What is CERS EDT?
CERS EDT (Electronic Data Transfer) involves a set of XML and REST-based web services that support Unified Program regulators in extracting and uploading facililty submittal and inspection/enforcement data from and into CERS. Presently there is no schedule to extend similar services to CERS business users. CERS EDT Services are complex and highly technical--a CERS EDT Manual is available with technical implementation details, but presumes the reader is already familiar with the Unified Program and its various reporting requirements. Regulators making use of EDT Services must agree to certain usage conditions. 

Production EDT Services Released
On February 13th Cal/EPA released the "Phase I" CERS EDT Services for production use. The "Phase I" services/endpoints address the needs of most CUPAs and include support for downloading facility submittal data entered by businesses into CERS, downloading other types of CERS data (e.g., CERS Chemical Library and CME records), and uploading Submittal Review and CME data to CERS from local data systems. The "Phase II" services primarily address the needs of CUPAs implementing their own Local Reporting Portals, and are scheduled for release during late in Q2 2013.

How UPAs Should Request EDT Access
UPAs must request access to testing and/or production "Phase I" EDT services using the procedures below. A more formal process for requesting production access to "Phase II" EDT Services will be announced shortly before the available of those services.

Prior to request EDT Services acess, UPAs working with a data services vendor (e.g., Accela, Decade, Garrison) need to confirm their vendor has completed testing and been authorized by Cal/EPA for production use of the services. The EDT Services are grouped into numbered “tiers” of increasing business process complexity and security requirements. At the bottom of this page is a listing of the EDT testing/authorization status of the data services vendors actively working with Cal/EPA. Any UPAs who are not using the data vendors shown on below for their EDT implementations should contact Chris Allen for further information.

The EDT Access request can be an email or postal communication to Chris Allen at Cal/EPA (chris.allen@calepa.ca.gov) containing the following information:

1) A statement from the sender indicating they have authority to make commitments on behalf of their UPA.
2) Indicate if the EDT Access request is for testing access, production access, or both.
3) Identify which EDT Service Tiers are being requested by the UPA. All requestors would receive access to Tier 1 (Library Services) and Tier 2 (Query Services). PAs can only request Tiers 1 and 2. UPAs should only request what Tiers are actually needed presently—additional tiers can be requested via an email from the EDT Administrator in the future.
4) Indicate the UPA understands/accepts the CERS EDT Data Exchange Agreement.
5) Identify the name(s) and CERS Account username(s) of the UPA's EDT Administrator(s). EDT Administrators would be Cal/EPA’s first point of contact if problems arise. EDT Administrator(s) do not not necessarily have to be an UPA staff person (e.g., a contractor), but they must be authorized to view the UPA's data in the Regulator Portal, understand CERS and CERS EDT, and have knowledge/access to technical resources and authority to direct them to resolve problems.
6) Identifies the username of a dedicated CERS Account the UPA will use for EDT access. This account can ONLY be used for EDT Access, so it can't be an existing user's account. The UPA needs to create the CERS Account in advance of sending the EDT Access request email. Since each CERS Account requires a unique email address, the UPA will need a unique email address to create its EDT Access Account.

 UPA staff with questions should generally first contact their data services vendors directly about how to proceed with their implementations, and Cal/EPA technical staff will work with the vendors as necessary. However, questions about EDT can be directed to Chris Allen at chris.allen@calepa.ca.gov.


EDT Technical Documentation

• CERS EDT Manual
• CERS EDT XML Schemas was released on January 13, 2013. This ZIP file also includes a Windows WPF-based client project EDT implementers can use for exploring and testing CERS EDT Services.
• CERS Data Registry (CDR) provides a listing of data fields used or referenced by the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS). These standards include various Unified Program data dictionaries used in CERS, as well as other relevant federal data standards.

CERS EDT Authorization Status of Data Services Vendors Actively Working with Cal/EPA
This listing will be updated periodically to reflect the current authorization status (by EDT Service Tier) of data services vendors actively working with Cal/EPA on testing their product's use of EDT Services. Authorization reflects the vendor has demonstrated successful use (and avoided abuse) of all features of the services in the specified Tier.

Vendor	Tier 1 Library	Tier 2 Query	Tier 3 CME	Tier 4 Reviews	Tier 5 Facility	Tier 5 Submittals
Accela	Yes	Yes
Decade Software	Yes	Yes		Yes
EdgeSoft	Yes	Yes
Garrison Enterprises
One Step Systems	Yes

 

CERS EDT Implementation Listserv
All CERS EDT Implementers should subscribe to the CERS2 EDT Implementation Listserv at CERS2 EDT Implementation Listserv. This listserv is intended for information technology professionals and others who have direct responsibility for implementing CERS EDT. Subscribers will receive up to a few emails per month on news, announcements, and other technical content concerning Cal/EPA's efforts to implement CERS EDT.

View the CERS EDT Blog and Listserv Archive
Includes the archive of past messages sent via the CERS EDT Listserv.

CERS2 EDT Documentation Archive
This page provides links to the current and previous versions of the CERS2 EDT documentation.

More Information
For additional assistance, please contact the Chris Allen at chris.allen@calepa.ca.gov.