State, EPA = environmental monitoring goes online

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Wednesday, June 16,=20 2004
State,=20 EPA environmental monitoring goes=20 online
By Kavan=20 Peterson, Staff Writer

A new Internet-based = information-sharing network will let = state, local=20 and federal environmental officials get = real-time=20 access to air and water pollution data = that now=20 will be reported electronically. =

Instead=20 of waiting weeks or months to access = environmental=20 readings, such as bacteria levels at the = beach or=20 wastewater discharges from power plants,=20 environmental data will be shared among = states,=20 Native American tribes and the U.S. = Environmental=20 Protection Agency via the Web on the = National=20 Environmental Information Exchange = Network.=20

University and private research=20 laboratories, environmental groups or even = television meteorologists also will be = able to=20 sign up to access environmental = information=20 reported by government agencies, as well = as submit=20 their own findings on environmental = pollutants.=20 The data are not open to the public for = security=20 reasons.

"The Exchange Network = will help=20 us overcome delays in making important=20 environmental decisions and will be = critical in=20 responding to environmental emergencies," = EPA=20 assistant administrator Kimberly T. Nelson = said=20 during a press conference June 15 at the = EPA's=20 Emergency Operations Center in Washington, = D.C.=20 Nelson has been the lead coordinator for = state/EPA=20 information management.

More than = a dozen=20 states (Delaware, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, = Maryland,=20 Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New = Hampshire,=20 New Jersey, New Mexico, North Dakota, = Oregon,=20 Utah, Washington) have signed on to the = Exchange=20 Network, which officially went online this = week,=20 and the EPA expects up to 35 states to = join by the=20 end of the year.

The biggest = obstacles to=20 states and private companies reporting=20 environmental data to the EPA have been = the sheer=20 volume of information and incompatible = computer=20 systems that do not allow the smooth = transfer of=20 data online. State environmental reports = required=20 by the federal government are one of the = nation's=20 largest reporting requirements, second = only to tax=20 reporting, Nelson said.

According = to=20 Nelson, who pioneered the nation's first = online=20 environmental reporting and permitting = system for=20 the Pennsylvania Department of = Environmental=20 Protection before joining the EPA, this = has made=20 data-sharing the most costly and = time-consuming=20 responsibility for environmental agencies, = eating=20 up on average half a department's budget.=20

Alleviating that burden has not = been easy.=20 It took the EPA nearly five years, working = with=20 state environmental agencies through the = Environmental=20 Council of the States (ECOS), to = create a=20 standardized template for reporting data = that=20 could be used by any company or government = agency=20 connected to the Web.

"By creating = a=20 standardized vocabulary, states don't have = to buy=20 completely new computer systems to = participate,"=20 Nelson said.

Michigan, one of the = states=20 that helped pioneer the Exchange Network, = is=20 already reaping the benefits, said state=20 Information Technology Director Mike = Beaulac.=20

With its large automobile and=20 manufacturing industry, Michigan is = responsible=20 for monitoring the wastewater discharge = from 1,200=20 plants on a weekly basis. Up until a year = ago,=20 these reports were issued on paper, mailed = by the=20 companies to the state Department of = Natural=20 Resources and manually entered into the = computer=20 system, resulting in months-long backlogs = and=20 error rates of 4 percent to 10 percent. =

In=20 2003, Michigan began using a prototype of = the=20 Exchange Network to allow facilities to = enter=20 discharge reports electronically. In = January 2004,=20 the state began electronically reporting = this data=20 to the EPA, eliminating the state office's = paper=20 backlog. Michigan expects to save $250,000 = to=20 $500,000 this year and estimates that = private=20 companies will save $2.5 million.=20

"Information that used to take = weeks to=20 access can now be downloaded in seconds," = Beaulac=20 said. "This is a solution that has = tremendous=20 savings for private industry, states and = the EPA."=20

Send your comments on this = story to letters@stateline.org.=20 Selected reader feedback will be posted in = the Letters=20 to the editor section. =

Contact=20 Kavan Peterson at kpeterson@stateline.org=20 =

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