EPA Information Resources Management Strategic Plansemanticommunity.info/.../files/32817/irmstrategicplan.docx · Web view(IRM Strategic Plan) summarizes the goals of EPA’s information

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of the Chief Information Officer

FY 2015 - 2018EPA Information Resources Management Strategic Plan

February 27, 2015

FY 2015 – 2018 EPA IRM Strategic Plan

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Table of Contents1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Organization of this Plan..................................................................................................................21.2 Relationships Between the IRM Strategic Plan, the Enterprise Roadmap and Integrated Data Collection ................................................................................................................................................. 4

2.0 EPA’s Strategic Information Management Framework..................................................................5

2.1 Drivers..............................................................................................................................................52.2 Governing Principles........................................................................................................................62.3 IT Management Vision.....................................................................................................................62.4 IRM Mission.....................................................................................................................................62.5 IRM Goals.........................................................................................................................................6

2.5.1 Achieve Operational Excellence in Service Delivery...................................................................62.5.2 Unify IT Infrastructure Supporting Internal Communications Across All Programs...................72.5.3 Integrate External Service Delivery to EPA Stakeholders..........................................................72.5.4 Apply Leading Edge Technology in Existing and New Programs...............................................7

3.0 Supporting EPA’s Strategic Goals and Objectives...........................................................................8

3.1 Mapping IRM Support to EPA’S Strategic Goals (AXXA)...................................................................83.2 OEI-Driven Initiatives that Service Cross-Program Mission Functions (AXXB)................................10

3.2.1 E-Enterprise for the Environment: Integrating and Streamlining Customer-Facing Services (BXXA, BXXC) ...................................................................................................................................... 103.2.2 The Geospatial Platform: Integrating Geospatial Data and Tools...........................................133.2.3 Environmental Justice: Addressing Environmental Inequities.................................................173.2.4 eRulemaking: Automating the Regulatory Process (BXXC).....................................................183.2.5 eDiscovery: Automating the Legal and FOIA Processes..........................................................183.2.6 Library Strategy......................................................................................................................193.2.7 Advanced Data Analytics........................................................................................................203.2.8 Digital Services.......................................................................................................................22

4.0 Improving Services To Customers (BXXB)....................................................................................23

4.1 Improving IT/IM Service Delivery...................................................................................................23

4.1.1 System Life Cycle Management..............................................................................................234.1.2 Working Capital Fund Initiatives.............................................................................................24

4.2 Evaluating the Quality of Service of the EPA Website (BXXA)........................................................244.3 Unified Communications and Collaboration..................................................................................264.4 Support for Mobile Device Management.......................................................................................274.5 OneEPA Web Modernization.........................................................................................................27

5.0 Implementing Governance and Management Processes..............................................................29

5.1 Structure of the Quality and Information Council (QIC) (CXXA, CXXB, CXXC, CXXD, CXXE).............295.2 Investment Management Reviews and PortfolioStat (CXXF).........................................................305.3 Strategic Sourcing and Enterprise Licensing (CXXG).......................................................................315.4 Information Technology/Information Management Policy Program (CXXF)..................................325.5 The Quality Program and Lean Projects.........................................................................................35

5.5.1 The Quality Program..............................................................................................................355.5.2 Lean Project Support..............................................................................................................36

6.0 Aligning CIO Authorities (DXXA)..................................................................................................37


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6.1 Commodity IT.................................................................................................................................386.2 Program Management...................................................................................................................396.3 Information Security......................................................................................................................39

7.0 Managing Cybersecurity.............................................................................................................. 40

7.1 Aligning Investments and Cybersecurity (EXXA).............................................................................417.2 Meeting Cybersecurity Cross-Agency Goals (EXXA).......................................................................417.3 Continuity of Operations Plan (EXXB).............................................................................................41

8.0 Supporting EPA’s Workforce (FXXA)............................................................................................43

8.1 EPA University................................................................................................................................438.2 Lotus Notes Application Migration and the Use of Sharepoint......................................................448.3 The EPA Skills Marketplace............................................................................................................448.4 Operational Excellence..................................................................................................................458.5 Cybersecurity Training...................................................................................................................458.6 The GreenSpark Program...............................................................................................................46

9.0 Implementing Digital Government and Managing Information as an Asset..................................47

9.1 Implementing Digital Government Policy (GXXA)..........................................................................47

9.1.1 The Strategic Data Action Plan...............................................................................................489.1.2 EPA Enterprise Information Management Policy....................................................................489.1.3 Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) (GXXB).............................................509.1.4 Protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (GXXB)................................................50

9.2 Managing Information as an Asset (GXXA).....................................................................................519.2.1 Envirofacts..............................................................................................................................519.2.2 Integrating EPA’s Data Catalogs with their Federal Counterparts..........................................529.2.3 Facility Registry Services Re-engineering................................................................................529.2.4 Centralizing Discovery of Substances Information..................................................................539.2.5 Laws and Regulations Services...............................................................................................539.2.6 Promoting Reuse of EPA IT Services........................................................................................549.2.7 Data Element Registry Services..............................................................................................549.2.8 Tribal Identification Services...................................................................................................559.2.9 Terminology Services..............................................................................................................559.2.10 Records Management............................................................................................................55

10.0 Commodity IT and Shared Services............................................................................................56

10.1 Maturing the IT Portfolio (HXXA)...................................................................................................56

10.1.2 Rationalize Applications.........................................................................................................5710.1.3 Service Oriented Architecture.................................................................................................5810.1.4 Data Center Consolidation......................................................................................................58

10.1.5Reinvestment of Savings...............................................................................................................5910.1.6Maximizing the Use of Shared Services.........................................................................................60

11.0 Ensuring Accessibility................................................................................................................ 63

11.1 Supporting a Diverse Workforce (IXXA).........................................................................................6311.2 Integrating Accessibility into IT through Section 508 (IXXB, IXXC)..................................................63

11.2.1 Section 508 Executive Council.................................................................................................6311.2.2 Section 508 Policy Workgroup................................................................................................6411.2.3 Procurements and Grants Workgroup....................................................................................6411.2.4 Testing, Standardization and Procedures Workgroup............................................................64


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11.2.5 Program Assurance Workgroup.............................................................................................6511.2.6 Training, Communications and Outreach Workgroup............................................................6511.2.7 Other Section 508 Program and Disability Work at the Agency..............................................65

12.0 APPENDICES ...............................................................................................................................A-i

Appendix 1: EPA Strategic Goals Mapped to the Enterprise Architecture............................................... A-i Appendix 2: Descriptions of Principal IT Systems Supporting Core Mission Goals ................................ A-iv Appendix 3: EPA’s System Data Flows and Relationship to State and other Federal Systems ............... A-x Appendix 4: Mapping of Agency Performance Goals to Associated Data Sources ............................... A-xii Appendix 5: Alignment of IRM Strategic Plan, Enterprise Roadmap and Integrated Data Collection.......................................................................................................................................................... A-xxviii

List of FiguresFigure 2-1: EPA IRM Strategic Framework.....................................................................................................5Figure 3-1: EPA Enterprise Architecture Structure.........................................................................................9Figure 3-2: E-Enterprise Joint Governance Diagram....................................................................................11Figure 3-3: Conceptual Model of the EPA Geospatial Platform....................................................................14Figure 3-4: Geospatial Governance Process.................................................................................................15Figure 4-1: Rise in Mobile and Tablet Visits as a Percentage of all EPA.gov Visits (July 2013 - December

2014) .................................................................................................................................................. 25Figure 5-1: Sample Table from Investment Management Review...............................................................31Figure 5-2: EPA Technical Reference Model................................................................................................32Figure 5-3: OEI's Policy Framework..............................................................................................................34Figure 7-1: EPA Information Security Program Functional Chart.................................................................40Figure 9-1: The EPA EIMP Data Life Cycle....................................................................................................49

List of TablesTable 3-1: E-Enterprise Project Table...........................................................................................................12Table 5-1: Initial OEI IT/IM Categories (2100 Manual).................................................................................33Table 5-2: Current Agency IT/IM Programs and Activities...........................................................................33Table 10-1: Optimization Work-to-Date.......................................................................................................57Table 10-2: Categories of Inter- and Intra-Agency Shared Services.............................................................61

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1.0Introduction


The FY 2015 – 2018 EPA Information Resources Management Strategic Plan (IRM Strategic Plan) summarizes the goals of EPA’s information management (IM) and information technology (IT) activities, under the leadership of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). This Plan provides the strategic framework for planning, managing and delivering information for all aspects of EPA’s work, from its mission programs to its operations. It updates the FY 2013 – 2015 EPA Information Resources Management Strategic Plan, issued February 2014, and supports the goals and objectives of the EPA 2014 – 2018 Strategic Plan (EPA Strategic Plan), issued April 2014.

The IRM Strategic Plan supports EPA’s numerous federally mandated responsibilities for managing information technology investments.1 Consistent with EPA’s Enterprise Architecture and the Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) program, this Plan supports more efficient work processes to help deliver services more effectively, quickly and at lower cost.

At the highest level, the EPA Strategic Plan lays out five major goals for protecting human health and the environment:

Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality Protecting America’s Waters Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Laws and Assuring Compliance

Each of these goals requires dedicated IT systems to manage program data and oversee the Agency’s delivery of its mission. Increasingly, IT and IM must also build bridges among these programs, aligning commonly used information and supporting EPA’s ability to manage the environment more holistically and effectively.EPA hosts many IT systems that support EPA mission requirements, including communicating with the public, protecting children’s health, ensuring environmental justice and strengthening EPA’s relationships with its partners domestically and internationally. Administrative systems manage Agency finances, human resources, training, procurement, grants, facilities and support services such as email and the staff’s desktop working environment.

At EPA, OEI delivers innovative information technology and services that provide results to customers and advance the Agency’s mission. Today’s IT/IM tools offer new, more powerful ways to design and deliver innovative IT solutions. Web-enabled linked open data, the growth of data standards and the creation of common data registries make possible more powerful and useful applications. The ability to conduct new types of analyses of large-scale data sets provides new insight into complex management questions, such as how best to deploy limited Agency assets. Cloud computing provides economies and efficiencies in hosting many types of government systems. Mobile computing promises greater performance in field operations and new types of technologies for conducting Agency business anywhere, at any time. Green IT practices are reducing the overall cost of running IT services and reducing the impact on the environment. Many of these key concepts of contemporary IT have arisen in just the last few years. This important period of IT change and transformation presents both opportunities and challenges.

1 These include the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) of 1988, the E-Government Act of 2002, the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, The Government Performance Results Act of 1993, the Federal Enterprise Architecture and the Open Government Initiative.


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This plan does not yet cover requirements of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), which was signed in December 2014. FITARA gives agency CIOs enhanced decision-making authority over programming and over the budgeting of IT acquisitions, including approval of the IT portions of annual Congressional budget submissions. It also gives CIOs approval authority for IT contracts and for any reprogramming of IT funds. EPA is awaiting publication of OMB implementation guidance, expected in April 2016, and is evaluating how best to implement FITARA’s major requirements.

1.1 Organization of this PlanFor clarity, this plan is organized as closely as possible on the FY 2013 – 2015 EPA Information Resources Management Strategic Plan, published in February 2014. A few sections have moved, others condensed and some have been added.

Our discussion of the E-Enterprise Program (Section 3.2.1), for example, has been moved from Improving Services to Customers to Supporting EPA’s Strategic Goals and Objectives. This reflects E-Enterprise’s scope as a long-term, mission-centered, collaboration—not just an IT/IM service initiative—with state and tribal partners.2

In addition, the following sections cover new topic:

1.0 Advanced Data Analytics 3.2.8 Digital Services 4.1 Improving IT/IM Service Delivery 4.3 Unified Communications and Collaboration 5.5.2 Lean Project Support 8.1 EPA University 8.2 Lotus Notes Application Migration and the Use of Sharepoint 8.3 The EPA Skills Marketplace 8.4 Operational Excellence 8.5Cybersecurity Training 8.6 The GreenSpark Program 9.2.2 Integrating EPA’s Data Catalogs with their Federal Counterparts 9.2.5 Laws and Regulations Services 9.2.8 Tribal Identification Services 9.2.9 Terminology Services

To align this plan to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) PortfolioStat guidance that specifies its contents, headings are cross-referenced to Appendix A of OMB Memorandum m-13-093 as follows:

Code Subject Requested Information

AXXA Agency Strategic Goals and Objectives:

Identify agency strategic goals and objectives supported by the IRM strategic plan

AXXB Agency Strategic Goals and Objectives:

Describe how activities of the IRM Strategic Plan and Enterprise Roadmap advance these goals and objectives

BXXA Improving Services to Customers Describe how activities of the IRM Strategic Plan and Enterprise Roadmap advance these goals and objectives

2 See FY 2015 – 2018 EPA Strategic Plan, “Launching a New Era of State, Tribal, Local and International Partnerships,” http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-09/documents/epa_strategic_plan_FY 2014-18.pdf .3 http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2013/m-13-09.pdf


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BXXB Improving Services to Customers Improve usability, availability, and accessibility of services, including optimization of services for mobile use

CXXA Governance and Management Processes

The scope of the governance process, including Investment Review Board and other Portfolio Governance Boards (as appropriate) along with delegation of authority to bureaus or other organizational units (as appropriate)

CXXB Governance and Management Processes

Which agency stakeholders are engaged, including "C"-level leadership

CXXC Governance and Management Processes

The valuation methodology used to comparatively evaluate investments, including what criteria and areas are assessed

CXXD Governance and Management Processes

How the agency ensures investment decisions are mapped to agency goals and priorities

CXXE Governance and Management Processes

A high-level description of the process used to assess proposed investments and make decisions, including frequency of meetings and how often the process is updated

CXXF Governance and Management Processes

How you coordinate between investment decisions, portfolio management, enterprise architecture, procurement, and software development methodologies

CXXG Governance and Management Processes

Describe the agency's IT strategic sourcing plan, to include processes for addressing enterprise licenses

DXXA CIO Authorities Describe how the agency policies, procedures and authorities implement CIO authorities, consistent with OMB Memorandum 11-29, "Chief Information Officer Authorities"

EXXA Cybersecurity Management Summarize your agency's strategy to ensure that IT investment and portfolio decisions align with the Administration's Cybersecurity Priority Capabilities and your agency's IT security goals, and how you will continue to strengthen this alignment

EXXB Cybersecurity Management Describe your agency's approach to ensure that all mission critical applications have the proper continuity of operation and disaster recovery capabilities such that the agency can support the proper level of continuity of Government operations in accordance with Federal statute and guidance

FXXA Workforce Summarize your agency's approach to IT human capital planning, including the ability to build a future ready workforce to support the agency's strategic goals and objectives

GXXA Managing Information as an Asset Address how your agency will promote interoperability and openness throughout the information life cycle and properly safeguard information that may require additional protection

GXXB Managing Information as an Asset Describe how your agency ensures that personal information, including personally identifiable information (PII) and controlled, unclassified information (CUI), is accessible only to authorized personnel and how frequently these controls are verified

HXXA Commodity IT and Shared Services Describe your agency's approach to maturing the IT portfolio, to include optimizing commodity IT (including data centers), rationalizing applications and adopting a service orientation approach

HXXB Commodity IT and Shared Services Describe the agency's plan to re-invest savings resulting from consolidations of commodity IT resources (including data centers)


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HXXC Commodity IT and Shared Services Describe your agency's approach to maximizing use of inter- and intra-agency shared services (such as those enabled by common platforms and lines of business) and shared acquisition vehicles for commodity IT, such as those determined by the Strategic Sourcing Leadership Council, in order to reduce duplicative contract vehicles

IXXA Accessibility Creating a diverse environment where individuals of all abilities can work, interact, and develop into leaders (IXXA);

IXXB Accessibility Integrating accessibility considerations into the processes used in developing, procuring, maintaining, or using IT

IXXC Accessibility Building workforce skills to support an environment where Section 508 requirements and responsibilities are well understood, communicated, implemented, and enforced

1.2 Relationships Between the IRM Strategic Plan, the Enterprise Roadmap and Integrated Data Collection

At a high level, the IRM Strategic Plan is the statement of IM and IT long-term direction, goals and objectives. It is directly linked to the goals and objectives of the EPA Strategic Plan and keys to that Plan’s current time horizon. The Enterprise Roadmap documents EPA’s annual progress toward the objectives outlined in the IRM Strategic Plan and current and future business and technology environments from an architecture perspective. Integrated Data Collection is a reporting channel established under PortfolioStat to report quantitative Agency progress in meeting IT strategic goals, objectives and metrics as well as cost savings and avoidances resulting from IT management actions.

2.0EPA’s Strategic Information Management Framework


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EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment. OEI’s mission is to lead EPA’s IT/IM programs to provide the information, technology and services necessary to advance that protection. Program business processes and associated IT support must operate as a single integrated system. In this mission, OEI and the IRM staffs of the programs, regional offices and laboratories must operate as a unified team.

EPA’s updated Strategic Information Management Framework is shown in Figure 2-1 below.

Figure 2-1: EPA IRM Strategic Framework

2.1 DriversFederal Mandates: Federal mandates extend to the many mission and non-mission-related responsibilities for IT planning and management shared by all agencies: Enterprise Architecture and CPIC, System Development Life Cycle management, paperwork reduction, performance assessment, financial accountability, IT security, including the protection of Agency information assets, and privacy protection.

Stakeholder Expectations: EPA’s stakeholders demand efficient, simplified, integrated IT services that can access and exchange information freely across all levels of government. Federal requirements for information transparency apply with particular urgency to EPA.

Fiscal Responsibility: Responding to today’s demanding fiscal constraints requires new levels of innovation and leadership across our organizations, programs and partnerships. We must find new ways in which IT can eliminate inefficiencies in the ways we conduct business. Success requires that business processes be integrated wherever possible across programs and offices.

External Factors: Science constantly identifies new risks and recalibrates known risks. Climate change is presenting new challenges for emergency management. National security threats may pose unforeseen


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risks of environmental damage. Programs and their supporting IT systems must therefore adapt rapidly. We must remain agile to manage these unplanned demands.

2.2 Governing PrinciplesThree governing principles organize and structure the IRM Strategic Plan.

Focus on Quality: Quality is the sum of all links in the information management chain, from data collection, to systems development, to analysis and user support. Focusing on quality means optimizing all these elements, all the time. It requires OEI to work more closely than before with its client program offices to ensure that program business processes and supporting IT services evolve and transform together.

Strengthen Partnerships: EPA’s network of partnerships spans government at the state and local levels, tribes, industry, academia and the non-profit sector. In this network, partners originate, exchange, analyze and use information to mutual advantage. Integrating this information, enhancing its quality and streamlining its management requires EPA to maintain and strengthen these partnerships at all levels.

Invest in Talent Management: IT/IM requires many types of talents. Customer-facing positions require skills different from those of database management or infrastructure planning. Investing in talent through continuous training, customized individual development plans, good working conditions and effective rewards is essential to attract and keep the quality of talent required for EPA’s diverse IT portfolio and support of its IT modernization initiatives. We are committed to maintaining a diverse work force and addressing the needs of those with disabilities.

2.3 IT Management VisionEPA’s vision for IT/IM is to Lead the Agency to more effective uses of technology, Innovate to harness the power of information and Transform EPA IT resources and business processes to work together as a unified whole.

2.4 IRM MissionThe IRM mission is to securely deliver quality information, technology and services to advance the overall EPA mission to protect human health and the environment.

2.5 IRM GoalsOver the past few years, the pace of IT change has continued to increase and spread to new areas of technical and business operations. Trends such as Agile development and service-oriented architecture, the move from dedicated hosting to cloud computing, mobile technology in the office and in the field, “big data,” the Internet of Things, bring-your-own-device, Voice-Over-IP—these are more than gradual technical changes. They have disrupted traditional mission business practices, raised service expectations and restructured IT funding strategies.

To respond to these trends in an era of diminishing resources, where IT must do more with less, OEI has set new goals for itself in four specific areas. These goals play out across the subsequent sections of this IRM Strategic Plan.

2.5.1 Achieve Operational Excellence in Service DeliveryGrowing out of the need to hold down costs, maintain transparency and meet high service expectations, the goal of Operational Excellence is to move all OEI services from “good” to “excellent.” The theme encompasses all OEI operations, but particularly those of the Office of Technology Operations and Planning. Whether the service in question is a help desk, desktop provisioning, acquisition planning or contract management, OEI is striving to develop a culture of continuous incremental improvement, supported by increasingly efficient planning and management tools. Operational Excellence means constant attention to where OEI operations are today and where they must be in the future.


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2.5.2 Unify IT Infrastructure Supporting Internal Communications Across All ProgramsIT changes have had a splintering effect on communications. Where OEI once primarily delivered email and phone service, it now supports these plus audio conferencing, video conferencing, video phones, Lync messaging as a part of the Office 365 transition, online training applications and social collaboration platforms. A single program office, for example, may find itself with half a dozen different audio conferencing systems, each with its own learning curve and maintenance requirements. To save costs and increase service to EPA staff, OEI has set in place a Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) initiative to streamline and integrate internal communications and collaboration tools at all levels.

2.5.3 Integrate External Service Delivery to EPA StakeholdersEPA’s 2012 – 2015 IRM Strategic Plan, issued one year ago, introduced the E-Enterprise Program as a customer service initiative designed to increase service and integrate EPA’s touchpoints with outside stakeholders. This year E-Enterprise moves to a lead priority under the EPA Strategic Plan: Supporting EPA’s Strategic Goals and Objectives. More than an IT initiative, E-Enterprise comprises new state/federal mission collaborations and the streamlining and integration of many regulations and standards. The goal is to make all EPA operations more coherent, more efficient and significantly less burdensome on the regulated community. IT mission services across the Agency will come under its umbrella, but OEI’s role in providing enterprise architecture, shared services delivery and integrated master data are foundational.

2.5.4 Apply Leading Edge Technology in Existing and New ProgramsAs is true for almost all government agencies, EPA necessarily lags the private sector in its adoption of cutting edge technology due to its longer financial planning horizons and lower risk tolerance. Where possible, however, EPA is experimenting with technical innovations in instances where they are relatively low in cost, are supported by a strong development community and offer promise of breakthroughs in service improvement and burden reduction. A case in point is the Advanced Data Analytics initiative, where OEI is focusing the power of big data analytics on areas such as compliance improvement and environmental forecasting. Another is the Smart Mobile initiative to automate previously manual field operations.

3.0Supporting EPA’s Strategic Goals and Objectives


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EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment is one of the most information-intensive functions of government. Operating under more than 20 major enabling statutes and executive orders, EPA’s workflows must conform to the definitions and procedural requirements created by law and interpreted through regulations. These workflows touch almost every U.S. industry and facility. Directly or indirectly, they also affect the public and every state, tribe, county and locality on a daily basis.

The Agency manages legal, administrative and scientific data through an array of IT systems that have evolved over more than 40 years. Starting in FY 2014, EPA embarked on a systematic upgrade of both its internal IT infrastructure and its externally-facing systems.

This section first discusses how EPA’s IT systems currently support its mission goals, then takes up issues of modernization and improvement.

Section 3.1 discusses how EPA’s Enterprise Architecture maps to the goals and objectives of the EPA Strategic Plan.

Section 3.2 discusses key OEI-driven support initiatives that service cross-program mission operations with common reference information, analytic tools or workflows.

3.1 Mapping IRM Support to EPA’S Strategic Goals (AXXA)The FY 2014–2018 EPA Strategic Plan provides a blueprint for accomplishing EPA’s mission priorities. It presents five strategic goals for advancing environmental and human-health mission outcomes, accompanied by five cross-Agency strategies that focus EPA’s work to meet today’s growing human health and environmental protection needs.

Strategic Goals Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality Protecting America’s Waters Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Environmental Laws and

Assuring ComplianceCross-Agency Strategies Working Toward a Sustainable Future Working to Make a Visible Difference in Communities Launching a New Era of State, Tribal, Local and International Partnerships Embracing EPA as a High-Performing Organization

This update of the IRM Strategic Plan covers the remainder of the EPA Strategic Plan’s planning horizon— 2014-2018. Its support for EPA’s Strategic Goals and Objectives is mirrored and expanded in the structure of EPA’s Enterprise Architecture (EA), which is shown in Figure 3-1 below.


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Figure 3-1: EPA Enterprise Architecture Structure

Strategic Goals: The EA predates the EPA Strategic Plan, but the plan’s goals nevertheless map closely with the EA. The first five strategic goals map directly to corresponding EA segment architectures. In addition, the EA includes Emergency Management as a separate EA Core Mission Segment to ensure that emergency management systems operate as a coherent whole even if they are managed by different core programs.

Cross-Agency Strategies: Because they are cross-cutting, the cross-Agency Strategies are supported by IT in more complex ways. Some have dedicated IT support and others are supported indirectly by systems that have other primary purposes.

To document in detail how EPA’s IT systems support these multiple systems, Appendices 1 – 5 provide different views into the relationships between goals, objectives and the EA.

Appendix 1: EPA Strategic Goals Mapped to the Enterprise ArchitectureThis appendix tabulates Strategic Goals and Fundamental Strategies against the EA Architecture Segments and the principal IT systems within each segment.

Appendix 2: Descriptions of Principal IT Systems Supporting Core Mission GoalsEPA’s mission programs rely on many IT systems and capabilities, but the primary program data management systems are listed and described in this appendix. Only a few of these are “Major” systems under the Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) Program. Most are categorized as “Medium” or “Lite” systems. This list is a subset of the complete system inventory presentedin Appendix 1 of the Enterprise Roadmap.

Appendix 3: EPA’s System Data Flows and Relationship to State and Other Federal SystemsThis appendix illustrates in graphic form how EPA’s principal support systems relate to each other and to the principal mission segments of the EA for air quality, water quality, land quality, substance management and compliance. Emergency management systems are shown within the land quality group because they are managed by the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response. Regulatory requirements drive the flow of information between regulated entities, delegated state and tribal regulators and EPA. These requirements include reporting, permitting and various transactional activities. Other Agency functions, such as emergency management and scientific research, can also drive a need for information exchanges.

Appendix 4: Mapping of Agency Performance Goals to Associated Data SourcesThe FY 2012 – 2015 EPA Strategic Plan lists many quantifiable performance objectives beneath each of the Strategic Goals. The data sources that provide documentation of this performance are listed for each objective in Appendix 1.

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Appendix 5: Alignment of IRM Strategic Plan, Enterprise Roadmap and Integrated Data Collection

Appendix 5 shows the alignment of the IRM Strategic Plan and Enterprise Roadmap and Integrated Data Collection (IDC). This alignment provides the linkage from the strategy to the implementation of the IT capabilities that support EPA’s mission. EPA will use this alignment to track progress against the identified IT capabilities to support future reporting. This will include quarterly updates to the Enterprise Roadmap and IDC.

3.2 OEI-Driven Initiatives that Service Cross-Program Mission Functions (AXXB)

The following initiatives, some new and others in progress, provide support for EPA’s mission goals and objectives as discussed in the FY 2014 – 2018 EPA Strategic Plan. They provide more targeted support in areas such as common data services, regulatory process, federal requirements and environmental stewardship.

3.2.1 E-Enterprise for the Environment: Integrating and Streamlining Customer-Facing Services (BXXA, BXXC)

E-Enterprise for the Environment (E-Enterprise) was introduced in last year’s IRM Strategic Plan, Section 4.0: Improving Services to Customers. As E-Enterprise enters its second year as a formal cross-agency initiative, it is appropriate to address it here in its full scope as support for the EPA Cross-Agency strategy, Launching a New Era of State, Tribal, Local, and International Partnerships.4

E-Enterprise is a transformative 21st century strategy to modernize the way in which government agencies deliver environmental protection. Through joint governance, EPA, the states and tribes are collaboratively streamlining business processes and driving and sharing innovations across agencies and programs. These changes will improve environmental results and enhance services to the regulated community and the public by making government more efficient and effective.

E-Enterprise is not primarily an IT program – it is a process reform initiative enabled by technology, within a framework of joint governance, but its impact on EPA and state environmental IT/IM programs will likely be significant. The intent is to transform existing environmental IT/IM, built in silos across programs and agencies over a period of 40 years, into an architecture of shared services and shared data.

E-Enterprise’s goals and objectives are:

GOAL 1: Improve environmental protection through better program performance– Streamline and modernize business processes, both across programs and among partner

agencies– Integrate E-Enterprise goals and principles into applicable new policies and regulations– Develop and implement new and more effective environmental management approaches– Promote adoption and integration of advanced information and monitoring technologies

GOAL 2: Enhance services to stakeholders and agency partners– Reduce transaction costs and burden for the regulated community– Reduce transaction costs for E-Enterprise agencies– Improve transparency of environmental conditions, regulated community and

government performance, and governmental administrative processes– Improve the qualitative user experience for the public and regulated community

GOAL 3: Operate our partnership as a transformative model for Joint Governance– Jointly establish strategic direction and priorities for E-Enterprise– Collaborate in an early and meaningful manner at all levels to solve problems

common across partners

4 FY 2014 – 2018 EPA Strategic Plan, pp. 48 – 50.

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– Develop and promote the use of innovative solutions– Establish and use shared regulatory, technical, and policy tools

Joint Governance: E-Enterprise joint governance (Figure 3-2 below) is led by the E-Enterprise Leadership Council (EELC). The EELC is composed of ten EPA Senior Executives (the Deputy Administrator, Assistant and Regional Administrators or their Deputies) and ten State Commissioners or other high-level state officials. The EELC has had tribal participation for its most recent meetings and anticipates increasing tribal engagement in 2015.

Figure 3-2: E-Enterprise Joint Governance Diagram

For IRM issues, the EELC leans heavily on the Environmental Council of States (ECOS) and the Exchange Network Leadership Council (ENLC), which has established three Integrated Project Teams (IPTs) on (1) Identity and Access Management (IDAM), (2) the E-Enterprise Portal and (3) the Cross-media Environmental Reporting Rule (CROMERR).

The three key themes of E-Enterprise include burden reduction, the creation of shared services and advanced monitoring.

Burden reduction: The reduction of burden on the regulated community and environmental staff at all levels of government is central to E-Enterprise. The EELC convened in July 2014 to discuss an update to the Information Collection Request (ICR) process under the Paperwork Reduction Act, under which all external requests for information must quantitatively estimate the burden of compliance, which may range up to millions of hours annually. In addition to the streamlining of business processes and regulatory reform, IT can play a role in burden reduction through electronic reporting and automated data development.

Shared Services: The principle of “build once, use many” is key to E-Enterprise, particularly in the development of shared information systems that can provide the proverbial “single version of the truth” to programs and agencies across levels of government. Program have their own definitions of organizations, facilities, regulated substances and environmental terms, usually dictated by their enabling legislation. E-Enterprise requires the unification of this information not only among federal programs, but also between federal and state programs. Section 9 of this strategy deals with the EPA systems that will be most important in delivering integrated information services, including Facility Registry Services (FRS), Substances Registry Service (SRS), Terminology Services (TS), Reusable Component Services (RCS) and the


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Environmental Dataset Gateway (EDG). All of these are being reexamined in relation to E-Enterprise needs and their integration with state and tribal counterparts.

In addition to shared information services, E-Enterprise is examining all types of shared components that can support burden reduction and service enhancements, including federated identify management, EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) and other National Environmental Information Exchange Network (NEIEN) nodes, electronic signature services, cloud hosting services, content management services, the EPA Geospatial Platform and others.

E-Enterprise Projects: The current list of E-Enterprise projects, showing IT/IM-related projects with federal participation in bold, is shown in Table 3-1 below.

Table 3-1: E-Enterprise Project Table

Activity Area Existing and Near Term Anticipated Joint Accomplishments (thru the end of FY 2016)

Long Term Joint Activities with Significant Anticipated Accomplishments

Program Modernization

1M hours burden reductiono Electronic Reporting for

water National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits Q1 FY 2016

o Electronic Reporting for public drinking water systems Q1 FY 2016

Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection Energy and Environment Public Access and Information System (EIPAS) Project

Pilot electronic system for consolidation of fuel reporting

EPA Lean Examples (incl. the 15 intergovernmental examples)

New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Hazardous Waste Coordinator Certification

E-Enterprise E-Permitting Capability: Develop a business case and Return on Investment (ROI) analysis for consolidation and streamlining E-Permitting across multiple environmental programs (TBD)

E-Manifest: cradle to grave electronic tracking of hazardous waste (end of FY 2018)

Air Stationary Source Reporting: electronic reporting for performance and compliance reports (FY 2019)

Combined Air Emission Reporting project (post scoping) (TBD)

Pesticides Label Matching (post scoping) (TBD)

Smart mobile tools for EPA and State inspectors (post-Scoping) (TBD)


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Activity Area Existing and Near Term Anticipated Joint Accomplishments (thru the end of FY 2016)

Long Term Joint Activities with Significant Anticipated Accomplishments

Shared Services Reg/Public Portal Phase 1 Facility Registry (FY 2015) Substance Registry (FY 2015) Cross-media Electronic

Reporting Rule (CROMERR) Authentication (FY 2015)

E-Enterprise Architecture (FY 2015)

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Switchboard e-Business Portal

Virtual Node (FY 2015)

Reg/Public Portal Phase 2,3,4 (FY 2018) Federated Identity and Access Management Implementation of E-Enterprise Architecture

plan Local Government Portal (post scoping)

Modernize Legal Framework

Update of the Business Case Template used for Scoping projects (FY 2015)

Performance and management tracking systems (FY 2015)

Update of Administrative Procedures Rulemaking for mandatory electronic

reporting as appropriate Work with Congress to obtain legislative

amendments of statutes required for harmonization of facility definitions, substance definitions, etc.

Collaboration, Outreach, and Support to States

Five (5) Scoping Projects with Business Cases/ROI Analyses (Q3FY 2015)o Combined Air

Emission Reportingo Local Government Portal

(Scoping)o Pesticides Label Matching o Smart Tools for inspectors o Integrated Watershed

Monitoring Networks E-Enterprise Website,

Federal Register notice and roundtables for Portal

Annual State and Tribal Assistance Grants

EPA/State/Tribal Program and Project Inventory: Inventory will be used as a resource for program consolidation opportunities and collaboration

E-Enterprise Ambassadors, coordination with appropriate existing EPA Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) groups

Annual State and Tribal Assistance Grants

Enterprise Architecture Program: To support all of the above IRM-related efforts at the federal level, OEI launched the E-Enterprise Enterprise Architecture Program in July of 2014. In its first year, this program has developed baseline inventories of EPA outward-facing business programs and shared services of all types. It has also provided IT requirements support for the E-Enterprise Portal project and for a comprehensive evaluation of the burden of chemical substances reporting across OCSPP (pesticides and toxics programs, OEI (the Toxics Release Inventory) and OAR (greenhouse gases).

3.2.2 The Geospatial Platform: Integrating Geospatial Data and ToolsGeospatial (place-based) analysis has been a growing field over the last two decades. It is especially applicable to agencies such as EPA, whose mission is strongly organized around location-specific physical


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conditions and events. EPA has, therefore, been a leader in the federal geospatial arena for many years, applying Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to environmental analysis, implementing the GeoData Gateway (GDG) for cataloging EPA’s geospatial data holdings5 and, as of May 2012, launching an integrated EPA Geospatial Platform.6

EPA’s Geospatial Platform is a shared technology and governance framework that encompasses a community of expertise as well as a suite of geospatial tools, data and services that coordinates and consolidate mapping activities, applications development and data management across the Agency. This shared platform is dedicated to all aspects of the EPA mission and provides for re-use of data services and applications across EPA (see the conceptual model in (Figure 3-3 below). In addition to supporting the internal geospatial needs of the various programs, the Platform is particularly useful for addressing cross- cutting issues including the following:

Environmental Justice (see Section 3.2.3). Emergency Response. Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development.

Figure 3-3: Conceptual Model of the EPA Geospatial Platform

EPA Geospatial Platform Capabilities: Analytic tools and their supporting data needs are often context specific, but the platform’s standardization of data sources and symbology7 assists both the casual user and the program analyst to understand the full set of EPA map products, regardless of context.Furthermore, creating a shared resource for map and tools development encourages collaborative design for both technical and programmatic needs.

5 Success of the GDG led to its broadened form today as the Environmental Dataset Gateway, which catalogs all types of EPA data, not simply geospatial data, and feeds EPA data source records to the government-wide Data.gov portal. 6 The EPA Executive Management Council authorized the platform in March 2011. The formal rollout was on May 15,2012.7 In GIS usage, “symbology” refers to the use of consistent icons and symbols across maps to indicate the same things,such as monitoring points, emission points or watershed boundaries. Symbology becomes a major issue when integrating data from disparate sources.


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Analytic contexts may vary, but programmatic functions for various Agency components often overlap. GIS tools created to address similar functions (such as for monitoring, permitting or compliance targeting) can be reused as building blocks for additional tools.

Lessons learned in the implementation of EPA’s Geospatial Platform are being integrated into the development of the National Geospatial Platform managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior. EPA’s Geospatial Platform continues to evolve in collaboration with the broader federal effort. EPA, along with other partners such as the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the National Geospatial- Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA), will continue to contribute to the overall National Geospatial Platform.

Although currently limited to internal users, these agency-specific platforms are being used to provide powerful geospatial capabilities with appropriate mission-specific data and analytics for the public. In the future, most agencies—including EPA—plan to adopt a federated approach to enable more seamless connections between agency-specific platforms and the Federal Geospatial Platform for all internal users. The long-term goal among collaborating agencies is to link them into a network of shared data and services, supporting federated search and mutual access to priority data application programming interfaces (APIs) across installations. EPA will also continue to work with its federal partners to establish a strong, cross-agency governance process for the National Geospatial Platform, including strong user participation. This process is critical to ensure mutually beneficial sharing of authoritative data sets, data services, shared infrastructure and analytical services across multiple user communities throughout the government and partner organizations.

EPA will also continue to work with its federal partners to establish a strong cross-agency governance process for the Federal Geospatial Platform, including strong user participation. This is critical to ensure mutually beneficial sharing of authoritative data sets, data services, shared infrastructure and analytical services across multiple user communities throughout the government and partner organizations.

Governance: The Quality and Information Council (QIC) finalized the Platform’s Geospatial Governance Process and recommended it to the CIO for approval (see Figure 3-4 below) in 2014.

Figure 3-4: Geospatial Governance Process


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This augmented the existing Change Control and Operational Management Board, which manages Geospatial Platform operations, including day-to-day operational decisions, bi-weekly meetings, configuration management, project pilots and financial management. As part of the governance upgrade of 2014, the EPA GIS Workgroup has appointed a steering group to act as the official EPA Geospatial Advisory Committee. It includes representatives from all program offices and the 10 EPA regions.

As planned, for FY 2015 EPA has put in place a new funding model to support the Geospatial Platform. Hosting and centralized data services are now funded through a desktop service charge. In FY 2016 the Geospatial Platform will be part of the Working Capital Fund.

Integration with the National Geospatial Platform: EPA is more a consumer of geospatial data than it is an originator. The Agency has, however, contributed a map of U.S. Ecoregions to the National Geospatial Platform, the result of a collaboration with EPA regional offices, other federal agencies, state resource management agencies, and groups from neighboring North American countries. Designed as a spatial framework for monitoring ecosystems and their components, ecoregions denote areas of similar types, quantities and qualities of ecosystem resources. An excerpt from this data set is shown in Figure 3-5 below.

Figure 3-5: North American Level III Ecoregions

EPA has also provided a map of EPA Regions to the National Geospatial Platform as a general reference source.

As a founding partner of the National Geospatial Platform, EPA has been involved with the Federal Geospatial Data Committee (FGDC) in developing the implementation plan for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), which includes the Agency’s input to the implementation plan for the National Geospatial Asset Strategy, which has greatly expanded the scope and content of OMB Circular A-16: Coordination of Geographic Information and Related Spatial Data Activities.8

8 https://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/a-16/circular-A-16.pdf.


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Ongoing Activities: EPA continues to enhance the technical infrastructure of the Geospatial Platform, which combines the presentation and analytical capabilities of Esri’s ArcGIS OnLine (AGOL) cloud-based GIS platform and a series of geospatial data sets hosted by and delivered through the National Computing Center (NCC). Procedures are in place through which EPA programs can use AGOL to create public maps, of which over 40 have already been published, most recently on national particulate matter (PM) and ozone concentrations.

Rather than host such information through the AGOL cloud, OEI has set up 11 data servers to host critical geospatial data sets for reuse by internal EPA applications. OEI has also set up a sandbox environment in which programs can prototype geospatial applications at low cost. OEI is also establishing a geo- applications developers’ community to create device independent Web applications accessible by mobile devices as well as computers.

In FY 2016 – 2017, OEI will:

Ensure that the GeoPlatform is fully operational and used as the solution of choice by all Agency programs

Develop GeoPlatform smart tools and data services to support the EPA Cross-Agency Strategy for Communities

Develop and enhance GeoPlatform capabilities to support EPA’s advanced data visualization and analysis initiative and E-Enterprise

Ensure that the use of the GeoPlatform continues to expand within EPA with GeoPlatform access available to all EPA users via EPA Enterprise Single Sign-on

Fully integrate the GeoPlatform with other EPA collaboration platforms including SharePoint, Office 365 and the Drupal Web Content Management System (WCMS)

Use the GeoPlatform to publish internal and public mapping tools increasing the number of shareable maps, geodata services, and applications by at least 30% during FY 2016

3.2.3 Environmental Justice: Addressing Environmental InequitiesSince 1994 when the White House issued Executive Order 12898, every federal agency has been required to identify and address any disproportionately high and adverse human health or environmental effects caused by its activities on minority, low-income or indigenous populations. EPA naturally plays a central role in this effort.

Over time, EPA’s programs and regional offices have developed GIS-based screening tools and methodologies to support EJ analysis and decision making. Under Plan EJ 2014, a nationally consistent EJ screening tool—EJ Screen—was developed within the EPA Geospatial Platform. The first iteration of this tool was released for internal evaluation in October 2012. As of April 1, 2013, EJ Screen replaced existing program EJ tools as the Agency standard. Programs are currently developing their program-specific applicability procedures and user guidance.

EJ Screen combines environmental parameters with demographic information to produce 12 relevant EJ indicators. Examples include proximity of population to Superfund sites or water discharges, population exposures to particulate matter and other air quality measures and exposure to environmental lead (such as lead-based paint).

The principal benefits of EJ SCREEN as an IT tool include the following:

All areas of the country are now covered with consistent data. Scoring is nationally consistent using scientifically sound data. Resolution is available to the Census Block Group level, a major improvement over previous tools

that provided only Census Tract granularity. EJ Screen supports a consistent screening tool across national, state and regional levels.


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Current progress: Over the past year, EJ Screen became the internal standard for EJ evaluations across the Agency. It has been updated to version 2.0, which is designed to serve more than 1,000 simultaneous users and is thus suitable for public use. Public release is imminent, pending approval of certain additional data sets to be included in the package. Once released, EPA will solicit comments from public stakeholders as well as internal users, incorporating them in an expected 3.0 release.

3.2.4 eRulemaking: Automating the Regulatory Process (BXXC)Since 2002, EPA has served as the managing partner for bringing the federal regulatory process into the Internet age under the eRulemaking program. It developed the current Regulations.gov portal, which provides one-stop, online access to every open rule published by more than 150 federal agencies, including EPA. This represents over 90 percent of the federal regulations issued each year.

Although eRulemaking is housed within EPA, it is funded as a separate and distinct program. Hosting for the system at EPA’s National Computer Center (NCC) uses separately leased space and independently owned hardware. All staff and contractors involved are dedicated to this single program and have no other duties.

Regulation.gov’s two principal functions are (1) to maintain the electronic collection of documents related to each rulemaking and (2) to automate the public comments process for each action. These functions are managed under the eRulemaking Major investment, which includes the Regulations.gov portal and the supporting Federal Docket Management System (FDMS).

OEI is redesigning every aspect of the Regulations.gov system. By the spring of 2015, all eRulemaking hardware will be upgraded. EPA is replacing FDMS 3 with the completely new FDMS 4, a transition that is almost complete as of early 2015. The program is also conducting a new software alternatives analysis, with a view to moving from Oracle to an open source database system such as MySQL. This is expected to be complete in 2015, with the potential move to open source starting in 2016, pending a new contracting vehicle.

The new FDMS will have the ability to handle all records electronically, including the transfer of documents to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Previously, participating agencies have had to print off physical copies for permanent storage.

In addition, eRulemaking is enhancing its comments categorization tool to handle larger volumes of comments and detect linguistically similar submissions. For example, one recent EPA rule solicited over 3 million comments, with many generated through mass mailings identifiable using natural language processing.

3.2.5 eDiscovery: Automating the Legal and FOIA ProcessesLike all federal agencies, EPA is responsible for answering Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Congressional requests, as well as “electronic discovery,” in which civil litigation requires the Agency to identify relevant information in electronic format and place it under legal hold. EPA and regional offices receive approximately 10,000 FOIA requests annually. Electronically Stored Information (ESI) subject to information requests includes not only the electronic files themselves, but also the metadata that usually accompanies them. Electronic files can include images, videos, audio, email and any other unstructured or semi-structured electronic information.

Over the past several years, OEI led the development and implementation of the EPA eDiscovery Service in partnership with OECA, OGC and the regional offices. In August 2011, the Working Capital Fund (WCF) Board voted to implement an end-to-end eDiscovery Service that includes new procedures, processes and a supporting suite of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) electronic discovery tools that:

1. Provide search, collection, preservation and processing functions. The tool allows EPA to systematically identify people within the Agency who have ESI relevant to a litigation case, a FOIA request or a Congressional inquiry. The tool then collects the relevant information from their computers.


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2. Offer a user-friendly interface for collaborative review and processing of retrieved information, tagging and processing it to be submitted as evidence.

3. Support advanced de-duplication, threading and analysis of data.Like other agencies, EPA faces numerous challenges—logistical, legal and technical—in meeting eDiscovery requirements. EPA’s eDiscovery system was scheduled for completion in 2011, but several of its features and functions were delayed until 2014.

Logistical issues: eDiscovery was designed for litigation support, which historically generates queries at a rate of hundreds per year. As of 2015, the system must now also support FOIA requests, Congressional inquiries and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) actions numbering in the thousands per year. This has led to serious speed and capacity problems. FOIA requests, for example, operate on a 20-day timeline, but eDiscovery’s automated search tools must be configured individually for each request, meaning that EPA cannot address every request in a timely manner and still comply with the scope of the required discovery.

Legal Issues: In the past, discovery operated primarily through self-collection. A call would go out to likely information custodians and staff members, who were asked to assemble relevant information themselves. Federal Courts, however, are trending towards the conclusion that self-collection is unacceptable in responding to a litigation request: all litigation-related collections must be documented, auditable, and repeatable; things that automated tools can typically do. In addition, to meet the requirements of current case law and the federal rules, the Justice Department typically requires that metadata not be altered in the collection process. Yet whenever information is moved from its original server location to the point of collection, the metadata can be automatically updated and thereby changed. While these particular legal restrictions do not currently apply to FOIA or Congressional requests, they establish a best practice and a more rigorous standard operating procedure for EPA’s eDiscovery operation.

Technical issues: To answer the metadata version problem, a few software packages do offer versioning histories, but these usually require license upgrades at additional cost beyond that covered in the original procurements.9 Most software, moreover, cannot maintain metadata versioning at all.

The more fundamental technical problem EPA and other agencies face is the addition of new technologies and software packages not anticipated when eDiscovery requirements were specified. When EPA moved from Lotus to Microsoft, custom tools developed to operate on Lotus repositories were rendered obsolete. New tools are necessary to address SharePoint, OneDrive, Lync, Outlook and other Office 365 modules. Cloud computing, particularly the Office 365 move, raises new legal and technical issues, as does mobile technology. As an example, there is currently no practical way to collect and manage text messages as records, and even though current guidance prohibits the use of personal devices to conduct official business, the Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) trend opens up new areas of uncertainty.

To address this complex situation, EPA has convened a tiger team to investigate the potential procurement of new tools and/or enhancements to current tools. OEI is soliciting input on the best path forward from OECA, OGC, the regional offices and stakeholders. As case law and technology evolve, EPA— like other federal agencies—is struggling to satisfy its needs for discovery, records retention and records management. The issues eDiscovery faces raise broader questions of managing unstructured data as a general class. EPA will be examining all dimensions of unstructured data management in CY 2015 and beyond.

3.2.6 Library StrategyThe EPA National Library Network is composed of physical libraries and document repositories located in EPA’s Headquarters, regional offices, field offices, research centers and specialized laboratories. In addition to professional library staff and physical collections, the Library Network supports and makes

9 OEI expects to approach the Working Capital Fund with a proposal to upgrade its Office 365 licenses in the interests of eDiscovery.

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available virtual library resources that provide Agency staff and the public with access to EPA information and library services. Using the Online Library System (OLS) National Library Catalog, EPA staff and the public can search the collections of EPA library holdings and can access full-text, digital electronic EPA publications via the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP) digital repository. EPA staff has central, Intranet access to electronic journals and other premium information tools and resources for research through the EPA Desktop Library. The Library Network supports other virtual services, including the Ask a Librarian live chat reference and desktop training opportunities delivered through the Network’s National Training Program.

In November 2014, the EPA Library Network developed the EPA National Library Network Strategic Plan: FY 2015 – 2017. This plan updates the June 2011 plan covering FY 2012 – 2014, which focused on building a more fully distributed and coordinated Network community. Today’s collaborative Library Network provides more streamlined library operations with fewer redundancies, exemplifying the One EPA principles of cooperation and collaboration.

In developing the new plan, EPA conducted an updated Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis with Network librarians in July 2014 to highlight drivers for change. Among the Network strengths that were identified were the coordinated and collaborative librarian community and robust tools for sharing information. Acknowledged weaknesses focused on the lack of a common funding strategy for libraries and information services. Opportunities for development included expanding the reach of librarians’ expertise to knowledge management and data curation. Perceived threats centered on ongoing budget constraints accompanied by the rising costs of subscriptions and other information resources.

A key accomplishment over the past year was the establishment of the National Library Council, which is now meeting regularly. Working with the Library Network, the Council has begun reviewing current library operations and funding patterns and has started the process to benchmark EPA’s libraries against other libraries. Its membership includes:

Senior-level managers (SIOs or their designees) from EPA stakeholder programs (OEI, ORD, OARM, OAR, OW, OCSPP and OSWER) and the Regional Offices (Assistant Regional Administrators, Directors of Public Affairs).

OEI senior management The NPM for the EPA National Library Network

The Library Network's Strategic Plan for FY 2015 – 2017 includes the following goals:

Library Services: Over the next three years, members of the Library Network` will continue to collaborate and will provide and enhance services to users through the use of innovative tools and resources.

Library Network Governance: The Network will actively seek stakeholder and senior-level management expertise in improving its governance process, including evaluating the Network’s funding processes to ensure the most effective management of the Network and its resources

Electronic and Physical Collections: The Network will expand electronic access to EPA information while increasing access to its physical collections. It will also coordinate collection management at the Network level to ensure the sustainability of Library Services.

Communications, Outreach and Training: EPA will conduct outreach efforts to increase awareness of library offerings, improve training opportunities for staff and develop and refine communication channels among Network Data Libraries.

3.2.7 Advanced Data AnalyticsStarting in 2013, OEI, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance and several groups across EPA started exploring the use of a new generation of advanced, mostly open-source database and analytic tools for use in environmental management. Examples include the open source Apache Hadoop algorithm

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ecosystem based on,the Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), Amazon Web Services cloud computing platform as a service, and other database systems such as MongoDB, Apache Cassandra and Amazon Redshift. These new tools can be combined with existing tools that EPA staff already rely on, such as the R programming and software environment. In addition to newer types of database and analytics tools, several groups in EPA are experimenting with other NoSQL databases and various visualization tools such as Tableau and SAS Fast Visualization Analytics. These are just a small sample of the many data analytics tools being developed at a rapid pace in the open source arena and at commercial companies such as Cloudera, Hortonworks and MapR.

Launched as a formal initiative in September 2014, OEI’s Advanced Data Analytics program plans to apply these tools to a variety of environmental big-data sources such as Envirofacts, the Toxics Release Inventory, the Storage/Retrieval (STORET) database of water quality information, the Air Quality System (AQS) Data Mart, various state environmental data sets, Coast Guard data on oil spills and other coastal problems, and information from such agencies as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) information, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Building this system will also better prepare EPA for storing and analyzing data arising from the increase in deployment of real-time sensors capable of collecting large volumes of data over short times.

Unlike EPA’s existing business intelligence systems, which traditionally build problem-based solutions for line program operations, the new effort will be exploratory at first. For example, by looking for patterns in very large sets of information, the potential exists to develop better priorities for federal/state compliance strategies, such as through identification of underreporting or fraudulent data submissions, or the ability to predict environmental phenomena such as algal blooms before they become health or economic threats. Because many of the tools are open source and run on inexpensive commodity hardware clusters, the initiative promises potential high payoffs at lower initial cost, producing wholly new categories of analytics not offered by traditional business intelligence tools.

During FY 2015, OEI will develop a strategy for the Advanced Data Analytics program based on three themes:

Data Identification and Management – Identification of data sets that would be readily reused within the analytics environment and practices for transporting, preparing and cleansing large information sets. It is already apparent that new procedures will be needed to store, handle and move these large data sets through the EPA firewall.

Data Quality Management practices for transporting, preparing and cleansing large information sets. It is already apparent that new procedures will be needed to move these large data sets through the EPA firewall.

Advanced Analytics Tools – A system of tools and services that draw from both the open source and COTS communities directed at enhancing EPA’s ability to perform advanced data analytics.

Data and Visualization Tools – A suite of relatively easy-to-use software, drawn from both the open source and COTS communities, to create interactive figures for communication as well as data visualizations for analysis and display.

OEI has convened a Community of Practice that includes all AA-ships and the regions. The upcoming strategy will include support and training components for EPA staff, since the goal is to involve federal personnel as much as possible to guide the work of any future contractors. It will develop a variety of use cases for exploration in late FY 2015 and through FY 2016. An exploratory environment will be developed in FY 2015 at the NCC and in external cloud environments, once authority to operate in cloud environments becomes finalized.

In the initial years, OEI will offer these core services free of charge to EPA programs. Specific projects may require additional funding arrangements depending on scope and projected cost. As the program’s structure and offerings are stabilized, alternative funding structures may be appropriate.


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3.2.8 Digital ServicesDigital Services is an opportunity to transform the way that the EPA delivers partner and public facing technology and, ultimately, all mission-related technology. The Digital Services initiative is an opportunity for EPA to integrate established software development practices, such as agile methodologies and leading edge industry practices such as DevOps, into the organization's IT culture. This will result in improvements not only to the programs where the Digital Services team is engaged, but also across the Agency's IT domain.

The timing for launching Digital Services is opportune because EPA is beginning work in earnest on the E-Enterprise program (see Section 3.2 above), an effort intended to improve information sharing andreduce reporting burden between the EPA, states, tribes and regulated industry. This effort will be heavily reliant on technology and the engagement of the Digital Services team is an opportunity to shape theE-Enterprise architecture and implementation.

Three opportunities for the Digital Services Team that have been identified so far include:

eManifest: This system will enable the regulated community to prepare, manage and submit manifests for hazardous waste transport electronically. There is an opportunity to influence the design and development of the eManifest program to ensure the system can provide tangible benefits early in its development lifecycle.

FOIA Online and Regulations.gov: There is an opportunity to update FOIA Online and Regulations.gov (which currently run on the same infrastructure) to enhance scalability and move the application to an open development environment, allowing new partners to either use the services or run their own connected services.

E-Enterprise: The Agency has committed to staff the E-Enterprise program with a program manager (limited term employee) with digital service experience over and above the proposed (President’s Budget) FY 2016 Digital Services staffing. This individual will help provide technical direction to the current team, leading efforts to develop the architecture, define development methodology and influence contract development and vendor selection.

4.0Improving Services To Customers (BXXB)


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EPA information resources management must support a range of customers, from EPA employees to regulatory partners (states, localities, tribes and industry), the academic and non-profit communities, and sectors of the general public.

All customers need access to information on EPA’s public facing website, EPA.gov. EPA employees need enhanced tools to support anytime, anywhere access. The regulated community needs reporting and compliance burden reduction.

Section 4.1 discusses current processes for evaluating existing and planned customer-facing services in ongoing operations. Section 4.2 presents proactive initiatives and programs designed to increase customer service quality through innovation and IT modernization.

4.1 Improving IT/IM Service DeliveryThe previous IRM Strategic Plan discussed improving IT/IM service delivery in relation to System Life Cycle Management (SLCM) only. This update also discusses a number of previous and current WCF initiatives that led to the new Operational Excellence initiative throughout OEI (see also Section 8.4 below).

4.1.1 System Life Cycle ManagementIn September 2012, EPA approved an updated suite of SLCM documents:

System Life Cycle Management (SLCM) Policy: The Policy sets general objectives, roles and responsibilities for implementing a systematic and uniform methodology for information systems development and management. Its goal is to establish a consistent framework across the Agency to ensure that EPA IT systems and applications are properly planned and managed, controllable, cost-effective and that they support the Agency’s mission and business goals.

SLCM Procedure: The Procedure defines the requirements and processes for implementing the Policy.

SLCM Guidance: The Guidance defines documents to be used by Project Managers and System Managers as they follow the Policy and Procedure.

In 2013, EPA launched a review of the practical implementation and enforcement of the entire SLCM process. OEI formed a workgroup, including representatives from the SLCM, security, architecture and investment review staffs, to develop a governance structure that sharpens definitions of workflows, roles and responsibilities, business processes and project-specific SLCM tailoring. As part of this effort, the group will develop additional templates and guidance for all phases of SLCM, including customer satisfaction reviews.

At present, EPA’s SLCM process does not uniformly apply specific customer use and satisfaction metrics or analytics, though such performance metrics are suggested as a part of the user satisfaction review. The workgroup may develop and implement related tools as part of their mission if appropriate.

In addition, the new investment review process evaluates the most significant EPA investments from a holistic viewpoint at least once every three years. It specifically addresses customer satisfaction as part of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Help Desk Ticket resolutions, calling for quarterly reporting of average customer satisfaction survey ratings (see Section 5.2).

Meeting Agendas: The QIC is now using SharePoint as a posting board for new ideas from its members and senior OEI managers. This provides increased transparency and generates a broader and more topical source of ideas for each meeting’s agenda. Members with access to the QIC SharePoint blog can see each other’s suggestions and refine ideas prior to each meeting.


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4.1.2 Working Capital Fund (WCF) InitiativesBecause WCF10 is a large-scale, central Agency service, OEI has focused attention on improving and streamlining its processes and procedures for many years. Several particular tools and procedures are of note:

eBusiness: Originally launched in October 2006 to handle WCF’s unique and intricate accounting, invoicing and billing requirements, eBusiness is a web application that allows customers to establish necessary accounts, shop for WCF products and services via an on-line catalog, obtain products and services, and monitor usage. Activity Managers and Service/Product Managers provide and charge-back for these products and services via automated registration, usage submission and verification, billing and reporting features. Over its lifetime, eBusiness has processed over $3 billion for 18,000 customers in 4 million transactions with 99.99% accuracy. The Federal CIO Council considers it a model system. In the future, OEI plans to upgrade eBusiness to handle core property management tasks, such as assignment and location of switches, computers, cell phones and similar small equipment, to ensure accurate billing records.

STAR and Quarterly Service Reviews: The Service Tracking and Reporting (STAR) suite of tools is designed to provide EPA operational staff and managers with a comprehensive solution to manage contracts in a single, centralized system of record, as well as enhance management of WCF services and their underlying operations. What began in 2011 as a single-purpose application to collect contract deliverables under ITS-EPA II, grew today into a robust synergetic suite of four tools that together serve as the supply chain management software of choice for the Office of Technology Operations and Planning (OTOP) operations. Because OTOP’s contracting needs are so intensive, STAR has evolved into perhaps the most capable contract management system in EPA. OEI plans to offer STAR as a WCF service to other parts of the Agency. The office has lined up three initial customers to pilot the system for their own operations starting in FY 2016.

4.2 Evaluating the Quality of Service of the EPA Website (BXXA)EPA’s public access site, EPA.gov, is the Agency’s main channel for public-facing information. The site’s content providers constantly review and improve the site with the guidance and assistance of the OneEPA Web program in the OEI Office of Information Access and Analysis (OIAA)

EPA’s Web analytics program collects, analyzes and provides reports on traffic, quality assurance (QA), and voice-of-customer (VoC) metrics for EPA’s website. Analysis includes audience segmentation, trend analysis and other methods to assist Web content owners in refining their online presence. The Web analytics program uses a variety of market leading Web analytics tools to aid in this task.

EPA uses a customized version of Google Analytics (GA) to assess a variety of Web traffic and behavioral metrics. A copy of this data is sent to GSA’s Digital Analytics Program (DAP) to incorporate into their dashboard of federal websites. Among other advantages, EPA’s GA implementation allows the Agency to track specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across all of its websites, including alternate domains.

Since 2014, the program has developed and monitored KPIs related to three overarching website goals:

1. Increase the amount of EPA website content consumed by the public. Measures include the percentage change in total unique sessions, total unique users, total pages use and total downloads.

10 EPA’s Working Capital Fund (WCF), one of six pilot franchise funds established in 1997, is a revolving fund authorized under the Government Management Reform Act to finance a variety of internal services on a fee-for- service basis, including IT and telecommunications (the majority of WCF activity), postage, financial management services and eRelocation, background investigations, travel and conference planning. Its goals are increased accountability, service efficiency, and customer service. The Working Capital Fund Board consists of senior executives from the Headquarters offices, the lead regional office for management, the backup regional office for management and two ad hoc regional representatives.


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2. Increase opportunities for users to find desired content. Search measures include use of “branded” search terms (users who include “EPA” as part of the search), as well as the exit rate on EPA search results pages.

3. Increase engagement of users of EPA’s Web content. Measures include how long a reader stays on a page, the total time spent on the site per visit, the percentage change in return users, total pages shared on social media sites and total fan engagement with EPA Facebook, Twitter and YouTube content.

The program actively monitors the website KPIs and produces monthly dashboards to summarize major trends for EPA’s Web community. The program sets improvement targets by analyzing all the baseline data collected. Results are summarized in the Annual Analytics Report.

The Annual Analytics Report also analyzes other major trends from the calendar year. One important trend is the rise in the percentage of mobile and tablet visits to the EPA website. As a percentage of the total, visits with a smartphone or tablet increased from 18.6 percent in July 2013 to 24.4 percent in December 2014 (see Figure 4-1 below). Mobile/Tablet traffic reached a high of 26.4 percent in August 2014. This percentage will continue to increase, making improvement to mobile service customers one of the Agency’s highest priorities.

Figure 4-1: Rise in Mobile and Tablet Visits as a Percentage of all EPA.gov Visits (July 2013 - December 2014)

The Web analytics program also uses a quality assurance tool. This software scans (“crawls”) EPA’s publicly accessible HTML pages to perform a number of automated tests. These tests, which include checks for misspelled words, missing page titles and metadata, broken links, missing alt text and much more, help Web content owners maintain a quality website.

In addition, EPA customizes the ForeSee Web survey tool to segment respondents by Web traffic patterns. In support of the One EPA Web project, which involves transforming legacy content to a Web content management system (WebCMS), the program segmented survey results by:

1. Respondents who visited legacy Web content only

2. Respondents who visited One EPA Web transformed content only


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3. Respondents who visited both legacy and One EPA Web content

By comparing the satisfaction scores and comments of these major segments, the analysis revealed that mixed navigation visitors (visitors who viewed both legacy and One EPA Web content) were by far the least satisfied segment. Further analysis found that this segment had the highest number of dissatisfied EPA search users, making search users the casual variable. Based on this analysis, the EPA Web Team implemented improvements to the search function and plans additional search enhancements in FY 2015. A summary of the ForeSee survey analysis is included in the Annual Analytics Report.

One of the overall goals of the Web analytics program is to focus on actionable analytics based on KPI development and monitoring. The program will build upon the baseline data collected in 2014 and develop improvement targets for 2015 and beyond. For example, the program will begin developing KPIs and improvement targets for the EPA archive website. These targets will be informed both by data analysis and stakeholder feedback.

4.3 Unified Communications and CollaborationA decade ago, EPA’s internal communications revolved around email and phone services. Today’s communication system includes these plus audio conferencing, video conferencing, video phones, Lync messaging as a part of the Office 365 transition, telework infrastructure, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), collaboration tools such as SharePoint, online training applications and social collaboration platforms.

The Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) initiative is designed to integrate these channels to provide customers with better service. OTOP is looking systematically at its existing capabilities and functionalities to explain to customers not just how to use these channels, but when and where to use them most effectively. For example, Lync may be appropriate for ad hoc video conferencing among a few staff members, but for a formal conference event with a large number of participants, Adobe Connect is the better choice.

UCC subsumes a number of topic areas included in the 2014 IRM Strategic Plan, including the Office 365 conversion from Lotus Notes, the EZ Tech Help Desk and the My Workplace telework program. The basic migration to Office 365 is nearly complete, but EPA will continue to build on this infrastructure to enhance the system to meet user needs.

The goals of UCC include better customer service through:

Contextual support on how, when and where to use communications tools most effectively Options to integrate functionalities to provide better service Identification of software functions that the Agency has already paid for, but which have options

that are not being utilized Elimination of duplicative technologies where one or two would suffice, thereby saving costs and

reducing learning burdens. Analyses here will evaluate costs and logistics of upkeep, functionality, maintenance, integration across services and products and quality of customer experience

Discovery of gaps in service or functionality Provide on-site technical training for the IT Technical Leads and End-User training for the

customerA case in point is Voice-over-IP (VoIP). Lync provides some VOIP functionality, but other approaches are available to allow full voice communications over PCs rather than over conventional phone networks. Employees could have the ability to receive office phone calls anywhere they connect their laptops, but issues of convenience, reliability, user habits and preferences, and security have to be evaluated systematically as part of UCC.


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EPA expects to complete its initial assessment of the installed base by the end of the second quarter of 2015. Developing the long-term vision of UCC and its operational goals and milestones will follow. The follow-on schedule will depend on the findings of the baseline assessment.

4.4 Support for Mobile Device ManagementAlthough mobile technologies are part of today’s general communications infrastructure and no longer a separate functional class, they involve unique policy and infrastructure questions. EPA is in the process of rolling out a Mobile Deployment Management (MDM) system11 for government-furnished iOS and Microsoft Phone devices. BlackBerry remains a part of picture, particularly for international use, but is notincluded in the MDM system.

In December 2013, EPA issued its Mobile Device and Wireless Network Policy. Work this year focuses on the Mobile Device Management Procedure necessary to govern the MDM system rollout and will focus on the applications that employees will be allowed to use on government furnished devices. Although the general desire is to support all appropriate applications, each must be evaluated from both the legal and security perspectives.

4.5 OneEPA Web ModernizationSince the beginning of the Web in the mid-1990’s, EPA uses public access to environmental information as a strategic asset in protecting public health and the environment. With a single point of Internet presence, centralized governance and distributed content development, EPA’s website uses templates to provide visitors a more consistent user experience. Grown to over a million pages (HTML, PDF and other file types), EPA is now transforming its Web presence to a topic-based site designed to facilitate visitors’ top tasks.

In February 2010, then-Administrator Lisa Jackson issued a memorandum directing EPA to restructure EPA.gov to improve internal and external users’ ability to locate information, avoid duplication of content, make its presentations more consistent and improve general accessibility and utility. She directed EPA to organize information by topic or geographic area rather than by program organization, accelerate the site’s treatment of emerging issues and involve the public and stakeholders in the environmental conversation.

Even now, under the direction of the Office of Public Affairs and OEI, content is being organized around priority topics and top audiences. Dozens of topic and geographic-based sites have been published using the new concepts of resource directories and microsites. EPA’s FY2013 Annual Web Plan identifies the almost 200 topics that constitute EPA’s website. The plan is developed and maintained collaboratively across organizations Agency-wide to ensure coordination and non-duplication.

In early FY2013, EPA implemented a Drupal-based Web content management system (WebCMS) to support content transformation and standardize the publishing process. EPA developed the system using open source software and responsive Web design principles.

Recognizing the importance of accessing EPA information from mobile devices, in 2012 EPA established a “Mobile First” policy for Web development.12 Since an increasing number of people rely on mobile devices for their primary Internet access, EPA has committed to developing its content for mobile devices first,while assuring that content also meets accessibility standards and renders appropriately on other devices and in multiple browsers.

EPA’s website is hosted at the NCC in North Carolina. It uses a hybrid infrastructure with the failover and content delivery network services provided in the cloud. In FY2011, EPA replaced its search engine with a Google search appliance, greatly increasing the quality of search results generated within the site and increasing user satisfaction substantially. The new Drupal-based WebCMS will assure that quality

11 The COTS package is Fiberlink MaaS360.


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metadata is associated with all Web content, further improving search results and providing the ability to create dynamically generated pages based on visitor requests.

As a part of the OneEPA Web project, EPA implemented a revised Web governance model in FY2013. This established a Web Executive Board composed of senior managers that is aligned with EPA’s broader IT governance structure. The Web Council has since been revised to include representation from all EPA organizations. It is the implementation body for Web policy and procedures.

EPA continues its use of various social media tools and methods to engage audiences on environmental topics of interest. Usage statistics indicate a continuing growth of social media for public engagement.

Improvements in the Web Analytics program are being implemented to provide an even better understanding of what information website visitors are looking for and using (see Section 4.2 above).

The goal is to fully transform the content of EPA.gov. Material that is of historic value but no longer actively maintained now resides in a searchable archive. The entire website will be published from the WebCMS, providing a consistent user experience and content that is rendered appropriately regardless of the size of the viewing device.

Beginning in FY2015, EPA will explore leveraging the strengths of the Drupal-based WebCMS to support the conversion of content in legacy document repositories and web publishing applications, including Lotus Notes. EPA’s website will continue to support continuity of operations and emergency response functions in addition to serving as the information access point for environmental information.

5.0Implementing Governance and Management Processes


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EPA’s IT/IM governance processes are implemented through the Quality and Information Council (QIC), which serves as the Agency’s forum for senior level policy deliberation and coordination on information technology/information management and related policy issues. The QIC provides assistance to EPA’s CIO, in the development and implementation of the Agency's quality and information goals and policies. QIC meetings provide the mechanism through which senior Agency officials can raise and debate strategic information issues, offering the CIO direct access to those officials to obtain their counsel on and commitment to information quality, strategies and policies.

The QIC is composed of the Agency’s Senior Information Officials (SIOs) and is chaired by the CIO. Each member is able to speak on behalf of, and make commitments for, their respective organizations. SIOs are typically the Deputy Assistant Administrators of each Headquarters office and the Assistant Regional Administrator of each region. The SIO of the Office of Administration and Resources Management represents both the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) functions. All positions are filled at the SES level. The QIC meets every other month, and may meet more frequently if necessary, to address issues and recommendations made by the QIC Steering Committee or QIC subcommittees.

The QIC Steering Committee includes managers, senior staff or the Information Management Officers (IMOs) from Headquarters and some regions. It meets monthly.

The sections below cover current governance and management issues relating to IT/IM governance enhancement and implementation:

Section 5.1 addresses the QIC restructuring effort pursuant to the recent operational review. Section 5.2 introduces the CIO’s Investment Management Review process. Section 5.3 covers strategic sourcing and enterprise licensing. Section 5.4 describes OEI’s overall IT/IM Policy Program.

5.1 Structure of the Quality and Information Council (QIC) (CXXA, CXXB, CXXC, CXXD, CXXE)

Beginning in 2014, EPA embarked on an effort to restructure the QIC to enhance its governance operations. Plans included 14 operational recommendations and an expanded committee structure.

Implementation of the full set of recommendations for the new structure has, however, been consciously slowed over the past year because of the addition of new QIC committee members and the Agency’s transition to new technology (SharePoint and Office 365). Although the QIC has expanded as planned from three committees to five, the QIC is reevaluating the 2013 transition recommendations and continues its primary role as a policy reviewer rather than a formal Steering Committee that originates IT management directives.

Expanded Membership: The QIC now includes all the Regional Offices rather than two: each regional SIO is now a QIC member, bringing total membership to 23, with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) represented but not voting. The addition of new regional SIOs provides more depth for addressing the increasing number and complexity of issues.

Expanded Subcommittees: The expanded subcommittee structure was implemented as planned to support the expansion of QIC responsibilities.

The current committee structure is as follows:

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Information Management & Exchange (IMEX): The IMEX is co-chaired by the Director, Office of Information Collection, and a senior staff member to be named. The Subcommittee is composed of senior staff appointed by the QIC member for each AA-ship and region. The scope of the IMEX is to advise and assist the QIC on all matters pertaining to the Agency’s eDiscovery, records, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and privacy programs. In addition, the IMEX scope includes the Agency’s data and metadata standards and architecture, and the Agency’s Quality Standards and Programs.

Information Access & Use Subcommittee (IAUS): The IAUS is co-chaired by the Director, Office of Information Analysis & Access, and a senior staff member to be named. The Subcommittee is composed of the chair(s) of each reporting subgroup and others with specified program-specific information management requirements. The scope of the IAUS covers all EPA public online communications including websites and social media. The scope applies to all online communications, whether accessed by desktops, mobile devices or other methods.

IT Investment Review Board (IIRB): The IIRB is co-chaired by the Deputy Chief Information Officer and the Deputy Chief Financial Officer (CFO) or their appointed designees. The Subcommittee is composed of senior managers from Agency program offices, as well as the lead and back-up regions for Information Management. QIC members appoint the IIRB membership from all AA-ships and regions. Membership is limited to senior staff who have the necessary authority and knowledge to vote on the portfolio management issues defined in the IIRB charter. The Subcommittee’s primary mission is to advance the Agency’s goals for investment planning and monitoring. The IIRB supports the QIC in making recommendations to the CIO on the suitability of information investments.

Quality Technology Subcommittee (QTS): The QTS is led by EPA’s Chief Technology Officer. It includes senior IT officials from across EPA and is charged with addressing enterprise-wide issues regarding mission need, IT infrastructure solutions, long-term technology planning and systems integration. The QTS ensures senior management commitment to the initiatives and provides overall program management across the Agency. The QTS addresses enterprise-wide issues regarding the Agency’s information technology infrastructure, including customer and mission needs that require technical solutions, long-term technology planning and systems integration.

Risk Executive Group (REG): The REG is chaired by the Chief Information Security Officer. The Subcommittee is composed of experts from the legal, privacy, finance, public affairs, homeland security and mission areas. The scope of the REG is to manage risks consistently across the Agency, appropriately balancing information security risks against other categories, such as financial, legal, mission and political risks. The REG helps to ensure that risk-related decisions for information and individual information systems, including authorization decisions, are viewed from an organization-wide perspective with regard to EPA’s overall strategic goals and objectives in carrying out its core missions and business functions.

Meeting Agendas: The QIC is now using SharePoint as a posting board for new ideas from its members and senior OEI managers. This provides increased transparency and generates a broader and more topical source of ideas for each meeting’s agenda. Members with access to the QIC SharePoint blog can see each other’s suggestions and refine ideas prior to each meeting.

5.2 Investment Management Reviews and PortfolioStat (CXXF)The new IIRB, replacing the IIS, oversees the Agency’s CPIC resources. It advises and assists the QIC in all matters pertaining to information investment management as required under the Clinger-Cohen Act and in accordance with the Agency’s EA Policy. The primary functions of the IIRB include the following:

Select – Review potential business solutions that contain a major IT investment and approve or disapprove the need for the investment as it relates to the IT portfolio in alignment with EA.

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Control – Review progress of the Agency’s major IT investments quarterly, including the review of earned value management (EVM) analysis and approve continuation of investments.

Evaluate – Review major IT investment outcomes based on predetermined measures and identify lessons learned to improve management oversight.

To supplement the functions of the IIRB and the previous IIS, EPA now provides investment portfolio oversight through quarterly meetings called by the CIO and attended by the Chief Financial Officer, system owners and the Agency’s Senior Security Officer. Modeled on the PortfolioStat process, these meetings address all the Major CPIC investments and selected smaller investments that the CIO considers programmatically or administratively significant.

Prior to a session, the system owner completes a questionnaire that documents any immediate decisions or changes in direction. The questionnaire treats each investment holistically, gathering information on all aspects of its performance: purpose and scope, budget and lifecycle, performance benefits, design and architecture, security risks and dependencies, and delivery milestones.

As an example, Figure 5-1 is taken from a review conducted in FY 2012. It shows EPA’s enterprise services and solutions used by the Office of Air and Radiation’s Verify system, which integrates engine emission reporting and automobile fuel economy compliance under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). During the review, participants discuss which services an application uses or does not use, and why.

Service/Solution Applicable? (check applicable box)

Adopted/ Will Adopt?

Projected Date for AdoptionEx. 1 Application hosting services Yes No Will Adopt Q2 FY 2013

Ex 2 Documentum for content/document mgmt Yes No Adopted

1. Application hosting services Yes No Will Adopt Q4 FY 20122. Documentum for content/document mgmt Yes No3. Documentum for workflow Yes No4. eDiscovery for identification, collection Yes No5. eDiscovery for preservation Yes No6. eDiscovery for processing for legal

cases/FOIAYes No

7. CDX Yes No Adopted8. BI Tools Yes No9. WAM Yes No Will Adopt Q4 FY 201210. ECMS Records Repository for content Yes No11. ECMS Records Repository for records Yes No12. ECMS Records Repository for Other COTS Yes No

Figure 5-1: Sample Table from Investment Management Review

As the process matures, the questionnaire template and the session designs may be refined and enhanced as necessary. The process will, over time, provide the CIO, CFO and Chief Architect with a coherent, joint overview of the system’s evolution as a whole, touching on all dimensions of portfolio management.

5.3 Strategic Sourcing and Enterprise Licensing (CXXG)Enterprise technology licenses are treated as EPA Technology Standards. The CIO has delegated the authority to approve IT Standards to the CTO, and the QIC Technology Subcommittee provides the CTO


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with recommendations on proposed IT standards.13 The QTS reviews and approves enterprise licenses prior to procurement. As it deems necessary, the QTS requires comparative evaluations, pilot testing and cost-effectiveness analyses before approval.

Once approved, enterprise licenses become technology standards and are incorporated into the EPA Technical Reference Model (see Figure 5-2 below), IT Standards Profile and IT Technology Roadmap.

Figure 5-2: EPA Technical Reference Model

The IT Standards Profile is derived from the EPA Technical Reference Model and serves as the official guidance. It also provides direction to Agency offices in their selection of technologies and technology implementation alternatives used for deployment in Agency information systems and IT infrastructure and to perform particular functions. The standards provide a stable base for satisfying EPA’s mission- based IT needs and to ensure efficient management of its resources. The IT Standards Profile guidance defines the potential costs, and reviews and formally approves its IT Standards.

EPAs Information Technology (IT) Roadmap is an organized collection of products and technologies that define standards and guidelines supporting the technical design of Agency information systems. The IT Roadmap supports the Agency’s future direction for information technology by enhancing integration of the overall technology architecture and serves as a primary reference in the formulation of the five-year target architecture.

5.4 Information Technology/Information Management Policy Program (CXXF)EPA’s Information Technology/Information Policy Program supplies essential structure and accountability to the coordination of investment decisions, portfolio management, enterprise architecture, procurement and software development.

13 In view of the dynamic nature of the technology marketplace and the evolving needs of the Agency, this process allows OEI to make changes to the IT Standards Profile, as needed. The Agency’s IT infrastructure is the foundation for environmental and administrative information and inter-office communication.


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In July 2005, the Administrator redelegated authority to OEI to manage all directives affecting IT/IM operations throughout EPA. At the time, these were codified in a single manual under the following subject headings, collectively known as the “2100 Manual”:

Table 5-1: Initial OEI IT/IM Categories (2100 Manual)

Framework Category RangeIT/IM Program Management CIO 2100 – CIO 2119

Enterprise Planning CIO 2120 – CIO 2129Information Management CIO 2130 – CIO 2149

Security & Privacy CIO 2150 – CIO 2154Records CIO 2155 – CIO 2159

Technology Infrastructure CIO 2160 – CIO 2169Information Access CIO 2170 – CIO 2179

Web CIO 2180 – CIO 2189Not Yet Assigned CIO 2190 – CIO 2199

Since 2005, the categories of programs and technical activities controlled by OEI IT/IM has expanded to the following:

Table 5-2: Current Agency IT/IM Programs and Activities

Agency IT/IM Programs Agency IT/IM Technical Activities

Records Management Program Privacy ProgramFOIA ProgramInformation Security Program Quality Program

Forms Management Library Program Privacy ProgramWeb Governance – augmented by Web Counsel guidanceEnterprise Information Management

Software development and lifecycleDatabase managementEnterprise architecture and hardware purchase, management and maintenance

When OEI received authority for Agency IT/IM directives, it modified the structure of these directives into a hierarchical structure that creates a family of related documents for each policy action. Figure 5-3 illustrates this structure, which remains in place today. The first three levels (policy, procedures, standards) are mandatory; the fourth level, guidance, is not.

Policy

Procedures

Standards

A high-level statement about an Agency requirement designed to influence and determine decisions, actions and other matters.

The required steps, course of action or processes needed to accomplish or satisfy a policy.

An accepted specification which defines systems, processes, methodologies or practices.


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Guidance A non-mandatory compilation of advice, examples, best practices or past experience.

Figure 5-3: OEI's Policy Framework

This approach is flexible and designed to evolve efficiently over time:

Policies are statements of high-level purpose, goals, objectives and structures of responsibility. They are subject to Agency-wide review. All OEI policies are subject to periodic review and update, but remain in effect even if their review dates, if any, have expired.

Procedures are tactical statements of how a policy should be implemented. OEI can revise them as needed to respond to changing circumstances. Because procedures do not change a policy’s agreed-upon purpose, goals and objectives, they do not require Agency-wide review. They can be updated at the discretion of the CIO to align with evolving best practices.

Standards are often adopted from external authorities and adapted to EPA needs, though some standards may be entirely EPA-generated.

Guidance interprets the other documents and can be updated or augmented over time as needed.

Over time the number of Information Directives (IDs) has grown to over 80, with some 60 percent older than the target 3-year review cycle. The length and complexity of the directives has become difficult for any SIO or IMO to absorb, especially since they remain in document (pdf) form.

OEI has therefore begun a re-evaluation of the entire suite of IDs, as well as the manner in which they are conveyed to, and understood by SIOs, IMOs, system and project managers and developers. Over the past year, OEI staff have conducted evaluations, talked to customers and explored options to make the process more advantageous to all concerned. For the first time, OEI has initiated development of policies and procedures to govern the directives process itself, including templates for the development of policies, procedures and standards. The entire process will be digitized, no longer relying on stand-alone documents. Users will be able to query across the entire Directives index to find context-relevant, topic specific information.

Activities for FY 2105 include:

Complete the development of formal ID program management procedures Develop a searchable Information Directive Body of Knowledge (ID-BOK) to assist in locating IDs

applicable to specific issues Streamline the update and review process for IDs in need of review, to the extent practical


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Provide guidance to SIOs and IMOs in implementing applicable IDs throughout their operation, including guidance to strengthen overview and internal control processes for ID implementation

Revise and improve ID program formats and templates to assist in developing uniform IDs Update, revise, and improve ID program standard operating procedures Provide technical writing workshops to promote developing uniform IDs Improve presentation of IDs on webpages Place IDs into a digital environment rather than basing formats and structure on a paper-based

system

5.5 The Quality Program and Lean ProjectsTo ensure that EPA customers at all levels—states, tribes, localities, industry, other federal agencies and the public—are served with, and have access to, high quality information at all times, EPA operates a mandatory, Agency-wide Quality Program. Its purpose is to manage the quality of environmental data collection, generation and use, and to ensure that data is created, maintained and stored commensuratewith its value.14

In 2014, the use of Lean techniques to produce business process improvements throughout the Agency became an Agency priority through the creation of Lean Office within the EPA Office of Policy. OEI’s Quality Staff is also responsible for supporting and championing IT-related Lean projects within OEI.

5.5.1 The Quality ProgramUnder the Quality Program, all environmental data must meet applicable standards for intended use and all environmental information produced by EPA or its partners must be of known quality and exist in sufficient quantity for its purpose. The origin of data used to support rules and regulations must always be traceable.

EPA’s Quality Program requires organizations to develop a Quality Management Plan for implementation of their Quality System. The OEI Quality Program conducts periodic reviews of the implementation of an organization’s quality system through the Quality System Assessment process.

The program also maintains oversight of the Information Quality Guidelines (IQG), initially published in 2002 and updated in 2004 and 2005. The IQG establishes quality criteria for all information that EPA disseminates to the public, consistent with the OMB Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility and Integrity of Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies (2002):

Disseminated information should adhere to a basic standard of quality, including objectivity, utility and integrity.

The principles of information quality should be integrated into each step of EPA’s development of information, including creation, collection, maintenance and dissemination.

Administrative mechanisms for correction should be flexible, appropriate to the nature and timeliness of the disseminated information, and incorporated into EPA’s information resources management and administrative practices.

The IQG include an administrative mechanism that enables the public to seek and obtain, where appropriate, correction of information disseminated by EPA.

As reported in the previous EPA IRM Strategic Plan, the Agency is in the process of updating the Quality Program’s policies and procedures. There is an EPA Order (CIO 2105) that covers environmental data operations There is also a Quality Policy (CIO 2106) that covers all data products and services developed

14 Especially for scientific data sets, which can be extremely large, storage and maintenance of old data can be excessively costly. Information is not saved regardless of cost: EPA’s policy is to store and maintain data only in relation to its value for existing and potential future uses.


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for external distribution or dissemination. The goal is to maintain a single quality policy of the appropriate scope. The new policy will support the information life cycle structure defined by the new Enterprise Information Management Policy, shown in Figure 9-1: The EPA EIMP Data Life Cycle.

Current issues of concern to the management of environmental information, as a subset of all EPA information, remain as reported last year. Key information trends include:

Increased reliance on modeled data: Previous quality policies focused on measured data. With rules and regulations increasingly being based on modeled and measured data, the Quality Program must expand its coverage to include modeling-related data quality issues.

Increase in use of data from external sources: EPA relies increasingly on data developed by external sources. In particular, data used to measure the environmental performance of EPA programs come from a variety of health, scientific and natural resources agencies. Program responsibilities that were previously handled by EPA have been increasingly delegated to states, tribes and local governments. The Quality Program must therefore define additional procedures and standards to evaluate the proper use of externally-generated information.

Importance of field operations: The Quality Program is putting more emphasis on the quality of information flowing from field operations, including those conducted by EPA regional offices as well as by partners at the state, tribal and local level. This calls for a more consistent, cross- program approach to maintaining data quality across these many disparate activities and partners.To support this need, the Quality Program completed a new EPA QA Field Activities Procedure in mid-2014. The procedure provides a comprehensive, coordinated approach for consistent implementation of the EPA Field Operations Group Operational Guidelines for Field Activities (FOG Guidelines). It was signed on September 23, 2014; oversight implementation will begin in FY 2016.

Use of real-time information: There is an increase in the use of remote sensing technologies, scanning devices and field equipment that can deliver data in real time. Often this data is used by multiple decision-makers, which requires access to data of appropriate quality.

5.5.2 Lean Project SupportIn September 2014, as part of the initiative to make EPA a High Performing Organization, the Administrator directed all EPA offices to identify three processes, which can be improved using Lean. OEI plans to:

Participate in the joint Office of Administration and Resources Management (OARM), Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), OEI, Onboarding/Offboarding Lean Project;

Implement recommendations from the FY 2015 (Critical) Security Patching for Work Stations Lean Project;

Implement recommendations from the Quality Assurance Reporting Lean Project; and Implement other Lean Projects as appropriate.

6.0Aligning CIO Authorities (DXXA)


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Since 1999, EPA has appointed a single individual to serve as Chief Information Officer. The laws, Executive Orders and regulations that give EPA its authority typically, but not always, indicate that “the Administrator shall” exercise certain authorities. Official delegations of authority represent the basic direction to senior Headquarters and regional office management officials to exercise these delegated authorities. It is EPA’s policy that authority granted by Congress or the Executive Branch must be delegated officially for other Agency management officials, including the Chief Information Officer, to act on behalf of the Administrator. This is accomplished through the Agency’s delegation process. EPA’s Delegations Manual serves as a record of the authority of an Agency employee or representative to act on behalf of the Administrator.

From December 2001 through the present, EPA’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) has been specifically delegated the following authorities from the Administrator: Information Resources Management, Freedom of Information Act responsibilities, the Mandatory Quality Assurance Program, Information System and Data Management Grants and Cooperative Agreements, among others. According to the specific delegation for information resources management, the Assistant Administrator for Environmental Information will exercise all responsibilities of the CIO, including but not limited to the following:

1. Serve as the CIO.2. Serve as the Chair of the Quality and Information Council (QIC).3. Approve the Agency's Strategic IRM Plan, Five-Year IRM Implementation Plan, IRM investment

portfolio and the IRM contracting strategy.4. Establish policies and procedures for the management and security of records, files, data and

information systems and technology.5. Approve the establishment or amendment of an Agency Privacy Act System of Records.6. Approve waivers to Federal Information Processing Standards under appropriate

circumstances that meet the conditions defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

7. Serve as Chair of the Agency’s Data Integrity Board.8. Approve the acquisition of information technology resources.9. Establish and maintain a continuing program for the management and security of records,

files, data, and information systems and technology.10. Establish a process that is sufficiently independent of program responsibility to evaluate fairly

if proposed collections of information should be approved in accordance with 44 U.S.C. 3507.11. Consistent with the process described in 1.a.(10), designate an official to review and approve

information collection requests and to certify their compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act as required by 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(3).

12. Establish policies and procedures for the management of Section 508 Rehabilitation Act Amendments for the Agency.

13. Approve Section 508 undue burden justification requests for the Agency.14. Certify that Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) items purchased are in compliance with

the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments for the Agency.15. Designate a senior Agency information security official who will report to the CIO on the

implementation and maintenance of the Agency information security program and security policies.

16. Exercise all other responsibilities of the CIO not addressed above in 1.a.1 through

1.a.15. These authorities are consistent with the following statutes and OMB policies:

The Paperwork Reduction Act, as amended (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (Division E of P.L. 104-106).


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Federal Acquisition Regulations (P.L. 103-3553). Government Performance and Results Act (31 U.S.C. 1101). Freedom of Information Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552). Privacy Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. 552a). Electronic Communications Privacy Act (18 U.S.C. 2701-2707). The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3541). Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act, as amended (P.L.100-503). High-Performance Computing Act (15 U.S.C. 5501). Destruction of Records (18 U.S.C. 2071). Records Management by Federal Agencies (44 U.S.C. Chapter 31). Disposal of Records (44 U.S.C. Chapter 33). OMB Circular A-11, Preparation and Submission of Budget Estimates, as amended. OMB Circular A-16, Coordination of Surveying, Mapping, and Related Spatial Data Activities. OMB Circular A-76, Performance of Commercial Activities, as amended. OMB Circular A-123, Management Accountability and Control, as amended. OMB Circular A-127, Financial Management Systems, as amended. OMB Circular A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources. OMB Circular A-131, Value Engineering. 5 CFR Part 1320, Control of Paperwork Burdens on the Public. 36 CFR 1220-1238, Records Management. 40 CFR Part 16, EPA's Implementation of the Privacy Act of 1974. Executive Order 12656, Assignment of Emergency Preparedness Responsibilities, as amended

by Executive Order 13074, Amendment to Executive Order 12656. Executive Order 12845, Requiring Agencies to Purchase Energy Efficient Computer Equipment. Executive Order 13011, Federal Information Technology. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d). Government Information Security Reform Act of 2000 (44 USC 3531 et seq.).

As described in OMB Memorandum M-11-2915, “as the federal government implements the reform agenda, it is changing the role of the agency Chief Information Officers away from just policymaking and infrastructure maintenance, to encompass true portfolio management for all IT. This will enable CIOs to focus on delivering IT solutions that support the mission and business effectiveness of their agencies and overcome bureaucratic impediments to deliver enterprise-wide solutions.”

6.1 Commodity ITEPA’s CIO continues to work to identify opportunities to eliminate duplication of resources in IT infrastructure, enterprise IT and business systems. EPA has experienced several past successes, including streamlining Agency telephone services through VoIP, identifying mobile service improvements through contract negotiations and launching an Agency-wide email and collaboration tools initiative using a private government cloud service. The CIO is working in collaboration with the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Acquisition Officer to streamline internal Agency timekeeping and human resources systems through the HR Line of Business (HRLoB) project, was launched through the Department of the Interior’s National Business Center in 2014.

15 OMB Memorandum M-11-29, Chief Information Office Authorities, August 8, 2011.


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6.2 Program ManagementIn support of good program management practices, EPA’s CIO conducts regular performance reviews of all Office Directors within the Office of Environmental Information. EPA has a single Chief InformationOfficer and no sub-agencies or bureaus. The CIO offers quarterly management training opportunities to all managers within OEI and an annual management training session for all managers to the branch chief level.

6.3 Information SecurityEPA’s Senior Agency Information Security Officer (SAISO) reports directly to the CIO. The SAISO has the responsibility to implement an Agency-wide information security program. More detailed information about EPA’s activities to support cybersecurity is provided in Section 7.0.

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7.0Managing Cybersecurity


EPA’s Information Security Program Strategic Plan: FY2012 – 2017, establishes a comprehensive framework to enable the governance and improvement of EPA’s information security program. It defines clear and comprehensive mission, vision, goals, objectives, tasks and performance measures.

The EPA Information Security Program Strategic Plan provides information security direction for EPA information resources planning and delineates the EPA Information Security Program Plan strategic direction. EPA’s Senior Agency Information Security Officer (SAISO) directs all security operations under this plan. The SAISO reports directly to the CIO.

The Information Security Program Strategic Plan ensures that the strategies will be implemented by incorporating action plans to delineate specific functions and activities for the achievement of the EPA Information Security Program goals and objectives. Its stated goals and objectives provide a means to continuously monitor and improve information security performance, and ensure thoughtful and structured implementation to enable optimal communication with and greatest impact across EPA. The information security requirements delineated in the plan reflect Administration, Agency, legislative and regulatory priorities.

The six goals of EPA’s Information Security Program Strategic Plan include the following:

Goal 1 – Improve the overall information security posture to adequately assure, based on risk, the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and information resources.

Goal 2 – Create an environment where all employees’ actions reflect the importance of information security.

Goal 3 – Establish and maintain consistent policy, procedures, standards and guides to protect information and information systems from abuse and inappropriate use.

Goal 4 – Support integration of information security into EPA lines of business. Goal 5 – Establish program metrics to measure information security program performance.

The EPA Information Security Program uses program functions to accomplish its goals and objectives.Figure 7-1 depicts its implementation structure. Descriptions for each function are provided in the actionplan appended to the strategy.16

Figure 7-1: EPA Information Security Program Functional Chart

16 Information Security Program Strategic Plan: FY2012 – 2017: Appendix A, U.S. EPA, February 2013

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7.1 Aligning Investments and Cybersecurity (EXXA)The updated System Life Cycle Management Policy and Procedures approved in September 2012 focus on both information and network security as central principles of IT management:

…The life cycle phases needed for an information system must be identified, planned for, and executed based on documented business requirements and federal IT security requirements.

Information security considerations, activities, and documentation are performed at each phase of the SLC in accordance with Agency policies and applicable federal statutes, regulations, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidance, and other applicable federal or agency requirements.

Advancement from one SLCM phase to the next requires Enterprise Architecture, IT investment management, or information security reviews.

EPA System Life Cycle Management (SLCM) Policy pp. 3, 4

The System Life Cycle Management (SLCM) Procedure that implements the policy similarly emphasizes security issues throughout the definition, acquisition/development, implementation, O&M and termination phases. The SLCM Requirements Guidance defines numerous security-related documents, tests and risk evaluations to be conducted throughout the life cycle.

In addition, EPA’s new Investment Management Reviews (see Section 0 above) focus specific attention on performance indicators of compliance with EPA security standards and on the information security issues associated with each project. In 2014, all non-major investments were reviewed. In 2015, EPA will restart the review cycle by focusing on Major investments.

7.2 Meeting Cybersecurity Cross-Agency Goals (EXXA)The current cross-agency goals for cybersecurity are to “improve cybersecurity performance through ongoing awareness of information security, vulnerabilities, and threats impacting the operating information environment, ensuring that only authorized users have access to resources and information; and the implementation of technologies and processes that reduce the risk of malware.” The White House is focusing agencies’ efforts on improving the security of their information operations by implementing the following cybersecurity capabilities and developing supporting performance metrics:

Information Security Continuous Monitoring Mitigation (ISCM) – Provide ongoing observation, assessment, analysis, and diagnosis of an organization’s cybersecurity: posture, hygiene, and operational readiness.

Identity, Credential, and Access Management (ICAM) – Implement a set of capabilities that ensure users must authenticate when they log into information technology resources and have access to only those resources that are required for their job function.

Anti-Phishing and Malware Defense – Implement technologies, processes and training that reduce the risk of malware introduced through email and malicious or compromised websites. This is a new priority area prompted by evidence submitted by federal agencies showing a steady increase in phishing attacks.

7.3 Continuity of Operations Plan (EXXB)There have been no changes in EPA’s Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) since the publication of theEPA 2013 – 2015 IRM Strategic Plan.

EPA’s four primary data centers have the capability, process, procedures and capacity to efficiently store all production and development information and be able to quickly reconstitute all network IT operations in the event of a disaster. This will be achieved through data bunkering at off-site recovery services facilities. Mission critical systems can subscribe to the WCF service that will establish a separate fail-over site, establish service level agreements with the external providers and perform off-site nightly backups


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and bi-weekly transfer of backups to the off-site recovery services facility. This subscription service is a mature process, supported by a trained emergency response team.

The data centers also provide a non-subscription disaster recovery service that provides nightly data backup and semi-annual transfer of data to the off-site recovery services facility.

Over the next several years, EPA will address a number of new or changing IT responsibilities, including the E-Enterprise initiative, the Geospatial Platform, continuing cybersecurity responsibilities, cloud computing, mobile computing, Digital Government and response to new federal data policies that could have a direct impact to its strategic workforce planning. Any of these activities, in the current budget climate, could stress EPA’s IRM management and development capabilities and workforce.

8.0Supporting EPA’s Workforce (FXXA)


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The EPA Strategic Plan lays out the cross-agency strategy, Embracing EPA as a High Performing Organization. The purpose is to maintain and attract a diverse and engaged future workforce, modernize business practices and take advantage of new tools and technologies. This initiative is particularly important to strategic planning for information resources management.

EPA is currently addressing a number of new and changing IT responsibilities, including the E-Enterprise initiative, digital services, advanced data analytics, continuing cyber-security responsibilities, cloud computing, mobile computing, Digital Government and response to new federal data policies that have a direct impact to its strategic workforce planning.

Workforce planning, retirements, hiring freezes and government salary structures continue to complicate EPA’s ability to attract, hire and retain the IT skills these initiatives demand. OEI continues to implement its Talent Management Strategy to address workforce planning across its internal organization. This strategy addresses career path development, diversity planning and workplace satisfaction. In addition, EPA provides anytime, anywhere access to EPA email and collaboration tools so that staff can gain work efficiencies while working remotely, while on travel and from any location. These services help regain previously lost staff utilization time while supporting the Agency’s goal for workplace satisfaction.

OEI’s Operational Excellence concept is the most general response to IT workforce needs. Growing out of the need to hold down costs, maintain transparency and meet high service expectations, Operational Excellence originated as a conscious management theme in the Working Capital Fund (WCF), which provides 30 separate IT services to users across the Agency. Unlike such structured, prescriptive management strategies such as Total Quality Management (TQM), Operational Excellence is a goal-setting concept designed to optimize service delivery and modernize business practices.

Operational Excellence’s most tangible products are discussed elsewhere (Section 4.1: Improving IT Service Delivery Management), but its influence is seen in the uptake by the IT community of a number of EPA workforce initiatives that support the enhancement of IT-related skills and offer career development opportunities designed to increase workplace satisfaction and staff retention. These include the implementation of EPA University as an umbrella program for general staff development, the EPA Skills Marketplace program and efforts to improve the migration of existing staff support websites to SharePoint.

8.1 EPA UniversityEPA University is an umbrella program that brings all EPA learning activities together into one space. Its central concept is to integrate continuing training and education with an employee’s human resources management information. EPA University builds on EPA’s decade-plus of experience with the Skillport training management system, one of the most widely used online training packages in the federal system. Skillport becomes one component of a broader Talent Management System (TMS) that unifies other modes of learning (in-person classroom, coaching, mentoring, etc.) with performance tracking and HR records. Using the future TMS, managers will be able to assign training, review certifications and track performance on one integrated platform, as well as view their staff’s training history in one view.

Relationship with the Department of Interior (DOI): EPA is building EPA University in collaboration with DOI, one of several service providers under the Human Resources Line of Business (HRLoB). The Agency selected DOI in part because of the two agencies’ common use of PeopleSoft for HR management.

EPA University was originally targeted for launch in FY2105, but the schedule has been pushed back because of a contracting delay at DOI, where that agency’s learning management system procurement— which will serve as the platform for EPA’s TMS—has been delayed until CY 2016.


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In the meantime, EPA has arranged for 4,000 of its employees to be licensed temporarily to use DOI’s current TMS platform as a pilot. About 3,000 of these employees were selected because they are subject to certification under the Field Operations Guide (FOG) as a condition of their fulfillment of duties. This interim license agreement gives EPA University staff experience on the performance tracking capabilities of TMS and offers EPA employees practice on using a complete TMS system. The revised 2016 implementation schedule also gives EPA more time to integrate the future TMS with EPA’s HR system.

Future capabilities: The main trend in online learning platforms is the support of mobile platforms such as iOS and Android. Skillport can currently deliver online content to mobile devices, but EPA expects mobile support to expand. A key area is “just in time” training, which is the provision of training only when it is needed. This avoids the loss of knowledge and skill caused by a lag between training sessions and actual use and allows staff to receive training when they will use it, not weeks or months earlier. Example: an inspector needs to perform a particular complex water analysis in the field. He or she can download an encapsulated training session on that particular procedure on the spot.

8.2 Lotus Notes Application Migration and the Use of SharepointEPA’s migration to Office365 remains incomplete, so the Notes Domino platform is being maintained to support legacy applications. Current efforts are underway to recommend a path forward for migration of those databases onto a new platform.

SharePoint itself does not provide any tools for rebuilding legacy databases and applications. They must all be rebuilt by hand. Full transition to SharePoint will require retraining of Lotus Notes developers to become adept at SharePoint.

The OEI IT Operations Workgroup (ITOWG) is developing a draft strategy, framework and associated governance structure to consolidate, retire and/or migrate Lotus Notes collaboration workspaces and applications. This strategy will be submitted to the QIC’s QTS for approval by March 31, 2015. After that, National Program Managers (NPMs) and Regional Offices will prepare for the Lotus Notes/Domino Application migration process under the oversight of the QTS.

Progress to date has included:

Development of a Lotus Notes Inventory Database Investigation of EPA’s most utilized application development tools, including SharePoint and

Oracle Contacts to GSA to obtain migration lessons learned Development of an online survey to collect information about the Agency’s application

development environment Formation of a subgroup committee to focus on consolidation and archiving Formation of subgroup committee to focus on governance Initiation of work with NCC to identify archive server options

The next step is to identify opportunities and make appropriate recommendations to consolidate commonly used Lotus applications and, where necessary, establish enterprise governance to reduce duplication of effort and unnecessary expenditures. This process will include input from IRM branch chiefs and IMOs from across the Agency prior to making recommendations to the QTS.

8.3 The EPA Skills MarketplaceThe Administrator’s Office launched the OneEPA Skills Marketplace in August 2014 to allow EPA staff to experience working for other parts of the Agency on a part-time basis while remaining at their own location. Unlike a detail, in which an employee transfers at full time to another office for a prescribed length of time, the Skills Marketplace limits projects to a maximum of 20 percent of an employee’s time. Individual projects range from a few weeks to a year, with most lasting from three to six months.


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The program was developed in close collaboration with employee unions at Headquarters and Regional Offices. Under the Skills Marketplace, projects are independently designed by EPA managers. All projects identify specific tasks and work outputs —they are not to serve as general staff augmentation to the office. So far, over 120 projects have been launched nationwide. Most involve single employees only; a few involve up to a half dozen.

It is up to managers whether to include project performance as part of an employee’s annual review. Whether or not that is done, project directors write memos to each participant’s manager to summarize work done.

The Skills Marketplace Project Portal, where all project announcements are posted and where employees can browse available projects and apply to the ones that fit their skills set and development goals, is built and runs on the SharePoint platform. It is the first custom application built in EPA’s SharePoint Online environment and contains a number of features and workflows to make participation a user friendly experience, including integration with single sign-on, integration with SharePoint employee profiles and automated email notification alerts for new project postings and applications.

Application of the Skills Marketplace to IT: Of the 120 projects launched to date, 28 (about 23 percent) involve IT in some form or another, and half of these have been originated in the Regional Offices. OEI’s current three IT-related projects include support for GIS mapping of Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) information, administrative management of the GeoPlatform service and modernizing of the Facility Registry System (FRS). At other EPA offices, IT projects include such diverse topics as GIS support for watersheds and wetlands, SharePoint design for a regional enforcement program and various efforts to upgrade public-facing Web content.

8.4 Operational ExcellenceOperational Excellence is a theme for OEI’s improvement of service delivery to its customers across the Agency. Growing out of improvements at OTOP to operations of the WCF, such as the development of the eBusiness and STAR applications (see Section 4.1 above), it is being applied across OEI to focus attention on all dimensions of service delivery, especially customer support.

Operational Excellence affects all aspects of customer service. The goal is to move all services—from a Help Desk, to desktop provisioning, to general phone service—from “good” to “excellent.” Appropriate new language on service quality is being inserted into IT service and vendor support contracts. It targets all acquisition planning, management and contracting processes and procedures.

Workforce development is another target. The goal here is to better match employee skillsets and talents to operational requirements, thereby achieving the proper skill set mix across the organization. OEI is conducting a typical SWOT analysis to workplace management to determine what is working, not working or needs to be done differently.

8.5 Cybersecurity TrainingTraining is essential for the success of the cybersecurity program (see also Section 7.0 above). Under the current Information Security Strategic Plan, EPA will implement role-based training to build a cadre of professional security officers. EPA will also improve security awareness for general information users.

The goal and objectives for delivering role-based cybersecurity training and improving awareness over FY 2015 are as follows:

GOAL: Elevated information security awareness(This goal is based on the understanding of the importance of creating an environment where all employees’ actions reflect the importance of information security.)

Objective 2.1: All users complete initial and annual information security awareness Objective 2.2: Define and implement a role-based training program. (800-53: PM-14, 15, 13)


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Objective 2.3: Define and implement a credentialing program. (800-53: PM-13) Objective 2.4: Increase user exposure to information security awareness materials.

8.6 The GreenSpark ProgramGreenSpark was launched by the Administrator’s Office in 2014 as a program to encourage employees to offer fresh perspectives and innovative ideas from anywhere in EPA to take on common challenges. It seeks to harness the collective expertise and ideas of EPA staff to develop innovative solutions to challenge questions posed by EPA offices. Recent challenge events on improving sustainability in EPA facilities resulted in new initiatives including increasing paperless correspondence across the Agency, enlarging biking facilities at Headquarters in Federal Triangle and procuring water bottle filters for HQ facilities. GreenSpark has also teamed with the Lean program to respond to program management ideas that, while not considered “lean” (see Section 5.5.2 above), are opportunities for operational improvement. In addition the Administrator’s Office has used the GreenSpark Program as a vehicle for employee recognition and sharing of successful practices to advance the Agency’s priorities. These Aim High campaigns have covered topic areas such as toxics and chemical safety, water resources protection and making a visible difference in communities.

The GreenSpark currently uses a Lotus Notes-based software to launch challenges and give employees the opportunity to submit, comment and vote on ideas. The Administrator’s Office plans to work with OEI to migrate this capability to a Microsoft Office 365 compatible system in the near future.

9.0Implementing Digital Government and ManagingInformation as an Asset


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Building on the Open Government initiative of 2009,17 the federal Digital Government initiative dates from May 23, 2012 with the issuance of the President’s directive, Building a 21st Century Digital Government. It called for:

Measurable goals for delivering better digital services Delivering information in new ways to better realize mobile and Web-based technologies Information security and the protection of privacy Requiring agencies to establish central online resources and standards for making

government information open and machine-readable Requiring use of Web performance analytics and customer satisfaction

This section deals with the first four of these priorities. Web performance analytics are discussed in Section 4.2 above.

9.1 Implementing Digital Government Policy (GXXA)EPA has been a leader in its support of Digital Government principles for many years. It began development of what is now the System of Registries, which integrates key reference information from sources across EPA, in the mid-1990s. The Envirofacts public information warehouse launched in 1998. In support of Open Government, the Agency released its Strategic Data Action Plan in March 2011.

In 2012, EPA launched the Digital Strategy website to track progress in implementing EPA’s Digital Strategy. As required, EPA has identified two existing major customer-facing services—Regulations.gov and Envirofacts—for which high-value data and content are available to the public through Web application programming interfaces18 (API). Regulations.gov and Envirofacts are already available as APIs.

Regulations.gov: Regulations.gov is the federal government-wide, online, public docket and comment system that provides public access to and the ability to comment on federal agency rulemakings. An API is currently available that allows government and non-government sites to more efficiently and accurately repackage and incorporate regulatory data and services from Regulations.gov into their sites. The API also provides tools to feed comments into the system, giving partner agencies the ability to accept comments into eRulemaking’s repository through their own websites and providing advocacy organizations with reliable tools for mass comment submission.

Envirofacts: Envirofacts is EPA’s premier Environmental Data Access (EF Web Tools) and Repository (EF Warehouse) Resource (see Section 9.2.4). The entire Envirofacts Warehouse has also been Service Enabled via its REST API, thus providing easily accessible and customizable Envirofacts data services for use by both EPA staff and the public for the creation of data mash- ups, application query interfaces, mobile apps and other applications uses.

EPA has met all OMB milestones in its implementation of the Digital Government Strategy and expects to continue its compliance efforts on schedule.

17 M10-06, Open Government Directive, Office of Management and Budget18 An application programming interface is a protocol that allows two software applications to communicate with each other. In the case of Regulations.gov and Envirofacts, a public user is able to write a program that queries thesesystems directly, returning the information required for direct use or for use in another program, such as a mobile app.


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Most recently, the E-Enterprise program (see Section 3.2.1 above) has become a key client of these information initiatives.

9.1.1 The Strategic Data Action PlanFollowing the Administration’s Open Government (OpenGov) Initiative and the December 2009 OMB Open Government Directive, EPA undertook the creation of the Strategic Data Action Plan (SDAP) to establish and implement Agency processes to increase transparency and to more systematically manage and disseminate EPA information. The first iteration of the Plan was published in March 2011.

SDAP furthered the general goal of managing information as an asset. Its purposes included:

Define EPA’s plan for improving data management for transparency, collaboration and participation.

Mature and foster consistency in the processes and procedures associated with publishing EPA data as introduced in the December 2010 Interim EPA Data.gov Guidance and Procedures.

Identify and track the development of tools and processes to support expanded data access and usability; for example, creation of and access to EPA data in linked open data formats.

Establish measures of success and the method to track and report on progress. Identify and explore areas of broader data management that need development

or improvement. Pilot new approaches and address recommendations to improve standard practices.

Version 2.0 of the Plan was to have been published in 2014, as reported in the previous IRM StrategicPlan.EPA’s intention to update the SDAP was superseded, however, by the May 2013 Open Data Policy,19

leading the Agency to shift its focus to completing the Environmental Information Management Policy (EIMP, see Section 9.1.2 below), which is expected to be issued in Spring 2015. Implementation of the EIMP will replace the work started under the SDAP. Activities will include comprehensive information asset registration and a more formal data publication prioritization effort that will include public input. EPA expects that, in addition to the procedures, standards and guidance issued under the EIMP itself, the next general milestone for this issue will be the creation of a general Open Data Policy Implementation Plan to guide EIMP implementation and all related issues not directly covered by EIMP (see Section 9.1.2).

9.1.2 EPA Enterprise Information Management PolicyIn February 2014, EPA issued the new Enterprise Information Management Policy (EIMP), designed to unify the management of all types of information developed by or for EPA mission purposes, and maintained or cataloged on Agency systems. The purpose of the policy is to ensure that information is easy to discover, understand, access and reuse in a secure manner so it can be used with a broad array of applications and analytics to support the Agency’s mission and stakeholder needs. It, together with future procedures, standards and guidance, satisfies many of the objectives of the Open Data Policy.

The policy ensures that EPA will be in compliance with following federal directives:

OMB M-14-06: Guidance for Providing and Using Administrative Data for Statistical Purposes (February 14, 2014);

OMB M-13-13: Open Data Policy – Managing Information as an Asset (May, 9, 2013); Executive Order 13642 “Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government

Information” (May 9, 2013); OMB Memorandum: Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific

Research (February 22, 2013); Digital Government Strategy (May 23, 2012); and

19 http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/09/executive-order-making-open-and-machine-readable- new-default-government-

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Executive Order 13556 Controlled Unclassified Information (November 4, 2010).The EIMP covers all information within this scope, including Confidential Unclassified Information (CUI) that is usually not accessible to the public. The policy applies to all types of information, both structured (traditional databases) and unstructured (documents, emails, Web content, video, etc.). It requires that information be:

Planned and managed according to a defined information life cycle process (appropriate for the information type) and in accordance with enterprise systems and solutions

Catalogued and/or labeled with metadata, including geographic references20, as appropriate, in EPA and Federal-wide registries, repositories, or other information systems

Developed, maintained and preserved in open and machine readable formats using established standards that make information discoverable and accessible, where appropriate and feasible

Made and maintained to be open and publically accessible, unless there is a documented National Security Information (NSI) or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) requirement outlined within a statute/law, regulation and/or government-wide policy, or unless otherwise protected from disclosure under federal law or EPA regulation. In these cases, internal, external, and associated safeguards must be instituted

The data life cycle is the core organizing concept for EPA data management. EPA has adopted the common definition of the Federal Geographic Data Committee, which defines the steps in the cycle shown in Figure 9-1 below.

Figure 9-1: The EPA EIMP Data Life Cycle

In support of this policy, the EIMP Cataloguing Information Resources Procedure and the EIMP Minimum Metadata Standards provide additional direction on ensuring easy and timely access to EPA information and ensuring that stakeholders have a descriptive context for using the information.

20 To maximize the use of research, operational, assessment, and financial content with spatial base layers, and to enable cross media and program assessments.


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The Cataloguing Information Resources Procedure requires that Information under the scope of the EIMP must:

Be catalogued in the appropriate registry or repository, as defined in the Procedure Meet the minimum metadata requirements outlined in the Minimum Metadata Standards Conform to the standards, technical reference standards or specifications of the applicable

registry or repositoryUnder the Minimum Metadata Standards EPA organizations, employees, and agents must:

Use the standards to manage information in Agency registries and repositories Incorporate the standards into all registry and repository development and maintenance efforts

Two additional procedures, available in FY 2016, will provide guidance on managing information from planning through its ultimate disposition.

9.1.3 Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) (GXXB)The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is developing a Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) rule that will govern EPA and all other federal agencies. CUI is an umbrella that encompasses Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU), For Official Use Only (FOUO), Confidential Business Information (CBI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

In 2013, EPA initiated planning for managing CUI per the proposed rule. This planning process is bringing together Agency staff from the OEI Office of Information Collection, the Senior Agency Information Security Officer (SAISO), Agency staff from the OEI Office of Technology Operations and Planning, as well as program office IT staff and the Office of Policy. The outcome is expected to be a comprehensive program that organizes all formal and ad hoc policies and procedures, interests and law enforcement considerations.

The NARA rule is expected to be final by the end of CY 2015. In the meantime, EPA is preparing as much as possible to implement its requirements within a year of its signing, allowing six months to create new CUI procedures and SOPs, and six months for readiness activities, including training of staff throughout the Agency.

A major issue for EPA under the new policy will be the elimination of CBI (Confidential Business Information) as a sensitive information class. “Confidential” has a specific national security meaning for the Department of Defense and the intelligence community, so it cannot be used to describe unclassified information.

CBI has been used at EPA since the Agency’s inception and is well accepted by industry. Under current procedures, industry may designate relevant parts of a submission as CBI. EPA protects these documents without review, but does not formally consent to the CBI classification unless and until it actually needs to use the information for program purposes. At that time EPA may contest the CBI designation for some or all of the submission, also giving the submitter the opportunity to rebut that finding. This avoids unnecessary work for both parties. To avoid unnecessary work under the new CUI rule, the new policy will have to give the SAO for CUI power to provide a waiver from the requirement to make advance CUI determinations on incoming information, so long as they protect this information and do not share it.

9.1.4 Protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) (GXXB)PII is a unique subset of CUI because it directly affects the interests of individuals. EPA complies with the requirements of NIST Special Publication 800-53 Appendix J. Required privacy controls are integrated into all systems that require them.

EPA’s internal Privacy Policy was issued in September 2007. It requires EPA to gather PII only to the extent necessary to accomplish official EPA business, administrative functions, regulatory or statutory requirements or OMB or Homeland Security Directives. The Agency imposes more stringent requirements for the management of Sensitive PII (SPII). SPII includes social security numbers, financial information,

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medical information and other PII that, if lost, compromised or disclosed without authorization, could result in substantial harm, embarrassment, inconvenience or unfairness to the individual.

To carry out this policy, the Agency conducts a variety of training programs, including orientation training for all new employees, managers’ training for matters of staff management and specialized training for staff engaged in specific functions such as Human Resources management or enforcement. These are role-based programs delivered to all personnel who routinely handle PII, such as in human resources management, enforcement and contracting.

EPA also conducts proactive onsite reviews of all IT systems that contain PII to ensure that general policies are carried out at the application level. Through its 23 Liaison Privacy Officials (LPOs), appointed for all EPA Headquarters and regional offices, systems are evaluated to ensure that only minimum PII information is gathered and stored and that PII is consolidated, combined and eliminated as necessary to ensure continued compliance.

EPA is updating its Privacy Policy and supporting Procedures to address emerging issues. In February 2015 the Agency issued a new Procedure governing Computer Matching Agreements, covering any computerized comparison of records between an EPA system of records and any other federal or non- federal system for the purpose of authorizing a personal payment or benefit. EPA is also developing a new Procedure to add additional levels of security and control to govern SPII.

9.2 Managing Information as an Asset (GXXA)This section discusses EPA’s management of its information as a public asset. Section 9.2.1 discusses the Envirofacts public information warehouse, the most prominent outlet through which EPA releases program information to the public, the academic community, EPA state and local stakeholders and regulated industry. Sections 9.2.2 – 9.2.8 discuss the components of the EPA System of Registries, and Section 9.2.9 deals with Records Management.

These shared information services are key to the success of the ongoing E-Enterprise program. Over time they will be enhanced and adjusted to support the mutual information needs of the regulated community and environmental management programs at all levels of government. As these systems evolve, they will also become more interoperable, eventually enabling E-Enterprise linked searches from substances of interest, to applicable laws and regulations, to best practices on management, to relevant regulated facilities, to applicable control technologies.

9.2.1 EnvirofactsThe Envirofacts Information Warehouse is the chief source of EPA program data available to the public, providing a textual and geographic interface into a variety of EPA programs, including air, water, Superfund and hazardous waste. Envirofacts supports 18 different EPA offices in providing reporting mechanisms and/or data resources for their applications.

Envirofacts’ Web-enabled search tools provide the public, EPA partners and EPA staff with a single point of access to EPA’s major information systems. The Envirofacts Information Warehouse data repository contains information from over 15 different environmental system sources at EPA and beyond. It supports the Envirofacts suite of Web tools as well as a host of other EPA applications such as MyEnvironment, Enviromapper and mobile apps.

Envirofacts continues to focus on new opportunities to enhance its ability to provide the public and EPA staff with new information to support public access and the environmental decision making process.Envirofacts recently supported the transition of the Toxics Release Inventory’s National Analysis to a fully Web and GIS enabled format. In FY 2015, Envirofacts will begin a modernization effort that will include a baseline assessment of the system’s current implementation, stakeholder outreach to gain insight on improvements, a technology and usability review and the development of enhanced performance metrics to assess and better communicate Envirofacts’ benefits to the Agency. Envirofacts will also add additional datasets to its holdings, potentially including the National Emissions Inventory (NEI). Finally, Envirofacts


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will serve as a data content provider and organizer for developing the OEI Advanced Data Analytics program (see Section 3.2.7 above).

9.2.2 Integrating EPA’s Data Catalogs with their Federal CounterpartsThe Environmental Dataset Gateway (EDG) is the central registry for EPA datasets and geospatial data. An expansion of the previous GeoData Gateway (GDG), EDG improves and simplifies how EPA creates and manages metadata for individual datasets and geospatial data. Currently the EDG and Data.gov Dataset Management System (DMS) create or provide metadata and publish resources for Data.gov and the Federal Geospatial Platform.

On November 30, 2014, in compliance with OMB requirements originally issued in the FY 2013 Portfoliostat Guidance, EPA developed and submitted a comprehensive EPA Enterprise Data inventory. It included all data assets, both public and non-public, contained in all information systems listed in the Registry of EPA Applications and Databases (READ). Categories included all assets:

Previously posted to Data.gov or Geospatial One-Stop Associated with research, program administration, statistical and financial activities Posted to EPA.gov Addressed in System of Records Notices (SORNs) and Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) Purchased to support Agency business Released via FOIA in the Agency’s Public Data Listing (PDL)

Each office submitted metadata records to the EDG following either the EDG geospatial metadata template (for geospatial information) or the Data.gov metadata template (all others). Records were categorized as Public (information released to the public without restrictions), Restricted (information available to the public under certain use restrictions) and Non-Public (information not released to the public, such as CUI or pre-decisional information).

With the exception of Non-Public records, all records in the EPA Enterprise Data Inventory are regularly uploaded to Data.gov, thus integrating EPA’s information holdings with those of other federal agencies. EPA will continue to expand, enrich and open this Inventory on a quarterly basis in FY 2015 and beyond.

The EDG will be accessible from the forthcoming E-Enterprise Portal, providing live links wherever possible for accessing the most current EPA information of record from across all Agency systems.

9.2.3 Facility Registry Services Re-engineeringEPA’s Facility Registry System (FRS) is the central repository for data relating to facilities and sites of interest to EPA. Integrating data from nearly 90 sources, it contains core reference information on locations of interest to all programs, including many state and federal partner programs:

Regulated facilities with environmental permits Cleanup areas, such as Superfund and Brownfields sites Sites that emit pollution either as point sources or as area sources (e.g., animal feedlots) Sites of interest for solar, methane and other types of power initiatives Environmental monitoring stations External data of interest to EPA, i.e. EIA-860 power generation facilities, DHS CSAT

chemical facilities, E-Plan Tier II chemical facilities and othersFRS also contains information on actions in progress in relation to facilities or sites, such as compliance or enforcement proceedings and inspections.

EPA is re-engineering FRS to develop APIs and automate data publishing. EPA is also improving the backend data stewardship tools and network to improve the quality and completeness of its data, eliminate data redundancy and integrate information, add the ability to identify and systematically track


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organizations (owners, operators, responsible parties, ultimate corporate parents, etc.) and include more complete information on the nature of environmental concerns at each location. This system is expected to be a core enterprise registry with customer services that assist with data collection, standardization and validation under the E-Enterprise initiative. FRS will continue to serve as a core integrator serving many Agency applications and services.

Over the past year, EPA has put a new API into production that allows real-time record creation and update, with immediate assignment of new Facility IDs. These new master records are immediately available for other programs’ use. In addition, the API allows for real-time lookup to retrieve and pre- populate information for known facilities. Both the Office of Air and the Toxics Release Inventory are leveraging this capability in their existing systems.

FRS has also improved its back-end stewardship tools and network:

Quality and completeness of data – TRI has been performing targeted data quality initiatives with the TRI program and has now attained a level of 99.97% facilities having valid latitude/longitude values.

Eliminate data redundancy and integrate information – FRS has been making incremental enhancements to its duplicate matching algorithms.

The FRS team has also been supporting work for Chemical Facilities Safety Executive Order 13650. With EPA/OSWER, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as leads, FRS has been serving as the facility data integrator for these agencies and for other datasets relating to chemical facilities safety under this Order.

FRS is a foundation shared service for E-Enterprise, for which it will ultimately provide integrated information on the identity and features of interest at all locations subject to environmental management, at all levels of government. Over the next year, EPA will be collaborating with its state partners to explore alternative approaches for upgrading the FRS core data model to achieve this level of cross-program compatibility. The goal is to enable new facility records that can be originated and used interchangeably by all E-Enterprise partners.

9.2.4 Centralizing Discovery of Substances InformationEPA’s Substance Registry Services (SRS) is the Agency’s central resource for discovering information about substances tracked or regulated at EPA, other federal agencies or EPA partner organizations. It provides basic information about more than 100,000 substances, including which EPA programs regulate each substance and the names those programs use for the substance.

EPA will redesign the SRS user interface to make it more user friendly for the public, creating the Chemicals Resource Directory to support EPA’s OneEPA Web. While SRS already provides links to health and safety fact sheets and websites, the new resource directory will make this information more visible. A goal is for EPA programs and partners to use SRS as the central resource for providing health and safety information to the public. An aligned goal is to make this Chemicals Resource Directory available from one of the dropdown tabs on the EPA Homepage as a primary discovery point for the public to discover information about individual chemicals.

In support of E-Enterprise, SRS services are being incorporated (e.g., TRI, CDR) into online reporting forms, which help the submitter report correctly and ensures the EPA program collects high-quality chemical identification information.

9.2.5 Laws and Regulations ServicesEPA is developing a proof of concept for a new Laws and Regulations Services (LRS) registry to fill an important need for E-Enterprise and the regulated community. LRS would create a linked inventory of statutes and regulations, showing their relationships and associating them with EPA programs, program


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websites, substances and facility categories (NAICS codes). Such a service would improve data management within EPA programs and help industry identify the programs to which they are subject.

Potential applications for E-Enterprise include:

Discovering, accessing and flagging statutes and regulations of interest through registration in the E-Enterprise Portal

Standardizing the statutory and regulatory identification across EPA reporting forms and guidance, thus improving data quality

Improving access to Laws & Regulations information available from the EPA home page Identifying applicable regulations via the Substance Registry Services (e.g., an individual

searching for “Benzene” would discover all statutes and regulations that regulate that chemical)

Identifying applicable regulations via North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) (e.g., an individual searching for a particular industrial activity would discover all statutes and regulations that regulate that industry classification)

Helping the public discover statutory obligations of a nearby facility through integration with the Facility Registry Services and Envirofacts

Developing new regulations by providing ready access to information on pre-existing rules EPA is exploring the use of taxonomies from the Terminology Services Registry, such as the OIA WebTaxonomy and the ORD Science Vocabulary, as tools for creating links. Building LRS would be incremental,with plans to eventually include state laws and regulations.

To date EPA has loaded the United States Code (USC) and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) that are applicable to EPA into its proof of concept system. A separate effort is to develop a proof-of-concept system to hold the NAICS codes. OEI will develop Web services for both the LRS and NAICS proof-of- concept systems in the summer of 2015, with more fully populated services expected to take in subsequent years.

9.2.6 Promoting Reuse of EPA IT ServicesEPA’s Reusable Component Services (RCS) provides a centralized catalog of EPA’s IT resources, including APIs, Web services, code libraries, data dictionaries, XML schemas, mobile apps, data flows and much more. By registering the Agency’s IT services in a centralized service, RCS promotes awareness of existing resources, thus fostering reuse for lower development cost, shorter development life cycles and higher quality of EPA systems. In addition, RCS facilitates data interoperability by making possible the discovery of data and the tools that access and exchange the data. RCS shows important associations, such as which datasets, catalogued in EDG, are associated with IT assets cataloged in RCS or systems cataloged in EPA’s Registry of EPA Applications and Databases (READ). Other Agency systems, like Developer Central, rely on RCS as a source of metadata for resources like APIs, widgets and web services. Soon, RCS will provide similar services to EDG as the source of APIs, web services and software tools sent to data.gov.

In 2014, RCS was transferred from its original COTS platform and re-engineered as a custom EPA system. The update simplifies and streamlines the registry. EPA will continue to expand the system with deeper content in FY 2015 and beyond, adding service reference taxonomies to make it more valuable for joint EPA/State E-Enterprise service architecture development.

9.2.7 Data Element Registry ServicesThe Data Element Registry Services (DERS) is EPA’s catalog of data dictionaries and value lists. It enables comparison of data elements and pick-lists within and across EPA program offices, highlighting where systems collect common data elements. This comparison can occur between EPA, state and tribal systems as well. DERS includes definitions, sources, uses and valid values. It also points to Data Standards that the referenced systems use.


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As EPA programs transition from one contractor to another, or as EPA staff change, it is important to have well-documented data dictionaries that include understandable names and definitions for data elements that can be linked to data sets. DERS is expected to be a central reference for improving customer service under E-Enterprise.

As more system data dictionaries and value lists are added to the system and mapped, DERS will show which data from different systems might be brought together or integrated. It encourages the adoption of common pick-lists and shows mappings across analogous pick lists. DERS’s semantic mapping capabilities enable information assets to be more easily understood. EPA program offices can identify redundancies among their systems and direct modernization efforts accordingly.

9.2.8 Tribal Identification ServicesThe EPA Tribal Identification (TRIBES) service is a set of Web services that allow partners to access and use standardized information related to federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribal entities. Tribal names and codes for the flow come from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of federally recognized tribes. The list is updated as BIA updates its official list. The services also include a unique EPA identifier to address issues that arise when tribe names change. EPA intends for these services to be available for EPA programs and its partners in states, tribes, local governments and other approved organizations requiring tribal information.

9.2.9 Terminology ServicesEPA’s Terminology Services (TS) are a suite of tools and services to address the following issues related to information management:

• Understanding EPA: EPA programs often define terms and acronyms differently, or use different terms to mean the same thing. To be transparent, EPA needs to provide access to its terminology.

• Information Access: Terminology Services provides the tools and services needed to develop and manage vocabularies used to catalog and index our information assets.

Semantic Web: EPA needs to manage terminology to position the Agency for the Semantic Web.TS currently includes glossaries, keyword lists, taxonomies and the ORD Science Vocabulary, which is a formal ontology of environmental science terms.

9.2.10 Records ManagementEPA's records management program and services operate under the authority of the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. 31), Management of Federal Information Resources (OMB Circular A-130), Managing Government Records Directive (OMB/NARA M-12-18) and EPA Records Management Policy (CIO 2155.1). They are a critical component of the Greening EPA effort to reduce the environmental impact of the Agency’s operations.

The National Records Management Program provides leadership and direction for the Agency’s records management activities, developing strategies, policies, procedures and standards, as well as training, guidance and best practices. Its core purpose is to use EPA’s records and information assets to increase productivity, reduce costs and meet legal requirements in service to the Agency’s mission and strategic goals.

10.0 Commodity IT and Shared Services


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10.1 Maturing the IT Portfolio (HXXA)EPA’s IT infrastructure includes the following:

User Environment. Application Technologies. Data Technologies. Hosting Platforms. Networks/Telecommunications. Technology Management.

The Agency has applied several strategies to enhance the management of this infrastructure:

Implement robust architecture: EPA continues its transition of its information technology infrastructure to a standards-based, open system environment.

Ensure compatibility with the Technical Reference Model: Every project adheres to current and planned EPA information technology standards as defined in the IT Standards Profile. The EPA Technical Reference Model (TRM) defines a comprehensive set of information technology standards, services, interfaces, supporting data formats and protocols.

Implement robust system and network operations: EPA has implemented automated system and network management operations, with effective backup and recovery mechanisms.

Implement a comprehensive end user computing support environment: EPA provides a responsive Service Desk, highly capable desktop workstations, remote diagnosis and repair of software problems, quick resolution of hardware problems and reliable network service. The Service Desk recorded a total of 92,448 Tier 1 Help Desk tickets, and 61,347 Help Desk Ticket above Tier 1, with a First Contact Resolution Rate of 97.5%.

Implement appropriate infrastructure security mechanisms: EPA provides infrastructure security services with responsibility for external and internal access, disaster recovery and incident responses.

In addition to the above approaches, EPA emphasizes the shift towards cloud computing, virtualization and service orientation. One of the most significant factors impacting the Agency’s target architecture is the adoption of cloud computing. Cloud computing presents a paradigm shift that will alter how EPA plans, develops, acquires and delivers IT services. Consistent with OMB’s cloud strategy, EPA emphasizes using internal, commercial and private government cloud technologies where feasible as the primary platform for delivering IT services in support of mission functions.

To further the optimization of the IT infrastructure across the National Computer Center (NCC), OEI has completed the following projects designed to optimize operations and promote effective resource utilization to maintain the IT infrastructure (see Table 10-1 below).


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Table 10-1: Optimization Work-to-Date

Optimization Project Description

Cloud Hosting Services EPA’s Office of Environmental Information (OEI) is leading the Agency’s efforts to provide cloud computing and its benefits to EPA. OTOP manages the Agency efforts to establish enterprise cloud services to support custom-developed applications, collaboration and platforms environments. OEI established the National Computer Center (NCC) in Research Triangle Park, NC, as the focal point for coordinating cloud activities. NCC has established a virtualized, FISMA-compliant environment supported with Working Capital Fund (WCF) services for ordering Infrastructure-as-a-Service IaaS and Platform-as-a-Service PaaS cloud services. NCC has also established a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) under the General Services Administration (GSA) IaaS offering.

Data Center Consolidation Consolidated IT infrastructure from the program offices located in EPA’s Research Triangle Park (RTP) campus into the Agency’s primary data center at the NCC. Maximized reclaimed real estate from IT efficiencies implemented through virtualization and computer room decommissioning.

Server Virtualization Virtualization is already used extensively to support database hosting, and EPA is expanding virtualization to support Web and application servers.

The Agency completed a phased virtualization program across its primary data center that included optimizing the efficient use of floor space and turning off air handlers.

EPA hosts more than 200 individual Agency business applications in an innovative, shared hosting environment offering many of the features of private cloud services. These virtualization efforts are paired with infrastructure refresh efforts so that they can be financed within existing operating budgets and maximize return on investment.Virtualization infrastructure is accounted for in the target reductions for the Windows, Linux and UNIX servers. EPA has achieved substantial gains in virtualization.

By end-of-year 2015, the Agency plans to increase virtual hosts to 30 percent of physical machines with 60 percent of EPA servers operating as virtual machines.

E-Enterprise A significant component of the E-Enterprise proposal for FY 2015 is the use of centralized IT standards and services to streamline information transactions with regulated entities and delegated partners, reduce regulatory burden and save IT costs over time. The centralized services will have an impact across the Agency, and the planning and implementation of the services will require coordination throughout OEI.

10.1.2 Rationalize ApplicationsThe Chief Architect (CA) launched a new architecture review initiative wherein Project Managers of CPIC Major and selected CPIC Medium IT investments were engaged to review and provide guidance regarding their application development, enhancement, deployment and/or retirement plans. These CA architecture reviews have provided valuable information about changing business needs, emerging technology requirements and potential performance gaps in EPA’s target architecture. Several investment owners also identified specific unmet business needs that the EA Program and CA could help them address.

One of the CA’s focus areas of interest is that the continued use of EPA’s IT Investments are justified in terms of business value, costs, functionality and technology. The decision to replace, retire or re-platform an IT Investment is based on the cost, risk and value associated with the IT Investment. In support of this justification or rationalization effort, the CA collects the data required to determine the IT Investment’s


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business value during the CA Review. The data needed to determine the business value of a CPIC Major IT Investment includes the following:

Is this a duplicative IT Investment? What does it costs to operate and maintain the IT Investment? Does the IT Investment conform to EPA’s IT Standards Profile? Does the IT Investment continue to provide the capability and flexibility required by the

program office? Are the users satisfied with the performance and benefits of the IT Investment?

In 2013, the CA aligned the EA review process with EPA’s IRM Plan and OMB’s current requirements. To accomplish this, the CA has broadened the IT Investment review process to include not just the CPIC Major investments but the entire IT Investment Portfolio of each program office. This change in focus of selecting IT Investments for CA review will help identify opportunities for synergy, increasing efficiency and reducing duplication of resources. During the 2014 Investment review cycle, the CA completed the review of the entire IT Investment Portfolio of each Program Office.

10.1.3 Service Oriented ArchitectureEPA is modernizing its service delivery capability with the integration of a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). The CA collaborates with the Investment Owners to review and provide guidance with the adoption and implementation of SOA components. As an example, the Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEMS) IT Investment has integrated an Oracle Enterprise Service Bus into its computing platform.

The CA has worked to ensure that the IT Standards Profile is updated to reflect the Agency’s move toward service orientation. EPA is implementing a complete, open, integrated SOA platform that is based on industry standards. This SOA suite of tools includes the following components:

Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). Business Process Management (BPM) Suite. Rules Engine. Enterprise Repository and Service Registry. EPA’s System of Registries, including the Reusable Component Services for cataloging

the Agency’s IT services.The SOA Suite provides a comprehensive set of capabilities for an agile and flexible platform that allows EPA program offices to react quickly to new business requirements and improve productivity. A number of EPA’s IT Investments have integrated the SOA suite of tools;

NHD/RAD - National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) - Reach Address Database (RAD) SDWIS NG - Safe Drinking Water Information System Next Generation

The CA will continue to promote the adoption of SOA across the mission-critical business segments.

10.1.4 Data Center ConsolidationSince 2007, EPA has led a series of successful initiatives embracing data center consolidation, industry best management practices and virtualization across its data centers. Between 2008 and 2011, EPA consolidated small data centers and server rooms in various locations across the country with plans to gain more efficiencies.

EPA is a physically decentralized organization with 25 major facilities, including EPA Headquarters (DC Metro Area), EPA Research Triangle Park (RTP) research center, 10 EPA regional offices and 13 major research centers. The remaining facilities are smaller field offices and continuity of operations (COOP)


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sites. When the data consolidation effort started, 78 data centers and server rooms were located in 66 buildings across 48 cities in 31 states and territories.

EPA’s consolidation strategy, issued in September 2011, designated a goal of four data centers for hosting all enterprise applications: The primary the EPA National Computer Center (NCC) located in Research Triangle Park, NC, and centers in Washington, DC; Denver, CO; and Chicago, IL.

Other goals of the consolidation strategy included the following:

• Establish enterprise public cloud services for EPA applications using approved cloud providers under General Services Administration (GSA) contracts. External cloud services are provided by CGI Federal, via the GSA Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)

• Consolidate servers from 78 campus level server rooms to 53 rooms by end-of-year 2015. EPA’s major campuses will have a medium-sized server room and other locations will have at least one small server room.

• Standardize and maximize server virtualization across EPA data centers to reduce the number of physical servers by approximately 50 percent and achieve a target of 1,000 physical servers by end-of-year 2015. EPA is on target by end-of-year 2015 with plans to increase virtual hosts to 30 percent of physical machines with 60 percent of EPA servers operating as virtual machines.

• Align server replacement with consolidation activities.

• Establish service level agreements, operating level agreements and performance standards to deliver server room and data center services reliably.

• Refine standards for backup and disaster recovery (DR) capabilities supporting continuity of operations and emergency response capabilities.

• Incorporate green IT approaches across Agency data centers and server rooms to maximize data center and server room energy efficiency. EPA initiated numerous energy-saving projects at NCC– In addition to recommissioning the entire facility, EPA focused significant effort on improving

the energy performance of the computer wing. An extensive, third-party review of the data center's operating conditions resulted in EPA shutting off six of the facility’s 13 computer room air conditioning units, while still meeting the sensitive cooling needs of the computer equipment. EPA also optimized and diversified the location of energy-intensive equipment to better match heat loads and cooling capacity.

– “Green” lighting features, including high-efficiency fluorescent lighting, motion sensors, daylight dimming sensors, and manual override switches, save 70 percent on electricity used for lighting when compared to the energy consumption of a facility with conventional fixtures.

– Heating and cooling systems at NCC were chosen and modified to improve efficiency.Variable speed motors, fans, and pumps meet actual energy demand and therefore prevent energy waste. Outside air economizers reduce energy costs by bringing in outside air when the temperature and humidity meet acceptable levels.

10.1.5 Reinvestment of SavingsEPA’s approach to savings is a total cost approach founded in a continuous effort to expand shared services and standardization across the EPA’s IT infrastructure and operations activities. These activities span data center operations, end-user desktop and productivity tools, and Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) compliance and are included in the EPA’s OMB Exhibit 300 for Technology Infrastructure Modernization (TIM).

The EPA’s approach meets the need for increased capacity and capability within a flat budget incremented only for standard inflation factors, resulting in ongoing cost avoidance.

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The Agency will seek additional efficiencies beyond those already achieved through implementing competitive multiple award contracting vehicles, IT infrastructure optimization activities and the strategic procurement of commodity IT across the enterprise, but some services will also be reduced.Reduction to the planned spending for the Technology Infrastructure Modernization investment is $12M. The projected reduction will be used for two new initiatives: E-Enterprise and E-Manifest.

E-EnterpriseE-Enterprise is a partnership of environmental regulators (partners) committed to improving environmental protection and reducing burden on EPA’s regulated community. This portion of the project will modernize the delivery of environmental services to industry and the public by creating an interactive set of shared services for use by Agency and state data systems. Reporting, data sharing and access to cloud computing will be improved, building on the Agency’s successful network exchange model.

E-ManifestThis newly legislated initiative aligns with the E-Enterprise model to modernize business processes and reduce burden on EPA’s regulated community. This system will enable the regulated community to prepare, manage and submit manifests for hazardous waste transport electronically. In FY 2014, the EPA will have continued e-Manifest system planning through formulation of a system implementation strategy and technical architecture. Building on system requirements and with additional stakeholder discussions, this technical architecture will provide the foundation for full system development/build.

10.1.6 Maximizing the Use of Shared ServicesEPA has identified 20 Commodity IT Shared Services in response to an EPA initiative to increase return on investment, eliminate waste and duplication and improve the effectiveness of IT solutions.

A draft Shared Services plan was developed utilizing the guidance provided by OMB’s IT Shared Services Strategy. All of the identified Shared Services are detailed further to provide status of the associated migration project, resource adjustments reflected in future architecture and resource adjustments reflected in Agency’s Enterprise Architecture (EA) Transition Plan. The plan is being revised to include newly identified shared services.

EPA has developed a Shared Services approach that supports the Agency’s effort to promote and maximize the use of inter- and intra-agency shared services. This approach has three components— Define, Select and Implement—that are designed to identify and evaluate the Agency’s IT investments for migration to a shared services model.

The first component of the strategy is the Define process. This process involves identifying and classifying the IT Investments that provide capabilities that can be better satisfied using a shared service. The second component of the strategy is the Select process. This involves selecting IT Investments for implementing as a shared service. It requires performing an alternatives analysis and a cost benefit analysis. The third component of the strategy is the Implement process. This process involves ensuring a funding strategy, putting in place cost recovery mechanisms and communicating the transition to the user community.

Using this approach, EPA has developed Inter- and Intra-agency Shared Services that continue to mature and increase in use across the Agency. EPA’s Shared Services are categorized and listed in Table 10-2 below. These Shared Services are used across EPA’s CPIC Majors, Non Major and Lite investments. EPA’s Shared Services Strategy provides an approach to expand the use of these shared services. This allows EPA to achieve operational efficiencies and cost reduction across its IT portfolio.

In response to requests from OMB, EPA has identified four areas to move to a Shared Services delivery model across the Agency. These four areas are described in detail in the Enterprise Roadmap.

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Table 10-2: Categories of Inter- and Intra-Agency Shared Services

Shared ServiceName

EPA ITInvestment Name

Shared Service Category

Current State Future Plans (2013-2017)

Strategic Sourcing

N/A Support Services

The Reuest for Quotation (RFQ) was submitted to GSA eBuy on February 13, 2013.

Award is expected Second Quarter 2014.

Managed Print Services

Technology Infrastructure Modernization (TIM)

Support Services

Contract awarded on April 12, 2013. Work started effective April 15, 2013.

Rollout MPS across the Agency.

Email TIM Enterprise IT

Systems

Consolidated all Agency Emails into one under My Workplace project.

Roll-out additional features and training for users in FY 2014 and FY 2015.

Collabor- ation

TIM Enterprise IT

Systems

Consolidating all Agency Collaboration tools into one under My Workplace project.

Roll-out additional features and training for users in FY 2014 and FY 2015.

Identity and Access Manage- ment

TIM Enterprise IT

Systems

The Enterprise Identity and Access Management is Logical access control, the use of the card for authentication.

Phase I – Baseline Infrastructure (FY 2012)

Phase II – Logical Access Implementation (FY 13-15)

Phase III – Modernization (FY 2016-18)

IT Security TIM Enterprise IT

Systems

The IT Security is provided under WCF services across the agency.

Continue to optimize the tools and their services. Implement enhanced continuous monitoring capability per Agency and Federal policy.

Web Hosting/Infra- structure

TIM Enterprise IT

Systems

EPA awarded a contract for enterprise cloud services under GSA's IaaS Bulk Purchase Agreement.

With this contract in place EPA is evaluating application hosted with EPA for cost effective migration to this cloud service.EPA will also explore commercial Cloud Service Providers

Desktop Systems

TIM IT

Infrastructure

EPA is consolidating all agency desktop systems under a new contract, EZTech.

The desktops are being rolled out to Headquarters in FY 2014.

Mobile Devices

TIM IT

Infrastructure

EPA buys all mobile devices through WCF and has one contract with each of it vendors. EPA is conducting multiple pilots for Tablets.

EPA continues to evaluate the results of the pilots and develop a strategy to roll out standard Tablets.

Mainframe and Servers

TIM IT

Infrastructure

EPA has consolidated more than 200 individual Agency business applications to four primary data centers.

EPA plans to establish private cloud services for enterprise applications hosting within the four data centers.

Telecomm- unications

TIM IT

Infrastructure

EPA’s wide area network and Internet connection services are managed centrally through GSA Network cloud services.

EPA will continue to provide the WCF Service and respond to technology advances and user requirements

FY 2015 – 2018 EPA IRM Strategic

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Shared ServiceName

EPA ITInvestment Name

Shared Service Category

Current State Future Plans (2013-2017)

Financial Manage- ment

Financial Replacement System (FinRS)

Support Services

Core financial system completed.

Time & Attendance Payroll Migration is complete

Grants Manage- ment

Integrated Grants Management System (IGMS)

Mission Services

EPA decided to maintain its Grants system until the Agency has completed the upgrade of its financial and human resources systems.

EPA will explore options once migrations are completed in 2015.

Disaster Recovery

Working Capital Fund (WCF)

IT

Infrastructure

Protection and recovery of critical applications is provided in the case of a disaster. Disaster Recovery services are currently provided using site- specific solutions.

Continue to provide this WCF Service and expand based on user requirements

Records Management

Content Management and Discovery Services (CMDS)

IT

Infrastructure

ECMS is a WCF Service ECMS is developing solution to support archiving of emails from agency’s new email system

CDX Central Data Exchange

IT

Infrastructure

The Central Data Exchange (CDX) enables fast, efficient and more accurate environmental data submissions.

CDX continually undergoes improvement to it various registration and submission services. CDX utilizes the CGI Federal Cloud for deployment of an interoperable component.

Geospatial GeoPlatform Enterprise IT

Systems

Provide enterprise capabilities to allow users to visualize and analyze environmental data to enhance decision making

Geo Platform is exploring cloud computing platforms

Regulations. gov

E-Rulemaking Business Systems

EPA is the lead agency in the design, development and implementation of eRulemaking throughout the federal government.

Identify partner agencies which can/will take benefit from expanded utilization of Regulations.gov APIs

FOIA Online FOIAModule Business Systems

FOIAonline allows the public to electronically submit FOIA requests, modify requests, and follow all subsequent disposition of the request.

Identify best practices in storage and cloud hosting refresh

11.0 Ensuring AccessibilityFY 2015 – 2018 EPA IRM Strategic

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EPA is responsible for ensuring that all electronic and information technology is accessible to users with disabilities. This involves designing websites, software, hardware, video and multimedia and telecommunications to meet Section 508 electronic and information technology (EIT) accessibility standards, as well as incorporating other techniques to ensure accessibility.

11.1 Supporting a Diverse Workforce (IXXA)EPA is committed to providing equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment based on merit, without regard to race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, parental status or disability.

EPA’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in the Office of the Administrator (AO) provides leadership, direction and guidance in carrying out the Agency’s equal employment programs. OCR provides policy and technical assistance to EPA’s Headquarters offices, regional offices and laboratories located throughout the country in carrying out their responsibilities related to civil rights and in complying with Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws and regulations.

IT/IM supports all employees in carrying out their duties and conducting their work. IT systems must therefore be accessible to all employees at all times. Since some EPA systems predate today’s level of accessibility technology, not only must new systems be accessible, older systems must be upgraded over the system life cycle to achieve higher levels of accessibility compliant with EPA policies, procedures and standards.

The next sections discuss key elements of this obligation: integrating accessibility considerations into the System Life Cycle Management (SLCM) process and integrating Section 508 requirements into all systems.

11.2 Integrating Accessibility into IT through Section 508 (IXXB, IXXC)To ensure that all IT systems are accessible to all users, with and without disabilities, the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) formed the Section 508 Executive Council in 2012. The Council’s mission is to improve Section 508 compliance across the Agency by fostering more executive management level involvement. The Council launched a general re-evaluation of its Section 508 responsibilities under the Rehabilitation Act of 1998 to create a more robust EPA policy.

In addition to the Executive Council, OEI serves as the overall lead for the Section 508 Program at EPA. The Section 508 Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator provide training and consultation on 508 for EPA employees, and provide support to the Executive Council.

The Council, composed of Senior Executives and managers from regional and program offices, originally formed five workgroups that focus on key areas of Agency 508 needs and support: Policy; Procurement and Grants; Testing; Standardization and Procedures; Program Assurance; and Training, Communications and Outreach. These workgroups are responsible for creating the policies, procedures and programs for integrating accessibility into IT and are discussed below.

11.2.1 Section 508 Executive CouncilThe Section 508 Executive Council meets bi-monthly to discuss and resolve Section 508 issues at EPA. The Executive Council directs actions to the various workgroups for further investigation and development before making recommendations to the CIO.


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11.2.2 Section 508 Policy WorkgroupThe Section 508 Policy Workgroup is charged with revising the Agency’s Section 508 policy and developing a governance charter for the Section 508 Executive Council. The Workgroup coordinates with all other 508 workgroups to make sure that their input and roles are included in the Section 508 policy.

In 2014, the Policy Workgroup revised the policy, expanding and providing additional detail in the following areas:

Clarifying roles and responsibilities across the Agency for implementing Section 508; codifying the Section 508 Executive Council and its workgroups

Clarifying accessibility requirements (Section 508 Standards) for phones, electronic communications and computers

Clarifying the distinction between Section 508 and Reasonable Accommodation requirements under the provisions of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act

Setting forth the expectations and integral role of Section 508 in the Agency’s activities, including testing, verification and a greater accountability for 508 compliance

Defining procedures for approval and testing of electronic and information technology (EIT)

The Policy Workgroup will continue to shepherd future revisions of the Section 508 policy and associated procedures through the Agency’s policy process.

11.2.3 Procurements and Grants WorkgroupThe Procurements and Grants Workgroup works closely with the Office of Acquisition Management (OAM) to implement the following:

EPA Acquisition Regulation (EPAAR) Clause 1552.211-79: Compliance with EPA Policies for Information Resource Management has been updated to include additional language and guidance emphasizing accessibility.

Clarification of EPA grants language to ensure that accessibility considerations are included in the grants process.

The EPA Office of Acquisition Management (OAM) added a new requirement, effective FY 2015, for all Contracting Officers Representatives (CORs) to take Section 508 training.

Future/Planned Work: OAM is working with OEI to develop more usable Section 508 training for contracting officers and contract specialists. Training modules will incorporate EPA-specific business processes. OAM has also appointed a dedicated Section 508 liaison to work with OEI. Activities will include serving on EPA’s Section 508 Testing, Standardization and Procedures Workgroup, developing and delivering Section 508 training to the contracting community and writing requirements documents for testing agency-wide electronic and information technology for Section 508 compliance.

11.2.4 Testing, Standardization and Procedures WorkgroupThe Testing, Standardization and Procedures Workgroup is developing a testing and approvals Procedure to accompany the draft 508 Policy and is exploring the standardization of Assistive Technology (AT) used at the Agency. To help shape the Procedure and the AT Standardization efforts, the workgroup conducted site visits with the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to learn how these agencies test their electronic and information technology for Section 508 compliance.

Future/Planned Work: The Testing, Standardization and Procedures Workgroup will develop an Agency- wide standard operating procedure that EPA employees can follow to approve and test electronic information technology for Section 508 compliance. The Workgroup will also develop recommendations on standardizing the AT used at the agency, along with versions to test new EIT for compatibility and user


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acceptance. Finally, the Workgroup will develop a form that information resource managers can use as a guide to determine when they should test software for Section 508 compliance.

11.2.5 Program Assurance WorkgroupIn January 2013, the White House and OMB issued the Strategic Plan for Improving Management of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Within the Strategic Plan are requirements for each agency to complete Section 508 assessments and to develop a Performance Measurement Plan (PMP). The Program Assurance Workgroup developed initial metrics and measures that EPA uses to assess the Section 508 Program. The Workgroup also drafted the PMP, which was submitted to OMB in November 2013.

Future/Planned Work: The Program Assurance Workgroup no longer functions as a formal workgroup. The Section 508 Coordinator and the Assistant Section 508 Coordinator will continue to work on the planned assessments and complete the associated OMB Strategic Report requirements.

11.2.6 Training, Communications and Outreach WorkgroupThe Training, Communications and Outreach Workgroup provides training and improves communication and outreach efforts for the Section 508 Program and the Section 508 Executive Council’s work. It has addressed the following:

Expanded outreach materials and events including a new 508 Intranet site, outreach materials such as the “Think 508 First” brochure and “Captioning at EPA” Factsheet and October Disability Employment Awareness Month activities.

Examined what trainings are or have been offered at EPA regarding Section 508 and is developing recommendations on future trainings that may be required for EPA employees.

Created the Section 508 Community Forum, which is a voluntary program for any person at EPA interested in Section 508 issues. The Forum will help improve Section 508 communication across EPA as well as provide opportunities for input, feedback and recommendations from stakeholders on EPA’s Section 508 program and services.

Future/Planned Work: This workgroup will conduct regular 508-related communications, outreach and awareness events. It will also help determine and coordinate date and meeting planning for future Community Forum meetings, and will explore required and recommended trainings for EPA employees. In addition, this workgroup will also work with Region 4 staff to develop a possible required Disability Awareness training that will cover a range of accessibility topics including Section 508.

11.2.7 Other Section 508 Program and Disability Work at the AgencyThe Section 508 Coordinator and the Reasonable Accommodations Coordinator have partnered to provide a joint Section 508 and Reasonable Accommodations training for employees and a separate training for managers in all the regional offices during calendar year 2013. These trainings were announced in an Agency-wide memo.

EPA is committed to building and sustaining a model EEO program. The Management Directive 715 Report for 2013 is the most recent report on how EPA strives to eliminate any barriers to equal employment opportunity to accomplish its mission by attracting and retaining a highly qualified and diverse workforce.

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12.0 APPENDICESFY 2015 – 2018 EPA IRM Strategic

Appendix 1: EPA Strategic Goals Mapped to the Enterprise Architecture

EPA STRATEGIC GOAL

EA Segment Name

Business Description IT Mission Systems(see Appendix 2 for descriptions)

CORE MISSION ARCHITECTURE SEGMENTS

Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality

Air Quality Management and Climate Change

The Air Quality Management and Climate Change segment is responsible for EPA activities that ensure that American communities and ecosystems will be safe from harmful levels of air pollution and the effects of climate change.

AQS, AQS DataMart, CAMDBS, EIS, EV- GHG, GHG-MRR, iStar,RadNet, Verify

----- Cross-Agency-----

CDX, SoR, FRS,GeoPlatform, Regulations.Gov, eRegulations

Protecting America’s Waters

Water Quality Management

The Water Quality Management segment includes all activities that promote the effective use and management of the nation's water resources.

ATTAINS, BASINS, CWNS, DWINS, eBEACHES, GRTS, GSIS CO2, PRAWN, RAD, SDWARS, SDWIS, SDWISNG, STORET, UIC

----- Cross-Program-----

CDX, SoR, FRS,GeoPlatform, Regulations.Gov, eDocket

Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development

Land Quality Management

The Land Quality Management Segment includes all functions required to address land quality protection, monitoring and revitalization, and protect Americans from the harmful effects of land pollution.

ACRES, eManifest, EMP, SEMS, SRMP,WebEOC

----- Cross- Agency -----


Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution

Substance Management

The Substance Management segment is responsible for all activities that manage the risks of substances introduced into the environment as commercial products.

AIRNOW, FLPP, MTS, PRISM, TRIPS



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EPA STRATEGIC GOAL

EA Segment Name


Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Environmental Laws and Assuring Compliance

Enforcement & Compliance Assurance

The Enforcement and Compliance segment seeks to support regulated entities in voluntarily complying with environmental standards, permits, licenses, protocols or other requirements promulgated under EPA authority. It is also responsible for all activities to enforce compliance with Agency regulations through legal means, including criminal investigations and prosecutions.

AFS, DCFUEL, ICIS, IDEA, PCS



Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Emergency Management

(Not called out separately in the FY 2012 – 2015Strategic Plan)

The Emergency Management segment is responsible for all immediate actions taken to prepare for, prevent and respond to disasters.

EMP, SRMP, WebEOC,and www,epa.gov


FRS, GeoPlatform

CROSS-CUTTING FUNDAMENTAL STRATEGIES

CROSS-CUTTING MISSION-SUPPORT-RELATED ARCHITECTURE SEGMENTS

Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Geospatial Service


The Geospatial Services segment includes all activities to support and enhance the use of geospatial data, services, strategic planning, enterprise policy development and tools to support decision-making. It ties directly to the federal- wide GeoPlatform business case managed by DOI, and supports Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) framework activities.

GeoPlatform, FRS, EDG

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EPA STRATEGIC GOAL

EA Segment Name


Goals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Information Sharing


The Information Sharing segment refers to any method or function, for a given business area, facilitating: data being received in a usable medium by one or more departments or agencies as provided by a separate department, agency or other entity; and data being provided, disseminated or otherwise made available or accessible by one department or agency for use by one or more separate departments or agencies, or other entities, as appropriate.

CDX, SoR, FRS, EDG,Envirofacts, OneEPA Web

Working Toward a Sustainable Future

(Not an EA segment architecture)

Supported by:

Cross-program priority areas to maximize advancing sustainability objectives

Engage and empower EPA staff

Expand the conversation on environmentalism

RCRAInfo, CERCLIS, SEMS, ACRES, EMP, SRMP, WebEOC, FRS

Working to make a Visible difference in Communities


Supported by:

OEI Environmental Justice Program

Administrator’s Children’s Health Initiative

GeoPlatform, EJ analytic tools, Children’s Health Air Toxics Network, eDiscovery

Launching a New Era of State, Tribal, Local, and International Partnerships


Supported by:

Information Sharing EA Segment

CDX, OneEPA Web,EPA Portal

Embracing EPA as a High-Performing Organization


Supported by:

OEI Talent Management Strategy

EZ Tech, My Workplace


Appendix 2: Descriptions of Principal IT Systems Supporting Core Mission

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Program / Program

CPICinvestment name (investments included in BY13 Exhibit 53) Description

Goal 1: Taking Action on Climate Change and Improving Air Quality

Clean Air Markets/ OAR

Clean Air Markets Division Business System (CAMDBS)

Manages the market-based emissions trading program.

Ambient Air Quality/OAR

Air Quality Subsystem (AQS)

Contains ambient air quality measurements of criteria and toxic air pollutants and descriptive information about the locations where the ambient air quality data are collected.

Ambient Air Quality/OAR

AQS DataMart Provides external access to the most commonly used air quality measurements collected by EPA.

National Mission Inventory/OAR

Emission Inventory System (EIS)

Being developed to replace the current National Emissions Inventory (NEI) system. EIS will be the sole national-level repository for data about sources that emit criteria air pollutants and their precursors and hazardous air pollutants.

Radiation Program/OAR

RadNet RadNet was previously known as the Environmental Radiation Ambient Monitoring System (ERAMS), which was also operated by EPA's Office of Radiation and Indoor Air (ORIA). RadNet has been in continuous operation since its inception at EPA in 1973.

Green House Gas Reporting Program/OAR

EV-GHG EV-GHG will be a web database application system that will support new reporting requirements for mobile source Greenhouse Gas Implementation for engines and vehicles.

Green House Gas Reporting Program/OAR

Greenhouse Gas - Mandatory Reporting Rule (GHG-MRR)Data System

The GHG-MRR Data System will support the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions to the U.S. EPA under a rulemaking funded by the FY08 Omnibus Appropriations, signed December 26, 2007. In the Act, Congress directed the EPA to develop and publish a final rule not later than 18 months after the date of enactment, to require mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions above appropriate thresholds in all sectors of the economy.

Energy Star/ OAR Integrated Strategic Tracking and Recruiting (iStar)

Tracks and monitors overall progress of participants in voluntary climate programs; evaluates energy saving upgrades for energy savings and pollution prevention.

Mobile Source Program/OAR

Verify - Vehicles and Engines Information System

Verify is a consolidated database application system to support the vehicle and engines emissions and fuel economy activities.

FRS/OEI Facility Registry Service (FRS)

FRS directly supports Climate Change initiatives by providing a mechanism for registering, tracking and managing locational data on GHG reporter facilities under the Mandatory Reporting Rule, as well as other air-emissions facilities, via REST API for front-end lookup as well as back-end cross-program integration of air emissions facilities.Additionally, FRS directly supports Air Quality Improvement initiatives by integrating and improving locational data for air monitors and facilities impacting air quality across a number of Office of Air and OECA programs. High quality locational data helps toward improving analysis and assessment.


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Program / Program Office


Goal 2: Protecting America’s Waters

Water Quality Management Program/OW

Storage Retrieval Information System (STORET)

EPA's repository for water quality monitoring data in support of Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act regulations. This data is generated nationwide and sent to EPA by other federal agencies (e.g., Department of Interior's National Park Service and the U.S. Geological Survey).


Better Assessment Science Integration Point and Nonpoint Sources (BASINS)

BASINS provides desktop GIS capabilities for analysis of water quality issues and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) development.


Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (CWNS)

Stores information about Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs), Storm Water (SW) management programs, and Nonpoint Source (NPS) pollution control programs and projects that are eligible for funding under Clean Water State Revolving Funds.


Assessment Total Maximum Daily Loads Tracking And Implementation System (ATTAINS)

OW/HQ and EPA Regions use this management reporting tool for TMDL status and overall production. It provides a national picture of many aspects of the TMDL program and stores and tracks water assessment decisions.


Electronic Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (eBEACHES)

eBeaches is the electronic data transmission system that allows EPA to instantaneously and securely receive and display state beach water quality and swimming advisory data as soon as state and local agencies send the data.


National Hydrography Dataset (NHD)/Reach Address Database (RAD)

A geographic database that interconnects and uniquely identifies the stream segments or "reaches" that comprise the nation's surface water drainage system serving as a framework for integrating water databases.


Program tracking, Advisories, Water quality standards, and Nutrients (PRAWN)

PRAWN is the Office of Science and Technology (OST) Program Tracking database designed to store information on beaches, water quality standards, and nutrients. PRAWN specifically supports EPA Beach Program by storing national information on beach advisories and closings.


Grants Reporting and Tracking System (GRTS)

The Grants Reporting and Tracking System (GRTS) is the primary tool for management and oversight of the national Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution Control Program. GRTS enables EPA and States to report on the accomplishments achieved with NPS grants funds.

Safe Drinking Water Program/OW

Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey (DWINS)

DWINS is a database used to house and analyze responses from the quadrennial Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey mandated by the Safe Drinking Water Act. The data are used to develop the formula for allocating grants to public water systems.


Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS)

SDWIS supports the implementation of the Safe Drinking Water Act's Public Water System Supervision program and EPA's mission of protecting public health. SDWIS includes data collection, data analysis and data reporting to support national decision making.


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SDWISNG- SafeDrinking Water Information System Next Generation

SDWIS NextGen will be the singular, authoritative source of data for water compliance monitoring and enforcement information. This new system will provide a uniform, secure, processing and storage mechanism for managing public water system information.


Safe Drinking Water Accession and Review System (SDWARS)

SDWARS is used to support collection of data under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR). The UCMR is used to identify the occurrence of contaminants of concern that are not yet regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

Underground Injection Program/ OW

CO2 Geologic Sequestration Information System (GSIS)

Data system to collect, hold and analyze information submitted from prospective UIC Well owner/operators and the UIC program State primacy Agency required under the Carbon Dioxide Geologic Sequestration regulation.

Underground Injection Program/OW

Underground Injection Control (UIC)

The UIC National Database will support a single UIC data flow from the state and Regional DI programs to support national environmental programs requiring UIC data. It also supports Agency business drivers to align Agency data collection efforts.


FRS is directly supporting activities to protect America's waters in a number of ways: a. working with OECA on ways to perform spatial analysis and identify facilities impacting watersheds and key airsheds associated with areas of interest such as the Chesapeake Bay (as well as an approach for similar types of applications in other areas, such as the Puget Sound and Great Lakes).and b. coordinating with the Toxic Release Inventory toward data quality improvements, which includes integration with Office of Water web services and tools toward performing lookups against NHD and GNIS data to improve quality of information captured on receiving waters.

Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development

Hazardous Waste Management Program/ OSWER

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo)

RCRAInfo provides access to data supporting the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 and Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (this system manages the national hazardous waste program information).

Superfund Program/ OSWER

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS)

CERCLIS is EPA's "official record" for tracking all hazardous waste site assessment and remediation activities performed in support of the Superfund Program (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act 1986 (CERCLA) as amended).

Superfund Program/ OSWER

Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEMS)

SEMS will modernize CERCLIS and integrate it with SDMS. ICTS and SDMS have been integrated with SDMS as part of the SEMS integration strategy. These actions combine in one place several Superfund primary data collection, reporting and tracking systems.

Brownfields Program/ OSWER

Assessment Cleanup and Redevelopment Exchange System (ACRES)

The ACRES database tracks environmental information at brownfields properties including the type, status of environmental assessment, cleanup activities, and the presence and remediation of contaminants.

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Emergency Management/OSWER

Emergency Management Portal (EMP)

The EMP is an overarching system of tools and central data management that will integrate existing data and applications used by the community. It will also allow for secure transactional and archival data storage and make analysis quick and accurate.


System for Risk Management Plans (SRMP)

SRMP provides risk management information about chemical facilities with regulated quantities of extremely hazardous substances. SRMP is an electronic reporting and access tool that reduces regulatory reporting.


Web Emergency Operations Center (WebEOC)

WebEOC is a web-based information management system providing real-time access to emergency information that can be simultaneously shared among emergency response teams, decision makers and supporting organizations during an emergency.


High quality locational data is core to cleaning up communities. FRS supports a broad variety of community-oriented applications by providing locational information about facilities impacting communities. These include Superfund, Brownfields and other activities. FRS also supports coordination and locational data improvement activities with OSWER and Cleanups In My Community. Additionally, FRS is supporting the Emergency Management community by supporting targeted data quality initiatives to improve key datasets needed in ER, Emergency Support Function (ESF) 10 facilities, such as Oil and Hazardous Waste facilities, along with ESF 3 infrastructure data, such as water and wastewater treatment facilities.

Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution

Pesticides Program/ OCSPP

Pesticide Registration Information System (PRISM)

PRISM provides e-government capabilities to share pesticide information with OPP's stakeholders. PRISM will also support OPP's responsibilities under Registration Review and the Pesticide Registration Improvement Renewal Act (PRIA II).

Lead based Paint Program/ OCSPP

Federal Lead-Based Paint Program (FLPP)

Process and tracks applications for lead certification and accreditation for the Federal Lead-Based Paint Program.

Toxics Substances Management Program/OCSPP

Manage Toxic Substances (MTS)

This system will ultimately house all Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) data and document holdings. This operational data store is being built incrementally.

Toxics Release Inventory Program/OEI

Toxics Release Inventory Processing System (TRIPS)

TRIPS manages the collection, processing, storage and public reporting of the 100,000 plus chemical reports that facilities submit each year. It contains reportable information defined by two Acts: EPCRA of 1986 and the PPA of 1990.

Goal 5: Enforcing Environmental Laws

Enforcement Program/OECA

Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS)

Re-engineering of multiple legacy systems to meet new program needs not covered by outdated systems.


AIRS Facility System (AFS)

AIRS Facility System (AFS) captures compliance monitoring and enforcement data for major stationary sources of air pollution component in OECA's Legacy Systems Support (LEGS).

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Integrated Data for Enforcement Analysis (IDEA)

The Integrated Data for Enforcement Analysis (IDEA) system provides cross media (air, water and waste) integrated view of EPA regulated facilities by integrating data from Agency enforcement databases.


Permit Compliance System (PCS)

Permit Compliance System (PCS) supports the information management requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program in OECA's Legacy Systems Support (LEGS).

Program-related Support Capabilities

Central Data Exchange/OEI

Central Data Exchange (CDX)

CDX is the electronic gateway for environmental data entering the Agency and serves as EPA's Node on the Environmental Information Exchange Network.

Common Registry Information /OEI

System of Registries (SoR)

The registries provide identification information for objects of interest to EPA, states and the public. It is the webbing that connects EPA data across silos. It is central to a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA).

Common Registry Information for Programs/OEI

Facility Registry Services (FRS)

FRS is a centrally managed database that identifies facilities either subject to environmental regulations or of environmental interest. FRS supports facility level data integration and accurate identification values.

Public Information Program/OEI

Envirofacts Information Warehouse (EF)

Envirofacts Information Warehouse provides the public with a textual and geographic interface into Envirofacts data. Envirofacts includes information from a variety of EPA programs, including air, water, Superfund and hazardous waste.

Geospatial Program/OEI

GeoPlatform The EPA Geospatial Platform provides users with a set of cloud-based GIS services that enable them to easily create web-based maps, perform environmental analyses and share their work using online tools.

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Appendix 3: EPA’s System Data Flows and Relationship to State and other Federal SystemsFigure A-3: Conceptual EPA Data and System Map below shows how EPA’s principal support systems relate to each other and to the principal mission segments of the EA for air quality, water quality, land quality, substance management, and compliance. Emergency management systems are shown within the land quality group because they are managed by the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response.

For reference, the top layer of EPA’s Business Reference Model is shown on the first row of the illustration. Below it are a number of data sources external to EPA—the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, the Dept. of Interior, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Dept. of Energy, the Dept. of Health and Human Services—as well as the framework geospatial data themes of the Federal Spatial Data Infrastructure. These external sources are those that most directly affect EPA daily operations or annual performance measurement. Note particularly the recent addition of the Federal Geospatial Platform and Data.gov, whose combined data catalog will link directly to counterparts within EPA (the EPA Environmental Dataset Gateway and the EPA Geospatial Platform).

r

05 Manage

04 Manage Hazardous

- 025 Pollution Prevention & Control

01 Site & Area - 024

02 Water

108 - Environmental Management

Services to Citizens

Sub-Function LoB

NSDI Framework DataNSDI

NSDNSDI Framework Data

NSDI NSDI

NSDI Fram

NSDI

USDAUS Dept. of Agriculture

DOIDept. of Interior

NOAANational Weather Service

DOEDept. of Energy

HHSHealth and Human Services

Data.Gov

National Institute of Health

ToxMap

National Institute of Health

MTS Warehouse

Watershed Boundary Dataset

Air Facility System (AFS)

State UST

Water Data Types: Facility data Permitting data Monitoring data Beach-closure data WQ Standards Discharge/TMDL HydrographicNon-Point Source

Tribal UST

ADV

eNOI

WetlandsWatershed Boundary

Satelite Imagery

Weather Service Data

NLCDDataset

Soils Data

NOAA Oceanic Data Atlas

Remote Imagery NatureServe Heritage Data

Windows to my Environment

EnviroFacts

Business Area

LoBFEA BRM 2.0 as

of May 2005

Sub-Function 1 FEA BRM 2.0 as of May2005

Sub-Function 2EPA BRM 4.6

Services to Citizens 108 - Environmental Management

- 023 Environmental Monitoring & Forecasting

01 Air Monitoriing & Forecasttiing

02 Water Monitoring & Forecasting

03 Land Monitoriing & Forecasttiing

- 024 Environmental Remediation 01 Site & Area Evaluation & Cleanup

- 025 Pollution Prevention & Control

01 Manage Air Qualliitty

02 Manage Watter Qualliitty

03 Ensure Saffe Driinkiing Watter

05 Manage Environmental Risk from Substances

06 Prevent Polllluttiion

07 Compliance & Enfforcement

08 Environmentall Sttewardshiip

Federal Geospatial Platform

National Spatial Data Infrastructure(NSDI)

Framework Data Themes

National Water Info. SystemNational Wetlands Inventory

National Hydrographic Dataset

Terminology Services

READ

Substance Registry Services (SRS)

Reusable Components Service (RCS)

Codeset Services

Data Dictionary Service SoR

Environmental Dataset Gateway

Facility Registry Services (FRS)Toxic Release Inventory (TRI)

ECMS

Dataset Registration Services (future)EPA Web Content Management

IDEA

BR Web

Pesticides / Substances Data

RCRA Info BASINS RADNET TRIS

AirNOW

NHD Plus

Verify HPVISCAMDBS

UIC

BEACON

NAMSState TRI Systems

PAMSICIS/NPDES

State

SPMS

SLAMS

04 Manage Hazardous and Non- Hazardous WastesFederal DataReference Model

NSDI FrameworkA-16 Data Themes:

HydrographyElevation ICadastralOrthoimagery Governmental UnitsTransportation Geodetic Control

LAND Quality WATER Quality AIR Quality SUBSTANCES COMPLIANCEINFORMATION RESOURCES

WATERSACRES

Air Data Mart(Future State)

ECHO Dunn andBradstreet Data

TeleAtlasRoads Data

STORETWarehouse

Reference Data Sources Environmental Data Warehouse EPA Geospatial PlatformAir Quest

SEMS ICIS

Web Access / Metadata profiles

Cleanup TargetArchitecture WarehouseHaz Wste Data Permit Data Monitoring Data

Water ProgramData Stores Monitoring Data

Facility DataAir ProgramData Stores

Monitoring DataFacility Data Facility Data Enforcement/

Compliance DataFacility DataMonitoring Data

Authoritative Data Sources Registry Services

ACRES BrownfieldsData

IntegratedPoint/Non- PointWater Quality Data WATERS Conclusionary Data

ATTAINS Water Flow DataHydrographic Data

RMP Info

RadiationMonitoring DataAir Quality Monitoring DataAir Quality DataEmission Inventory Data Marketable Permit & EmissionsGreenhouse Gas Data

Facility DataRelease Data

Permit DataICIS

CERCLIS Superfund DataMonitoring Data AQS PCS

iSTAR

EV-GHG

transfer to... E-GGRT

EnergyStarData

Fuel Rept’ng Data

Engine Compliance DataEngine GHGData

OPPIN Facility Data

BMS DCFUEL OTIS

RADSRMP Risk

Management Plans

Non-Point DataUnder- ground Injection

NEI / EISNPS IDEA

SDWIS(Federal)

DrinkingWater Data

Facility Data

EQUiS Sampling Data

CERLIS SDWARS Unregulated DrinkingWater Contaminants

MTS eNPDESBRIMS

Regeniol RCRA

STORET(State) Retired

Sampling DataMonitoring Data

SDWISState

Monitoring DataFacility Data Facility Data

AFSState

RadNetMonitoring Data

WQX Sampling DataMonitoring Data

Conceptual Data MapInformation Flows by business line ofEPA Core Mission Areas

StateMonitoring DataRCRA Assessments

DataNEI / EIS

Monitoring DataPCS/NPDESState

UndergroundRMPs Injection Control Permit DataWell Data

(UIC) TRI MESystems

Kevin J. Kirby, Enterprise Data ArchitectUS Environmental Protection Agency

Jan. 28, 2010UPDATED FOR IRM STRATEGIC PLAN

Apr. 11, 2013

VesselPermit Data

CAMDBSMarketablePermits & Facility Emissions


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Figure A-3: Conceptual EPA Data and Systems Map

Indu

stry

/ N

GO

Dat

a

Stat

e/Lo

cal/T

ribal

Dat

a S

tore

s

Reg

iona

l Dat

a Pr

ogra

m

Fede

ral D

ata

Busi

ness

WQ

X

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Appendix 4: Mapping of Agency Performance Goals to Associated Data SourcesThe EPA Strategic Plan lists numerous quantifiable performance objectives beneath each of the Strategic Goals.

Not all of these sources are EPA-owned and operated IT systems. Many derive from other federal agencies, and some rely on state or other sources for documentation.

Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data SourceGoal 1: Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality

Objective 1.1: Address Climate ChangeAddress Climate Change

By 2018, implementation of the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) national program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel economy from light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles will achieve a cumulative reduction of 460 MMTCO2Eq. (Baseline 2011: 0 MMTCO2Eq.)

GHG emissions from all light and heavy duty vehicles

Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards

GHG database

By 2018, additional programs from across EPA will promote practices to help Americans save energy and conserve resources, leading to expected greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 1,178.5 MMTCO2Eq. from a baseline without adoption of efficient practices.

Trends in product performance

Energy Star Industry Programs

iSTAR

Smartway Partnership MOVES

Pollution Prevention OCSPPProgramsSustainable Materials OSWERManagement

WaterSense OW

EO 13514 OARM

By 2018, an additional 240 state, tribal, and community partners will integrate climate change data, models, information, and other decision support tools developed by EPA for climate change adaptation into their planning processes. (Baseline: 0.)

Number of states, tribes, and communities

Office of Policy/Climate Adaptation Staff

Master tracking table of 552 priority actions contained in the 17 Program and Regional Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans

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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data SourceBy 2018, 240 state, tribal, and community partners will incorporate climate change adaptation into the implementation of their environmental programs supported by major EPA financial mechanisms (grants, loans, contracts, and technical assistance agreements). (Baseline: 5.)

Number of states, tribes, and communities


Master tracking table of 552 priority actions contained in the 17 Program and Regional Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans

By 2018, 6 existing or new EPA-developed training programs will incorporate climate change adaptation planning for EPA staff, state, tribal, and community partners (includes programmatic and cross-programmatic trainings). (Baseline: 0.)

Number of EPA developed training plans


1) Master tracking table of 522 priority actions contained in the 17 Program and Regional Climate Adaptation Implementation Plans; 2)

Objective 1.2 Improve Air QualityReduce Criteria Pollutants and Regional Haze

By 2018, the population-weighted average concentrations of ozone (smog) in all monitored counties will decrease to0.072 ppm compared to the average of 0.076 ppm in

Air Quality Ambient Air Quality Program

AQS, AQS Data Mart

By 2018, the population-weighted average concentrations of inhalable fine particles in all monitored counties will decrease to 9.5 μg/m³ compared to the average of 10.4 μg/m³ in 2011, a reduction of 9 percent.

Air Quality Ambient Air Quality Program

AQS, AQS Data Mart

Through 2018, maintain emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) from electric power generation sources to 5.0 million tons per year compared to the 2009 level of 5.7 million tons emitted. (In 2011, these sources emitted 4.5 million

Air Emissions The Acid Rain Program ETS/ECMPs

By 2018, visibility in scenic parks and wilderness areas will improve by 15 percent in the east and 5 percent in the west, on the 20 percent worst visibility days, as compared to visibility on the 20 percent worst days during the 2000– 2004 baseline.

Air Emissions National Park Service visibility monitoring program

IMPROVE Network

By 2018, with EPA support including training, policy, and administrative and technical assistance, tribes will receive 15 additional approvals to implement the Clean Air Act in Indian country (as demonstrated by successful

Status tribes

of training for Tribes OAR


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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data Sourceof an eligibility determination under the TribalAuthority Rule). The cumulative total will be 62 approved eligibility determinations, from the 2012 baseline of 47.

Reduce Air ToxicsThrough 2018, maintain air toxics (toxicity-weighted for cancer) emissions reductions to 4.2 million tons from the 1993 toxicity-weighted baseline of 7.2 million tons.

Air Emissions National Emission Inventory

NEI

Reduce the Adverse Ecological Effects of Acid Deposition

Through 2018, maintain improvements to approximately 10 percent of the chronically acidic lakes and stream reaches in the east identified in the 2001 baseline survey of stream and lake measurements conducted in the 1990s

Air Emissions The Acid Rain Program The TIME Project and the LTM Project

and maintain associated ecosystem health gains in acid-sensitive regions of the northern and eastern United States.

Reduce Exposure to Indoor Air PollutantsBy 2018, the number of future premature lung cancer deaths prevented annually through lowered radon exposure will increase to 1,056 from the 2008 baseline of 756 future premature lung cancer deaths prevented. The 2011 benchmark is 905 future premature lung cancer deaths prevented.

Radon Remediation Radon Program ORIA

By 2018, the number of people taking all essential actions to reduce exposure to indoor environmental asthma triggers in homes and schools will increase to 9 million from the 2003 baseline of 3.0 million. EPA will place special emphasis on reducing racial and ethnic asthma disparities among children. The 2012 benchmark is 6.5 million people taking all essential actions to reduce exposure to indoor environmental asthma triggers.

Asthma Risk Reduction

Asthma Program ORIA

Objective 1.3: Restore and Protect the Ozone LayerReduce Consumption of Ozone-Depleting Substances

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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data SourceReduce U.S. consumption of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), chemicals that deplete the Earth’s protective ozone layer, to 1,520 tons per year of ozone depletion potential from the 2009 baseline of 9,900 tons per year. (Unchanged from previous strategic plan because the baseline dates and milestones are set through the international treaty, the Montreal Protocol).

Tons per year of O3 depleting potential

Montreal Protocol OAP

Objective 1.4: Minimize Exposure to RadiationPrepare for Radiological Emergencies

Through 2018, EPA will maintain a 93 percent level of readiness of radiation emergency response program personnel and assets that meet functional requirements necessary to support federal radiological emergency response and recovery operations. (The 2012 readiness baseline is 91.5 percent.)

Readiness of personnel and assets

Radiation Response Preparedness

ORIA

Goal 2: Protecting America's Waters

Objective 2.1: Protect Human HealthWater Safe to Drink

Percent of community water systems will provide drinking water that meets all applicable health-based drinking water standards through approaches including effective treatment and source water protection.

Systems in compliance Safe Drinking Water Program

SDWIS

Percent of the population in Indian country served by community water systems will receive drinking water that meets all applicable health-based drinking water standards.

Systems in compliance Safe Drinking Water Program

SDWIS

In coordination with other federal agencies, provide access to safe drinking water for American Indian and Alaska Native homes.

Homes with access Safe Drinking Water Program & other agencies

SDWIS

Fish and Shellfish Safe to EatBy 2018, reduce the percentage of women of childbearing age having mercury levels in blood above the level of

Blood mercury levels National Health and Nutrition Examination

National Health and Nutrition Examination


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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data Sourceconcern to 2.1 percent. Survey Survey

Water Safe for SwimmingBy 2018, maintain the percentage of days of the beach season that coastal and Great Lakes beaches monitored by state beach safety programs are open and safe for swimming at 95 percent.

Beach open days PRAWN

Objective 2.2: Protect and Restore Watersheds and Aquatic EcosystemsImprove Water Quality on a Watershed Basis

By 2018, attain water quality standards for all pollutants and impairments in more than 4,430 water bodies identified in 2002 as not attaining standards (cumulative). (2002 universe: 39,798 water bodies identified by states and tribes as not meeting water quality standards.)

Waterbodies Clean Water Act Programs

STORET

By 2018, improve water quality conditions in 575 impaired watersheds nationwide using the watershed approach (cumulative). (2002 baseline: Zero watersheds improved of an estimated 4,800 impaired watersheds of focus having one or more water bodies impaired.)

Waterbodies Clean Water Act Programs

ATTAINS

Through 2018, ensure that the condition of the nation’s rivers and streams, lakes, wetlands, and coastal water does not degrade (i.e., there is no statistically significant increase in the percent rated “poor” and no statistically significant decrease rated “good.”)

Statistically significant change of percent of streams rated "poor" and no statistically significant decrease rated good

Clean Water Act Programs

ATTAINS

By 2018, improve water quality in Indian country at 50 or more baseline monitoring stations in tribal waters (cumulative) and identify monitoring stations on tribal lands that are showing no degradation in water quality (meaning the waters are meeting uses).

Baseline stations located in Indian Country

Clean Water Act Programs

ATTAINS

By 2018, in coordination with other federal agencies, provide access to basic sanitation for 91,900 American Indian and Alaska Native homes.

Homes with access to basic sanitation

Clean Water State Revolving Fund, Tribal Set Aside Program, and other Federal

Indian Health Services Sanitation Tracking and Reporting System

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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data SourceImprove Coastal and Ocean Waters

By 2018, improve regional coastal aquatic ecosystem health, as measured on the “good/fair/poor” scale of the National Coastal Condition Report.

Good/Fair/Poor scale of National Coastal Condition Report

National Estuary Program/Coastal Waterways

EMAP National Coastal AssessmentDatabase, available online at http://www.epa.gov/emap/ nca/html/data/index.html

By 2018, 95 percent of active dredged material ocean dumping sites, as determined by 3-year average, will have achieved environmentally acceptable conditions (as reflected in each site’s management plan and measured through onsite monitoring programs).

Sites meeting acceptable standards (self-defined)

Marine Pollution Site Management Plans and onsite montiroing

By 2018, working with partners, protect or restore an additional (i.e., measuring from 2012 forward) 600,000 acres of habitat within the study areas for the 28 estuaries that are part of the National Estuary Program.

Acres of habitat restored

National Estuary Program

NEPORT

Increase WetlandsBy 2018, working with partners, achieve a net increase of wetlands nationwide, with additional focus on coastal wetlands, and biological and functional measures and assessment of wetland condition.

Wetland acres in existence

Wetlands Program US Fish and Wildlife Services’ Wetlands Status and Trends

Improve the Health of Specific AreasBy 2018, implement all management actions necessary for later delisting at 12 Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes (cumulative).By 2018, implement and evaluate actions necessary to protect, restore, or enhance 20 percent of U.S. Great Lakes coastal wetlands greater than 10 acres. (2013 baseline: 0.)By 2018, achieve 45 percent attainment of water quality standards for dissolved oxygen, water clarity/underwater grasses, and chlorophyll a in Chesapeake Bay and tidal tributaries. (2011 Baseline: 40

Water Quality standards attainment

Chesapeake Bay Program

Monitoring

By 2018, support best management practices and projects to reduce releases of nutrients throughout the Mississippi River Basin to aid in the reduction of the size of the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico to less than 5,000 km²,

5-year running average of the size of the zone.

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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data Sourcemeasured by the 5-year running average of the size of the zone. (Baseline: 2005–2009 running average size is 15,670 km².)By 2018, reduce the maximum area of hypoxia in Long Island Sound by 15 percent from the pre-TMDL average of 208 square miles as measured by the 5-year running average size of the zone.

5-year running average of maximum summertime area of hypoxic (defined as concentrations below the acute water quality standard of 3mg/l of dissolved oxygen) bottom waters in Long Island Sound. The 2014 five- year average was 137

Long Island Sound Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

By 2018, improve water quality and enable the lifting of harvest restrictions in 6,000 acres of shellfish bed growing areas impacted by degraded or declining water quality in the Puget Sound. (2013 baseline: 3,203 acres.)

Acres Puget Sound Program Washington Dept. Of Health. http://www.doh.wa.gov/Co mmunityandEnvironment/S hellfish/GrowingAreas/Annu alReports

By 2018, provide access to safe drinking water and adequate wastewater sanitation to 75 percent and 90 percent, respectively, of the homes in the U.S.–Mexico Border area that lacked access to either service in 2003.

Goal 3: Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development

Objective 3.1: Promote Sustainable and Livable Communities

Promote Sustainable CommunitiesBy 2018, reduce the air, water, land, and human health impacts of new growth and development through the use of smart growth and sustainable development strategies in 600 (cumulative) communities,

Number of communities with strategies

Smart Growth BASINS

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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data Sourcewhich includes tribal governments, local municipalities, regional entities, and state governments, through activities resulting from EPA and federal partner actions. (Baseline: In FY 2013, an estimated 102 communities were assisted.)

Assess and Cleanup BrownfieldsBy 2018, conduct environmental assessments at 26,350 (cumulative) brownfield properties.

Number of assessments conducted

Brownfields ACRES

By 2018, make an additional 16,800 acres of brownfield properties ready for reuse from the 2012 baseline.

Number of acres ready for reuse

Brownfields ACRES

Reduce Chemical Risks at Facilities and in CommunitiesBy 2018, conduct 2,300 inspections at risk management plan (RMP) facilities. (Baseline: between FY 2000 and FY 2012, more than 7,400 RMP inspections were

RMP facility Inspections conducted

Emergency Management

ICIS

Objective 3.2: Preserve LandWaste Generation and Recycling

By 2018, increase by 500,000 tons the amount of virgin materials that were offset by the reuse or recycling of waste products through the use of sustainable materials management. (Baseline: In FY 2013, an estimated 8,500,000 tons of waste products will be reused or recycled through sustainable materials management practices.)

Tons of waste products reused or recycled

Sustainable Materials Management

SMM Data Management and Reporting System

By 2018, increase by 50 the number of tribes covered by an integrated waste management plan compared to FY 2013. (Baseline: As of March 2013, 160 of 574 federally recognized tribes were covered by an integrated waste management plan.)

Number of tribes with IWMP

Tribal Solid Waste Management Program

BAS

Minimize Releases of Hazardous Waste and Petroleum Products

By 2018, prevent releases at 500 additional hazardous waste management facilities by issuing initial approved controls or updated controls resulting in the protection of an estimated 20 million people

New or updated permits issued

Hazardous Waste Program

RCRAInfo


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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data Sourceliving within a mile of all facilities with controls. (Baseline: At the end of FY 2013, 1,220 facilities require these controls out of the universe of 6,600 facilities, with over 20,000 process units.)By 2018, prevent exposures at polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) sites by issuing 750 approvals for PCB cleanup, storage, and disposal activities.

PCB approvals issued Hazardous Waste Program

EPA HQ and Regions

Each year through 2018, increase the percentage of underground storage tank (UST) facilities that are in significant operational compliance (SOC) with both release detection and release prevention requirements by 0.5 percent over the previous year’s target. (Baseline: This means an increase of facilities in SOC from an estimated 70 percent in 2014 to 72 percent in 2018.)

Increase in facilities in SOC

Underground Storage Tank Program

LUST4

Each year through 2018, reduce the number of confirmed releases at UST facilities to 5 percent fewer than the prior year’s target. (Baseline: Between FY 2008 and FY 2012, confirmed UST releases averaged 6,500.)

Confirmed Releases Underground Storage Tank Program

LUST4

Objective 3.3: Restore LandEmergency Preparedness and Response

By 2018, achieve and maintain at least 85 percent of the maximum score on the Core National Approach to Response (NAR) evaluation criteria. (Baseline: In FY 2012, the average Core NAR Score was 76 percent for EPA headquarters, regions, and special teams prepared for responding to emergencies.)

Percentage score on NAR

Emergency Management

Evaluations

By 2018, complete an additional 1,395 Superfund removals. (Baseline: In FY 2013, there were 295 Superfund removal actions completed.)

Removals Completed Emergency Management

SEMS

By 2018, bring into compliance 60 percent of facility response plan (FRP) inspected facilities found to be non- compliant. (Baseline: In FY 2010, 268 FRP facilities were inspected and 121 were found to be non-compliant, an initial compliance rate of 55 percent.)

Inspected FRP facilities brought into compliance

Oil Program Oil Database


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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data SourceBy 2018, bring into compliance 60 percent of spill prevention, control, and countermeasure (SPCC) inspected facilities found to be non-compliant. (Baseline: In FY 2010, 781 SPCC facilities were inspected and 456 were found to be non-compliant, an initial compliance rate of 42 percent.)

Inspected SPCC facilities brought into compliance

Oil Program Oil Database

Clean Up Contaminated LandBy 2018, complete 95,500 assessments at potential hazardous waste sites to determine if they warrant Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) remedial response or other cleanup activities. (Baseline: As of 2012, the cumulative total number of assessments

Number of assessments completed

Superfund SEMS

By 2018, increase to 92 percent the number of Superfund sites and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) facilities where human exposures to toxins from contaminated sites are under control. (Baseline: As of October 2013, an estimated 83 percent of Superfund sites and 85 percent of RCRA facilities had human exposures under control out of a combined universe of

Superfund and RCRA sites with human exposures under control

Superfund and RCRA SEMS and RCRAInfo

By 2018, increase to 86 percent the number of RCRA facilities with migration of contaminated groundwater under control. (Baseline: At the end of FY 2013, the migration of contaminated groundwater was controlled at 76 percent of all 3,779 facilities needing corrective

RCRA facilities with human exposures under control

RCRA Corrective Action RCRAInfo

By 2018, increase to 73 percent the number of RCRA facilities with final remedies constructed. (Baseline: At the end of FY 2013, all cleanup remedies were constructed at an estimated 51 percent of all 3,779 facilities needing corrective action.)

Percent of RCRA facilities with final remedies


By 2018, increase to 25 percent the number of RCRA facilities with corrective action performance standards attained. (Baseline: At the end of FY 2013, performance standards were attained at an estimated 20 percent of all 3,779 RCRA facilities requiring corrective action.)

Percent of RCRA facilities with performance standards attained


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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data SourceEach year through 2018, reduce the backlog of LUST cleanups (confirmed releases that have yet to be cleaned up) that do not meet risk-based standards for human exposure and groundwater migration by 1 percent. This means a decrease from 16 percent in 2012 to 10 percent in 2018. (At the end of FY 2012, there were 82,903 releases not yet cleaned up.)

Confirmed releases without cleanup

LUST program LUST4

Each year through 2018, reduce the backlog of LUST cleanups (confirmed releases that have yet to be cleaned up) in Indian country that do not meet applicable risk- based standards for human exposure and groundwater migration by 1 percent. This means a decrease from 23 percent in 2012 to 17 percent in 2018.

Confirmed releases without cleanup

LUST program LUST4

By 2018, ensure that 946 Superfund sites are “sitewide ready for anticipated use.” (Baseline: As of October 2012, 606 Superfund sites had achieved “sitewide ready for anticipated use” out of a universe of 1,742 sites.)

NPL Sites ready for anticipated use

Superfund SEMS

Objective 3.4: Strengthen Human Health and Environmental ProtectionImprove Human Health and the Environment in Indian Country

By 2015, increase the percent of tribes implementing federal regulatory environmental programs in Indian country to 25 percent. (FY 2009 baseline: 22 percent of 572 tribes.)

Approved regulatory program delegation and/or DITCAs

Indian General Assistance (GAP)

Collected via annual data call

By 2015, increase the percent of tribes conducting EPA- approved environmental monitoring and assessment activities in Indian country to 58 percent. (FY 2012 baseline: 54 percent of 572 tribes.)

Approved monitoring and/or QAPPs

Indian General Assistance (GAP)

Collected via annual data call

Goal 4: Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution

Objective 4.1: Ensure Chemical SafetyProtect Human Health from Chemical Risks

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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data SourceBy 2018, reduce by 30 percent the number of moderate to severe exposure incidents associated with organophosphates and carbamate insecticides in the general population. (Baseline for moderate to severe exposure incidents reported during 2011 is 274)

Percent reduction Pesticides NPDS

Through 2018, work to ensure that the percentage of children with blood lead levels above 5 μg/dl does not rise above the 1.0 percent target for FY 2014 and work to make further reductions in blood lead levels. (Baseline is 2.6 percent of children ages 1–5 had elevated blood lead levels (5 ug/dl or greater) in the 2007–2010 sampling period according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Health and Nutritional Evaluation Survey (NHANES).)

Percent of children with blood lead level above 5ug/l

EPA Lead Program CDC NHANES

By 2018, reduce the percent difference in the geometric mean blood lead level in low-income children 1–5 years old as compared to the geometric mean for non-low income children 1–5 years old to 10.0 percent. (Baseline is 28.4 percent difference in the geometric mean blood lead level in low-income children ages 1–5 years old as compared to the geometric mean for non-low income children 1–5 years old in 2007–2010 sampling period according to CDC’s NHANES.)

Percent difference between geometric blood lead levels of low-income-children and non-low income

EPA Lead Program CDC NHANES

By 2018, reduce the concentration of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in blood serum in the general population by 20 percent. (PFOA baseline is based on 2009–2010 geometric mean data in serum (3.07 μg/L) from the CDC’s NHANES.)

Percent reduction in blood serum

EPA Existing Chemicals Program

CDC NHANES

By 2018, complete endocrine disruptor screening program (EDSP) decisions for 100 percent of chemicals for which complete EDSP data are expected to be available by the end of 2017. (Baseline is 15 decisions have been completed through 2012 for any of the chemicals for which complete EDSP information is anticipated to be available by the end of 2017. EDSP decisions for a chemical can range from determining potential to interact with the estrogen, androgen, or thyroid hormone systems to

Number of chemicals with EDSP decisions

EDSP OCSPP

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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data Sourcedetermining whether further endocrine related-testing is necessary.)

By 2018, reduce rodenticide exposure incidents by 75 percent in children ages 1–6. (The baseline total number of confirmed and likely rodenticide exposures to children ages 1–6 in 2011 is 10,259 according to data by the Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System.)

Percent reduction Pesticides PCC/NPDS

By 2018, EPA will have assessed all currently identified TSCA work plan chemicals. (Baseline is zero assessments finalized for the 83 initially identified TSCA work plan chemicals through 2012.)

Percent of TSCA Work Plan Assessments completed

EPA Existing Chemicals Program

TSCA

Protect Ecosystems from Chemical RisksBy 2018, no watersheds will exceed aquatic life benchmarks for targeted pesticides.

Percent Pesticides USGS-NAWQA

Objective 4.2: Promote Pollution PreventionPrevent Pollution and Promote Environmental Stewardship

By 2018, reduce 600 million pounds of hazardous materials cumulatively through pollution prevention.

Pounds of hazardous material reduced

EPA P2 Program EPA P2 Program Aggregated Data

By 2018, reduce 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2Eq.) cumulatively through pollution prevention.

GHG/MMTCO2Ereduced


By 2018, reduce 6.9 billion gallons of water use cumulatively through pollution prevention. (Baseline is 6.9 billion gallons reduced from FY 2008 through FY 2012)

Gallons of water reduced


By 2018, save $1.3 billion in business, institutional, and government costs cumulatively through pollution prevention improvements. (Baseline is $1.33 billion saved from FY 2008 through FY 2012)

Cost savings achieved EPA P2 Program EPA P2 Program Aggregated Data

By 2018, increase the number of safer chemicals and safer chemical products cumulatively by 1,900. (Baseline is 600 safer chemicals and 2,500 safer chemical products recognized in 2013 by the Design for the Environment

Number of chemicals/products


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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data Sourceprogram.)

Goal 5: Protecting Human Health and the Environment by Enforcing Laws and Assuring Compliance

Objective 5.1: Enforce Environmental Laws to Achieve Compliance

Maintain Enforcement PresenceBy 2018, conduct 79,000 federal inspections and evaluations (5-year cumulative). (FY 2005–2009 baseline: 21,000 annually. Status for FY 2013: 18,000.)

Number of inspections and evaluations

Enforcement and Compliance ICIS, RCRAInfo

By 2018, initiate 14,000 civil judicial and administrativeenforcement cases (5-year cumulative). (FY 2005–2009baseline: 3,900 annually. Status for FY 2013: 2,400.)

GHG/MMTCO2Ereduced EPA P2 Program

EPA P2 Program AggregatedData

By 2018, conclude 13,600 civil judicial and administrative enforcement cases (5-year cumulative). (FY 2005–2009 baseline: 3,800 annually. Status for FY

Gallons of water reduced EPA P2 Program

EPA P2 Program Aggregated Data

By 2018, maintain review of the overall compliance statusof 100 percent of the open consent decrees. (Baseline2009: 100 percent. Status for FY 2013: 91 percent.) Cost savings achieved EPA P2 Program

EPA P2 Program AggregatedData

Each year through 2018, support cleanups and save federal dollars for sites where there are no alternatives by: (1) reaching a settlement or taking an enforcement action before the start of a remedial action at 99 percent of Superfund sites having viable responsible parties other than the federal government; and (2) addressing all cost recovery statute of limitation cases with total past costs greater than or equal to $500,000.

Number of chemicals/products EPA P2 Program

EPA P2 Program Aggregated Data

Support Addressing Climate Change and Improving Air Quality

By 2018, reduce, treat, or eliminate 1,590 million estimated pounds of air pollutants as a result of concluded enforcement actions (5-year cumulative). (FY 2005–2008 baseline: 480 million pounds, annual average over the period. Status for FY 2013: 610 million pounds.)

Estimated pounds of air pollutants reduced, treated or eliminated as a result of concluded enforcement actions

Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

ICIS


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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data SourceSupport Protecting America’s Waters

By 2018, reduce, treat, or eliminate 1,280 million estimated pounds of water pollutants as a result of concluded enforcement actions (5-year cumulative). (FY 2005–2008 baseline: 320 million pounds, annual average over the period. Status for FY 2013: 660 million pounds.)

Estimated pounds of water pollutants reduced, treated, or eliminated as a result of concluded enforcement actions

Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

ICISSupport Cleaning Up Communities and Advancing Sustainable Development

By 2018, treat, minimize, or properly dispose of 14,600 million estimated pounds of hazardous waste as a result of concluded enforcement actions (5-year cumulative). (FY 2008 baseline: 6,500 million pounds. Status for FY 2013:150 million pounds.)

Estimated pounds of hazardous and nonhazardous waste treated, minimized or properly disposed of as a result of concluded enforcement actions.

Enforcement and Compliance ICIS

By 2018, obtain commitments to clean up 1,025 million Contaminated soil andcubic yards of contaminated soil and groundwater media4 groundwater cleanupas a result of concluded CERCLA and RCRA corrective committed to as a action enforcement actions (5-year cumulative). (FY 2007– result of concluded2009 baseline: 300 million cubic yards of contaminated soil CERCLA and RCRA RCRA Corrective Action and groundwater media, annual average over the period. corrective action and SuperfundStatus for FY 2013: 750 million cubic yards.) enforcement actions Enforcement SEMS

Support Ensuring the Safety of Chemicals and Preventing Pollution

By 2018, reduce, treat, or eliminate 14 million estimated Estimated pounds ofpounds of toxic and pesticide pollutants as a result of toxic and pesticideconcluded enforcement actions (5-year cumulative). (FY pollutants reduced, 2005–2008 baseline: 3.8 million pounds, annual average treated or eliminated over the period. Status for FY 2013: 4.6 million pounds.) as a result of

concludedenforcement actions

Enforcement andCompliance Assurance ICIS

Enhance Strategic Deterrence through Criminal Enforcement

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Goal Objective (Abbreviated) Measurement Program Data SourceBy 2018, increase the percentage of criminal cases having Percentage of criminalthe most significant health, environmental, and deterrence cases having mostimpacts to 45 percent. (FY 2010 baseline: 36 percent. significant health, Status for FY 2013: 44 percent.) environmental and

deterrence impacts Criminal Enforcement OCEFTBy 2018, maintain 75 percent of criminal cases with an individual defendant. (FY 2006–2008 baseline: 75 percent. Status for FY 2013: 80 percent.)

Percent of criminal cases with individual Criminal Enforcement OCEFT

By 2018, increase the percentage of criminal cases with Percentage ofcharges filed to 45 percent. (FY 2006–2010 baseline: 36 criminal cases withpercent. Status for FY 2013: 38 percent.) charges filed Criminal Enforcement OCEFTBy 2018, maintain an 85 percent conviction rate for criminal defendants. (FY 2006–2010 baseline: 85 percent. Status for FY 2013: 94 percent.)

Percent conviction rate for criminal defendants

Criminal Enforcement OCEFT

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Appendix 5: Alignment of IRM Strategic Plan, Enterprise Roadmap and Integrated Data Collection

IRMSection#

IRM

Sectio

n

Name

Linkage Roadmap Section #

Roadmap Section Name

Integrated

Data

Collection

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Organization of this Plan

1.1 Purpose and Benefit

1.2 Relationships Between the IRM Strategic Plan, the Enterprise Roadmap and Integrated Data Collection

1.5 Linkage between Enterprise Roadmap and Information Resource Management Strategic Plan2.0 EPA’s

Strategic Information Management

2.0 Enterprise Architecture Program Management

2.1 Drivers

2.2 Governing Principles 2.1.4 EA Principles

2.3 IT Management Vision 2.0 EA Program Management

2.4 IRM Mission

2.5 IRM Goals

2.5.1 Achieve Operational Excellence in

2.5.2 Unify Internal Communications Across All Programs

2.5.3 Integrate External Service Delivery to EPA

Security and Privacy, Digital

3.5 Security and Privacy Security and Privacy Metrics

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Stakeholders 4.1.2

4.1.1

Agency-Wide Transformational Initiatives

Executive/Government- wide Initiatives and Mandates

GovernmentStrategy

Cloud Computing

2.5.4 Apply Leading Edge Technology in Existing and New Programs

Digital Government Strategy

OneEPA Web

4.1.2

4.1.4

3.1.2

Agency-Wide Transformational Initiatives

Mission-Specific Transformational Initiative

EPA Cross-Cutting Strategic Initiatives

3.0 Supporting EPA’s Strategic Goals and Objectives

3.1 Mapping IRM Support to EPA’S Strategic Goals (AXXA)

3.1.1

3.1.2

Strategic Goals and Initiatives

EPA Cross-Cutting Strategic Initiatives

3.2 OEI-Driven Initiatives that Service Cross- Program Mission Functions (AXXB)3.2.1 E-Enterprise for the Environment: Integrating and Streamlining Customer- Facing

4.1.1 Executive/Government- wide Initiatives and Mandates


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BXXC)3.2.2 The Geospatial

Platform: Integrating Geospatial Data and

Geo Platform 4.1.2 Agency-Wide Transformational Initiatives

3.2.3 Environmental Justice: Addressing Environmental Inequities

3.1.2 EPA Cross-Cutting Strategic Initiatives

3.2.4 eRulemaking: Automating the Regulatory Process (BXXC)

Regulations.gov 3.2.2.5 eRulemaking (eRule)

3.2,5 eDiscovery: Automating the Legal and FOIA Processes

eDiscovery 4.1.2 Agency-Wide Transformational Initiatives

3.2.6 Library Strategy 4.1.3 Ongoing Activities Needing Agency Support3.2.7 Advanced

Data Analytics4.0 Improving Services

to Customers (BXXB)4.1 Improving IT

Service Delivery4.2 Evaluating the

Quality of Service of the EPA Website (BXXA)

EPA Quality Program

4.1.3 4.1.3 Ongoing Activities Needing Agency Support4.3 Unified

Communications and Collaboration

4.4 Support for Mobile Device Management

3.4.4 Collaboration Tools Mobile Contracts Inventory Update


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4.5 OneEPA Web Modernization

4.1.2 Agency-Wide transformational Initiatives

5.0 Implementing Governance and Management

5.1 Structure of the Quality and Information Council (QIC) (CXXA, CXXB, CXXC, CXXD, CXXE)

Governance 2.1 Governance and Use

5.2 Investment Management Reviews and Portfolio Status (CXXF)

IT Investment Reviews

CA Reviews

2.1.2

2.2.2

IT Investment Reviews

Changing Business Needs and Technology Requirements

5.3 Strategic Sourcing and Enterprise Licensing (CXXG)

Strategic Sourcing

5.2. Shared Services

5.4 Information Technology/Information Management Policy Program (CXXF)

6.0 Configuration Management

5.5 The Quality Program and Lean Projects

EPA Quality Program

4.1.3 4.1.3 Ongoing Activities Needing Agency Support

6.0 Aligning CIO Authorities (DXXA)

6.1 Governance

6.2 Commodity IT 5.2.2 FY 2013 – 2017 IntraAgency Commodity IT Shared Services

6.3 Program Management 2.0 Enterprise Architecture Program Management

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6.4 Information Security

7.0 Managing Cybersecurity

7.1 Aligning Investments and Cybersecurity (EXXA)7.2 Meeting Cybersecurity Cross-Agency Goals (EXXA)

7.3 Continuity of Operations Plan (EXXB)

COOP Table 35 IT Infrastructure Projects8.0 Supporting

EPA’s Workforce3.7 Workforce

8.1 EPA University

8.2 Improving SharePoint Migration

8.3 The EPA Skills Marketplace

3.7 Workforce

8.4 Operational Excellence

8.5 Cybersecurity Training

8.6 The Greenspark Program9.0 Implementing Digital Government and Managing Information as an

4.1.2 Agency-wide Transformational Initiatives

Digital Government

9.1 Implementing Digital Government Policy (GXXA)

9.1.1 The Strategic Data Action Plan

SDAP 4.1.1 Executive/Government- Wide Initiatives and Mandates

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9.1.2 EPA Enterprise Information Management

9.1.3 Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) (GXXB)

Information Security

4.1.2 Agency-Wide Transformational Initiatives

9.1.4 Protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

Privacy 3.5 Security and Privacy

9.2 Managing Information as an Asset (GXXA)9.1.1 Envirofacts

9.1.2 Integrating EPA’s Data Catalogs with their Federal

9.2.3 Facility Registry Services Re-engineering

9.2.4 Centralizing Discovery of Substances

9.2.5 Laws and Regulations Services

9.2.6 Promoting Reuse of EPA IT Services

9.2.7 Data Element Registry Services

9.2.8 Tribal Identification

9.2.9 Terminology Services

9.2.10 Records Management

10.0 Commodity IT and Shared

Commodity IT baseline Updates

10.1 Maturing the IT Portfolio (HXXA)10.1.1 Optimizing IT 3.4 Infrastructure


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Infrastructure10.1.2 Rationalizin

g 3.3 Applications

10.1.3 Service Oriented

3.1 Current Architecture

10.1.4 Data Center Consolidation

3.4.2 Data Center Consolidation10.1.5 Cloud Services 3.4.3 Cloud Services

10.1.6 Voice, Data, Video and Mobile Standards

3.4.1 Voice, Data, Video, and mobile Standards

10.1.7 Collaboration Tools 3.4.4 Collaboration Tools

10.7.8 E-mail Optimization 3.4.5 Email Optimization

10.2 Reinvestment of Savings (HXXB)

5.2 Shared Services

10.3 Maximizing the Use of Shared Services (HXXC)

Shared Services 5.2 Shared Services Cost Savings/Avoidance Decisions

11.0 Ensuring Accessibility

11.1 Supporting a Diverse Workforce (IXXA)11.2 Integrating Accessibility into IT through Section 508 (IXXB, IXXC)

4.1.1 Executive/Government- wide Initiatives and Mandates11.2.1 Section 508

Executive Council11.2.2 Section 508

Policy 11.2.3 Procurements and

Grants 11.2.4 Testing Workgroup

11.2.5 Program Assurance

11.2.6 Training and Outreach

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Workgroup11.2.7 Other Section 508

Program and Disability Work at the

12.0 APPENDICES

Appendix 1: EPA Strategic Goals Mapped to the Enterprise Architecture

3.1.1 Strategic Goals and Initiatives

Appendix 2: Descriptions of IT Systems Supporting Core Mission Goals

3.2.2 EPA Information Flows

Appendix 3: EPA’s System Data Flows and Relationship to State and other Federal Systems

3.2.1 EPA Mission Sectors

Appendix 4: Mapping of Agency Performance Goals to Associated Data SourcesAppendix 5: Alignment of IRM Strategic Plan, Enterprise Roadmap, and Integrated Data Collection

Documents

EPA Information Resources Management Strategic Plansemanticommunity.info/.../files/32817/irmstrategicplan.docx · Web view(IRM Strategic Plan) summarizes the goals of EPA’s information