OFFICE OF
ENVIRONMENTAL
INFORMATION
December 2008
For More Information
Jonathan Jacobson
Office of Information Collection
jacobson.jonathan@epa.gov
(202)566-1984
www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/
National Environmental Information
Exchange Network Grant Program
Purpose
The Environmental Information Exchange Network (Exchange
Network) Grant Program provides funding to states, territories,
federally recognized Indian tribes, and tribal consortia to support
their participation in the Exchange Network. The Exchange Network
is an Internet- and standards-
based, secure information
network. It facilitates electronic
reporting and the sharing,
integration, analysis, and use of
environmental and other types of
information from many different
sources. The Exchange Network
will make it easier for EPA and its
partners to obtain the timely,
Exchange Network Grant
Program Priorities
Establishment of new 2.0
Nodes
Upgrade of existing Version
1.1 Nodes and data flows
accurate information they need
when making decisions
concerning human health and the
natural environment.
Network publishing
Regulatory and national
system data flows
Network-wide innovative
oroiects
Background
FY2008 was the seventh year of the Exchange Network Grant
Program. To date, EPA has awarded approximately $130 million in
grants to the states, tribes, and territories. All states and the District
of Columbia, 4 territories, and 53 tribes have received grants and
have been involved in the development of the Exchange Network. As
of October 2008, the Exchange Network Grant Program has
contributed to the development of all 50 state, 8 tribal and one
territory Exchange Network Nodes with additional Nodes currently
under development.
In September 2008, EPA posted the solicitation notice for the FY
2009 Exchange Network Grants Program at
www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/grants/ and a brief announcement
on http://www.grants.gov. States, territories, federally recognized
Indian tribes, and tribal consortia are eligible to apply. Applicants
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OfFiCEOF
ENVIRONMENTAL
INFORMATION
could submit proposals using components from one or more of the four groups of assistance
activities:
• Infrastructure - supports the development or upgrade of information management and
technology capabilities (e.g., development and testing of nodes or node clients) and tools to
participate in the Exchange Network;
• Data Exchange, Analysis and Integration - supports the development of the capability and
the exchange of data through the Exchange Network;
• Mentoring, Planning and Training - supports activities such as mentoring other partners on
the Exchange Network, planning activities that support the Exchange Network, and developing
training materials and conducting training on specific topics related to the Exchange Network;
and
• Collaboration - supports the planning, development, and implementation of collaborative,
multi-partner, innovative projects that demonstrate the value of the Exchange Network.
Achievements
• Water Quality Exchange (WQX) - Access to comprehensive water quality information is
indispensable for managing and protecting water resources. However, timely and accurate
information can be difficult to come by since water monitoring data are collected by a wide range
of organizations with different information systems that are often incompatible. The U.S. EPA
Office of Water worked with a group of states to overcome this data access problem by
developing the WQX. WQX allows states, tribes, and other partners to store their water quality
information in any format or database they choose. The standards and simplicity of WQX are
already paying enormous dividends. Current contributors to the STORET warehouse are working
with EPA to transition away from using the distributed database in favor of the simpler WQX
model. Most importantly, new contributors are joining the WQX fold and filling gaps where data
was previously unavailable. For example, the state of Wisconsin has added 18,500 monitoring
locations and over 1.6 million results since implementing WQX. Similarly, Texas added 8,500
new monitoring locations and over 3.5 million results. Timelier and more comprehensive
information is now at the ready to help water quality managers and the public make better
decisions about our environment.
• Beaches Monitoring Data Project- This project, led by the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection in partnership with Earth 911, uses state-of-the-art technology and the
infrastructure of the Exchange Network to streamline beach monitoring and notification
processes. The system allows local water quality monitors to record sampling results on
handheld Personal Digital Assistants and wirelessly upload them to New Jersey's data
management system. Laboratories quickly and securely add sample results to data records over
the Internet. Using the sampling and monitoring results, the system makes recommendations to
agency or department officials on whether to order beach closures.
For More Information
Visit EPA's Exchange Network Web Site: http://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/
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