Memo from EPA clarifying CMDP support roles

April 17, 2017 Anthony DeRosa
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SDWIS Prime

The following memo was sent on March 10, 2017

MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT:    EPA and Drinking Water Primacy Agency User Support Roles for the

Compliance Monitoring Data Portal Helpdesk for Laboratories and Water

System Utilities

FROM:           Anita Thompkins, Director

EPA Drinking Water Protection Division

TO:                 State Drinking Water Program Administrators

EPA Drinking Water Branch Chiefs, Regions I – X

With the deployment into production of the SDWIS Prime Compliance Monitoring Data Portal (CMDP) in September 2016, we have entered a very exciting new era in electronic management of drinking water compliance monitoring data. I thank you very much for all those that dedicated their time towards helping with the development and testing of the CMDP. I’m also very pleased that many states are starting to use and planning to use CMDP.

Over the past few months we have built up a central CMDP support team, bringing in a new CMDP support team lead, hiring a CMPD help desk / user support specialist, and reallocating a large portion of a third staffer’s time to the CMDP help desk / user support. Over the next few years, the CMDP support team will be dedicated towards:

  • Providing one-on-one assistance to individual drinking water primacy agencies (DWPAs) in their efforts to transition to CMDP. This includes:
    • Developing and sharing educational materials on CMDP capabilities,
    • Providing consultation on CMDP capabilities and on DWPAs actions needed for transitioning to CMDP, and
    • Administering, and supporting primacy agencies in utilization of, a contract vehicle for DWPAs to procure technical support in transitioning to CMDP.
  • Partnering with DWPAs in providing central help desk and user support to labs and drinking water systems in the ongoing operations of CMDP.

The remainder of this memorandum clarifies the help desk and user support responsibilities between the EPA and DWPAs for responding to help desk tickets submitted by water system and laboratory users of the CMDP.

As my staff has mentioned in CMDP panel presentations at Association for State Drinking Water Association (ASDWA) conferences and other venues over the past couple of years, the support model for CMDP is similar to the support model used when EPA issues a new National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR). In this model, EPA provides the product (rule), guidance and training materials, and states work directly with drinking water laboratories and public water systems (PWSs) to implement the NPDWR. In following this model for CMDP, my staff have developed, and will maintain, the following services to support state implementation with PWSs and laboratories:

  • A contract vehicle (the same vehicle referenced above) that DWPAs can also use to procure technical assistance for CMDP implementation activities such as providing helpdesk support for labs and water systems.
  • A CMDP Helpdesk
    • A centralized website, managed by the EPA CMDP Team, where DWPAs can access fact sheets, user guides, training materials and CMDP news.
    • A venue where DWPAs can obtain help by participating in community discussion forums and by submitting requests for EPA CMDP Team support.
    • A CMDP help ticket tracking system, where drinking water systems and laboratories can submit help tickets for questions on how to use CMDP.

More information on the CMDP Helpdesk and the contract vehicle is available at https://cmdp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us.

Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, DWPAs receive sample result submissions and monthly operating reports from regulated public water systems, or their contract laboratories.  Because DWPAs are the direct users of the data contained in the reports and are responsible for ensuring the timeliness and quality of the data, they will be the first line of assistance to laboratories and water systems using CMDP.

Water systems and laboratories needing support with using CMDP should first review the CMDP Help Center documentation for resolution. If they are unable to find the information needed to resolve the issue on their own, the next step is for the laboratory or water system to utilize the CMDP Help Center community discussion forum or to call the DWPA’s CMDP point-of-contact, which is listed in the Help Center. If the DWPA CMDP point-of-contact cannot resolve the issue, then the DWPA may submit a help ticket (https://cmdp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new) on behalf of the water system or laboratory.  A member of the EPA CMDP Team will then work with the DWPA CMDP point-of-contact to resolve the issue. In situations where a laboratory or water system submits a help ticket to the CMDP Help Center, the Help Center will refer the ticket to the appropriate DWPA CMDP contact and close the ticket.

Another aspect of CMDP implementation that will require help desk support is EPA’s new Shared CROMERR Services, or “SCS”, which was developed, and is managed by, the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) and its contractors.  For SCS implementation, DWPA CMDP contacts work directly with the SCS help desk, laboratories, and water systems to set-up access in CMDP for laboratory and water system administrators. SCS registration problems that cannot be resolved by the State CMDP Administrator will be referred directly to the SCS help desk by the DWPA CMDP contact. (https://cdx.epa.gov/EpaSharedServicesPortal/).

We are looking forward to working with DWPAs in the transition to CMDP. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact my CMDP Support Team Lead Deric Teasley at 202-564-3356 or teasley.deric@epa.gov.

Cc: SDWIS Regional Coordinators

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