New Software Program Lets Users Develop Their Own DMRs

A new software program may significantly reduce the Division of Water Quality’s role in producing Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMR). Merck Inc. is funding a project to develop PC software that will enable permittees, labs, consultants, and others to create their own DMR and submit data electronically to the division. The software will be available this summer.

DMRs allow the division to assess compliance with wastewater discharge permits, ensuring pollutants are not discharged to the state’s waters at harmful levels. The new software will allow users to create DMRs by downloading DMR requirements from the department’s electronic bulletin board and entering the data into a Microsoft Excel DMR template which can be printed and mailed or electronically submitted. This system also includes electronic transmission features enabling permittees to both transmit effluent data electronically to the division and review the results of DMR processing, including violation analysis. However, there are some signatory and security issues that need to be worked out before EDI (electronic data interchange system) can be fully implemented. (The DMR generating portion of the software will be made available separately, if EDI issues are not resolved.)

Free copies of the DMR/EDI software will be mailed to all permittees on 3.5" diskettes along with a helpful set-up manual. In addition, the division will be available to provide on-site assistance if necessary. (Those permittees not wanting to use EDI can still use the software to generate their DMRs.)

The use of EDI and the DMR template system will result in the submission of more accurate data saving time, paper, and redundant keypunching.