The 94th NJLM Annual League Conference

The NLC Annual Congress of Cities and Exposition

Please click here to see NLC Orignial Video.

• Ability to determine needed permits/licenses based on user defined search criteria - search by key words, permit name, form or authority;
• Online account management - enter company or personal data once and use it in multiple applications - eliminates duplicate data entry;
• Customized account profiling - include the permits/licenses that are used most frequently;
• Payment of fees online;
• Ability to monitor permit/license application status;
• E-mail notifications for each major milestone during the application process.

Improving the permitting/licensing processes is just one way that Edison Township is working to secure its current position as a leader in municipal online services. As services continue to expand, the Edison e-Permit System will provide increasing opportunities to meet business and residents’ needs through the ease and convenience of this online e-permit process. Read more...

The system went live at both Kaw Nation and Cherokee Nation in May 2009. These two tribes now join the growing community of tribal partners using the Tribal Environmental System. With this release, the system has now been expanded to support both ambient air quality and water quality data. Tribes can view their air monitoring stations and water quality monitoring results together on one map, and can generate a variety of graphs from their data. Graphs are specialized based on environmental media, providing, for example, Wind Rose graphs for wind direction/speed, bivariate scatter plots for pollutant inter-relationships, AQI graphs for regulated air pollutants, and box & whisker graphs for detailed statistical analysis. Data can either be published and integrated with the tribe's existing public website, or maintained internally for additional security.

Tribes can also use enfoTech's bundled Exchange Network Node (eNode2008) to communicate securely with EPA for both Water Quality eXchange (WQX) and Air Quality System (AQS) data transmissions. This solution provides tribes with one consolidated tool to serve all of their Exchange Network reporting needs.

Under the MassAir project, MassDEP set up an internal centralized AQS data repository; the repository allows the MassDEP to collect and manage air quality data from real-time air sensors and third-party data sources in a single streamlined process. An interface within the MassDEP QA Tools application allows MassDEP to submit air quality data from its central repository to the EPA's AQS via the state’s Exchange Network Node. AQS is EPA's ambient air quality data repository and stores data from over 10,000 state, local, and tribal monitors, 5000 of which are currently active.

Air quality data collected by the MassDEP undergoes a rigorous QA process. To improve QA efficiency, the MassAir project developed an automated QA process in the MassDEP Air QA Tools application. The automation freed up QA resources to allow the staff to focus on QA investigations of suspicious data points. The QA Tools application also contains a component that allows MassDEP to better manage the reporting of incidents and maintenance events that occur at each physical air monitoring field location.

The MassDEP Air QA Tools application makes real-time air quality data available to the public on the web. Every hour, air sensors across the state report air quality levels to the MassDEP. The MassAir website provides the following benefits to the public:

• An interactive Google Maps interface that provides users the opportunity to browse air quality conditions across Massachusetts. The maps offer real-time and forecasted air quality levels, and include automatic alerts for when standard air quality thresholds are exceeded or are forecasted to be exceeded.
• Graphing tools that give users the ability to view historical and daily trends for all AQS criteria pollutants across the state. The graphing interface allows graphs to be redrawn based on time, region, and pollutant, and includes the last 48 hours of hourly data and up to three years of historical daily averages.
• “My Community” feature that allows public users examine what the air quality data means for general public health in their own community.

For more information, please read…

This project provided a new challenge for the Sanitation Districts. The pharmacy inspections represented a very high volume of site visits with a strict deadline for completion. Because the site visits required minimal time compared to standard industrial user inspections, this was achievable but only with a high level of computerized data management. Not only did the data need to be collected, it also needed to be analyzed for follow-up activities by office staff.

The iPACS Work Management module enabled the Project Supervisor to batch-schedule pharmacy inspection tasks and distribute the tasks to the appropriate Inspector assigned to the investigation area to cover the wide geographical area regulated by the Sanitation Districts. Once the tasks were batch-loaded into the central system, the FAST system on each Inspector's tablet PC downloaded the personalized list of inspections with assigned priorities to be completed by a specified due date. With batch re-assignment capabilities, the Sanitation Districts were able to overcome personnel changes and hardware maintenance needs to complete the campaign successfully without sacrificing other inspections. Additionally, as the inspections were being completed, office staff could mine the data with a couple of clicks to determine which pharmacies required additional follow-up. With successful completion of this campaign, the Sanitation Districts are realizing the ease at which special projects and emerging programs can be implemented using the FAST and iPACS systems.

The iPACS and FAST software have been proven again to be an effective tool for the water utilities to save time and money.

E2 for Electronic Discharge Monitoring Reporting (eDMR) - Before E2, permittees submitted DMR data to OEPA, Division of Surface Water (DSW), by hardcopy or through a custom application. Hard copy submittals had to be typewritten on forms provided by DSW. Lining up the blank forms in a typewriter and typing in the data was difficult for the permittees but required by the optical scanner used to receive DMR data. The custom application required the permittee to build their NPDES permit requirements into the software which was difficult for the submitter. The data entered into the application was e-mailed to DSW as a .zip file. The entire data collection process was burdensome to both the DSW and the regulated community. Most permittees expressed a strong desire for a better system. OEPA listened and delivered an integrated eDMR solution.

A monthly participation rate chart is presented below.

The permittees can view their monthly monitoring/reporting requirements from E2 and follow an easy-to-use data entry wizard to complete their reports. DSW is able to run a preliminary compliance program automatically within 24 hours on data submitted through E2. An application developed by DSW called the Preliminary Compliance Report (PCR) detailing the apparent violations is e-mailed back to any permittee with apparent violations on the next business day. The permittee has the opportunity to correct and resubmit any data that was submitted in error. The PCR also provides the permittee information on what to do if the data is an actual violation, or if the permittee believes there is a permit problem and needs to discuss it with NPDES permit program staff. The technologies provide a framework for DSW and the regulated community to work collaboratively to achieve environmental compliance goals.

• e-Permit link: https://secure1.state.mi.us/epermits/Page/Entry/Login.aspx
• MiTAPS link: http://www.michigan.gov/mitaps
• Link to new expanded services announcement: MI_News_Permit.pdf