Collaborative modernization of the Integrated Compliance Information System

The EPA’s principal compliance and enforcement data system is quickly approaching the end of its lifecycle. Co-regulators need a modern solution to effectively and efficiently collect, manage, and share the data that underpin compliance and enforcement programs. A modernized system will: lower operation, maintenance, and development costs; deploy shared reusable services to reduce the information technology investment of the EPA and states; comply with the EPA’s electronic reporting requirements; and be adaptable, flexible, and able to match the speed of EPA and state regulatory changes.

With support from E-Enterprise, the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance convened a Modernization Board to guide the planning and development of a new compliance and enforcement information system.

The ICIS Modernization Board is comprised of 10 state and local members and seven EPA members representing air and water programs, regions, and enterprise information management offices. The Board oversaw the development of a 2022 Concept of Operations (ConOps) document. The ConOps described the current state of ICIS and documented existing workflows and implementation challenges.

In 2023, the Board used the ConOps document and detailed input from states to further refine the scope of ICIS modernization.

In 2024, the Board informed the launch of several Focus Area groups that are gathering input on requirements for Air, Water, Federal Enforcement and Compliance, Communications, and Data Architecture and Integration. The Focus Areas are compiling insights on data and business needs that will guide subsequent phases of modernization. This input will help the project:

• Identify major business functions (e.g., workload management), business process flows, and inputs/outputs that will be supported by a future system that will replace ICIS and
• Capture business requirements that describe user expectations for a prospective enforcement, compliance, and case management information system.

What’s next?

Focus Areas groups continue to meet and gather information that will inform the development of an Alternatives Analysis for a modernized solution. With support from the Board, the EPA’s ICIS project team is conducting regular open meetings to update the broader ICIS community on the progress of the modernization project.

As the project progresses, E-Enterprise plans to review and refresh the Board’s charter to ensure that it remains well positioned to guide an inclusive development approach driven by customer business needs.

E-Enterprise provides the framework and resources to convene states and the EPA to solve pressing challenges. The ICIS Modernization Board creates a venue for partner agencies with responsibility for Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System or Clean Air Act stationary source authorized programs to discuss their information and workflow needs. That cooperation is crucial for designing modern data management solutions that meet program needs and support the work of protecting the environment and human health.