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Bridge Tool Overview
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 Bridge Tool Overview

Introduction
The Bridge Tool is an Access application
designed to
ease the conversion of information
from tables and
spreadsheets to XML files
consistent with the
Consolidated Emissions
Reporting Schema (CERS). For entity and
attribute
definitions of the CERS,
please click
here. The
Bridge tool can also import XML
files into the
Access tables. There are 3
different Bridge Tool
versions, depending on
the type of data being converted:
Facility Inventory and Point emissions
Non-Point, On-Road, and Non-Road
emissions data
Event data
Within each of these versions of the Bridge
Tool, a
series of tables are provided that may
be filled out.
What tables that need to be filled
out are dependent on
the type of data to be
converted. For example, if you
only need to

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change the coordinates of a facility, only
information from the Facility table needs to be
provided. It is important to remember the
CERS has a hierarchical structure.
Consequently, the Bridge Tool needs
information to be able to create these
structures through relationships between
tables.

Tools Available:
View the structure and relationships
between tables
Bridge Tool Area Emissions
Bridge Tool Facility Inventory
Bridge Tool Point Emissions

“Easy Way” for XML Emissions Generation
There is a special case for generating an XML file that does
not require building of the
hierarchical records within the
Bridge Tool. This is when you are creating Point, Non-Point,
On-Road, or Non-Road emissions
AND you do not need to report any
associated
supplemental calculation parameters or operating
details. In this case, you only need to create
records in
the Emissions table. When you click the “Export to CERS XML”
menu item, it
will be able to build all the necessary
reporting periods, process, locations (if Non-Point,
OnRoad, Non-Road emissions), Units (for Point), and/or
Facility (for Point) records needed.
However, you cannot use
this option if you are also reporting activity elements via
the
SupplementalParameter and/or OperatingDetails tables.

Standard Way for Generating an XML File
If creating a file the “Easy Way” won’t work for you, the
more general method of creating
the XML file is to fill out
records for multiple tables and have the Bridge Tool “link”
the
records together through the unique keys. For example,
if you needed to change the Source
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Classification Code for a process (EIS Process ID = 114) within a unit (EIS Unit ID = 113) at
a facility (EIS Facility ID 111), you would have to do the following:
1. Fill out the Facility table with a record for EIS Facility ID 111
2. Fill out the EmissionsUnit table with a EIS Facility ID 111 and EIS Unit ID 113
3. Fill out the EmissionsProcess table with a EIS Facility ID 111, EIS Unit ID 113, and EIS
Process ID 114. This EmissionsProcess records would also have the SCC change under
the SourceClassificationCode column in this table
To learn more about how these tables are connected and what the unique keys for each table
are, please choose from the following links:
Facility Inventory
Point Emissions
Non-Point, On-Road, Non-Road Emissions

Menu Items
The following menu items appear in each of the Bridge Tool
versions:
Import from CERS XML
This function will import an existing XML file and populate
the appropriate tables within the
Bridge Tool. This file may
have been previously generated from the Bridge Tool or
generated
through the standard EIS Report (there are
multiple XML Snapshot generation reports
available). You
have the option of deleting all existing records prior to
importing (the default)
or to append the tables with the new
records.
Export to CERS XML
This function will use the information within the Bridge
Tool tables and attempt to create a
CERS XML document. As
part of the generation steps, it performs several quality
assurance
steps:
Ensures the appropriate “parent” records exist
Ensures that there are no “orphaned” records
The resulting XML document conforms to the CERS structure
The user is presented with a form to provide needed
information to perform the submittal.
Please note that the
Bridge Tool will use the last set of information (if
available) to prehttps://eis.epa.gov/userguide/ETL/BridgeTool/BridgeTool.html[6/30/2023 12:50:43 PM]

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populate the form, so make sure the entries are appropriate for your current generation
request.

File Location
The location of where the XML file will be generated.
Data Category
The data category that you wish to generate. The dropdown
list will vary depending on which
version of the Bridge Tool
you are working with.
Emissions Year
The inventory year to which you are submitting.
Submission Type
The type of submission you are creating.
QA: When submitted, EIS will only perform quality
assurance checks against the file.
No information will be
retained by the system for these submittals.
Production: EIS will perform the same validations as it
would with a QA submittal, but

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if no issues are found, the
information is retained in the database.
User Identifier
Your EIS User Identifier. For EPA users, this is your LAN
ID. For State, Local, and Tribal
Users, this is the
identifier you received when signing up through the EPA
Portal (either an
email address or possibly beginning with
the letter “X” + your first initial + a portion of your
last
name {“XFLASTNAME” for example}).
Author Name
The name of the person creating the XML document. This is
free-format text.
Organization Name
The name of the organization to which the Author belongs.
This is free-format text
Program System Code
The Program System Code of the organization to which the
User Identifier belongs. You can
find this in the EIS
Gateway under “My Agency”. From there, look under the
“Program
System Codes” tab. You will see your agency in this
list.
EPA Dataset
This should only be used for EPA personnel. This designates
the dataset to which the
emissions records will be
submitted. For all non-EPA users, there is a default dataset
assigned
for each Program System Code and Emissions Year
combination.
Keywords
Any key words that would help you identify the file. This is
a free-format text block.
Submission Comment
Any additional comments that you would like to provide
pertaining to the submission.
Edit Data Table
This function will provide a form showing the number of
records that exist in each of the
tables for the given
Bridge Tool. The “Clear All” button will delete all records
from all tables
except for the DocumentHeader table

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View QA Report
This function will provide a form showing the records in the tables that have quality
assurance issues that need to be remedied before a valid XML document can be generated.

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You may click on the “Edit” hyperlink to go to the record that created the issue. Once you
have performed all necessary edits, clicking the “Rerun” button will rerun the quality
assurance checks for all tables in the Bridge Tool. You may also download a list of all the
quality assurance check findings by clicking on the “Export to CSV” button.
View XML Conversion Report
This function will provide a form showing the number of records in the tables that were
generated to the XML file. A CSV download of all the information is available by clicking on
the “Export to CSV” button.

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Import Staging Tables
This function will import records from an existing Bridge Tool file into the current Bridge
Tool file. You have the option of deleting all existing records prior to importing (the default)
or to append the tables with the new records.

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