All News Releases By Date

EPA AWARDS NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE NETWORK GRANTS TO SIX STATES IN THE SOUTHEAST

Release Date: 08/09/2002
Contact Information: Carl Terry (404) 562-8325

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that six states in the southeast have been awarded environmental information grants to work with EPA in developing the National Environmental Information Exchange Network. The Exchange Network is a joint project for sharing environmental data between EPA, states and other partners over the Internet. To accomplish this, it is necessary for network participants to develop hardware and software that enable their computer systems to communicate and exchange data with EPA's computers. The environmental information grants announced today to GEORGIA, KENTUCKY, MISSISSIPPI, NORTH CAROLINA, SOUTH CAROLINA and TENNESSEE will fund this important work by states and other participants. Completion of this network will simplify reporting by industry and greatly improve the quantity and quality of the environmental information EPA provides to U.S. citizens. Today's announcement is also an important step in the President's E-Government Initiative, which uses Internet technology to improve the delivery of government services to citizens, streamline businesses' paperwork and increase cooperation among federal, state and local authorities. The grant funds will be used for environmental information projects that promote: Exchanging environmental information with other states and partners using common formats. Integrating different types of data within states, including air, water, waste and toxics. Reconciling inconsistencies between different data reporting sources. Creating a single node for submission of data to EPA Headquarters, ( a node is one central computer network location for exchange of environmental information). The Network Grant Program includes four types of grants: Network One Stop Grants continue the work accomplished under the One Stop Reporting Program which awarded grants to states that had already committed significant state resources to data management and reporting improvements. Network Readiness Grants foster network participation, such as node development, assignment of data leadership roles, establishment of trading partner agreements, and internal data cleanup. Network Challenge Grants are for collaborative work that advances the Exchange Network, including projects that result in a higher level of quality data, simplified reporting, or provide increased public access to the data. Network Administration Grants are to support state/tribal technical and administrative functions of the Network. For more information on EPA's National Environmental Information Exchange Network grants, go to: https://www.epa.gov/neengprg/index.html.