On Line mapping - local pollution problems

[Patricia Bonner <bonner.patricia@epa.gov>]

Thanks to EPA's Cleveland Office for sending this note to me.

Maps provide a detailed look at the environmental hazard next 
door.  http://www.hud.gov/emaps
                                                                                                         
 (09-18) 16:43 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ever  wonder what 
environmental hazards are lurking right in the neighborhood? 

 An online mapping program unveiled Monday by federal Housing 
Secretary Andrew Cuomo will allow anyone with a computer to 
find out what pollution problems are nearby. The free Internet 
mapping program allows computer users to input an address and 
up pops a diagram with select information from the Environmental
Protection Agency on brownfields, hazardous waste, air pollution
levels and waste water discharge in the area. 

 The site also maps out the locations of various programs from 
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the first time 
federal agencies have combined their data on a Web site. 
``We have a great tool in this new technology,''  Cuomo said 
Monday. ``We want to provide the information to the citizens 
and let them know what's going on in their backyard.'' 

                 
Cuomo said he was hopeful that those seeking community 
development grants from HUD would use portions of the federal 
money for environmental cleanup once they saw what problems 
existed in their neighborhood.   http://www.hud.gov/emaps 

The data available for mapping at the site include:

(a) CPD Entitlement 98 (Community Planning and Development):  The
Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) administers
grant and economic development loan guarantee programs that help
communities plan and finance their growth and development. An
"entitlement community" is entitled, by its size -- populations of
at least 50,000 for metropolitan cities and qualified urban counties
with populations of at least 200,000 - to annual grants. The data
provide information on projects funding with CPD block grants in
1998. The data are prepared and maintained by individual communities
receiving funding and include: (1) the name and address of the
funding recipient; (2)description of activity funding; and, (3)
the amount of funding.

(b) Multi-Family Housing 98: The Office of Housing helps communities
build and preserve health neighborhoods and communities, and maintain
and expand homeownership, rental housing and healthcare opportunities.
The data provide information on multi-family housing projects
(HUD-funded apartments) in 1998 and include: (1) the name and
address of the building; (2) the number of housing units; (3)
demographic information; and, (4) the Federal Housing Administration
program supporting the development.

(c) Public Housing 98 (Public and Indian Housing): The Office of
Public and Indian Housing (PIH) ensures safe, decent and affordable
housing for all program participants. The data provide nformation
on public housing developments for 1998 and include:  (1) name and
address of housing project; (2) total number of housing units;(3)
percent of units occupied; and (4) demographic information.

(d) Superfund sites: This is a program administered by the EPA to
locate, investigate, and clean up the worst hazardous waste sites
throughout the United States. These sites included manufacturing
facilities, processing plants, and landfills. The data provide
information on hazardous waste site assessment and remediation.

(e) EPA Brownfields Pilots: These are abandoned,idled, or under-used
industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment
is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.
EPA brownfields pilots provide funding to communities to assess
brownfields sites and to develop cleanup and redevelopment models.

(f) AIRS (Aerometric Information Retrieval System) Facilities:
Information on air releases is contained in the Aerometric Information
Retrieval System (AIRS), a database on air pollution in the United
States. This information comes from source reports by various
stationary sources of air pollution, such as electric power plants,
steel mills, factories, and universities, and provides information
about the air pollutants they produce. Theses data provide information
about industrial plants and the chemicals they introduce into your
local air.

(g) TRI (Toxic Release Inventory) Facilities: Information about
more than 650 toxic chemicals used, manufactured,treated, transported,
or released into the environment. Manufacturers of these chemicals
are required to report the locations and quantities of chemicals
stored on-site to state and local governments.

(h) RCRIS (Resource Conservation and Recovery Information System):
Hazardous waste information is contained in the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Information System (RCRIS), a national program management
and inventory system about hazardous waste handlers.

i) PCS (Permit Compliance System) Facilities: Information on
companies which have been issued permits to discharge waste water
into rivers. You can review information on when a permit was issued
and expires, how much the company is permitted to discharge, and
the actual monitoring data showing what the company has discharged.

(j) BRS (Biennial Reporting System) Facilities 1995: This is a
national system that collects data on the generation, management,
and minimization of hazardous waste. This system captures data on
the generation of hazardous waste from large quantity generators
and data on waste management practices from treatment, storage,
and disposal facilities.

(Note:  Too bad they didn't get the Depts of Education and Health
involved to add in locations of schools, day care centers, hospitals,
primary care providers and so on.  FYI ...... I tried to navigate
the website but it's not working due to overload of user traffic
/ the web directs folks to EnviroMapper so this website must just
expand what's available at that site. )    Pat