Welcome to the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS)
Violation Library Update – 2024
The 2024 violation library has been approved by the Data Steering Committee and Enforcement Steering Committee Co-chairs, and is now considered final. CalEPA IT will update the violation library in the CERS staging environment. While in the staging environment, the changes will be reviewed for quality assurance. The 2024 violation library is scheduled go live on October 1, 2024.
GIR Quick Reference Guide
New Recyclable Materials Report Template
A new template for the Recyclable Materials Report is available and has been posted to CERS as a reference reflecting regulatory changes. The form itself is optional, but the information is required to be provided. The generator must ensure that the information is submitted by July 1st of each even-numbered year to their CERS account.
CERS Stale User Account Deletion
A CERS regulator or business user account that has been inactive for 1 or more years is considered a stale account. Stale accounts pose a security risk as each accounts offers a malicious actor opportunity to gain access to CERS. To comply with CalEPA’s Information Security policies, any CERS account with no login activity within 1 year will be disabled and removed. This includes first responder and other government account types.
CalEPA will be emailing users with no recent login activities to prompt a log-in. Please ensure users provided access to CERS who have not logged into CERS within the last year, log in before March 15, 2024, to prevent impacts to user access.
UPAs shall continue CERS access procedures remain in place per CCR, Title 27 as follows:
- Section 15180(e)(4), requiring established written procedures for providing HMRRP information to emergency response personnel and other appropriate government entities in accordance with HSC Section 25504(c); and
- Sections 15185(f) and 15100(b)(2)(B)(i)(c), requiring access to the information collected in CERS to be provided to local information management systems, and to agencies with shared responsibilities for protection of the public health and safety and the environment.
New CERS Feature: EPA ID Validation Tool
Effective August 29, 2022, CalEPA will be implementing an EPA ID validation tool. Lack of validation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ID number is a documented pain point of the system. EPA ID number inaccuracy has limited the ability of CalEPA to pass compliance, monitoring, and enforcement data (CME data) to other systems, including but not limited to US EPA.
Historically, a facility has been required to manually enter their EPA ID number into CERS. This project will change that process and instead an EPA ID number will be provided to the user for selection and confirmation. A facility that reports activities pertaining to hazardous waste in CERS requiring an EPA ID will be triggered to validate their EPA ID number.
The validation tool will compare the CERS facility name and address against the official state record the Hazardous Waste Tracking System. Failure to successfully validate the EPA ID will result in a warning message but will not prevent submittal of any section of CERS.
Supporting Documentation:
For questions concerning submittal information and reporting requirements, please contact your local regulating Certified Unified Program Agency: https://cersapps.calepa.ca.gov/Public/Directory
For questions concerning the deployment of CERS 3 or for assistance in accessing the CERS Testing, Training, or Staging environments, please contact: CERS@calepa.ca.gov
