Guide for Reporting to the National Pollutant Release Inventory 2000: appendix 3

Appendix 3: Software User's Guide

NPRI Reporting Software for Windows

Hardware and Software Requirements

The Windows reporting software is a 32-bit application that can only be used on computers running Microsoft Windows. The minimum requirements for using the Windows electronic reporting form are:

• Intel 486 compatible personal computer
• Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT
• CD-ROM drive or a 3.5" , high-density disk drive
• a hard disk drive with 20 or more megabytes (Mb) of available space

Installing the Windows Reporting Software

• Start Windows 95/98/NT.
• Insert the NPRI CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. The NPRI CD browser will automatically launch if Autorun is enabled on your system. The CD browser will allow you to install the NPRI reporting software, as well as view the NPRI guidance documents.
• If the CD browser does not appear, open the Windows/NT Explorer, select the CD-ROM drive and double-click on the file Setup.exe.
• Follow the installation instructions.

Main Menu

The Main Menu is the starting point in completing a report for the NPRI. A typical procedure is to first select "Maintain System Files" and upload the data from your 1999 report. Next, choose "View/Enter/Edit Data" and update the information on reporting facilities, substances and off-site facilities. Finally, choose "Check Errors/Create Report" to export an NPRI report to disk and submit it with a signed Statement of Certification to your regional NPRI office.

Options

Help
View/Enter/Edit Data
Reports Menu
Maintain System Files
Check Errors/Create Report
Report Additional Substances
Exit

Maintain System Files

From the Main Menu, select "Maintain System Files". The following options are available:

Options

Help
Upload Data Disks
Clear Database Tables
Change Location of Data Directory
Return

Uploading Data into the 2000 Software

If you have a copy of your 1999 NPRI report on disk, you can upload the data into this year's electronic report form for editing. The 2000 NPRI reports from other facilities can also be uploaded. This feature is useful for company coordinators who wish to combine reports from several facilities on one reporting disk. The 2000 software does not upload NPRI reports created before 1999.

Select "Upload Data Disks" to begin the uploading process. Place the report disk containing your 1999 or 2000 data into the computer's disk drive. At the prompt, choose the drive letter and path name of the NPRI data. The Windows software can upload data from any drive or folder that contains a valid NPRI report. A status screen will indicate if the data is for 1999 or 2000 and the program will list the number of facilities, substances and off-site facilities that will be uploaded. While the data are being uploaded, the program will display the number of records transferred and the number of duplicates found. The software will warn you if a duplicate facility is being uploaded and give you the option to:

• overwrite the existing record with the record on disk
• create a new facility with a different NPRI ID
• skip and do not import the record on disk, or
• cancel all further imports.

Clear Database Tables

This feature is designed for those, such as consultants, who report for different facilities. It allows the user to quickly delete all data for a particular reporting year and then upload new data from another disk. Note: Once deleted, data cannot be recovered.

Change Location of Data Directory

This is a new feature of the software that allows you to store one or more NPRI reports in different folders. This feature is useful for contractors who prepare reports for different clients. Use the Windows Explorer to create new folders for the NPRI data. Then, use the NPRI software to change the location of the data directory. You have the option of creating a new empty database in the folder or opening an existing database. Note: This function cannot be used to copy NPRI reports from one folder to another. Use the Windows Explorer to copy the NPRIDATA.MDB database file.

View/Enter/Edit Data

From the Main Menu select the "View/Enter/Edit Data". From this screen, you can enter all of the information required by the NPRI.

Options

Help
Reporting Facilities
Substances
Surface Water Bodies
Off-site Facilities
Return

Section 3 of this Guide has complete details on what information is required and how to complete these sections. At any time, you can save the information you have entered or abandon the changes you have made.

Reporting Facilities

Information identifying the facility is entered in fields A1 to A17 of the "Reporting Facilities" section. The electronic reporting form allows NPRI reports for more than one facility to be entered. This is useful for company coordinators who are filing NPRI reports for several facilities. The "Facility/Substance Summary" screen provides a concise summary of the on-site releases and off-site transfers. This summary is also available immediately prior to exporting the NPRI report to a disk.

Substances

Information on NPRI substances is entered in fields B1 to B40 of the "Substances" report. The substance screen lists the facilities and their associated substance reports. Substance reports can be added, modified and deleted. The "Facility/Substance Summary" screen provides a concise summary of the on-site releases and off-site transfers. This summary is also available immediately prior to exporting the NPRI report to a disk.

For each surface water discharge, you must identify the receiving water bodies. The button in the "# of Water Bodies" column shows the number of water bodies receiving the discharge. It displays a "?" if no water bodies have been identified. Select the button to open the "Master Pick-list of Surface Water Bodies" table. Here you can identify the surface water bodies that receive the discharge, as well as the quantity discharged to each surface water body. The software provides a pick-list of standard water body names that is drawn from the NPRI database and the Gazetteer of Canada. The pick-list is sorted by province.

You must identify the off-site facilities to which NPRI substances are transferred for disposal (B22.1) or for recycling (B25.1). To do so, select the button in the "# of off-sites" column of these fields to open the "Master Pick-list of Off-site Facilities" table. The software provides a pick-list of previously-entered off-site facility names.

If the pick-lists described above are incomplete or inaccurate, you can add or edit a surface water body name or an off-site facility. The following two sections describe a more direct way of identifying off-site facilities and water bodies.

Surface Water Bodies

To ensure that water bodies are consistently identified, a list of names was assembled from data in the NPRI and from the Gazetteer of Canada. The table has a complete list of water bodies, sorted by province. The entries in this table become part of a pick-list available when in the "Water Bodies" column of field B12.3 of the substances report. The names in this initial list cannot be modified. However, if you cannot find the name of a water body, you can add a new geographic feature to the list. Select "Surface Water Bodies" to open the "Master Pick-list of Surface Water Bodies" table.

Off-site Facilities

This function opens the table "Master Pick-list of Off-site Facilities". To ensure that off-site facilities are consistently identified, a list of facilities was assembled from data in the NPRI. The information for the off-site facilities in this initial list cannot be modified. However, you can add a new off-site facility to the list if you cannot find the name of the facility to which you transferred NPRI substances. The entries in this table become part of a pick-list which is available when in the "# of Off-sites" column of fields B22.1 and B25.1 of the "Substances" report.

Reports Menu

From the Main Menu, select the "Reports" menu. From this screen, you can set printer defaults, print your NPRI report and print a Statement of Certification. Note, you are not required to submit a printed copy of the NPRI report with your electronic copy.

Options

Help
Print Facilities/Substances
Print Surface Water Bodies
Print Off-site Facilities
Print Statement of Certification
Set Printer Defaults
Print Summary Listings
Print Reporting Errors
Return

Print Facilities/Substances

This report provides a detailed listing of all the information in the NPRI report. A series of check boxes allow you to select the options. By default, the report will list all of the facilities and their substances. The off-site facilities and water bodies must be printed separately. You have the option of listing only the facilities without their substances. Or, you can choose to print specific sections of the facility and substance reports. Use the "Print Off-sites/Surface Waters" function (see below) to obtain a list of off-site facilities and water bodies used in the NPRI report.

You may choose to print the report in the "language of entry". This is useful for company coordinators who consolidate NPRI reports from facilities across Canada. It allows those reports completed in English to be printed in English while reports completed in French are printed in French. Or, the report headings can be printed in either French or English; information entered in the report will remain in the language of entry.

Print Surface Waters/Off-sites

This report provides a simple listing of all off-site facilities and all surface water body names used in the NPRI report. In the Windows software, these are two separate reports.

Print Statement of Certification

A brief summary of the NPRI report is printed with the Statement of Certification. It lists the facilities, their substance reports and the total quantities released on site, transferred off site for disposal and recycling. The Statement of Certification includes the name and address of the company official identified in fields A16 and A17. A signed and dated Statement of Certification must be submitted with the NPRI report.

Set Printer Defaults

You can either print to a printer ("P") or to a file ("F"). The software can use any printer on your system. However, you can print to a file in cases where the printer is inaccessible. The resulting file is a simple text document which can be edited in Notepad, WordPad or any other word processor. For best printing results, use a fixed-pitch font such as 10-point Courier or New Courier.

Check Errors and Create Report

From the Main Menu, select this function to check your NPRI report for errors and to create an NPRI report on disk. The options are:

Options

Help
Check for Reporting Errors
View/Print Reporting Errors
Copy NPRI Report to Disk
Return

Check for Reporting Errors

This is an essential step. The reporting software will not export an NPRI report to a disk until this function reports that no errors were detected. This function will verify that you have correctly completed all sections of the NPRI report. A status screen will indicate the number of facility and substance records being verified and the number of warnings and errors being found. The reporting software has data-verification features to provide warnings if the reported releases and transfers are unusually large. Warnings, unlike errors, will not prevent the NPRI report from being exported to a disk.

If errors are found, you will be prompted to view the error and warning messages. Correct the errors reported by the error-check function, and run the "Check for Reporting Errors" function again to clear the previous error codes. When you receive the message "No Errors Detected", you will be able to copy your NPRI report to a disk.

View/Print Reporting Errors

Use these functions to review the error and warning messages generated by the software. The error and warning messages identify the field where the error occurred and provide a brief description of the error or warning. For example:

Copy NPRI Report to Disk

You must use the NPRI software to export a report, otherwise the data on the disk cannot be accepted by Environment Canada. This function of the reporting software is not the same as copying files using the Windows Explorer. The software provides a summary of the on-site releases and off-site transfers immediately before exporting your NPRI report to disk. Review the information for accuracy. Ensure that a blank, formatted disk has been inserted into disk drive "A" or "B", or the software will fail.

If either NERM or ARET reporting was enabled (see "Report Additional Substances"), you will be able to create a NERM/ARET report which contains all substance reports or an NPRI report which only includes NPRI substance reports. The "Copy NPRI Report to Disk" function can also be used to send reports to a coordinator who can then assemble all reports for a company.

Report Additional Substances

The NPRI report can be used to complete reports for the National Emissions Reduction Masterplan (NERM) of the Canadian Chemical Producers' Association and for the Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET) program of Environment Canada. From the "Main Menu", select this function to enable reporting of substances on the NERM and ARET substances lists. The pick-lists in field B1 will include the NERM and ARET substances in addition to the NPRI substances. Indicators in field B1.4 will show if the substance is a NERM or ARET substance.

If either NERM or ARET reporting was enabled, you will be able to create a NERM/ARET report which contains all substance reports or an NPRI report which only includes NPRI substance reports.

Submitting your Report to Environment Canada

Send a copy of your report on disk and the "Statement of Certification" signed by an official of the company to your regional NPRI office, postmarked or courier-dated no later than June 1, 2001. Keep a copy of your data on disk for your records and for uploading into next year's software.