ECMPS Support

The 2009 Quarter 2 Release of the Client Tool is now available.

For details about what was included in this release, consult the Release Notes.

In order to use the Client Tool, you must be a Designated Representative, Alternate Designated Representative, 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 that 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 or users who have only used the ECMPS Client Tool Preview (CTP) must download and install the 2009 Q2 version of the Client Tool. Users are urged to follow all instructions on the Web site 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, should be submitted to ECMPS Technical Support.

Labels: Preparing for 2009 Q2

We do not know what weather was like in your area of the nation yesterday, but at ECMPS Technical Support we had rain all day long. All the rain we had yesterday and recently is great for a number of things: kayaking, canoeing, and gardening. But, the rain is not so great for hiking or fly fishing and it means you have to mow the grass more often. (You can tell that we like to get outside.)

Not that the rain has anything to do with it, but the 2009 Q2 Release has not yet been released. For those who are eager to get started with the latest version, we appreciate your patience. The ECMPS Client Tool 2009 Q2 Release will be available soon.

As soon as the 2009 Q2 Release is available, the ECMPS Support Web site will be updated and a post on this Blog will be added.

Labels: Preparing for 2009 Q2

As a heads up to stakeholders who use shared databases, the ECMPS Client Tool 2009 Quarter 2 Release will include database changes.

Users should be in contact with the necessary IT support staff in order to be able to run the script that will update the database to the 2009 Quarter 2 Release version.

The general order of the update to 2009 Quarter 2 Release should be:

1. Run the script to update the shared database.


2. Update the individual Client Tool installations.

The individual Client Tool installations can be done at each computer using the Update Service. (Here is a tutorial on the Update Service.)

For more detailed instructions, see the Update Existing Shared Database and Client Tool Software Web page. The instructions on this Web page will give IT people a sense of what will need to be done to complete the update. When the 2009 Quarter 2 Release is published on the Web site, these instructions will be updated with the new scripts and any changes to the instructions which are necessary.

Currently, the release is scheduled to be available on June 17, 2009.

Labels: Preparing for 2009 Q2, Shared Database

As part of the data which are submitted to the EPA, the Client Tool enables sources to report configuration changes to the EPA. A configuration change occurs when a unit-stack record is either added or an end date is added to an existing unit-stack record. The change to the unit-stack record can be made by importing the monitoring plan or through the add/edit screens in the Monitoring Plan Module of the Client Tool.

When a configuration change occurs, a new monitoring plan is generated in the Client Tool. The original monitoring plan is retired and the new monitoring plan is made the active monitoring plan for the unit(s) associated with that monitoring plan.

In order to report this configuration change to the EPA, in the Submit Module, the Client Tool will indicate that both the retired monitoring plan and the new active monitoring plan need to be submitted to the EPA. Once the retired monitoring plan has been submitted, it will no longer necessary to submit it again. It is just that initial reporting of the retired monitoring plan that needs to be completed.

During the 2009Q1 reporting period, a number of sources reported changes to their configurations or in some cases, they corrected configuration changes which had been incorrectly reported in the 2008Q4 reporting period. Unfortunately, there was a bug in the 2009Q1 version of the Client Tool related to retired configurations. The bug resulted in the Client Tool not indicating that the retired monitoring plan needed to be submitted.

This bug has been corrected in the 2009 Quarter 2 Release. For any sources which did not submit the retired monitoring plan due to the bug, the new version of the Client Tool will indicate that the retired monitoring plan needs to be submitted.

Also, in some cases, sources which submitted a retired monitoring plan will need to resubmit it again. This is also a result of the bug. The Client Tool will indicate that the retired monitoring plan needs to be submitted.

In either case, before 2009Q2 emissions data can be submitted, the source will first need to submit any retired monitoring plans which were affected by the bug.

The easiest way to check if a monitoring plan needs to be submitted will be to view the list of monitoring plans in the Submission Module. Any retired monitoring plans which need to be submitted will be indicated as such in the list.

For the reporting of configuration changes going forward, the Client Tool should work correctly to indicate when a retired monitoring plan needs to be submitted.

Labels: Preparing for 2009 Q2

Previously, it was posted that the June 2009 release of the ECMPS Client Tool was being referred to as "Service Pack 2". However, for clarity, the June 2009 release is now being called, "ECMPS Client Tool 2009 Quarter 2 Release".

All subsequent references on this Web site and in documentation related to the release will use the name, "ECMPS Client Tool 2009 Quarter 2 Release".

As an update, the release is still on target to go out on June 17th.

Finally, there is one reminder. In order to complete the release, the EPA Host System will be unavailable June 8 - 17.

Labels: Preparing for 2009 Q2

The following applies to any ECMPS Stakeholders who have not worked with the Client Tool since its 2009 release on March 17th. If you have logged on to the EPA Host System from the ECMPS Client Tool since March 17, 2009, you do not need to anything else in order to comply with CROMERR.

The Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Regulation (CROMERR) is the regulation which stipulates how electronic reporting must be performed for entities which report data to the EPA. Affected entities include regulated entities which must submit data to the EPA for regulatory purposes. This means that CROMERR (pronounced "chrome air"; really) affects ECMPS stakeholders.

Beginning in March, ECMPS stakeholders were affected by CROMERR in their use of both the CAMD Business System (CBS) and the ECMPS Client Tool. ECMPS stakeholders are affected in their use of CBS because several parts of CBS will be redesigned to comply with CROMERR. That redesigned sections are scheduled to be released by the end of June.

Regarding the Client Tool, CROMERR will affect the use of the Client Tool in two ways:

1. Beginning with the next release of the Client Tool (scheduled for March 17th), users must have completed a Subscriber Agreement in order to be able to log in to the EPA Host System.


2. In order to be able to submit data through the Client Tool, users must have selected five challenge questions and provided the answers to those challenge questions.
   
   During the submission of data, users will be asked to answer a challenge question in order to verify their identity. The challenge question is similar to questions asked on banking Web sites or other secure Web sites. (E.g., What is your mother's maiden name? or In what city were you born?)

ECMPS Stakeholders need to take the following steps:

1. Complete a subscriber agreement and send it via mail to the EPA. The Subscriber Agreement Form can be downloaded from here. Simply print it out, read and sign the form, and send it to the address on the form.


2. Log on to CBS and select challenge questions as well as provide answers for those questions.

Stakeholders should bear in mind they will not be able to use CBS or submit data through the Client Tool until they have submitted a subscriber agreement and selected challenge questions.

For more information about CROMERR, click here.

Any questions about CROMERR and completing the Subscriber Agreement Form should be directed to Karen VanSickle at EPA (vansickle.karen@epa.gov).

Labels: Preparing for 2009 Q2

One of the keys to synchronization in the Client Tool is an accurate comparison of data between the Client Tool and EPA Host System. The synchronization process compares dates and times recorded on the EPA Host System with dates and times recorded in the Client Tool database to determine if data need to be synchronized to the Client Tool.

Until the 2009Q1 reporting period, we had not run into a problem related to time zones. The basic synchronization process took into account time zones by, for data comparison purposes, adjusting the time to account for the possible time zone difference between the EPA Host System which is in the Eastern time zone and the Client Tool which could be in any time zone. However, a few shared database users found synchronization problems when multiple users in different time zones were connecting to the shared database. They found that no matter what, the data were always considered to be out of sync.

This problem, which was only found with the shared database and Client Tools in different time zones, will be corrected in the Service Pack 2 release scheduled for June 16th. The solution involves using Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) as the standard for all date and time comparisons. If you have any questions about this bug fix, contact Technical Support.

Labels: Preparing for 2009 Q2

Although July might seem far away, it will be here sooner than you think. During that second submission period of the year, the Ozone Season only reporters will submit emissions data to the EPA using ECMPS for the first time.

Unlike in previous quarters where sources had to wait until a few weeks before the submission period began to start working with their data, Ozone Season only reporters can begin working with their data today.

The monitoring plan and QA data from the legacy system have already been migrated to ECMPS for all sources, including Ozone Season only reporters. (The data were actually migrated by March 17, 2009.) That means that Ozone Season sources can begin correcting and submitting their monitoring plan data using the Client Tool.

If you have any questions about how to get started, look at the FAQs and tutorials for more information.

Labels: Preparing for 2009 Q2

As was announced at the Stakeholder Meeting in St. Louis last week, around June 16th, a mandatory service pack for the current release of the software will be released. This mid June release will be named Service Pack 2.

Client Tool users who have Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 1a will be able to use the Update Utility to quickly update to Service Pack 2. Any users who have not yet updated to Service Pack 1 from the original release on March 17th, should update before the June release.

As usual, with the release of a new version of service pack, release notes will be included which document the changes from the previous version. Before that, posts will be made on the blog to give a preview of upcoming changes that will be introduced in Service Pack 2.

In this post, we would like to highlight that the connection Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for the Client Tool will be updated with Service Pack 2. As many of you know, a URL is the familiar looking Web address for an Internet resource. For example, ecmps.pqa.com is a URL. That particular URL maps to an IP address which happens to be 12.5.48.50. Throughout the Internet there are Domain Name Servers (DNS) which map URLs to IP addresses in order to route Internet traffic to the correct resource.

Currently, the ECMPS Client Tool is configured to access a static IP address. This IP address is shown in the lower right corner of the Client Tool as the picture shows.
This will change in Service Pack 2 when the static IP address will be replaced with a URL--ecmps.epa.gov. This should be transparent, but necessary for users.

The reason it is necessary is because the IP address which is associated with the URL is going to change in August 2009. The change to the URL in Service Pack 2 is being made in preparation for that change.

Users who have upgraded to Service Pack 2 should not notice any difference when the change is made in August. However, any user who has not upgraded to Service Pack 2 before the change in August will no longer be able to connect to the EPA Host System because the old IP address in versions prior to Service Pack 2 will no longer work.

Let us know if you have any questions about this change by sending an email to technical support or writing a comment on this blog post.

Labels: Preparing for 2009 Q2