Electronic Submission System (ESS)

Overview

The Electronic Submission System (ESS) connects industry, regulators and the public with one common interface. The System supports the preparation, submission, review, approval and publication of environmental permits - automating workflows and paper forms.

User Tips

  • If you have never created an account, you may do so here.

  • ESS accounts are for individuals only. Learn why.

  • Your information will be verified. Then, the System will email you your username and password, usually within 72 hours.

  • Electronic submissions are reviewed only during regular business hours.

  • You don't need an account to access the Public Query.

Quick Links

 

Protecting Your Identity

Your identity is unique, so protecting it is important. The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection's Electronic Submission System, or ESS, requires individuals to prove their identity and be responsible for their actions when submitting information about certain permit and license applications and compliance data. That's why it's important to never share your user ID or password information with anyone for any reason.

To connect to ESS, you'll first need to create an account. If you own a company, you'll need to send a Security Authorization Letter to the DEP to assign security for ESS to your individual employees and consultants. For more information, see the Security and Sign Up Guidance sections of ESS web page. Once you've entered your name and work information in the registration form, you'll receive an email with your user name and a temporary password that you'll need to reset when you first log in.

Remember, ESS accounts are for individuals only.

Once you establish a user ID for the system, it stays with you - whether you work for one company or multiple companies or even change companies over time. Information entered under your user ID and password is always connected to you personally, and that's why it's so important to protect your user ID and password information.

The U.S. EPA has additional CROMERR requirements for some applications and data types, such as NPDES regulated operations, the Division of Air Quality and AST/UST, and uses a third-party system, LexisNexis, to verify your identity. To apply, you must provide LexisNexis with your home address, phone number and the last four digits of your social security number. That information is compared to the LexisNexis database, which contains things like utility bills, pay stubs, property and credit records, to verity your identity. It's important to note, the DEP neither collects nor sees the personal information you submit to LexisNexis.

Remember, your ESS logon and passwords are your unique identifier for the system and you are responsible for protecting them. Allowing someone else to use them may also be a violation of West Virginia and federal laws.


The Importance of Your Identity

The DEP in coordination with US EPA requires you to prove your identity and be responsible for your actions. Your identity in the form of login id and password is how we assign responsibility in our Electronic Submission System (ESS).

We process your personal information as needed to establish and maintain a business relationship with your company. Your personal information may be disclosed to other State agencies or third parties in the normal course of business or as needed to comply with laws, including Freedom of Information Act requests. A complete privacy notice is available here or by emailing the WV DEP Privacy Officer.

In accordance with West Virginia Code Chapter 29B and the Department of Environmental Protection Privacy Policy, specific information collected in mining applications has been determined to be "personally identifiable information" PII), which is information about a person (or entity) that is readily identifiable to that specific individual or entity. Therefore, fields requesting an entity's FEIN number and an individual's social security number have been removed from applications previously submitted and/or approved and also from current versions of applications.

Privacy Resources

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) was awarded FY 2020 Exchange Network OS-84009401 on August 24, 2020. The funding was used to enhance the WVDEP's technical capabilities and capacity to use and support the Exchange Network by streamlining and modernizing the environmental management processes, data collection, and reporting.

WVDEP used SAP Business Objects Data Services to create ADORA (Automatic Download, Review & Approval) process which replaced the Environmental Resources Information System (ERIS) back-end processes with a more automated back-end solution that will automatically download, validate, move and close the applications for NPDES Permits and Mining Permits programs. The system will notify users only if data has errors; otherwise, the electronic discharge monitoring reports (eDMRs) should flow straight into the ERIS database to be sent to Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS) via the Central Data Exchange (CDX) node.

ADORA is independent from the state's Electronic Submission System (ESS). It will pull applications from ESS, and if it is turned off, reviewers can still use ERIS as if the system never existed. The ADORA project is an internal project to increase speed and quality of processing and evaluating Discharge Monitoring Reports. Overarching goals for exchange network funding was Goal 3-Greater Certainty, Compliance, and Effectiveness, Streamline and Modernize, and Priority 2- eliminate industry paper reporting and expand eReporting among co-regulators. The project supports the WVDEP in sending the required data to the ICIS – National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (ICIS-NPDES) while complying with Phase 1 and 2 of the eReporting Rule.


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