Technical User

A wealth of information is available to technical users through the "back door" of Envirofacts. All the information that the Envirofacts team uses to create queries and mapping applications is available to you through Open Access, a useful feature for more technically oriented Envirofacts users. Open Access means that you can link directly to the database to write your own queries and applications. Use the information provided below to access and manipulate Envirofacts yourself.

OpenLink Wizard

Use the EnviroMapper OpenLink Wizard either to generate the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) line to embed a map image or to add the "live" EnviroMapper application to your own Web page.

OpenLink

EPA offers OpenLink, a feature that enables any website to dynamically embed EnviroMapper, using http protocol. With OpenLink, you can generate a map image dynamically and display it in your Web page. You can also embed a link to the EnviroMapper application.

Accessing the Envirofacts Database

The online query forms on this website have been designed to meet the environmental information needs of the general public. Advanced users who have a need for more sophisticated queries and who are familiar with Structured Query Language (SQL) may access the data in Envirofacts by connecting directly to the Envirofacts Database over the internet.

Access to the EPA ORACLE environment from the Internet is restricted to approved registered users. EPA further restricts eligibility to connect directly to the Envirofacts Database to:
       a. U.S. EPA, Military, and Federal Government employees;
       b. EPA contractors and grantees with an EPA sponsorship;
       c. State Agency employees with an EPA sponsorship;
       d. State Agency contractors and grantees with an EPA sponsorship;
       e. Federal-Government contractors and grantees with a Federal-level sponsorship.

Users must perform the following three steps:

Register to use the database,
Establish a secure connection to the EPA Network, and
Connect directly to the ORACLE databases using database access software.

The following provides details on accessing the Envirofacts Database.

1. Registering to use Envirofacts via the Direct Connect Option

Eligible users must complete the Envirofacts Registration Form and e-mail it to enviromail@epamail.epa.gov to obtain an EPA UserID and password. Unfortunately, direct access is not being granted to any other users at the present time. Please note: Registration to Envirofacts is free.

2. Establishing a Secure Connection to the EPA Network

Registered users will be given an EPA UserID and Password. They will also be given a SecuRemote password and instructions on how to download and install the SecuRemote software on their desktop. This free software allows users to establish a secure connection to the EPA network over the internet.

3. Connecting to the Database

Envirofacts is an ORACLE database. It can be accessed by any software package that can connect to an ORACLE database. Typically, this will require that you have the following types of software installed on your machine:

Database access software with the appropriate driver software for connecting to a relational database.
There are several database querying and reporting products available. In the Microsoft Windows environment, products are available from a variety of sources, for example Borland, Gupta, IQ Software, Microsoft, ORACLE Corp., Q+E, etc. These products represent a range of capabilities from point and click querying to direct entry of Structured Query Language (SQL) statements. [Microsoft Windows-based applications from vendors other than ORACLE Corporation may also require Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) drivers for an ORACLE version 8.1.6 database from the vendor of the application.]
SQL*NET for TCP/IP from ORACLE Corporation or an equivalent product.
SQL*NET for TCP/IP implements the SQL*NET protocol for a client to communicate with an ORACLE RDBMS. Note: The Envirofacts Database has been upgraded to ORACLE 8.1.6. As a result, you must use SQL*NET 2.x, which ORACLE sells packaged with other ORACLE products.
TCP/IP access to the internet. The TCP/IP software may be "loaded" for you by your internet access provider when you initiate your connection. This happens, for example, if you have a SLIP connection to the internet.

A block diagram of this arrangement is shown below:

Once the necessary software has been installed on your workstation, you will need to provide the connection and identification information about Envirofacts to your application.

Connection Information

For Microsoft Windows users (all versions), we strongly recommend using ORACLE's SQL NET Easy Configuration program to configure your connection to Envirofacts. The protocol to use is "TCP/IP", the TCP/IP Host Name is "envirofacts.sql.epa.gov" and the Database Instance is "enviro".

Connection Constraints:

Information in the Envirofacts Database can be freely accessed through the use of predetermined or user-developed queries. While the complexity of user-developed queries is unlimited, queries that return a large volume of data may terminate prematurely due to system limitations. Users are urged to develop queries that return small batches of data and terminate their session as soon as their queries have executed, so that others may be able to access the database.

Additional Questions:

If you would like to request a direct connection, complete the Envirofacts Registration Form. If you have additional questions or comments on how to obtain direct connection, please Contact Us or send e-mail to enviromail@epamail.epa.gov. Please include your name, telephone number, e-mail address, organization/company name, address, and the reason you need direct access to Envirofacts.

Technical User

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