Case Studies

Quantum-Leap Improvements in Environmental Data

The mission of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment. A Web-based portal and data exchange network developed by an EPA/CSC team is bringing quantum-leap improvements in the timeliness, accuracy and cost-effectiveness of the environmental data EPA relies on to advance its mission.

Reporting Challenge
To develop and enforce environmental regulations in support of 65 different programs, EPA collects and analyzes environmental information from across the U.S. More than 90% of the information is provided by non-EPA sources, including states, tribes, local governments and regulated industries.

Until recently, there was no centralized place or standardized method for reporting entities to submit data to EPA. Many reporters still used paper forms, which created gaps and inaccuracies in the data. EPA staff members then had to manually enter this data into electronic systems, a time-consuming and costly process that offered additional opportunities to introduce errors.

Even when reporting entities were using computers to feed data directly into EPA systems, the process was far from smooth. The agency is large and decentralized, with more than 17,000 employees supporting 10 regional offices and 17 labs. Because different EPA areas manage and fund their own IT systems, there was no standardized approach. Over the years, many disconnected computer systems and stovepipes evolved. Reporting entities had to go through elaborate and redundant processes to feed data into these varying systems.

Closing the Data Gap

As a result of these inefficiencies, a great deal of the valuable environmental data that was reported was not fully accessible across EPA. Consequently, there was a gap between what was actually happening in the environment and the environmental data that represented what was happening.

Because of this data gap, EPA scientists were often unable to fully study and measure the effectiveness of EPA programs. Instead of focusing on environmental improvement goals, some EPA managers focused on “process” goals, such as how many inspections were conducted or how many permits were processed.

Recognizing that attacking this thorny problem required collaboration with other environmental stakeholders, then-EPA CIO Kimberly T Nelson reached across organizational boundaries. She formed a team from EPA, states, technology vendors and other stakeholders to completely rethink the approach to sharing environmental data, and to overcome both technological and organizational barriers to data sharing and analysis.

Central Data Exchange: A Web-Based Portal Solution
The team determined that a Web-based portal would offer immediate improvement. Following a successful pilot, they contracted with CSC in March 2002 to develop, implement and manage the portal, known as the Central Data Exchange (CDX).

With CDX, reporting entities are able to upload and share data via a secure, easy-to-use Web site. Soon, thousands of organizations began using the portal.

In addition to convenience and time saving, CDX brought immediate and dramatic improvements in data accuracy. This is because the CDX solution includes functionality that automatically checks reports for internal consistency and prompts users to correct errors or omissions before submission.

An Exchange Network that Knocks Down Stovepipes

Though the portal was an important first step, environmental systems still were not unified and EPA's own stovepipes were still forcing redundant data submissions. The next phase of the CDX project sought to create a technologically advanced Web-based data Exchange Network that would serve as a “One-Stop Shop” for data reporting – the National Environmental Information Exchange Network.

CSC wrote the protocol specifications used to create the Network and was also contracted to build EPA’s node on the Network. Leading-edge Web technologies are incorporated throughout, including CSC security best practices that ensure that all systems are safe. For information sharing, the Network uses XML, the standard adopted by the World Wide Web Consortium for data exchange. Data quality is further enhanced by built-in quality checks, standard file formats, and a common, user-friendly approach.

As of February 2009, all 50 states have nodes on the Exchange Network. Four tribes have built nodes, with another four nodes in development. CDX has clocked 125,887 user registrations, with 44 systems in production and 16 others in test or development. [More about CDX projects.]

How CDX Is Improving Human Health and Safeguarding the Environment

The CDX Web portal and Exchange Network have driven significant improvements in the accuracy, timeliness and cost-effectiveness of data reporting. Because reporting entities are able to conveniently submit data using the Web, customer satisfaction has also been significantly enhanced. Following are some specific examples of the Network’s successes:

• In the past, drinking water labs in New Hampshire received public water samples from around the country to test for contamination, but it sometimes took months to report their analysis back to the states. Thanks to the CDX, EPA is able to share their analysis with the states instantaneously, so that corrective action, if needed, can be taken immediately.
• When EPA published revisions to the reporting requirements of the Clean Air Act’s Chemical Accident Prevention Rule, it required covered facilities to submit risk management plans describing their chemical accident prevention programs. The revised rule requires more timely reporting of significant accidents and updates of the emergency contact information. CDX offers Web forms for quick and convenient submissions.
  
• CDX has helped EPA achieve a 38% increase in efficiency over the previous five-year reporting cycle, with a 65% reduction in EPA manpower required to complete the processing. These improved results were attained despite the fact that Risk Management Plan processing has become more complex since the initial filings in 1999.
  
• CDX was used in support of the Electronic Storm Water Notice of Intent (eNOI). CDX eliminated paper applications for construction sites that need to apply for coverage under EPA's Construction General Permit (CGP). Results show that CDX eliminated 33 days of processing time for storm water notices of intent and virtually eliminated administrative error rates. Thanks to CDX, EPA’s Office of Water (OW) is now realizing contract savings of $265,000 per year.

Recognized for Excellence
As the EPA/CSC Team works to use the CDX portal and Exchange Network to improve information collection and sharing, they continue to drive a fundamental business process transformation across EPA. The net result is that EPA is receiving the timely, accurate environmental data it needs to improve human health and safeguard the environment.

As a result of their success in transforming EPA, the EPA/CSC team has been recognized for excellence by several industry organizations. Among the awards won by the team and the project are the following:

• EPA Gold Medal for CDX (2004)
• Government Technology Award for the Exchange Network (2004)
• CIO Innovation Award for the CDX Business Case (2005)
• EPA Gold Medal for Modernization of the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) (2006)
• CIO Innovation Award for CDX Lite (2008)
• EPA Bronze Medal for Underground Injection Control (2008)
• Government Computer News (GCN) Award for Agency IT Achievement (2008)
• EPA CIO Award for Innovation for Performance Measures (2008)
• Mason Hewitt Award for the Geodata Gateway and the Environmental Metadata Editor (2008)