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Performance and Trends: Comparative Maps and
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Comparative Maps
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Welcome to the performance and trends area of ECHO. This area focuses on environmental compliance and enforcement trends on a state and national level. Comparative maps provide a quick cross country look at key environmental compliance and enforcement indicators. The maps link to dashboards that provide details by state/territory.

Data shown in the State Comparative Maps and Dashboards reflect current EPA required reporting and may not reflect the full state of noncompliance or activities in the regulated universe. State environmental agencies may have more information on noncompliance and activities within their state. Links to state agency websites are provided below each dashboard in the Other Resources box.

State performance is a complex and difficult matter to analyze and explain. Data alone cannot provide a complete picture of performance. Many states have issues with data completeness and accuracy, and without investigation and program knowledge, data can be misleading or misinterpreted. Often, there is important context around data that must be taken into account to provide an accurate picture. For example, not all activities and violations may be reported, some states are not authorized to run programs, current year data may still be in the process of being reported, and states may have alternative inspection plans. EPA uses data, like the information here, as a starting point for assessing state performance, but not as the sole measure of performance. More in-depth program reviews (see State Review Framework Reports) are used to identify needed state program improvements. While file reviews and management discussions can add to our understanding, the many layers of context and information make it difficult to portray performance in a consistent and transparent way.

This page includes information about new and upcoming features, any reported problems, and using the maps and dashboards. As described in more detail below, data for the most current year is not considered final. Fiscal year data typically is frozen in early March, at which point, year-to-date activities for the following fiscal year will be added. EPA will monitor comments and questions about the Maps and Dashboards and will continue making improvements. Any changes will be documented below.

Watch the 2/12/2013 State Dashboard and Comparative Maps webinar Exit EPA Disclaimer.

What's New

March 2013

February 2013

Known Problems

Using the Dashboards

  1. About the Data
    • Data and time periods displayed.
      Generally, the current federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) and the four previous fiscal years are presented. Beginning with fiscal year 2011, EPA conducted a state data verification process, after which data were "frozen" to provide a stable data set. Fiscal year 2012 data (and beyond) will be frozen when data verification efforts complete (typically in March of the following year). Any state comments regarding frozen data are posted on ECHO.

      The data for years before 2011 are frequently updated, as is the current fiscal year of data. Production (live) data are subject to change as EPA's data systems are updated. The most recent fiscal year may not show a complete data set because it has not yet been verified or the year is not completed.

      The ECHO website generally presents a five-year compliance and enforcement history. For older data, users may consider downloading full datasets. The Air and Hazardous Waste dashboards present universe counts starting with fiscal year 2011, because no method exists to replicate the historic counts of facilities.


    • Optional data.
      Some measures, such as Water penalty amounts, display data that are not required to be reported to EPA. In these cases, the state environmental agency may have more information (links to state agency websites are provided below each dashboard in the Other Resources box). Detailed information about data reporting requirements is posted on ECHO. Users should not make overall conclusions about state performance for data fields that are not required to be entered.


    • Map facility universes.
      On the comparative maps, the facility universe counts will not change for years that use production (live) data.


    • Water - Major/Minor $ split for ICIS-NPDES.
      The national data system, ICIS-NPDES, doesn't split out separate penalties for different facilities covered by one action.


    • Lag time for updating production (live) data.
      Although production data are updated every month, the lag time for data to become available on ECHO varies depending on the data system, activity, and negotiated reporting cycle. For example, an inherent lag time exists between the date an inspection is performed, the entry of the inspection into the state database, the uploading of data from the state to EPA, and the posting of data on the site. In some situations, data will enter the system quickly, in other circumstances the lag time may be 2-3 months.


    • Aggregate versus drilldown facility lists.
      The aggregate values displayed on the charts and the counts of drilldown (facility list) values may not always be equal, because the drilldowns are using production (live) data and the aggregate charts use frozen data where available.


    • Some charts on the Performance Dashboard do not have associated drilldowns (facility lists). For related facility lists, please see comparable measures on the Activity Dashboard.


  2. About the Comparative Maps
    • When a combination of criteria is selected where it is not appropriate and/or possible to display a percent value, a message is displayed that states "No map is available for your selected combination of options." We do not anticipate maps being available for these options.


  3. About the Dashboards
    • There are options to choose the Activity View or the Performance View using the Dashboard View drop-down menu or the tabs within the reports box. To facilitate better navigation, use of the Dashboard View drop-down is recommended.


    • "Apply" and "Reset" buttons
      The software used to create the dashboards provides a default option to select ("Apply") a chart from the dropdown lists and to return ("Reset") the chart to the original view. The Reset button is not working at this time. To return to the original chart, please select it from the dropdown list. These are not features that can be disabled.


    • "Search" option at bottom of chart dropdown lists
      The software used to create the dashboards provides a default option to search among the various chart options provided. This feature is useful for very long lists of charts. While it's not necessary for most of the dashboard sections, it is not a feature that can be disabled.

Coming Soon

Possible Future Enhancements

 

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