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United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Plan EJ 2014
Information Tools
Development
Plan EJ 2014 is EPA's roadmap for
integrating environmental justice into
its programs and polfdes.
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INFORMATION TOOLS DEVELOPMENT
Implementation Plan
September 2011
Led by
Office of Policy and Office of Environmental Information
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
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PLAN EJ 2014 AT A GLANCE
Plan EJ 2014 is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s
roadmap to integrating environmental justice into its programs and policies.
The year marks the 20th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order
12898 on environmental justice. Plan EJ 2014 seeks to:
Protect the environment and health in overburdened communities.
- Empower communities to take action to improve their health and
environment.
• Establish partnerships with local, state, tribal, and federal
governments and organizations to achieve healthy and sustainable
communities.
As the EPA's overarching environmental justice strategy, Plan EJ 2014 has
three major sections: Cross-Agency Focus Areas, Tools Development
Areas, and Program Initiatives.
The Cross-Agency Focus Areas are:
Incorporating Environmental Justice into Rulemaking.
Considering Environmental Justice in Permitting.
Advancing Environmental Justice through Compliance and
Enforcement.
• Supporting Community-Based Action Programs.
• Fostering Administration-Wide Action on Environmental Justice.
The Tools Development Areas are:
Science.
Law.
Information.
Resources.
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1.0 INTRODUaiON 2
1.1 Goal 1
1.2 Organizational Structure 2
2.0 IMPLEMENTATION 3
2.1 Strategies 3
2.2 Activities 3
2.3 Adjustments 6
3.0 DELIVERABLES 7
APPENDIX: Acronyms 8
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Goal At-A-G lance
To develop a more
integrated,
comprehensive, efficient,
and nationally consistent
approach for collecting,
maintaining, and using
geospatial information
relevant to overburdened
communities.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
In 1994, Executive Order 12898 (EO 12898) mandated that each federal
agency make achieving environmental justice part of its mission by
identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse human
health or environmental effects of its programs, policies, and activities on
minority, low-income, tribal, and indigenous1 populations. In
implementing EO 12898, EPA programs and regions have developed a
variety of internal environmental justice screening tools and other
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications. These applications,
such as the Environmental Justice Strategic Enforcement Assessment Tool
(EJSEAT), EJView, and others, have played an important role as the
Agency worked to integrate environmental justice into its programs,
policies, and activities. Senior EPA leadership has been asked to focus on
developing a nationally consistent environmental justice screening tool in
order to better meet the Agency's responsibilities of protecting public
health under EO 12898 and our goals under Plan EJ 2014.
In addition, EPA is developing a suite of tools, data, and services known as
EPA's GeoPlatform that will help coordinate and consolidate mapping
activities, applications, and data across the Agency. The GeoPlatform will
support a wide variety of uses across the Agency, including components
of the nationally consistent environmental justice screening tool, and
other data and applications that may be of interest to environmental
justice stakeholders.
1.1 Goal
The goal of this implementation plan is to develop a more integrated,
comprehensive, efficient, and nationally consistent approach for
collecting, maintaining, and using geospatial information relevant to
overburdened communities2. EPA will accomplish this goal by: (1)
developing a common Agency-wide mapping platform -the GeoPlatform,
(2) creating a nationally consistent environmental justice screening tool,
and (3) incorporating appropriate elements of the screening tool into the
GeoPlatform.
1 When these terms are used in this document, they referto entities and individuals in the United
States only.
2 In Plan EJ 2014, EPA uses the term "overburdened" to describe the minority, low-income, tribal, and
indigenous populations or communities in the United States that potentially experience
disproportionate environmental harms and risks as a result of greater vulnerability to environmental
hazards. This increased vulnerability may be attributable to an accumulation of both negative and
lack of positive environmental, health, economic, or social conditions within these populations or
communities.
Plan EJ 2014: Information Tools Development
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" i '.'•'._.;.
The Office of Environmental Information (OEI) has the lead on the
GeoPlatform, and the Office of Policy (OP) has the lead on the nationally
consistent screening tool.
The development of EPA's GeoPlatform is being led by OEI, with oversight
from the Agency's GIS Workgroup Steering Committee (comprised of
representation from six regions), the Office of Research and Development
(ORD), the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP),
the Office of Water (OW), and the EPA Quality and Information Council
(QIC). The QIC is the Agency's decision-making body for addressing
enterprise-wide technology issues and developing policies to guide EPA
decision makers in the area of information technology and information
management within the framework of OEI. The QIC is comprised of
Senior Executive Service-level managers from Agency program and
regional offices, and is chaired by the Agency's Chief Information Officer
(CIO).
Development of the nationally consistent environmental justice screening
tool is led by OP and is overseen by a steering committee comprised of
Assistant Administrators or their designees from OP, the Office of
Environmental Justice (OEJ), ORD, OEI, and Regions 7, 8, and 9. In
addition, a staff level workgroup meets regularly and has participation
from nearly every program office and region across EPA.
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•; •'•
The following three major strategies have been identified as critical
components of the Information Tools Development Implementation Plan:
• Develop EPA's GeoPlatform.
• Develop a nationally consistent environmental justice screening tool.
• Incorporate appropriate elements of the screening tool into the
GeoPlatform
2.2
Strategy 1: Develop EPA's GeoPlatform
Tools to Identify Overburdened Populations
During the BP Oil Spill Response
The dynamic nature of the BP oil spill has been a
challenge for a range of communities along the Gulf -
from hotel operators to fishermen to local community
leaders. During cleanup activities, EPA and other
agencies used a variety of Geographic Information
Systems (GIS) tools to collect information, including
EJView and GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse. EPA
developed EJView, a public mapping tool, to get a
snapshot of environmental, health, and other social
factors that were affecting local communities.
GeoPlatform.gov/gulfresponse, an online tool developed
by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
EPA, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Department of
Interior, was used to gather close to real time information
about the response effort. These tools were used to
identify locations of overburdened communities in
comparison to areas of waste disposal, pinpoint locations
where oil had reached the shore, and identify locations of
community centers where people could get assistance.
EPA's GeoPlatform consists of a suite of tools,
data and services that will support a wide variety
of uses across the Agency. The GeoPlatform is an
Agency initiative that will serve environmental
justice, but also other important areas such as
enforcement and community-based work. The
GeoPlatform will eventually be applied for
additional uses, and will provide access to a wide
range of EPA and stakeholder data pertaining to
environmental exposure and risk, ecological
condition, public health, demographic data, and
boundary/administrative information, as needed
by EPA programs.
The next several paragraphs describe the
GeoPlatform. An understanding of the structure
and philosophy behind the platform is important
to seeing how it will serve environmental justice
practitioners. EPA's GeoPlatform project strives
to coordinate activities, applications, and data
across the Agency. We seek to ensure that the opportunity for re-use is
maintained and that data and information is documented and available
across the Agency, to states and tribes, and to our other stakeholder
communities. Our vision is that ultimately everyone has the ability to
conduct relevant geospatial analysis in their area of interest using
common data, tools, and techniques.
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The GeoPlatform concept consists of three primary tiers - Applications,
Services, and Data - plus a governance tier (see Figure 1 for the EPA
GeoPlatform conceptual architecture). Details on each tier are provided
below:
Figure 1: Conceptual Architecture for the EPA GeoPlatform
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Applications
Services
Data
Governance
EPA GeoPlatform
"Online"
EPA Environmental
Analyst
EPA Earth
Other Agency CIS
Applications
Professional CIS
Desktops
Web Services Framework
•Discovery Services
•Data Access Services
•Analytical Services
•Shared hosting
Internal Geodata Repository
and Catalog
•Integrated GeoDatabase (IGD)
•Geodata Gateway (GDG)
External Geodata Repositories
and Catalogs
•Data.gov
•Federal Geospatial Platform
Policy and Investment Framework
•Investment review and optimization
•Governance for operational aspects of EPA GeoPlatform
•Process and investment strategy to fulfill high priority Agency data needs
Data Tier. The Data components of the EPA GeoPlatform include a wide
range of geospatial data needed for EPA programmatic purposes. Some
of this data is originated and maintained by the Agency, but most of the
data needed is sourced from other public or private sector organizations.
Data components already identified as core sources to be integrated into
the GeoPlatform are the Integrated Geospatial Database (IGD), currently
managed by the OEI/the Office of Information Analysis and Access (OIAA);
the Facility Registry System (FRS), currently managed by OEI/OIC;
program specific databases such as the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and
Brownfields, currently managed by the individual program offices; and
externally held geospatial data services, such as for transportation
networks, land use, land cover, and Census data, which come from a
variety of public and private sources. The key to organizing data assets
spread across these different offerings lies in metadata management.
The Agency's "Geospatial Data Gateway" (GDG,
http://geogateway.epa.gov) application will continue to be used for
metadata management.
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Services Tier. Standardizing our geospatial data management at the
Agency is of critical importance, however, we must also consider the
mechanisms through which we provide Agency staff and other
stakeholders access to different datasets housed in this enterprise. From
a technical perspective, the most effective and re-usable way to broker
this access is through open standards compliant web services. One of the
most important components of the EPA GeoPlatform, then, will be a
comprehensive web services tier that will help ensure that all relevant
geospatial data and analytical components are as widely accessible as
possible throughout the enterprise. Geospatial data access and some
geoanalytical services (e.g., buffer and proximity searches) are being
developed to leverage our internal data stores. Additionally, through
catalog services and our application tier (Environmental Analyst, EPA
Portal, etc.), we will be able to leverage services offered by external
public and private providers.
Applications Tier. As part of the EPA GeoPlatform "Release 1" offering,
three central applications will be developed and made available for
Agency-wide use: Environmental Analyst, the EPA Geospatial Portal, and
EPA Earth. Environmental Analyst will be the primary tool initially
intended for environmental justice practitioners. Environmental Analyst
is an EPA custom version of the forthcoming ESRI commercial web
application Community Analyst (http://communityanalyst.esri.com).
Environmental Analyst will feature an interface designed for EPA staff to
easily access and leverage a wide range of geospatial data to carry out
their specific tasks. This represents a major opportunity to consolidate a
number of different internal Program and regional geospatial web
applications into a single one, and a significant portion of the
GeoPlatform effort will be dedicated to outreach and development of
opportunities for organizations to have their data, analytical and
reporting requirements integrated into this central application.
• Activity 1.1: Prototype of EPA Environmental Analyst for review.
• Activity 1.2: Production release of the EPA Environmental Analyst.
• Activity 1.3: Production release of the EPA GeoPlatform (including
initial data services) for use by Environmental Analyst and other
GeoPlatform components.
Strategy 2: Develop the nationally consistent environmental justice
screening tool.
EPA is now taking the next step in creating a nationally consistent
environmental justice screening tool to help identify communities living
with the greatest potential for negative environmental and health effects.
The purpose of the screening tool will be to provide, for locations across
the United States, a comprehensive and nationally consistent tool for
presenting available environmental and demographic data.
The tool will aid decision makers in assessing policy and actions to be
taken by EPA, in accordance with, and pursuant to, applicable law. The
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tool will serve as a national baseline screening tool, which can then be
supplemented with additional information and on-the-ground experience
to help identify overburdened communities that may warrant additional
investigation by EPA to help reduce risk and improve public health. OP is
leading a cross-Agency team to identify relevant data and develop
appropriate methods that would serve as the basis of the nationally
consistent screening tool. Asa result of this effort, increased consistency
of data and methods will be brought to environmental justice screening
work across EPA.
• Activity 2.1: Hold regular staff workgroup and project steering
committee meetings.
• Activity 2.2: Develop a set of options to present to Senior Agency
Officials.
• Activity 2.3: Create a working prototype of screening tool.
• Activity 2.4: Update the National Environmental Justice Advisory
Council on progress.
• Activity 2.5: Obtain peer review and public comment on a prototype
tool.
• Activity 2.6: Revise the tool based on comments.
Strategy 3: Incorporate appropriate elements of the screening tool into
the GeoPlatform.
The development of the GeoPlatform and the concurrent creation of a
nationally consistent environmental justice screening tool provide an
opportunity for the two efforts to reinforce and enhance each other. As
both projects continue to evolve, EPA will be watching for opportunities
for them to work together. Making consistent data and screening
methods available to users of the GeoPlatform would go a long way
towards furthering the Agency's work in environmental justice.
• Activity 3.1: Review screening tool data, methods, and requirements
to determine which portions may be appropriate to include in the
GeoPlatform.
• Activity 3.2: Incorporate appropriate elements of the prototype
screening tool into the GeoPlatform.
• Activity 3.3: Revise GeoPlatform elements of the tool to be
consistent with changes made to the prototype tool in response to
peer review and public comments on screening tool.
2.3
Adjustments to the environmental justice screening approach may be
made after public comment, after peer review, and in response to
feedback from early users. Any required adjustments to the EPA
GeoPlatform datasets or the Environmental Analyst application will also
be made to support changes made to the environmental justice screening
approach.
Plan EJ 2014: Information Tools Development
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3.0 DELIVERABLES
ACTIVITIES
DELIVERABLES MILESTONE
Strategy 1 : Develop the EPA's GeoPlatform.
Activity 1.1
Activity 1 .2
Activity 1 .3
Prototype of EPA Environmental Analyst for
review.
Production release of EPA Environmental
Analyst.
Production release of EPA GeoPlatform
(including initial data services) for use by
Environmental Analyst and other
GeoPlatform components.
Fiscal Year
(FY) 2011 Q4
FY 2012 Ql
FY 2012 Ql
Strategy 2: Develop the nationally consistent environmental justice
screening tool.
Activity 2.1
Activity 2.2
Activity 2.3
Activity 2.4
Activity 2.5
Activity 2.6
Hold regular staff workgroup and project
steering committee meetings.
Develop a set of options to present to Senior
Agency Officials.
Create a working prototype of screening tool.
Update the National Environmental Justice
Advisory Council on progress.
Obtain peer review and public comment on a
prototype tool.
Revise the tool based on comments.
Ongoing
FY 2011 Q3
FY 2012 Q2
TBD
TBD
TBD
Strategy 3: Incorporate appropriate elements of the screening tool into the
GeoPlatform.
Activity 3.1
Activity 3.2
Activity 3.3
Review screening tool data, methods, and
requirements to determine which portions
may be appropriate to include in the
GeoPlatform.
Incorporate appropriate elements of the
prototype screening tool into the
GeoPlatform.
Revise GeoPlatform elements of the tool to
be consistent with changes made to the
prototype tool in response to peer review and
public comments on screening tool.
Begin FY 2011
Q4 & continue
on a monthly
basis
TBD
TBD
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Progress reports on this implementation plan will be made annually.
For information, please contact: Glynis Hill, 202-564-1139,
hill.glynis@epa.gov. Jerry Johnston, 202-564-3175,
iohnston.ierry@epa.gov. or Kim Balassiano, 202-566-0709,
balassiano.kim@epa.gov .
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CIO Chief Information Officer
EJ SEAT Environmental Justice Strategic Enforcement Assessment
Tool
EO 12898 Executive Order 12898
EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
FRS Facility Registry System
FY Fiscal Year
GDG Geospatial Data Gateway
GIS Geographic Information System
IGD Integrated Geospatial Database
OCSPP Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention
OEI Office of Environmental Information
OEJ Office of Environmental Justice
OIAA Office of Information Analysis and Access
OP Office of Policy
ORD Office of Research and Development
OW Office of Water
QIC Quality and Information Council
TBD To be determined
TRI Toxics Release Inventory
Plan EJ 2014: Information Tools Development
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For more information on Plan EJ 2014, visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency s Office of
Environmental Justice website at: http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/plan-ej7
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