ECMPS Support

In observance of Independence Day, the ECMPS Technical Support Help Desk will be closed on Tuesday, July 4th.

The ECMPS Technical Support Help Desk will also be closed on the following upcoming holidays:

• Labor Day - Monday, September 4, 2017
• Thanksgiving Day - Thursday, November 23, 2017
• Christmas Day - Monday, December 25, 2017

You can view the full technical support holiday schedule here.

Labels: Technical Support

The first day of the 2017 Q2 reporting period is Saturday, July 1, 2017. However, the EPA Host System will be offline for maintenance starting at 5pm ET Friday, June 30, 2017, and will be available again the morning of Monday, July 3.

While the EPA Host System is unavailable, the following functionality is not available in the Client Tool: synchronize, retrieve, and submit. During that time, users can only work with the Client Tool "offline".

Sources required to report 2017 Q2 emissions data under the Acid Rain Program (ARP), the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and the Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS) rule have until the end of the day on Monday, July 31, 2017 to submit their emissions data to the EPA using the ECMPS Client Tool.

During this reporting period, the EPA expects to receive approximately 4,000 emissions data submissions. Sources are encouraged to begin working on their submissions as early as possible in order to give themselves sufficient time to complete all submissions by the deadline.

Start Early

With the large volume of submissions expected, we encourage sources to start working with their data as soon as possible. If you have questions you will get a faster response to your technical support request the earlier in the month you submit your request. If you wait until later in the month to begin working with your data and you run into problems that require technical support, your request will be added to a much longer queue of technical support requests.

Technical Support Information

Information on getting technical support through the resources on the ECMPS Support website or by submitting a technical support request has all been consolidated in the website's Help section. Technical support would like to highlight that, as necessary, FAQs and Known Issues will continue to be updated throughout the submission period. Hours for technical support are listed on the Contact Us page.

Resubmission Requests

Requests to resubmit QA or emissions data should be made using the Resubmission Request Form.

Keep Up-To-Date

To keep up-to-date with ECMPS News items, we would suggest subscribing to the ECMPS News.

You can receive the ECMPS News posts via email by subscribing to ECMPS News or adding the ECMPS News feed to your RSS Reader. To subscribe via email, simply enter your email address in the box provided on the upper right part of the ECMPS News page and click the Subscribe button. To receive the RSS feed, click on the RSS feed link located at the bottom of every page on the website.

Labels: Scheduled Outage, Technical Support

Through a recent ad-hoc data audit, EPA identified some errors with reported load range (load bin) data. To prevent such errors in the future, EPA has implemented new informational checks in the 2017 Q2 release of ECMPS, and has attempted to clarify the reporting of load range data in the revised emissions reporting instructions. These checks are currently informational, but may be elevated to critical in a future release. Please note that these programming changes represent enhanced validation of existing requirements. They are not new reporting requirements.

Specifically, EPA identified four types of errors during the audit. The 2017 Q2 ECMPS Release includes checks for these errors:

• Misreporting of zero values: Zero values for load range data were occurring for units where hourly operating time was greater than zero. Leave this element blank (do not report zeros) for any clock hour in which a load-based unit does not operate or gases do not flow through the stack (as applicable). Also leave this element blank for LME units and non-load-based units that do not use operating bins for missing data purposes.
• Unnecessary reporting at unmonitored locations: Reporting of load range values for locations other than the monitoring location is not necessary. Load range values should only be reported at the unit or stack monitoring location using load-based missing data substitution for one or more monitored parameters. For example, if Unit 1 discharges through two stacks, MS1FGD and MS1BYP, and emissions are monitored only at MS1FGD, only report the MS1FGD load range number in the stack-level HOURLY OPERATING DATA record.
• Incorrect common stack reporting: Common stack load range values of 1-20 were being misreported. For a common stack with a stack flow monitor, if you have elected to establish 20 load bins for missing data substitution purposes, report the appropriate load bin number using the COMMON STACK LOAD RANGE data element. If you are reporting for a common stack and are only establishing 10 load bins, you should use the LOAD RANGE data element.
• Incorrect calculation: Load range values were being calculated incorrectly likely due to use of the wrong MAXIMUM LOAD VALUE. The load ranges must be calculated using the reported hourly load and MAXIMUM LOAD VALUE associated with the respective hour in the monitoring plan.

Labels: Check Specifications, Technical Support Tip

The 2017 Quarter 2 Release of the Client Tool is now available.  The Client Tool must be upgraded to the 2017 Q2 version in order to report data in the next reporting period which begins on July 1, 2017.

More information about what is included in the release is shown in the Release Notes.

In order to use the Client Tool, you must be a Designated Representative (DR), Alternate Designated Representative (ADR), or an ECMPS agent for a representative. In addition, you must have a CAMD Business System (CBS) user name, current CBS password, and have completed a CROMERR Subscriber Agreement Form.

All current users of the Client Tool will be prompted to upgrade to this latest version the next time each user logs in to the EPA Host System. For more information about the Update Service which updates the Client Tool, watch the Update Service tutorial.

All new users of the Client Tool should download and install the 2017 Q2 version of the Client Tool. Users are urged to follow all instructions on the ECMPS Support website and to consult the Installation Guide for step-by-step instructions on how to install the Client Tool.

In order to insure that all technical support questions are tracked and answered, EPA has requested that all technical support questions, including installation questions, be submitted to ECMPS Technical Support.

Labels: Release Schedule Information, Technical Support Tip

In preparation for the 2017 Q2 release scheduled for June 14, 2017, the Reporting Instructions, Check Specifications, and XSD documentation have been updated. The new versions are currently available on the Reporting Documentation page.

In order to prepare for the release of the next version of the ECMPS Client Tool, the EPA Host System will be unavailable beginning around 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, June 13, 2017. The EPA Host System will again be available on Wednesday, June 14, after the new version of the Client Tool has been released.

The EPA Host System will also be offline for maintenance starting the afternoon of Friday, June 16, 2017, and will be available again the evening of Sunday, June 18.

While the EPA Host System is unavailable, the following functionality is not available in the Client Tool: synchronize, retrieve, and submit. During that time, users can only work with the Client Tool "offline".

Labels: Release Schedule Information