Many environmental problems cross jurisdictions and involve a web of natural systems that interact with human communities in complex ways. The business of managing and solving these problems has become highly information intensive. Environmental policy makers and other stakeholders need access to timely, accurate, and consistent data that present a holistic picture of the environment. Exchanging high quality information allows governments, regulated communities, interest groups, and the public to make better decisions regarding the environment.
Yet, many of the current approaches to environmental information exchange are ineffective and often burdensome. Today, most environmental data are stored in electronic data management systems. Electronic data sharing between agencies is often mistaken for a simple automatic process; however, the truth is that many of these systems are innately incompatible with each other. Even similar systems can have difficulties exchanging information when the data are not identically structured.
The Exchange Network uses eXtensible markup language (XML), web services, and common data standards to overcome system incompatibility, allowing partners to securely and automatically exchange environmental data. The Exchange Network is helping participants reduce costs, save time, and overcome delays in making better decisions and responding to environmental emergencies. States in the Pacific Northwest are using the Network to share high-quality water data to control conditions that threaten regional watersheds and rivers. Laboratories are able to quickly share sampling results with regulators, allowing real-time monitoring of drinking water for public health and homeland security concerns. Governments and industry are seamlessly sharing reporting data such as Discharge Monitoring Reports, saving money while improving environmental protection. State environmental agencies and the U.S. EPA can fulfill regulatory and reporting requirements more efficiently through automated processes that eliminate the need for manual and duplicative data entry into national systems.
Today, the Exchange Network is making environmental protection more efficient and helping to improve the quality of decision making processes. To learn more about the benefits of becoming a partner on the Network, please visit the Partner Benefits section of this website.
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