Subject: RE: Question of access is political science not rocket science
I concur with Mike to the extent that I believe that many data access problems go well beyond the mechanical. Still I don't think it is constructive to imply that all will be solved if EPA is tough-minded. From my experience, I would say that many states have been and will continue to be roadblocks in this regard. Afterall, in many instances it is the state regultory agency that is the "implementor" and the first "receiver" of information. Where states have been delegated to run federal environmental programs, they must take data collection and public access to data very seriously. And in my mind, public access involves far more than telling people that they can file a FOIA request if they like. The states must be accountable for providing up-to-date, quality information to EPA in order for that info to be entered into national databases, which allow access around the country and permit analysis that goes beyond single facility performance. In many EPA databases, the status of the location data seems to be
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