Federal Marine Environmental Data Resources
Also available: State Marine Environmental Data Resources
Updated: July 29, 2008
 Army
Corps of Engineers
 Environmental
Protection Agency
- ATTAINS
ATTAINS combines two formerly separate databases: the
National Assessment Database (for water quality assessment
information reported by the states under Section 305(b)),
and the National Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) Tracking
System (for impaired waters information reported by the
states under Section 303(d)). The site includes state-reported
information on support of designated uses; identified causes
and sources of impairment; identified impaired waters;
and status of actions (TMDLs) to restore impaired waters.
The website allows the user to view dynamic, continuously-updated
tables and charts that summarize state-reported information
for the nation as a whole, for individual states and waters,
and for the 10 EPA regions.
- Enforcement
and Compliance History Online (ECHO)
ECHO is a Web interface that draws data from the Integrated
Data for Enforcement Analysis system (IDEA) operated
by EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
ECHO provides integrated compliance and enforcement information
for approximately 800,000 regulated facilities nationwide.
The site allows users to find inspection, violation,
enforcement action, and penalty information about facilities
for the past two years. Facilities regulated under the
following environmental statutes are included: Clean
Air Act (CAA) Stationary Source Program, Clean Water
Act (CWA) National Pollutant Elimination Discharge System
(NPDES), and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
ECHO reports provide a snapshot of a facility's environmental
record, showing dates and types of violations, as well
as the State or Federal government's response.
- EnviroMapper
EnviroMapper for Water is a web-based Geographic Information
System (GIS) application that dynamically displays information
about bodies of water in the United States. It can be
used to view and map data such as the uses assigned to
local waters by state (fishing, swimming, etc.),
waters that are impaired and do not support their assigned
uses, the reasons why waters are impaired, water quality
monitoring information, closures of swimming beaches,
and the location of dischargers. This interactive tool
allows for the creation customized maps that portray
the nation's surface waters along with a collection of
environmental data. The application can be used to view
environmental information at the national, regional,
state or local levels (down to within one mile), and
provides the ability to pan, zoom, label and print maps.
The latest release of EnviroMapper for Water (Version
3.0) features several new layers of water data including
the EPA's STORET national water quality database, National
Estuary Program study areas, and the location of nonpoint
source projects. Other enhancements make it easier to
locate and view these data.
- Federal
Index of Water Assessment and Information
As part of the 1997 Clean Water Action Plan Federal
Agency Source Water Agreement, Federal Agencies agreed
to make relevant Federal information and analyses tools
more accessible to state, tribal and local interests
for completing source water assessment. The Federal Index
is a compilation of readily accessible resources and
is divided into four categories, paralleling the steps
of an assessment and local protection: Delineation, Inventory,
Susceptibility and Protection. The data sources are also
listed by agency.
- Sector Facility Indexing
Project (SFIP)
The Sector Facility Indexing Project (SFIP) has compiled
compliance and enforcement summaries, TRI pollutant release
information, and other data elements for five industry
sectors (petroleum refining, iron and steel production,
primary smelting and refining of nonferrous metals, pulp
manufacturing, and automobile assembly) and a subset
of major federal facilities. Facilities from these sectors
are included if they operated at any time during the
calendar year covered by the latest TRI Public Release
data available in SFIP, currently 1998. All data are
accessible from this web site to query on-line or download
for analysis. Information can be queried from the following
subject categories:
- Petroleum Refining
- Iron and Steel
- Primary Smelting and Refining of Nonferrous Metals
- Pulp Manufacturing
- Automobile Assembly
- Federal Facilities
- State, Tribal & Territorial Water Quality Standards
The EPA has compiled state, territory, and authorized tribal
water quality standards that are EPA-approved or were effective
prior
to May 30, 2000, for Clean Water Act purposes. Some of these
documents are more recent than May 2000. These state and tribal
water quality standards constitute the baseline of water quality
standards in effect for Clean
Water Act purposes. Any revisions determined to be less stringent
must be approved by EPA prior to use in Clean Water Act programs.
- STORET
The STOrage and RETrieveal (STORET) contains data collected
beginning in 1999, along with older data that has
been properly documented and migrated from the Legal
Data
Center. Both systems contain raw biological, chemical,
and physical data on surface and ground water collected
by federal, state and local agencies, Indian Tribes,
volunteer groups, academics, and others. All 50 States,
territories, and jurisdictions of the U.S., along
with portions of Canada and Mexico, are represented in
these
systems.
On July 28, 2008, the EPA announced the release
of the Water
Quality Exchange (WQX) version 2.0, a data
transfer
system which now allows states, tribes and other
organizations to share their biological and habitat
monitoring results.
Since February 2007, WQX version 1.0 has provided
a way for states, tribes, and other organizations
to share
physical, chemical and fish tissue water monitoring
data. Because many monitoring programs use biological
and habitat
data as the basis for assessing water quality, WQX
version 2.0 enhances the richness of information
available for
data sharing, analysis, and improved decision making
by watershed managers. All data shared using the
WQX framework can be accessed on-line in the STORET
Data
Warehouse. More information can be found at http://www.epa.gov/storet/wqx.html.
- Water
Quality Standards Database
In December 2007, the EPA posted the ninth and last
release of the Water Quality Standards Database (WQSDB).
Direct access to water quality standards (WQS) information
has many benefits, including enabling more informed public
participation in establishing and revising state WQS,
as envisioned by the Clean Water Act. As part of the
EPA's efforts to enhance access to WQS information, the
EPA is assisting states in establishing state-level WQS
databases on their own websites, so that the information
can be kept current as states revise their standards.
More information on this initiative is provided in the
WQSDB Release 9.0 fact sheet.
The WQSDB organizes and displays WQS information in
tables and maps, waterbody by waterbody. This information
has been verified and approved by 54 states, tribes,
and territories. The EPA and the states are transitioning
into a new way of providing public access to WQS information
in which states can use either their own database or
a copy of the WQSDB to manage and share their WQS information.
This final version of the WQSDB is scheduled to be removed
from the EPA website in 2008. Thereafter, members
of the public can access their state's WQS program webpage
at: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/wqslibrary/links.html and
can view the WQS documents upon which the WQSDB information
is based at http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/standards/wqslibrary/.
 Fish & Wildlife
Service
- Environmental
Conservation Online System
ECOS incorporates data systems across the Division of
Ecological Services, as well as other FWS and government
sources. ECOS provides a central access point for the
purposes of data integration, queries, generation of
reports and summaries, data editing, spatial analysis
tools, map generation and data export. Four major sections
provide navigation:
ECOS Applications: direct access to four FWS
program applications and their underlying modules; each
with input and edit capabilities
- Threatened and Endangered Species System (TESS)
- Habitat Tracking Information System (HabITS)
- Contaminant Assessment Program (CAP)
Database Queries: access to all databases contained
within ECOS using ad-hoc (customized) query tools.
Mapping Utilities: a host of spatial queries, such
as Geotract, a generalized, interactive mapping tool; includes
data relevant to all of the Division's branches. Other mapping
utilities accommodate specific project requirements such
as pertinent query capabilities and spatial themes.
Reports: provides data formatted for regional, national
and comparative summaries.
These databases, maintaind by the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, offer information on animals, plants, and
delisted species.
 Geological
Survey
- National
Environmental Methods Index (NEMI)
NEMI is a project of the Methods and Data Comparability
Board (Methods Board), a partnership of water-quality
experts from Federal agencies, States, Tribes, municipalities,
industry, and private organizations. The Council and
Board are workgroups under the Advisory Committee on
Water Information (ACWI), chartered in 1997 to develop
a voluntary, integrated, and nationwide water quality
monitoring strategy. The purpose of NEMI is to provide
a mechanism to compare and contrast the performance and
relative cost of analytical, test, and sampling methods
for environmental monitoring. NEMI provides a summary
of the procedures and performance data needed to assess
methods. Critical data on sensitivity, accuracy, precision,
instrumentation, source and relative cost are produced
as tabular reports, and full methods are linked to the
summaries. A second tool developed by the Methods Board
is a common set of Water Quality Data Elements for documenting
the content and quality of monitoring data. These data
elements, also available on the Web, were also recently
adopted by the Environmental Data Standards Council.
- Water
Quality Data from the USGS
This site by the United States Geological Survey provides
nation-wide water quality data in the following formats:
- Uniformly-sampled (i.e., semi-annually to monthly)
stream water-quality data include 63 physical, chemical,
and biological properties (122
water constituents including the dissolved, suspended,
and total forms). These data include physical/field
measurements (e.g., temperature, instantaneous streamflow,
pH, suspended sediment), major ions, nutrients, organic
carbon, radiochemicals biological measurements (e.g.,
fecal bacteria, phytoplankton, and periphyton), and inorganic
trace elements. With the exception of the periphyton data,
which reflect substrate conditions, all measurements reflect
conditions in the water column.
- Daily mean records of streamflow span time periods corresponding
to the water-quality data. These data can be used with
the water-quality data to derive estimates of flux (these
data are available only on the ASCII disc, which can be
accessed through user-supplied software).
- Supporting information on the water-quality measurements
includes constituent and parameter code lists, definitions,
and the sample collection agencies, laboratories, and laboratory
analytical methods associated with the stream water-quality
data. Information on the collection agencies, laboratories,
and lab methods have been stored in the water-quality digital
data files on a frequent basis since the early to mid 1980s.
- Water-quality and streamflow station
attributes include drainage area, latitude, longitude,
the dates of station operation, county, state, and hydrologic
unit code (HUC) identifiers, and drainage basin population
for 1990 and land-cover statistics for 1987.
 National
Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
- National
Estuaries Restoration Inventory
The National Estuaries Restoration Inventory was developed
an on-line tool to monitor Estuary Restoration Act projects
and other estuary restoration projects implemented around
the country. NERI serves as a restoration information
clearinghouse, providing details on techniques and monitoring
results. Projects can be submitted to the inventory from
Federal, State, local, and private sources provided the
project goal is to restore ecosystem benefits to estuaries
and associated habitats. Project managers can use the
inventory to produce on-demand reports, find new partnership
opportunities, and locate regional restoration efforts
that may assist in future restoration planning and design.
- United
Nations Atlas of the Oceans
NOAA is also a partner in the United Nations Atlas of
the Oceans. The Atlas is an information system designed
for use by policy makers who need to become familiar
with ocean issues and by scientists, students and resource
managers who need access to underlying data bases and
approaches to sustainability.
Space & Naval Warfare Systems Center
San Diego
- The
Navy Environmental Data Transfer Standard (NEDTS)
The Navy Environmental Data Transfer Standard (NEDTS)
was developed in 1992 by the Naval Facilities Engineering
Command Southwest Division (NAVFACENGCOM SOUTHWEST) as
a means of transferring Installation Restoration Program
data from one contractor to another within NAVFACENGCOM
SOUTHWEST's CLEAN I contract. NEDTS provided an open,
platform independent standard that permitted the Navy
to describe information to be captured and delivered
electronically without imposing any hardware or software
requirements on the contracting community.
Environmental Data Standards Council
- Environmental
Data Standards
The Environmental Data Standards Council (EDSC), established
by the State-EPA Information Management Work Group (IMWG),
have completed and approved six data standards to help
improve the ability of partners (internal and external)
to exchange data efficiently and accurately and also
assist secondary users of data to understand, interpret,
and use data appropriately. Data standards are documented
agreements on representations, formats, and definitions
of common data, and improve the quality of environmental
data and the ability to share it by:
- Increasing data compatibility
- Improving the consistency and efficiency of data collection
- Reducing data redundancy
Data standards developed by the EDSC will be reviewed annually
after issuance, or sooner if significant issues are raised.
|
