The statewide deadline after which all Unified Program submissions must be made electronically is January 1, 2013. As more information becomes available this webpage will be updated. You should check it frequently as information sometimes changes quickly. Of, if you prefer, you can sign up to receive emailed updates by sending an email to efile@sbcfire.org with the subject line CERS Notifications.

Although CERS2 is now available, we are recommending that facilities hold off a bit longer before entering their information into the site so that we can complete what is called a data seeding process. During this process some of the information we have in our local system will be copied into the CERS site. This will be helpful in that some of your information will be entered for you. You then need only review it rather than entering it all from scratch. It will also help ensure that you don’t enter a site into CERS in addition to the one we seed so that a duplicate is created.

The best thing you can do right now toward being ready to file electronically is to make sure you have accurate completed copies of all Unified Program forms, such as the Business Emergency / Contingency Plan. This is the same information that you will be entering into CERS, and having a good copy in front of you as you enter it will make it much easier. You should also make sure that any forms you submit include a current email address. As we move toward doing more things electronically emails will become an increasingly important means of communication.

We will begin accepting electronic submissions as soon as our software system is capable of receiving them. On the other hand, we will continue to accept paper copies of all submissions as long as the law allows, which means through December 31, 2012. If you have any questions regarding CERS or electronic filing, please don’t hesitate to contact us at efile@sbcfire.org or (909) 386-8401.

Listed below are some dates to keep in mind as we work toward the January 1, 2013, deadline:

January 6, 2012	Production copy of CERS2 launched
~July 2012	Projected date when data seeding may take place. After this date all facilities will be encouraged to begin entering information into CERS
~July 2012	Projected date when San Bernardino County CUPA may be able to accept electronic submissions. However, if you desire you may still submit paper forms until the state mandated deadline of January 1, 2013
December 31, 2012	The last date we will be able to accept Unified Program forms in a paper format
January 1, 2013	Date after which all submissions must be made electronically

Additional Information

The State will manage the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS), and the responsibility for the implementation currently falls with Cal/EPA. For more information you may want to review the fact sheets at: http://www.calepa.ca.gov/CUPA/EReporting/default.htm.

Documents from the San Bernardino County CUPA:

E-Reporting Authorization [MS Word Version]
San Bernardino County E-Reporting Frequently Asked Questions