magnetic or optical media (e.g., diskette, compact disk, or tape) or fax; and
Impose any new or additional signature requirements than required in paper form.

More Information

David Schwarz	Evi Huffer
Senior Program Analyst	Senior Program Analyst
Office of Environmental Information	Office of Environmental Information
(202) 566-1704	(202) 566-1697
David Schwarz (schwarz.david@epa.gov)	Evi Huffer (huffer.evi@epa.gov)

EPA's CROMERR Web site

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