c/EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
(WH-556F)
EPA 500/9-90-001B
June 1990
Office Of Water
Information Resources
Management
Annual Report
Fiscal Years 1989-90
Water
Programs
Data for
Decision
Making
Information Resources
Management:
Tools For Making
Water Program Decisions
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments FY 1989 - 1990
Table of Contents
Page Title
1 INTRODUCTION
3 IRM PLANNING
7 INFORMATION ACCESS AND USEFULNESS
Data Standardization and System Integration
Hardware and Software Enhancements
17 STRENGTHENING PARTNERSHIPS
Training and Outreach
Joint and Interagency Projects
27 OFFICE AUTOMATION
30 LOOKING AHEAD
31 OW IRM MANAGERS AND PROJECT LEADERS
37 ACRONYMS
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Introduction
As the challenge to restore and maintain
our nation's water quality becomes more
complex, it is increasingly important that
we effectively manage more environmental
data than ever before.
This Report
Highlights IRM
Activities Taking
Place In FY 1989-9O
Technological advances like personal computers and geographic
information systems help us to accomplish this objective.
These advances also help us to solve problems more effectively
by facilitating partnerships comprised of Federal, State, local,
and tribal governments; the private sector; and the public.
The collection and use of environmental information is the
basis for making critical program decisions and for evaluating
the effectiveness of our environmental programs. Success
depends on the quality, completeness, and timeliness of
information in the information management systems of our
water programs and the ease of obtaining information from
these systems. The Agency's Water Program is committed to
providing the necessary information to its managers to ensure
that decisions are based on the best possible information and
that adequate information exists to measure program
effectiveness.
Each year the Water Program initiates many information
resources management (IRM) activities to strengthen its
program management capabilities. This first annual IRM report
highlights activities initiated and either completed or in
progress by the Water Program in FY 1989-90. The Report
targets Headquarters' accomplishments and initiatives
primarily in the areas of information access and utilization.
Future reports will update Headquarters activities initiated in
FY 1990; address quality assurance and data collection efforts
aimed at maximizing the integrity of water program
information, such as monitoring protocols and Information
Collection Request (ICR) development; discuss Regional
activities in more detail; and measure the Program's progress in
meeting its IRM goals.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Introduction
It Takes both a
Broad View (Volume
I) and Detailed Look
(Volume II)
IRM Planning
Information Access
and Usefulness
Strengthening
Partnerships
Office Automation
The Annual Report is organized into two volumes. Volume I,
the Annual Report in Brief, provides a broad overview of the
Water Program's IRM goals and highlights major activities
undertaken to support these goals. Volume II contains more
detailed descriptions both of the activities introduced in
Volume I and other important initiatives.
Additionally, it includes program contacts for each project.
Both volumes are organized around four key water program
IRM goals:
Identify the information needed to make well-informed decisions
and evaluate environmental program effectiveness.
Improve access to data for water-related decisions and
overcome obstacles preventing the use of information in
program decision making and implementation.
Work with the public and private sectors to create information
networks that support cross-program and cross-media solutions.
Increase the use of office automation technology to improve
staff productivity and facilitate information exchange among
water programs.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
IRM Planning
Goal:
Identify the information needed to make well-informed decisions
and evaluate environmental program effectiveness.
An important Water Program goal is to make IRM planning an
integral component in the strategic planning for each
individual water program and for the Water Program as a
whole. Integrating IRM planning into the Water Program's
strategic planning activities ensures that it is collecting
appropriate data to support its critical program decisions and
evaluate environmental program effectiveness in meeting
environmental goals.
Through effective IRM planning, water programs are striving
to:
• Recognize the value of different types of information to
decision making;
• Ensure that programs assess their information needs prior
to initiating or significantly enhancing systems;
• Promote coordination within and outside the Agency to
Share information to capitalize on previous
investments,
Guarantee timely and useful feedback during system
development, and
Maximize the usefulness of the data collected;
• Eliminate duplications and gaps in data collected; and
• Select appropriate technology to ensure effective use of
resources.
During the past two years, the Water Program has placed
increasing emphasis on ensuring that individual programs
use a systematic approach to assess information collection and
management needs before systems are developed or enhanced.
This approach helps participants to assess their needs for
information management systems systematically, define
system requirements, identify and evaluate options for
implementing the systems, select the best option, plan for
system implementation, and test and implement the system.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
IRM Planning
Underground
Injection Control
Program Mission
Needs Assessment
(ODW*, FY 1988 - 89)
*Please see appendix for
a list of acronyms
Several projects completed in FY 1989 or currently in progress
illustrate this commitment to utilize systematic approaches to
IRM Planning.
(For full information on the lead organization and the points of
contact for IRM projects, please see section concerning: IRM
Managers and Project Leaders.)
The purpose of the Underground Injection Control (UIC)
Mission Needs Assessment, completed in February 1989, was to
assess the usefulness of the UIC program's information
management systems and the adequacy of the information
collected to support program needs.
The Mission Needs Assessment documented the need for and
approved the development of a decentralized, but integrated,
UIC information management system to replace the existing
system. The key components of this system will be well-based
tracking systems maintained at the program implementation
level. By discretely identifying each well, the UIC program will
be able to establish correlations between individual wells and
program activities in areas such as compliance, enforcement,
inspections, permitting, and well operations.
The Mission Needs Assessment also recommended the
development of a five-year strategy that would provide the
framework to help State and Regional Programs develop or
improve their information management capabilities to satisfy
new reporting requirements The strategy would also provide a
framework for revising Headquarters information collection
and management to support the newly identified information
requirements. The first step in this process was to develop a
standard set of UIC data elements, with accompanying
definitions, that all UIC programs would collect.
The UIC Program aims to ensure that all State and direct
implementation (DI) programs are tracking information on a
well-by-well basis by FY 1992 and that the Regions and
Headquarters are capable of collecting, managing, and
interpreting the information necessary for oversight,
enforcement planning, and resource allocation.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
IRM Planning
Agency-Wide
Drinking Water
Information Study
(OW, ODW, FY 1989-
90)
Data Sharing and
Systems
Compatibility Study
(Steering Committee
for Water Quality
Data Systems, FY
1989-90)
The Agency-Wide Drinking Water Information Study was
initiated to evaluate the need for and availability of drinking
water information to support decision making throughout EPA.
The findings indicated that the needs and uses for drinking
water data are widespread, but awareness of the types of
drinking water information available and sharing of data across
programs is limited.
Based on these findings, the Office of Water (OW) and the Office
of Drinking Water (ODW) developed an action plan identifying
several outreach initiatives for FY 1990 designed to publicize the
availability of ODW information and to encourage sharing of
information across Agency programs. Outreach initiatives
underway are as follows: a managers' guide to ODW's Federal
Reporting Data System (FRDS) for the Public Water Supply
System program, an ODW information guide, and a drinking
water program contacts directory.
The purpose of the Data Sharing and Systems Compatibility
Study was to identify how the priority Agency water-related data
bases could be better coordinated. The priority systems assessed
included BIOS, the Federal Reporting Data System (FRDS n), the
Drinking Water Supply File (DWS), the Gage File, the Grants
Information Control System (GICS), the Industrial Facilities
Discharge File (IFD), the Needs Survey, the Ocean Data
Evaluation System (ODES), the Permits Compliance System
(PCS), the Reach File, STORET, and the Waterbody System.
The study recommended steps to take for each priority data
system to facilitate data sharing and compatibility with other
data systems. These steps would enhance each system to ensure
that it provides the following: 1) minimum data elements and
location identifiers, 2) the capability to transfer data to personal
computers (PCs), 3) suitable system security, 4) quality
assurance/quality control for data collection and entry and an
on-line quality assurance evaluation capability, 5) graphics and
mapping retrieval categories, 6) the ability to access and display
overlay data from other systems, and 7) timeliness in obtaining
current data.
This study has resulted in specific recommendations for
individual systems as well as overall recommendations for data
integration in OW. OW managers are considering the
recommendations.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
IRM Planning
Sludge Tracking
Feasibility Study
(OWEP, FY 1989-90)
OW Systems
Modernization
Initiative (OW, FY
1990)
The Sludge Tracking Feasibility Study was undertaken to
examine approaches for developing an information
management tracking system to support sludge program
requirements promulgated in the Water Quality Act of 1987.
The Office of Water Enforcement and Permits (OWEP) is
investigating how best to use PCS as the framework to meet
sludge tracking needs.
To date, as part of the study, OWEP has developed a Mission
Needs Analysis; an initial system concept, operational
specifications for collecting, storing, and analyzing sludge data; a
number of system alternatives; and an evaluation of each
alternative based on ranked criteria. All portions of the study
have been or will be reviewed by the PCS sludge workgroup
consisting of Regional and State representatives. The effort will
result in proceeding with the option that the workgroup
believes best responds to State and EPA sludge tracking needs.
OW initiated this project to determine whether the type and
amount of information needed to manage the Water Program
will change enough over the next decade to warrant a re-
examination on how it collects and manages information. The
project is also intended to provide the Office of Information
Resources Management (OIRM) with a framework for
modernizing the current STORET software by converting it
from in-house software to a commercial off-the-shelf data base
management package. STORET modernization will facilitate
the users' retrieval and manipulation of data.
In April 1990 the Office of Water held a workshop on the OW
Data System Modernization Initiative attended by all OW
Division Directors (or their representatives) and by Region X.
In support of the initiative's overall purpose, participants
discussed how decisions made by Federal and State Water
Program managers will change over the next decade, what
information water programs will need to accommodate these
changes, and the role of OW in this changing environment.
The group recommended that OW develop a vision statement
to help guide OW in developing an Information Management
Action Plan that covers the period 1995-2000. The goal is to
finalize the vision statement by late fall 1990 and begin work on
the Plan in winter 1990.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments FY 1989 - 1990
Information Access and
Usefulness
Goal: Improve access to data for water-related decisions and
overcome obstacles preventing the use of information in
program decision making and implementation.
The Water Program is moving toward an integrated approach
to program management that will have a significant impact on
its information management activities. The intent is to:
• Reduce duplication of information among water programs;
and
• Promote joint efforts to increase program effectiveness in
meeting environmental goals.
Because today's water programs involve all levels of
government, we have placed increasing emphasis on working
with Federal, State, local, and tribal programs to manage and
protect water resources. Therefore, improving access to
information is a major program priority.
We are achieving this through:
• Developing standard minimum data sets, common
definitions, consistent collection and monitoring protocols,
and promoting data integration; and
• Identifying and implementing information system
enhancements to ensure access by a broader base of users.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Information Access and Usefulness
PROGRAM . •' .
HIGHLIGHTS .
* \ ' ' • ' + •' ^ '
Accomplishments
• i;::-;'. '
Ground-Water
Minimum Data Set
Project (OGWP, FY
1989)
A. Data Standardization and Integration
Historically, much of the data the Water Program collected
came from a variety of different sources and was submitted in
varied and often incompatible formats. Inconsistencies in
definitions and monitoring protocols have made this data of
limited value in supporting management decision making
outside of the specific purpose for which it was collected.
Currently, an important objective of our water programs is
focusing on developing minimum data sets, standard
definitions and formats, and consistent collection and
monitoring protocols to increase the usefulness of the
information to all users.
The following projects illustrate the Water Program's
commitment to improving access to and broadening its
application of data.
The purpose of the Ground-Water Minimum Data Set Project is
to enable the sharing and use of ground-water data that the
ground-water management community can reliably depend on.
This community includes States, local and tribal governments,
the regulated community, EPA, and other Federal Agencies.
The project has built upon the results of the Agency's Ground-
Water Monitoring Strategy (1986) and the Ground-Water Data
Requirements Analysis (FY 1987), both of which provided a
clear message about the need for ground-water data standards.
Participants at the June 1988 EPA Workshop for the project
identified 22 minimum data elements to be collected and
managed through the Agency's ground-water data collection
activities.
The minimum data set was finalized in the 1989 EPA Order on
the Ground-Water Minimum Data Set. The Order requires the
collection of the minimum data set for all EPA funded ground-
water monitoring. This will ensure Agency-wide data
consistency, the collection of key data elements, improved
confidence in the quality of ground-water data, and greater ease
in data sharing and cross-media analysis. It will also provide
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Information Access and Usefulness
Underground
Injection Control
Minimum Data Set
Workgroup (ODW, FY
1990)
Automated Section
305(b) Reporting by
Creating the
Waterbody System
(OWRS, FY 1989)
resource savings and allow for improved program effectiveness
and decision making.
A workgroup consisting of members from various Federal
Agencies and all 50 States has been established to reach an
agreement on standard Ground-Water Minimum Data Set
Definitions. These definitions will further support the
consistency of ground-water data. This effort will be completed
in the fall of 1990.
The Underground Injection Control (UIC) Data Management
Project, discussed earlier, identified the need for a multi-tiered
Minimum Data Set for use at the Headquarters, Regional, and
State levels to ensure data consistency across all State programs
and in those Regions that directly implement the UIC program
in lieu of State involvement. Currently, data collected by States
and EPA's Direct Implementation (DI) programs varies
considerably.
The purpose of the minimum data set is to provide consistent
data with which States and DI programs will be able to
implement, operate, and measure the success of their efforts.
Data consistency will support EPA's aim to allocate resources,
undertake compliance and enforcement activities, and oversee
and measure the progress of the national, Regional and State
UIC programs.
The UIC program recently completed a draft of a minimum data
set for the States. The data set contains mandatory and
suggested data elements and their accompanying definitions.
The completion of this initiative in FY 1990 will yield an
approved minimum data set for Headquarters, the Regions, and
States, and provide definitions and guidance to support
program implementation.
The Office of Water Regulations and Standards (OWRS) has
developed a computerized data base—the Waterbody System
(WBS)—to manage the data for the waterbody portion of the
biennial State Water Quality Assessment. The biennial
assessment to Congress is required by Section 305(b) of the Clean
Water Act. The Waterbody System has also been designed to
facilitate national consistency of State data collected for the
Section 305(b) Report. This consistency is critical because
information from the 305(b) process is becoming increasingly
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Information Access and Usefulness
Inclusion of
Locaffonaf
Information in PCS
(OWEP, FY 1989)
important as nation-wide pollution control efforts shift from
technology-based to water quality-based approaches.
Before the Waterbody System was developed, EPA had to
address many different and inconsistent formats as it
incorporated each State's data into the Water Quality
Assessment. WBS has standardized the content and format of
State 305(b) Report submittals and provides a simple, automated
method by which States electronically submit their data to EPA.
Both mainframe and PC components are available to facilitate
State usage of the system. In conjunction with developing the
Waterbody System, EPA provided technical support to States on
how to use it. This assistance included guidance on coding and
data entry, on-site training, consultation, indexing waterbody
designations to the River Reach System, custom programming,
and programming to enable data transfer from a State system to
the WBS.
Both data standardization and provisions for electronic
reporting have helped to shorten State 305(b) Report
preparation time and have provided States with analytical tools
to assess their own data and make program management
decisions.
In FY 1989, OWEP began an initiative to upgrade geographic
information for the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) facilities maintained in the Permit Compliance
System (PCS).
Currently, few dischargers have reported the latitude and
longitude of their facility's outfall to PCS. The inclusion of
latitude and longitude coordinates of outfalls for major NPDES
facilities will enhance the usefulness of PCS in managing the
NPDES program. This new geographic information is key to
linking outfall data to stream reaches and to mapping and
targeting pollutant discharges. The coordinates will also
provide new opportunities to interface with other EPA systems
that have mapping capabilities. Entry of latitude and longitude
information into PCS will result in many additional program
offices being able to use the information in PCS for planning
and program development purposes.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Information Access and Usefulness
Indicators To
Measure Ground-
Water Program
Progress (OGWP, FY
1989-9O)
Use Of Toxic Release
Inventory Data (TRI)
(OWRS, OWEP,
OMPC, ODW, FY
1989-90)
The Indicators for Ground-Water Progress Project, begun in
1986 by the Office of Ground Water Protection (OGWP), has
aimed to develop a set of consistent environmental indicators
for measuring program progress and characterizing and
reporting ground-water trends.
In 1989, EPA published a report entitled "Indicators for
Measuring Progress in Ground-Water Protection" that
identified a set of ground-water indicators based on principles
defined earlier in the effort. OW believes the indicators can
provide useful information on ground-water quality in five
areas: public water supplies, hazardous waste sites, solid waste
and industrial sites, regional ground-water sources, and area-
wide sources facing potential contamination from pesticides.
OGWP is currently testing the usefulness of these indicators in a
series of FY 1990 State Pilot projects.
The purpose of this project is to evaluate how Toxic Release
Inventory (TRI) information, maintained by the Office of Toxic
Substances (OTS), can be used by OW program offices. OW
developed a preliminary action plan in June 1989 (to be updated
annually) that outlines pilot projects by OWRS, OWEP, ODW,
and OGWP. These projects are designed to determine how
useful TRI data is as a tool for
• Reviewing 304(1) lists,
• Screening for possible unpermitted dischargers,
• Ranking chemicals for future development of water quality
criteria and water quality advisories,
• Identifying wastewater treatment methods used by
pharmaceutical facilities, and
• Screening for potential contaminants to public supply wells
and ground water.
An important advantage of the TRI project is its exploration of
new avenues for intra-agency cooperation and data sharing to
meet environmental enforcement objectives.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Information Access and Usefulness
•Mi^jj^^^-;:^.
Accomplishments
System
B. System Enhancements
One of the key objectives of the water program is to increase
the use of information available from water systems by
simplifying access to them. Furthermore, another water
program priority is to make the information within the
systems available to a broader user base both within and
outside the Agency.
The Water Program has a number of efforts underway to
increase user friendliness and availability of its systems.
Federal Reporting
Data System (FRDS
II) Project (ODW, FY
1990)
ODW began this project in 1988 to enhance the existing
information system for the Public Water Supply Supervision
Program, the Federal Reporting Data System (FRDS 1.5). The
enhancements to FRDS were designed to increase the utility of
FRDS for management decisions and to facilitate data entry by
the Regions and States. FRDS II incorporates five major
modifications: data base integration, noncompliance tracking,
significant noncompliance (SNC) identification and tracking,
historical data retention, and storage of State discretionary data.
In addition, FRDS II enables PC-based data entry procedures to
facilitate the system's use.
In conjunction with the enhancement efforts, ODW held
extensive FRDS II training sessions for program and data
processing managers. The 11 one-week training sessions (10 in
the Regions and one at Headquarters) focused on improving the
quality of FRDS II data and on showing users how to retrieve
the data they need. Specifically, the sessions covered entering
data into FRDS II, analyzing error reports and making
corrections, and retrieving and interpreting data. Training
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Information Access and Usefulness
Grants Information
Control System
(GICS)
Modern/za f ion
(OMPC, FY 199O)
PPETS • PCS
Development (OWEP,
FY 1990)
materials included a handbook and descriptive system
documentation.
In 1989, a team consisting of staff from the Office of Municipal
Pollution Control (OMPC) and the Office of Information
Resources Management completed a three-year Grants
Information Control System (GICS) Modernization effort that
converted GICS from a flat file to an ADABAS database
environment. The GICS database is the primary source of
information for construction grants and State Revolving Fund
(SRF) managers at the State, Regional, and Headquarters levels.
In addition to the conversion of GICS to AD Abase, OMPC has
also developed within GICS a data base for national and State
management of the new State Revolving Fund (SRF) program.
Its components include:
• SRF national on-line data entry system;
• SRF National Reporting System;
• SRF State optional on-line data entry system; and
• Generic SRF State Pilot Optional Reporting System.
In FY 1990, the modernization team is exploring the feasibility
of developing an SRF PC Workstation model as part of OIRM's
State/EPA Data Management Initiative.
The purpose of this effort is to develop software for the
Pretreatment Permits and Enforcement Tracking System
(PPETS) that enables users to identify publicly owned treatment
works (POTWs) into which industrial users discharge and the
controlling authority that oversees the discharge. PPETS is a
subsystem of the Permit Compliance System (PCS) that supports
the pretreatment program's information needs.
The development of OWEP PPETS was divided into two phases.
During Phase I, completed in 1988, OWEP developed the
portion of the system that tracks pretreatment compliance
inspections, pretreatment audits, and pretreatment annual
reports. Additional software that enables the user to determine
linkages between the Pretreatment Control Authority, the
POTW receiving the discharge, and industrial users will be
completed in Phase II.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Information Access and Usefulness
Personal Assistance
Link (OWEP, FY
1989)
NEP Tracking
System (OMEP, FY
1990)
Development of this new software has many programmatic
advantages. For example, a user will be able to identify the
number of industrial users discharging into a particular POTW
as well as track the type and amount of chemicals being sent to
that POTW. These details about pretreatment discharges to
POTWs will assist permit writers in their review and reissuance
of pretreatment permits to ensure the maintenance of water
quality in surface waters affected by industrial discharges.
The Personal Assistance Link (PAL) was developed by OWEP in
1989 to make PCS easier to use for program managers and
decision makers. PAL is a user friendly PC software package for
accessing PCS data. It is designed specifically to access the type of
PCS information commonly useful for managers. At the
request of the user, PAL can produce any of 14 commonly
requested PCS reports quickly and easily. PAL is completely
menu-driven, allowing managers to identify and produce the
reports they need without having to learn any complex
commands or special syntax.
The National Estuary Program Tracking System (NEPTS) was
originally developed by the Office of Marine and Estuarine
Protection (OMEP) in 1985 to track individual projects funded
through cooperative agreements, interagency agreements, and
contracts. The current enhancement will incorporate features
developed and tested by Region I to allow efficient management
of the many committees necessary under the National Estuary
Program. The upgraded system will also provide estuary
programs with an invaluable tool for tracking projects and
associated products, providing summary reports on their status.
In addition, the Program Milestone module of the system
enables the estuary programs to monitor their progress against
the seven purposes and two steps required of these programs by
the Water Quality Act of 1987.
The system also functions as a technology transfer tool. It
provides a list of ongoing projects which may be of interest to
the National Estuary Program management and staff as well as
other Federal, State, and local organizations involved in the
protection and improvement of near coastal environments.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Information Access and Usefulness
Reach File
Enhancements
(OWRS, FY 1989-90)
Access To STORET
(OGWP, OWRS,
OIRM, FY 1989)
Enhancements of
LISTS (OWRS, FY
1990)
The purpose of this project is to increase the utility of the Reach
File as a tool for program management and analysis. The Reach
File is a computerized directory of streams, lakes, reservoirs,
and estuaries in the continental United States. Waterbodies are
divided into segments called reaches. Each reach has a unique
identifier which enables the user to determine the reach's
location and access information about that reach in STORET
and other OW data bases.
OWRS's FY 1990 initiative will result in the inclusion of a
greater number of stream reaches within the Reach File than is
now available, the segmentation of estuaries and open waters,
the categorization of reaches in terms of perennial or ephemeral
flow, access and display of hydrographic and water data for
3,000,000 reaches on 54,000 quadrangle maps in the United
States, and the development of a digitizing capability using PCs
to transfer data to and from the Reach File. As a result of the
increased scope and level of detail, EPA Regions, States, and
localities will be better able to conduct analyses needed to
support their programs.
STORET, the Agency's water quality data base, has historically
been under-utilized because its command language, although
highly versatile and accommodating, is difficult for non-
technical users to learn. Under the auspices of the OW Steering
Committee, a cooperative effort between OGWP, OWRS, and
OIRM has resulted in improvements that make STORET easier
for non-technical users to operate.
The initiative has created new menu driven processes and help
features to analyze and extract water data from the system. In
addition, it has sought to reduce the overall cost and time
required to analyze data and produce reports and to improve
the accuracy of reports. To date, enhancement efforts have
addressed the capability of STORET to retrieve data and have
begun to examine issues involving the storage of data. Later
efforts will focus on a PC interface with STORET.
OWRS is currently enhancing its LISTS system to enable it to
serve as the Agency-wide system for cataloguing analytical
methods. The enhancements were necessary in order to
accommodate the Agency's Methods Cataloging Steering
Group's unanimous recommendation that LISTS be used as the
Agency's standard system for this purpose.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments FY 1989 - 1990
Information Access and Usefulness
The Agency's Methods Cataloguing Steering Group, consisting
of representatives from the Office of Research and
Development (ORD), the Office of Air and Radiation (OAR), the
Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances (OPTS), the Office of
Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER), the Office of
Regional Operations (ORO), and OW convened in February
1989 to propose a system that would serve as a computerized
catalogue identifying the availability, applicability, and degree of
standardization of analytical methods currently used in the
Agency. The steering group unanimously recommended using
the OWRS LISTS system, which already serves as an automated
catalogue of analyses and methods used by the Agency in the
testing of wastes, wastewater, and sludge. LISTS was originally
developed by OWRS in 1985.
The enhanced system will be distributed throughout the Agency
and, at the request of the Office of Regional Operations and
OWEP, will be installed in Regional Environmental Services
Division laboratories and Water Divisions as soon as possible in
FY 1990. As a result, LISTS will serve as the single,
authoritative source of the Agency's analytical methods.
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Strengthening Partnerships
Goal:
Accomplishments
Wbr/c w/f/i fne pub//c and private sectors to create information
networks that support cross-program and cross-media solutions.
Over the past few years, the Water Program has worked
increasingly with Regions, States, local and tribal governments,
other Federal Agencies, citizen groups, and universities to
fulfill its mission. The Agency has increased its reliance on
broad-based coalitions and State and local initiatives to protect
water resources and resolve pollution problems. Assisting
partners in using Federally-maintained water information is
integral to this evolving partnership. Likewise, we encourage
other programs to share their information as part of the overall
effort to use information effectively. The Water Program has
developed a variety of training and outreach "tools" to educate
and inform our partners about the information available to
help them implement their programs. The Water Program is
also seeking the support and assistance of other public and
private sector groups to collect and disseminate water-related
information so that we utilize our collective resources
effectively.
A. Training and Outreach
A major objective is to increase awareness of information
available and how it can be timely and useful to program
implementation. In FY 1989-90, the Water Program has been
establishing a variety of information networks to provide our
partners with useful and timely information. These efforts
have included creating training courses and forums, bulletin
boards, clearinghouses, and information catalogues to
publicize the availability of water information to potential
users. Several efforts in this area are highlighted below.
"""'
U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Strengthening Partnerships
Regional Forums
(Steering Committee
for Water Quality
Data Systems, FY
1989-90)
PCS Managers
Training (OWEP, FY
1989-90)
Public Access to
PCS (OWEP, FY
1990)
In FY 1990, the Steering Committee for Water Quality Data
Systems held forums in eight of the Agency's Regions to
provide Regional, State, and local representatives with an
overview of the information in major water information
systems; describe how to access and use these systems; and
introduce new enhancements to familiar systems. Two
additional forums are slated for the fall of FY 1990. Specific
topics covered in the forums included 1) information on menu
driven STORET retrieval and ground-water and surface water
data management capabilities in STORET and 2) presentations
about BIOS, the Waterbody System (WBS), the Water Quality
Analysis System (WQAS), the Reach File, NEEDS File General
Query, and the Ocean Data Evaluation System (ODES).
Several hundred Regional, State, and local representatives have
attended this forum series. The forums increased the awareness
of State and Regional staffs about information management
tools available to them. They have also opened a dialogue with
Headquarters system managers about additional enhancements
that would be helpful to State and Regional managers as they
implement their programs.
OWEP has offered training in the use of the Permits
Compliance System (PCS) on a continuing basis for several
years. In FY 1989, classes on advanced retrieval methods as well
as sessions offering special assistance were added to the
curriculum. In FY 1990, the emphasis of PCS training is to
increase managers' awareness of what information is in PCS
and how it can be used to support decision making. In
conjunction with this, OWEP developed a user friendly PC-
based course promoting basic training in the use of PCS to
facilitate managers in their decision-making activities.
In response to public demand, OWEP is taking steps to increase
public access to PCS Data. This is being accomplished through a
two-step process. The first step has been to allow all current PCS
users access to all national data, and not to limit them to data
for their Region or State. The next step will be to allow open
access to PCS. Although the data is now available to the public
in hard copy form through Freedom of Information Act
requests, OWEP's plan is to provide an easier method for the
public to access the data electronically.
Discussions are underway with the National Technical
Information Service (NTIS) as a point of distribution for
18
U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Strengthening Partnerships
OW Electronic
Bulletin Boards
COASTNET (OMEP,
FY 1990)
Local Exchange
(OGWP, FY 1990)
computer tapes and disks containing downloads or extracts of
PCS data. OWEP will also explore the feasibility of working
through EPA's National Computer Center (NCC) or an outside
organization to maintain an on-line data base available to the
public.
Electronic bulletin boards are a powerful and relatively
inexpensive means of making large amounts information
available to users. These bulletin boards also provide a forum
for EPA and bulletin board users or subscribers to interact. OW
has recently invested in several bulletin boards with the result
that program awareness and information exchange has
increased by virtue of the development of an information users
community and support system. The following bulletin boards
deserve mention.
COASTNET is a state-of-the-art electronic bulletin board
developed by OMEP in FY 1989 to provide Federal, State, and
local organizations with timely information on coastal
protection issues. COASTNET provides notices of upcoming
program activities, organizational contacts, information
sources, source documents, policies, regulations, and Federal
Register notices. It also serves as a forum for networking
among users. COASTNET is a cost-effective tool for
transmitting documents and messages to and from individuals
almost instantaneously; it is faster and cheaper than facsimile,
overnight, or regular mail, yet simple to use. While currently
limited to those who work with OMEP on a regular basis,
COASTNET may be opened to a broader audience in the future.
OGWP is in the process of establishing the Public Technology
Local Exchange (LEX) consisting of a Ground-Water Bulletin
Board and a Ground-Water Data Base. LEX is a one-stop
communications and information service for municipal and
county elected officials, managers, and technical staff. The
bulletin board will serve as an information source on ground-
water related events and issues for municipalities and as a tool
for directing technical and management questions to Regional
ground-water staffs. The bulletin board will be monitored by
Regions, allowing them to respond to messages from
municipalities and, eventually, from States within the Regions.
Four categories of ground-water information will be contained
within the data base: publications data, pilot projects, workshops
and conferences, and a contacts directory.
U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Strengthening Partnerships
Waste Water
Treatment
Information
Exchange Bulletin
Board (OMPC, FY
1989-90)
GICS Bulletin Board
(OMPC, FY 1990)
Wetlands Fauna! List
(OWP, FY 1989-90)
Technology Transfer
and Clearinghouses
Office of Water
Resource Center
(OW, WPO, FY 1990)
In FY 1989, OMPC added a Wastewater Treatment Information
Exchange Bulletin Board to the National Small Flows
Clearinghouse. The Wastewater Treatment Information
Exchange Bulletin Board contains information on a variety of
topics, including construction of new wetlands, wastewater
operators' solutions to specific problems, a wastewater and
water equipment exchange, and guidance on infrastructure
financing.
The GICS Bulletin Board provides user groups with notices of
publications and meetings related to wastewater management.
OWP, in cooperation with the Nature Conservancy (TNC),
developed a computer data base of wetland animals, birds, fish,
reptiles, and amphibians to assist in evaluating dredge and fill
permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The data
base can be used to generate lists of species likely to occur in
wetlands habitats in different States. It includes broad wetland
categories (marine, estuarine, riverine, lacustrine, palustrine)
with bare substrate, herbaceous, shrub, or wooded vegetation as
well as isolated wetlands ecosystems (playa lakes, salt flats,
headwaters streams, temporary pools, bogs, and fens). The data
base will facilitate better assessments of non-game species and
biological diversity than has been characteristic of federal efforts
to date. Information on Florida wetlands species was furnished
to the Florida Audubon Society for development of a citizen's
monitoring program.
Other powerful tools maintained by water programs for
disseminating information include clearinghouses, publications
lists, and hotlines. Not only do these tools allow OW to
inventory its information resources, but they also help EPA
make the inventory available to its partners.
OW has established several clearinghouses, either on its own or
in cooperation with other groups. The Water Policy Office
(WPO) has begun the development of an OW-wide information
resource center and data system clearinghouse. In addition to
serving as the focal point for all major Office of Water
publications and policy documents, it will act as a repository for
basic information on OW data bases and systems.
20
U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Strengthening Partnerships
Environmental
Financing Network
(OMPC, FY 1990)
National Small Flows
Clearinghouse
(OMPC, FY 1989-90)
Clean Lakes
Clearinghouse
(OWRS, FY 1989)
In 1988, OMPC was charged with lead responsibility for
developing and establishing a National Clearinghouse to assist
States and Regions in identifying, evaluating, and
implementing methods to finance environmental programs
and projects. An office-wide workgroup is currently designing
the Environmental Financing Network (EFIN) which will
provide information about and assistance in determining
alternative funding sources for State water programs. Also
available will be information on methods for constructing
environmental infrastructure facilities, financial management
techniques, and ways to encourage public-private partnerships.
EFIN is expected to be in full operation in FY 1991.
In 1979, CMPC established the National Small Flows
Clearinghouse in response to requirements of the 1977 Clean
Water Act. The Clearinghouse provides both technical and
non-technical assistance on small wastewater systems
technologies to municipal leaders, local officials, consulting
engineers, wastewater treatment professionals, and concerned
citizens. The services provided by the clearinghouse include a
toll-free number for use by small communities, establishment
of the Wastewater Treatment Information Exchange (WTIE)
bulletin board, two newsletters ("Managing Small Flows" and
"Small Flows"), and several computer data bases that contain
information on small flows information, innovative and
alternative facilities, equipment manufacturers, and State
technical assistance contacts.
In FY 1989, OWRS made the Clean Lakes Clearinghouse
available for public use. The Clearinghouse was initiated in
1988 to establish a core of technical literature on lake
restoration, protection, and management and to make the
information available to EPA and other Federal personnel, State
lake managers, local communities, and lake associations. The
Clearinghouse provides a computerized bibliographic data base,
printed bibliographies, data base and literature searches upon
request, and support to data base users.
US. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Strengthening Partnerships
OMPC Automated
Bibliography (OMPC,
FY 199O)
Safe Drinking Water
Hotline (ODW, FY
1989)
Program Data Bases
(OGWP, O1VP, FY
1989-90)
OMPC developed a PC-based automated bibliography which
identifies documents by title, key word, source, document
number, and cost. The data base currently contains 3,000 titles.
OMPC and OW are currently investigating ways to expand the
bibliography to contain abstracts for the listed documents.
OMPC also distributes a list of current OMPC publications every
six months.
The primary function of EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline, in
operation since July 1987, is to assist both the regulated
community and the public with their understanding of the
regulations and programs developed in response to the Safe
Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986. The Hotline
regularly assists public water supply system officials; EPA
Regions, State water supply programs, and local governments;
consultants, engineers, law firms, and others in private
industry; environmental groups, associations, and schools; and
the general public. The Hotline averages about 2,000 calls and
distributes over 50 documents on request each month.
In FY 1989, the Hotline began issuing a "Compendium of
Responses to Policy Updates," updated every six months, and
compiled a draft policy directives manual for ODW staff for the
PWSS program. These have been distributed principally to the
Regions and States for their use. Periodically, the Hotline also
prepares summary Question and Answer documents on key
issues (e.g., lead, point-of-use devices, and implementation of
the Lead Contamination Control Act). In FY 1990, the Hotline
will focus on responding to questions about the new surface
water treatment rule and total coliform rule, Phases II and TV
IOC/SOC contaminants, the lead rule, and the radionuelides
rule.
In many instances, EPA monitors environmental information
systems maintained by other public and private agencies. OW
often responds to requests for information maintained by other
organizations from Congress; Federal, State, and local
government officials; citizens groups; industry; university
researchers; and the general public. OW has developed several
automated data bases that make it easier to locate this type of
information and respond to inquiries.
22
U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Strengthening Partnerships
WETLANDS Data
Base (OWP, FY 1989)
Regulatory
Communication and
Knowledge-Based
System (OWP, FY
1990)
State Files Data
Base (OGWP, FY
1989)
The WETLANDS data base is a national data base of State
wetland protection programs and contacts. The data base was a
joint effort between EPA's Office of Wetlands Protection and the
Council of State Governments. The data base is available to
anyone with access to a computer and a modem who is
interested in the status and structure of State wetland protection
programs.
OWP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Regulatory Branch
jointly operate and maintain an electronic communication
system entitled "The Regulatory Communication and
Knowledge-Based System" (KBASE). This system facilitates
communication of current wetland regulatory information
among Headquarters, Regions, States, and the Corps' nine
division offices and 37 districts. Manuals and training materials
are available.
An OGWP State Files Database allows users to perform searches
on information pertinent to ground-water protection activities
maintained by States. Each State has a file in the data base that
contains information in three areas: 1) a State program folder
contains each State's draft of a final ground-water protection
strategy as well as budgeting, legislation, public information,
and local ground-water protection efforts; 2) a ground-water
reports folder contains documents and reports on technical
ground-water subjects; and 3) a wellhead protection folder
contains data on each State's existing or planned wellhead
protection program.
U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Strengthening Partnerships
PROGRAM
HIGHLIGHTS
„'. r
-HtS*
ais
Initiatives:
/•"JO . - i ** '^8'
i3/5 <•
-------
IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Strengthening Partnerships
Geographic
Information Systems
Boston Harbor
Marine Monitoring
Project (OMEP, FY
1989)
Wellhead Protection
Program GIS Project
(OGWP, FY 1989-90)
Trinity River and
Dallas/Fort Worth
GIS Project (OWP,
FY 1990)
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are an important
decision making tool for managing and protecting
environmental resources because of their ability to integrate
multiple types of data and display the results as thematic maps.
OW is currently involved in a number of projects that
incorporate GIS technology into specific program areas.
The Boston Harbor Marine Monitoring Project used the Ocean
Data Evaluation System (ODES) and its GIS link to consolidate,
evaluate, and display marine monitoring data from Boston
Harbor. When marine monitoring data are combined with
other geographic information (e.g., combined sewer overflow
[CSO] locations, point and nonpoint discharge locations),
pollution levels and environmental trends can be viewed in
correct spatial relationship to coastline, sensitive, and natural
resource areas. Therefore, through integrating the capabilities
of ODES and GIS, management can more effectively address
environmental trends identified through the monitoring
process.
In an effort to foster the effective implementation of GIS as a
support tool for decision making in the Wellhead Protection
(WHP) Program, the Source Assessment and Information
Management Staff (SAIMS) worked with the Regions to identify
potential GIS demonstration projects. Of the 23 potential
projects identified, 3 have been funded: Carroll County, MD; St.
Charles County, MO; and Santa Clara Valley, CA. The purpose
of these projects is to demonstrate the use of GIS technology as
an innovative decision making tool for managing and
protecting ground-water resources and in the process bring GIS
into common practice.
Region VI and the Office of Wetlands Protection initiated the
Trinity River GIS to determine the theoretical distribution of
wetlands in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Actual wetland
distributions will be verified by field assessments and used in a
cooperative greenbelt planning process coordinated by the
North Central Texas Council of Governments with assistance
from EPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and North Texas State
University.
U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Strengthening Partnerships
Big River GIS
Project (OWP, FY
1990)
Electronic Reporting
Pilot (Region IV,
TV A, OWEP, FY 1990)
User Groups
Region I and the Office of Wetlands Protection conducted the
Big River GIS project in cooperation with the University of
Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Department of
Environmental Management. The GIS integrated information
on wetlands, wildlife values, cold water fisheries, dissolved
oxygen levels, and ground water. It was used to analyze and
display environmental impacts of alternative water supply
proposals.
To reduce the reporting burden on permitted facilities and
improve the quality of information submitted, OWEP is
actively exploring options available for electronic submission of
Discharge Monitoring Reports from permitted facilities into
PCS. One pilot is currently underway in Region IV with the
Tennessee Valley Authority and the State of Tennessee. The
purpose of this project is to develop a working prototype that
reduces manual entry by Tennessee State Staff. Additional
pilots are being considered in two Regions to test the concept
with both municipal and industrial facilities. OWEP is
developing an evaluation approach so the results of these pilots
can serve as the foundation for future management decisions
for the remaining 7,000 major facilities in PCS. The results may
also eventually provide insight on how to address the 56,000
minor permitted facilities.
Over the years, OW has sponsored sponsored several user
groups to support its major data bases such as GICS, PCS, and
STORET. These user groups offer an opportunity for OW to
solicit the advice of system users on how to ensure that the
system is responsive to the needs of the community. During
the past two fiscal years, there has been an increased emphasis
on utilizing these groups to better define user needs with
respect to major OW information systems. The contribution of
Users Groups in this area has been very helpful. For example,
in FY 1989, on-line PCS documentation was added at the request
of the PCS Users Group.
ODW is currently talking with the Regions and States about
initiating a formal user group for FRDS in addition to their
current monthly conference calls with the Public Water
Supplies Data Management Contacts. The conferences focus on
technical, policy, or programmatic issues relating to FRDS-H and
its users' needs.
26
U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments FY 1989 - 1990
Office Automation:
The State of IRM for Water Programs
Goal: Increase the use of office automation technology to improve
staff productivity and facilitate information exchange among
water programs.
Information management in the Water Program is
continuously changing due to the availability of newer
automation tools and the evolving needs of the programs.
Over the past two years, the Water Program has experienced a
dramatic change in its operating environment. During FY 1989
and 1990, the number of PCs in the Water Program increased
from approximately 300 to more than 600. Approximately 75
percent of Office of Water staff have a personal computer work
station.
These workstations have increased the number of tools
available to help us maintain our productivity and improve
our effectiveness as we meet a changing set of program
objectives (e.g., tracking and analyzing work, statistical analyses,
desktop publishing, presentation graphics). Thus far, some
manual processes have been replaced by automated systems.
However, we have far to go before we are using the personal
computer workstation in a way that achieves the potential of
office automation.
To that end, we are beginning to increase efforts in training,
staff development, and ongoing needs analyses to capitalize on
our investment in technology. This chapter describes the Water
Program's automation activities, which include planning and
acquisition, training, and office procedures automation.
A. Planning
Several Offices within the Water Program are conducting
projects to improve their automation capabilities. The Office of
Drinking Water's State Programs Division has formed an office
automation workgroup that meets weekly to discuss office
automation issues. The workgroup is composed of
representatives from each Branch and Section within the
Division. The group's purpose is to identify and develop
strategies for implementing the division's short term and long
term automation needs. Currently, the workgroup's focus is on
short term needs, such as assessing the division's need for
U.S. EPA/OW 27
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments FY 1989 - 1990
Office Automation:
The State of IRM for Water Programs
training, setting up a library of training materials, and setting
priorities for hardware and software purchases. In the near
future, the focus will shift to meeting long term goals.
The Office of Ground-Water Protection has formed an
Information Management Committee consisting of
representatives throughout OGWP. The committee's purpose
is to discuss issues and problems that have arisen with the
office's automation equipment. The committee sets priorities
based on the professional needs of the staff, and then makes
recommendations to OGWP management regarding the types
of equipment the office should purchase.
The Office of Municipal Pollution Control has begun
conversion to a PC Local Area Network (LAN), which will be
completed in FY 1990. The LAN will increase productivity and
performance by enabling file sharing and will decrease
hardware and software costs.
B. Training
Currently, most Water Program staff and managers do not take
full advantage of the PC's capability to provide them with easy
access to a large amount of information to support decision
making. Our goal for FY 1990-91 is to overcome this obstacle by
improving the utilization of existing computer resources and by
helping to encourage managers and staff to recognize the value
of using PCs to save time and effort.
To accomplish this goal, the programs are being encouraged to
explore and select training approaches tailored to meet their
specific needs. For example, the Office of Ground-Water
Protection has used on-site WIC Specialists to assist with
education and training of OGWP staff; responsibilities have
included developing brown bag seminars on word processing
topics, such as creating tables and outlines, using fonts, and
using columns.
C. Office Procedures Automation
During the past few years, the Water Program's use of PC-based
software for administrative activities has increased. Programs
are beginning to rely on PCs to support every day activities, such
as budget, tracking, electronic mail, and desktop publishing. For
example, most programs now have PC-based correspondence
28 U.S. EPA/OW
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SRM Initiatives and Accomplishments FY 1989 - 1990
Office Automation:
The State of IRM for Water Programs
tracking systems, and OWEP uses a dBASE application to track
Regional proposals and funding for special projects.
Many Water Program staff avoid using EPA's mainframe
because they find it difficult to use. Several offices are
developing "user-friendly front ends" to assist staff in using the
mainframe for program and administrative purposes. For
instance, to develop its Spotlight Report, OWEP downloads data
from the EPA mainframe to a PC, where the data is
manipulated, and subsequently
back to the mainframe to generate graphics.
As automation of office procedures expands, water program
offices will work together to develop effective and tailored
training programs and promote technology transfer among the
offices through better communication. In the coming year (FY
1990-91), the Water Program will place more emphasis on
facilitating the development of tailored training programs and
effective communication forums to share project results to help
eliminate duplication of effort.
U.S. EPA/OW 29
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments FY 1989 - 1990
Looking Ahead
This is the first in a series of tools designed to improve
communication about the information the water program
manages, how to obtain it, and our efforts to enhance its
availability and usefulness.
The focus of the next issue of the annual report will be
expanded to include discussion on several additional areas. For
instance, EPA is placing increasing emphasis on taking
advantage of projects in other Federal agencies to acquire
information to support Agency decision making. Other areas
receiving more attention are quality assurance/quality control
issues, which include items such as monitoring protocols and
data verification, and information collection issues such as ICR
development. Finally, the next issue will highlight our
continuing efforts to encourage the increased understanding
and use of automation in the workplace.
U.S. EPA/OW 30
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
IRM Managers and Project
Leaders
IRM Planning
Information Access
and Usefulness
For each project listed in the annual report, the following list
identifies the lead organization, point of contact, and his or her
phone number.
Underground Injection Control Program Mission Needs
Assessment
(ODW/State Programs Division
Underground Injection Control Branch
Roger Anzzolin--202-382-5530)
Agency-Wide Drinking Water Information Study
(OW/Immediate Office
Gerald Widdowson-202-382-5698)
Data Sharing and Systems Compatibility Study
(Steering Committee for Water Quality Data Systems
Cynthia Warner--202-382-7046)
Sludge Tracking Feasibility Study
(OWEP/Enforcement Division
Compliance Information and Evaluation Branch
Dela Ng-202-475- 8313)
OW Systems Modernization Initiative
(OW/Immediate Office
Mary Blakeslee-202-382-5698)
A. Data Standardization and Integration
Ground-Water Minimum Data Set Project
(OGWP/Source Assessment and Information Management
Staff
Caryle Miller-202-382-7077)
Underground Injection Control Minimum Data Set Workgroup
(ODW/State Programs Division
Underground Injection Control Branch
Roger Anzzolin--202-382-5530)
U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments FY 1989 - 1990
IRM Managers and Project Leaders
Automated Section 305(b) Reporting by Creating the Waterbody
System
(OWRS/Assessment and Watershed Protection Division
Monitoring Branch
Bruce Newton-202-382-7074)
Inclusion of Locational Information in PCS
(OWEP/Enforcement Division
Compliance Information and Evaluation Branch
Dela Ng-202-475-8313)
Indicators to Measure Ground-Water Program Progress
(OGWP/Source Assessment and Information Management
Staff;
Caryle Miller--202-3 82-7077)
Use of Toxic Release Inventory Data (TRI)
(OWRS/Analysis and Evaluation Division
Economic and Statistical Analysis Branch
Nilesh Patel-202-382-5397)
B. Hardware and Software Enhancements
Federal Reporting Data System (FRDS II) Project
(ODW/State Programs Division
Drinking Water Branch
Larry Weiner-202-382-2799)
Grants Information Control System (GICS) Modernization
OMPC/Municipal Construction Division
Program Management Branch
Jannie Latta-202-382-5837)
PPETS - PCS Development
(OWEP/Enforcement Division
Compliance Information and Evaluation Branch
Dela Ng»202-475-8313)
Personal Assistance Link
(OWEP/Enforcement Division
Compliance Information and Evaluation Branch
Dela Ng-202-475-8313)
32 U.S. EPA/0W
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
IRM Managers and Project Leaders
Strengthening
Partnerships
OW Electronic
Bulletin Boards
NEP Tracking System
(OMEP/Technical Services Division
Technical Services Branch
Joe Hall--202-475-7102)
Reach File Enhancements
(OWRS/Assessment and Watershed Protection Division
Water Quality and Analysis Branch
Philip Taylor-202-382-7046)
Access To STORET
(OGWP/Source Assessment and Information Management
Staff
Norbert Dee--202-382-7077)
Enhancements of LISTS
(OWRS/Industrial Technology Division
Analysis and Analytical Support Branch
Bill Telliard-202-382-7131)
A. Training and Outreach
Regional Forums
(Steering Committee for Water Quality Data Systems
Cynthia Warner-202-382-7046)
PCS Managers Training
(OWEP/Enforcement Division
Compliance Information and Evaluation Branch
Steve Martin-202-475-8313)
Public Access to PCS
(OWEP/Enforcement Division
Compliance Information and Evaluation Branch
Steve Martin--202-475--8313)
COASTNET
(OMEP/Technical Services Division
Technical Services Branch
Joe Hall-202-475-7102)
U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
IRM Managers and Project Leaders
Technology Transfer
and Clearinghouses
Program Data Bases
(OGWP,OWP, FY
1989-90)
Public Technology Local Exchange (LEX)
(OGWP/Source Assessment and Information Management
Staff
Robin Heisler-202-382-7077)
Wastewater Treatment Information Exchange Bulletin Board
(OMPC/Municipal Facilities Division
Wastewater Facility Management Branch
Richard Kuhlman-202-382-7263)
Wetlands Faunal List
(OWP/Wetlands Strategies and State Program Division
Martha Stout-202-475-6745)
National Small Flows Clearinghouse
(OMPC/Municipal Facilities Division
Wastewater Facility Management Branch
Richard Kuhlman-202-382-7263)
OMPC PC-based Automated Bibliography
(OMPC/Municipal Facilities Division
Wastewater Facility Management Branch
Bernita Stark~202-382-7263)
Safe Drinking Water Hotline
(ODW/Immediate Office
Charlene Shaw-202-382-2285)
Clean Lakes Clearinghouse
(OWRS/Assessment and Watershed Protection Division
Nonpoint Source Control Branch--202-382-7085)
Environmental Financing Network
(OWP/Wetlands Strategies and State Program Division
Martha Stout--202-475-6745)
WETLANDS Data Base
(OWP/Wetlands Strategies and State Program Division
Martha Stout-202-475-6745)
State Files Database
(OGWP/Source Assessment and Information Management
Staff
Norbert Dee-202-382-7077)
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U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
IRM Managers and Project Leaders
Office Automation
B. Joint and Interagency Projects
OW Steering Committee for Water Quality Data Systems
(Steering Committee for Water Quality Data Systems
Cynthia Warner-202-382-7046)
Boston Harbor Marine Monitoring Project
(OMEP/Technical Services Division
Technical Services Branch
Joe Hall--202-475-7102)
CIS Wellhead Protection (WHP) Program Pilot
(OGWP/Source Assessment and Information Management
Staff
Robin Heisler-202-382-7077)
Trinity River and Dallas/For* Worth CIS project
(OWP/Wetlands Strategies and State Programs Division
Martha Stout--202-475-6745)
Big River GIS project
(OWP/Wetlands Strategies and State Programs Division
Martha Stout-202-475-6745)
Electronic Reporting Pilot
(OWEP/Enforcement Division
Compliance Information and Evaluation Branch
Steve Martin-202-475-8313)
PCS Users Group
(OWEP/Enforcement Division
Compliance Information and Evaluation Branch
Dela Ng--202-475-8313)
Office Automation Workgroup
(ODW/State Programs Division
Peter Bahor--202-382-5530)
Information Management Committee
(OGWP/Source Assessment and Information Management
Staff
Norbert Dee-202-382-7077)
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments FY 1989 - 1990
IRM Managers and Project Leaders
Local Area Network Effort
(OMPC/Municipal Construction Division
Program Management Branch
Jannie Latta-202-382-5837)
OGWP Training Efforts
(OGWP/Source Assessment and Information Management
Staff
Norbert Dee-202-382-7077)
OWEP Regional Special Projects Tracking System
(OWEP/Program Management Staff
Ed Kramer--202-475-8494)
OWEP's Spotlight Report
(OWEP/Program Management Staff
Ralph Rizzo-202-475-8494)
36 U.S. EPA/OW
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IRM Initiatives and Accomplishments
FY 1989 - 1990
Acronyms
CENR Center for Environmental and Natural Resources
CSG Council of State Governments
DMR Discharge Monitoring Report
CIS Geographic Information System
EFIN Environmental Financing Network
FRDS Federal Reporting Data System
IRM Information Resources Management
KBASE Regulatory Communication/Knowledge-Based System
LAN Local Area Network
LEX Ground Water Protection: Public Technology Local
Exchange
NCC National Computer Center
NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
NTIS National Technical Information Service
ODIV Office of Drinking Water
OGIVP Office of Ground-Water Protection
OIRM Office of Information Resources Management
OMPC Office of Municipal Pollution Control
OMEP Office of Marine and Estuarine Protection
OIV Office of Water
OWEP Office of Water Enforcement and Permits
OWP Office of Wetlands Protection
OWRS Office of Water Resources and Standards
PAL Personal Assistance Link
PC Personal Computer
PCS Permits Compliance System
PPETS Pretreatment Permits/Enforcement Tracking System
SAIMS Source Assessment/Information Management Staff
SIRMO Senior Information Resources Management Officer
STORET STOrage and RETrieval Data Base
TNC The Nature Conservancy
TRI Toxic Release Inventory
TVA Tennessee Valley Authority
UIC Underground Injection Control
URI University of Rhode Island
1VHP Wellhead Protection
IVIC Washington Information Center
IVPO Water Policy Office
WTIE Wastewater Treatment Information Exchange
U.S. EPA/OW
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Government Printing Office
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