The Citizen Science Manual
A Guide for Starting or Participating in Data Collection and Environmental Monitoring Projects
Resources
Appendix 1: State Law Overview
Appendix 2: Individual State Law Summaries
Click on a state name below to view more information about potential legal issues. You can also visit the interactive map to see which states have "red flags" for each type of legal issue.
(information last updated January 2019)
Appendix 3: Pollutants Monitored by the EPA
Resources for Learning About a Pollutant
Resources that are Highlighted Report Pollutant Quantities
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Pollutant Type |
Description |
References |
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Air Pollutants |
List of Hazardous Air Pollutants |
https://www.epa.gov/haps/initial-list-hazardous-air-pollutants-modifications; Clean Air Act Section 112(b) |
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National Primary and Secondary Ambient Air Quality Standards |
40 CFR 50 |
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National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants |
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National Ambient Air Quality Standards Table |
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Ozone - Depleting Substances |
Class I Controlled Substances |
40 CFR 82, Appendix A to Subpart A |
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Class II Controlled Substances |
40 CFR 82, Appendix B to Subpart A |
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Listing of Ozone-Depleting Chemicals |
40 CFR 82, Appendix F to Subpart A |
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Water Pollutants |
List of Hazardous Substances |
CWA Section 311(b)(4) |
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Alphabetical and by CAS number |
40 CFR 116.4 |
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Reportable Quantities of Hazardous Substances Designated Pursuant to Section 311 of the Clean Water Act |
40 CFR 117.3 |
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Toxic Pollutant Effluent Standards |
40 CFR 129 |
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Ground Water Monitoring List |
40 CFR 264, Appendix IX |
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Toxic Pollutant List |
40 CFR 401.15 |
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Priority Pollutant List |
40 CFR 423, Appendix A |
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Drinking Water Standards |
Table of Regulated Drinking Water Contaminants |
https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/national-primary-drinking-water-regulations |
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Maximum Contaminant Levels for Organic Contaminants |
40 CFR 141.61 |
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Maximum Contaminant Levels for Inorganic Contaminants |
40 CFR 141.62 |
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Maximum Contaminant Levels for Microbiological Contaminants |
40 CFR 141.63 |
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Maximum Contaminant Levels for Disinfection Byproducts |
40 CFR 141.64 |
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Maximum Residual Disinfectant Levels |
40 CFR 141.65 |
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Maximum Contaminant Levels of Radionuclides |
40 CFR 141.66 |
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Monitoring Requirements for Lead and Copper in Tap Water |
40 CFR 141.86 |
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Monitoring Requirements for Lead and Copper in Source Water |
40 CFR 141.88 |
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Hazardous Wastes Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act |
Hazardous Wastes from Non-Specific Sources |
40 CFR 261.31 |
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Hazardous Wastes from Specific Sources |
40 CFR 261.32 |
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Discarded Commercial Chemical Products, Off-Specification Species, Container Residues, and Spill Residues Thereof (Acute and Toxic Wastes) |
40 CFR 261.33 |
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Hazardous Constituents List |
40 CFR 261, Appendix VIII |
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Wastes Excluded from Specific Sources |
40 CFR 261, Appendix IX, Table 1 |
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Hazardous Substances Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act |
List of Hazardous Substances and Their Reportable Quantities |
40 CFR 302.4 |
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Extremely Hazardous Substances Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act |
The List of Extremely Hazardous Substances and Their Threshold Planning Quantities |
40 CFR 355, Appendix A – B |
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Alphabetical, by CAS number, and chemical category |
40 CFR 372.65 |
Appendix 4: Public Compliance and Permit Records
Resources for Learning About a Pollutant Source
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Category |
Description |
References |
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General: EPA Compliance |
Description of how the EPA measures compliance |
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Compilation of EPA Compliance Records |
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Clean Air |
Compilation of EPA Resources |
https://www.epa.gov/caa-permitting/caa-permitting-tools-related-resources |
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Title V Permits: General Information |
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Title V Permits: Who has to obtain a Title V Permit? |
https://www.epa.gov/title-v-operating-permits/who-has-obtain-title-v-permit |
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Title V Permits: EPA Issued Operating Permits |
https://www.epa.gov/title-v-operating-permits/epa-issued-operating-permits |
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Title V Permits: Links to Resources of Regional Office Websites |
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Integrated Compliance Information System - Air (ICIS-AIR): a. “ICIS-AIR contains compliance and permit data for stationary sources of air pollution (such as electric power plants, steel mills, factories, and universities) regulated by EPA, state and local air pollution agencies. The information in ICIS-AIR is used by the states to prepare State Implementation Plans (SIPs) and to track the compliance status of point sources with various regulatory programs under Clean Air Act.” |
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Clean Water |
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System General Permit Inventory: “This search tool allows users to search for NPDES general permits by permit number, permit name, state, EPA region, date issued, date expired, or permit category.” |
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Permit Compliance System - Integrated Compliance Information (PCS-ICIS): a. “This search allows you to retrieve selected data . . . regarding facilities registered with the federal enforcement and compliance (FE&C) and holding National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits.” |
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Clean Water Act DMR Pollutant Loading Tool: "This tool helps users determine who is discharging, what pollutants they are discharging and how much, and where they are discharging." |
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The Assessment TMDL Tracking & Implementation System (ATTAINS): “Provides information reported by the states to EPA about the conditions in their surface waters and allows users to view tables and charts summarizing state-reported data for the nation as a whole, individual states, individual waters and the 10 EPA regions.” |
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Clean Drinking Water |
Consumer Confidence Reports |
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Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS): “Contains information about public water systems and their violations of EPA's drinking water regulations. Searching SDWIS will allow you to locate your drinking water supplier and view its violations and enforcement history for the last ten years.” |
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Resource Conservation and Recovery Act |
General Permitting Resources |
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Hazardous Waster Permitting in Your State: Provides “a map and an alphabetically linked list of state hazardous waste permit websites . . . In some cases, states have posted lists of permitted treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs).” |
https://www.epa.gov/hwpermitting/hazardous-waste-permitting-your-state |
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Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo): a. “You may use the RCRAInfo Search to determine identification and location data for specific hazardous waste handlers, and to find a wide range of information on treatment, storage, and disposal facilities regarding permit/closure status, compliance with Federal and State regulations, and cleanup activities.” |
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Other Resources |
Toxics Release Inventory (TRI): “The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) tracks the management of over 650 toxic chemicals that pose a threat to human health and the environment. U.S. facilities in certain industry sectors that manufacture, process, or otherwise use these chemicals in amounts above established levels must report how each chemical is managed through recycling, energy recovery, treatment, and releases to the environment. A “release” of a chemical means that it is emitted to the air or water, or placed in some type of land disposal. The information submitted by facilities to the EPA and states is compiled annually as the Toxics Release Inventory or TRI.” |
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Biennial Reports Search: “The Hazardous Waste Report (Biennial Report) collects data on the generation, management, and minimization of hazardous waste. This provides detailed data on the generation of hazardous waste from large quantity generators and data on waste management practices from treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. The Biennial Report data provide a basis for trend analyses. Data about hazardous waste activities is reported for odd number years (beginning with 1989) to EPA. EPA then provides reports on hazardous waste generation and management activity that accompany the data files. You may use a variety of data retrieval options in the BR Search to search for other facilities that interest you.” |
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Envirofacts: Provides links to various public databases. Also provides a search functionality that incorporates various databases into one. |
Appendix 5: EPA Reference Methods, Standard Protocols, etc.
Resources Related to EPA Reference Methods, Standard Protocols, Etc.
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Sample Type |
Sample Subcategory |
Description |
References |
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All |
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General Resources |
https://www.epa.gov/measurements/collection-methods; Index to EPA Test Methods (April 2003 Revised) |
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Air |
Source Emission Methods |
Promulgated Methods: those that have been promulgated in the Federal Register and Codified in the CFR (Method - #) |
https://www.epa.gov/emc/emc-promulgated-test-methods; 40 CFR 51, Appendix M; 40 CFR 60, Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix F, Appendix J; 40 CFR 61, Appendix B; 40 CFR 63, Appendix A |
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Proposed Methods: those that have been published in the Federal Register as proposed rules, but have not yet been promulgated |
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Approved Alternative: those approved under 40 CFR Parts 60, 601, and 63 (ALT - #) |
https://www.epa.gov/emc/broadly-applicable-approved-alternative-test-methods |
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Conditional Methods: methods that were at one point labeled this way, so they have remained so for consistency (CTM - #) |
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Other Methods: methods which have not yet been subject to the federal rulemaking process (Premiliminary Methods [PRE - #]; Preliminary Performance Specification [PPS - #]; and Other Test Methods [OTM - #]) |
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Ambient Monitoring Methods |
Criteria Pollutants: TSP, Particulate Matter – PM10, Particulate Matter – PM2.5, Particulate Matter – PM10-2.5, SO2, O3, CO, NO2, Pb |
List of Designated Reference and Equivalent Methods (Dec. 2016) |
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Air Toxins - Inorganic Compendium (Method IO - #) |
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Air Toxins - Organic Compendium (Method IO - #)
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https://www.epa.gov/pcbs/compendium-methods-determination-toxic-organic-compounds-ambient-air |
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Water |
Drinking Water Analytical Methods |
Disinfection Byproduct Rules |
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100PHKC.txt; 40 CFR 141.131; 40 CFR Part 141, Appendix A of Subpart C |
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Alternative Testing Methods: methods which have been approved under the Safe Drinking Water Act |
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=1&SID=3dd522e2d428d7cb3b40da85488eb956&ty=HTML&h=L&mc=true&r=APPENDIX&n=ap40.25.141_129.a; 40 CFR 40 CFR 141, Appendix A of Subpart C |
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Ground Water Rule |
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/gwr_approved_methods.pdf; 40 CFR 40 CFR 141, Appendix A of Subpart C |
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Inorganic Contaminants and Other Inorganic Constituents |
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100PHGZ.txt; 40 CFR 141.23; 40 CFR 141, Appendix A to Subpart C |
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Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule |
https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/long-term-2-enhanced-surface-water-treatment-rule-documents; methods for Cryptosporidium are listed at 40 CFR 141.704, methods for enumeration of E. coli in source water are listed in Table 1H at 40 CFR 136.3(a) and the methods for turbidity are listed at 40 CFR 141.74. Additional methods are listed in 40 CFR 141, Appendix A to Subpart C. The monitoring requirements for these contaminants are specified in 40 CFR 141.701-703 |
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Organic Contaminants |
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100PHJC.txt; 40 CFR 40 CFR 141, Appendix A to Subpart C |
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Radionuclides |
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100PHIN.txt; 40 CFR 141.25; 40 CFR 40 CFR 141, Appendix A to Subpart C |
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Revised Total Coliform Rule |
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/rtcr_approved_methods.pdf; 40 CFR 141.852(a)(5); 40 CFR 141, Appendix A to Subpart C |
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Secondary Contaminants |
https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=P100PHL2.txt; methods for copper, fluoride and pH are listed in 40 CFR 141.23; methods for the remaining contaminants are in 40 CFR 143.440; CFR 40 CFR 141, Appendix A to Subpart C |
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Surface Water Treatment Methods |
https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/swtr_approved_methods.pdf; 40 CFR 141.74(a)(1); 40 CFR 141, Appendix A to Subpart C Appendix A |
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Clean Water Act Analytical Methods |
Chemical Methods: Inorganic Non-Metals |
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/approved-cwa-test-methods-inorganic-non-metals; 40 CFR 136; 40 CFR 401 – 503 |
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Chemical Methods: Metals |
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/approved-cwa-test-methods-metals; 40 CFR 136; 40 CFR 401 - 503 |
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Chemical Methods: Organic |
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/approved-cwa-test-methods-organic-compounds; 40 CFR 136; 40 CFR 401 - 503 |
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Microbial Methods: wastewater and sewage sludge and ambient water |
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/approved-cwa-microbiological-test-methods; 40 CFR 136; 40 CFR 401 - 503 |
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Whole Effluent Toxicity Methods: acute, chronic freshwater, and chronic marine/estuarine |
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/whole-effluent-toxicity-methods; 40 CFR 136.3, Table 1A |
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Radiochemical Methods |
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/approved-cwa-radiochemical-test-methods; 40 CFR 136; 40 CFR 401 – 503 |
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Industry-Specific Methods |
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/approved-industry-specific-cwa-test-methods |
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Other Clean Water Act Methods |
Chemical Methods |
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/other-clean-water-act-test-methods-chemical |
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Microbial Methods |
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/other-clean-water-act-test-methods-microbiological |
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Biosolids |
https://www.epa.gov/cwa-methods/other-clean-water-act-test-methods-biosolids |
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Unapproved |
Environmental Chemistry Methods |
https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-analytical-methods/environmental-chemistry-methods-ecm-index-0-9 |
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Solid Waste and Emergency Response |
Approved |
SW-846 Methods |
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Unapproved |
Validated Methods |
https://www.epa.gov/hw-sw846/validated-test-methods-recommended-waste-testing |
Discussion
Please note that this discussion is not moderated by the Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic.