Toxics Release Inventory – Made Easy Web (TRI-MEweb)
The Toxics Release Inventory – Made Easy Web (
TRI-MEweb) is a Web-based application that enables facilities to file a paperless TRI report, significantly reducing data
errors and allowing instant receipt confirmation of submissions.
TRI-MEweb requires no downloads or software installs and is EPA's preferred method for reporting toxic chemical
releases under the TRI Program. The deadline to submit TRI forms is midnight EST July 1. The following questions and answers will help you understand how to use
TRI-MEweb.
Facility accounts are added to TRI-MEweb using a 5-6 digit alphanumeric access key. A facility account within TRI-MEweb may contain up to five reporting
years (RY) of TRI data that the facility submittedto EPA (RY 2005-RY 2010). If you do not see your facility account on the Welcome page of TRI-MEweb or your facility
is reporting for the first time to TRI, please follow the instructions below.
Has your facility reported in prior years to TRI?
If your facility has reported TRI data in previous years, a TRI facility identification number (TRIFID) should have been
assigned to your facility location. The TRIFID never changes, even if ownership of the facility changes. A six to seven digit code called an Access Key is assigned to
each TRIFID in order to load previous year's TRI data into the TRI-MEweb application. Access codes are sent to preparers annually after the TRI-MEweb
application is released. Call the CDX Helpdesk to find out your access code. Instructions:
- Click the “Manage List” icon on the Welcome page, you will go to the “My Facilities” page, click the
“Add” icon to add a new facility profile to your list. You have 2 options to add a prior reporting facility:
- Enter your technical contact information from last year in option 1, or
- Enter your access code in option 2. Access codes are sent via email by CDX to your technical contact no later than January of every year.
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Is your facility reporting for the first time to TRI?
If your facility has never reported to TRI, TRI-MEweb can assign your facility a new TRIFID.
Instructions:
- New in RY 2011! New preparers with CDX accounts will be prompt upon opening TRI-MEweb for the first time to determine if they are a new reporting facility or to use their access key to load the facility account for a returning facility.
- Enter your facility location information if your facility has never reported to TRI before, verify that a TRIFID has never been assigned before to your facility location, and print the page where your new TRIFD and access key have been generated for your new reporting facility.
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Starting your chemical report?
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To begin a RY 2011 TRI Form R and/or A for a chemical that has been filed in previous years, you have three (3) options:
- Loading your pre-loaded year chemical report - Click on the (+) next to each TRIFID in your TRI-MEweb Welcome page to view all chemical forms created in the past 5 years
for each facility in the Forms Summary table. Select the reporting year (default is 2011) to view your list of chemical submissions, and click the Prepare link next
to the chemical name for which you wish to begin a new chemical report for the selected reporting year. New in RY 2011! This will open a new window that will ask the preparer to click on an "Add Form" button to begin a blank Form R or A, or to click on the "Import data" button to import dynamically the most current data EPA has in our databases to prepopulate your TRI Form with the chemical release data submited in the prior year.
- Creating a new chemical report -new method. Click on the (+) next to each TRIFID in your TRI-MEweb Welcome page. On the bottom of the Forms Summary table, there is a link that will create new RY 2011 chemical report for you.
- Creating a new chemical report - old method. Navigate through the application by clicking on the “Prepare” tab > “Select Year” (i.e., 2011) >
“Select Facility” (pick your facility) > “Forms” (select TRI Form R or A) > “Select a Form” - add chemical by clicking on “Add”.
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New Preparer-New Reporting Facility
As a new reporter, your facility will not have any prior year data preloaded in the TRI-MEweb database. To create a new chemical report you have two options.
- New! Creating a new chemical report-new method. Click on the (+) next to each TRIFID in your TRI-MEweb Welcome page. Thi will open the Forms Summary table. On the bottom of the Forms Summary table, there is a link that will create
a new RY 2011 chemical report for you.
- Creating a new chemical report - old method. Navigate through the application by clicking on the “Prepare” tab > “Select Year”
(i.e., 2011) > “Select Facility” (pick your facility) > “Forms” (select TRI Form R or A) > “Select a Form” - add chemical by clicking on “Add”.
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A preparer must verify that his/her designated certifying official has an EPA approved Electronic Signature Agreement (ESA) for each facility. If the reporting facility has a new certifying official this year, he/she must submit a new ESA to EPA. Approval of the ESA is needed before TRI forms transmitted to CDX can be certified and thereby fulfill the reporting requirements under EPCRA Section 313. Contact the CDX HelpDesk at (888) 890-1995 or via email (
helpdesk@epacdx.net) to inquire about the status of your ESA.
More information on ESA process...
Upon completing data entry for each chemical form, the preparer is ready to correct any error detected by the data validation checks that are built into TRI-MEweb.
TRI-MEweb identifies three type of errors, 1- critical errors that need to be fixed before TRI Form is allowed to be transmited to CDX in order to be certified, 2- possible errors that EPA believes are incorrect and need to be reviewed by preparer, however the transmisison of TRI Form is allowed, and 3- data quality alerts that indicates that a data point entered is inaccurate, significant or may have exceeded the normal threshold reported for the chemical release that is being reported.
TRI data must be entered correctly (no critical errors must be present in TRI Form) by the preparer before the data can be transmitted to CDX to be certified. The data validation error report contans links named "fix" that take the preparer to the specific TRI Form Section where any critical or potential validation errors were found in the TRI Form R or Form A.
Once all critical and potential errors are addressed, the preparer can proceeed to transmit the submission to CDX to be certified.
The certification process is a two step process. When the preparer is ready to transmit the facility's TRI forms to CDX to be certified, the transmission process will begin in TRI-MEweb. When the TRI Form is transmitted to CDX by TRI-MEweb, it will be held (not processed) until the designated certifying official logs in into their CDX account and opens the certification module in their MyCDX window. The certification module is where the facility certifying official will review data transmitted and proceed to it certification, thus completing the EPCRA Section 313 reporting requirements.
New in RY 2011! Upon successfully transmitting TRI forms to CDX, the preparer can check the status of the transmitted submission in the TRI-MEweb within Pending Submission Summary Table by clicking on the “Review” tab and scrolling down to the first table.
EPA sends a notification email to the designated certifying official(s) when an electronic TRI submission has been transmitted to
CDX and is awaiting certification by the facility's certifying official.
The certifying official will log into his/her CDX account (or create a new CDX account, if necessary). All new certifiers will be required
to have mailed a signed Electronic Signature Agreement (ESA) for EPA approval before they can certify any pending submissions in CDX. The certifying official
is the person designated to verify that transmitted data is correct. TRI forms must be certified by the facility's certifying official to fulfill the TRI
reporting requirements.
Important! Uncertified electronic submissions created in TRI-MEweb will not be accepted as a submission fulling meeting EPCRA section 313 reporting requirements. The absenceof a certification will prevent the submission from being processed by EPA.
Uncertified submissions will result in a Notice of Significant Error (NOSE) if they remain
uncertified after the July 1st reporting deadline. A facility must respond to a Notice of Significant Error within 21 days of receipt. Failure to respond within
the initial 21-day requirement could result in the issuance of a Notice of Noncompliance (NON). A Notice of Noncompliance is not included in a Facility Data
Profile (FDP) and is mailed separately.
Upon the certifying official verifying that a facility’s TRI form submission is valid and submitting the form to EPA, TRI-MEweb will provide a receipt
that can be viewed by selecting the radio button next the submission in question and clicking on the "Details" button on the bottom of the
Certified Submission Form Table. An email notification is also sent to the preparer and certifying officials that notifies them that a TRI submission has been successfully
processed by EPA's Data Processing Center.
Facilities that reside in a state participating in the TRI Data Exchange will have their TRI forms sent simultaneously to EPA and their state TRI representative via the
Environmental Information Exchange Network.
For states not on the TRI Data Exchange, TRI-MEweb allows facilities to generate disk/CD submissions for their state . However, please
note that EPA will not accept submissions generated of such media type.
