usefule/difficult features of web sites, information that should be on line

[Peter Schlesinger <pschles@starband.net>]

I didn't know how to address this issue other than within a specific context, thus I looked at our own local activities via our regional web site.

EPA Region 1 has a new website on MMR, see: http://www.epa.gov/region1/mmr/index.html, but in reviewing this vague site (suitable for an elementary school student -- maybe), I've found enormous difficulty finding any real information about the contaminants at the site. Indeed, it is hard to find a listing of what are the contaminants. The map of plumes (dated May 2000 -- provided by one of the cleanup contractors) is so small, one can't find their way around; they're not drawn at a scale to inform anyone. One has to search so far into the material to find the list of contaminants, they must actually leave EPA to get there. Thus EPA is relying upon military cleanup officials to adequately inform the public. The map on the site is old; it doesn't reflect the large plumes in the northern part of the Base emanating from the Central Impact Area that EPA has known about for nearly 2 years. The site stresses the results of EPA regulatory policy and actions, but doesn't really inform the public. There is no community involvement segment on the website. 

The site says "...The groundwater study, which is ongoing, has produced evidence of serious groundwater and soil contamination from training with munitions, from unexploded ordnance and from disposal of munitions and other hazardous materials." Right here, to better inform the public on Cape Cod and the Nation, there ought to be a link to this evidence, presented at a scale that the public, both on Cape Cod and nationally can understand and relate to, there ought to be a link to discussion of what is an aquifer, 3D descriptions of how contaminants enter an aquifer, and how those contaminants get to drinking water, as well as a list of what contaminants have been found there in what concentrations, linking to EPA's various fact warehouses/glossaries on the risks of each of the contaminants and definitions of MCL/HA and other acronyms.

EPA cannot continue to rely on other agencies (State and national) being good buddies with the public to tell us what is really going on; indeed, EPA should not expect the responsible parties (our military in the case of MMR) to tell the public the truth about its actions and its contaminants, as it isn't in their interest. This is some of why there is disinterest on the part of the public, as Chuck brought up yesterday.

The whole activity in the northern part of our Base is under the Safe Drinking Water Act, but the EPA's MMR site is mostly about the Superfund sites to the south. There is aline that says "(The first three orders were issued under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the fourth under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.)" There is no link to the Safe Drinking Water Act from this part of their site, but there could be right here, as well as to RCRA. 

More general web comments, EPA search engines are slow. I do appreciate the search for hazardous material releases by zip code, but once presented with the information, the subsequent data was so sparse that it was unusable, despite the existence of links; there were no links explaining what the various result columns meant or the importance of subsequent entries.

EnviroSense is an interesting product. Links to it is hidden on only 2-3 pages concerned with Federal Facilities, on EPA New England Internet web pages according to my search a few minutes ago. It should be reachable from the sidebar to the left of all pages.