XML Goes Green

A comment voiced repeatedly by enthusiastic state and federal environmental CIOs about the Environmental Information Exchange Network is that it's changing the way they do business. This Internet-based innovation provides vital data -- such as hazardous waste disposal, water quality and air pollution statistics -- to all levels of U.S. government, and does so accurately and quickly enough to foster an effective response.

The project is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), and is referred to as simply "the exchange network" or even just "the network." Its name isn't set in stone -- in the evolving technological environment, they're making it up as they go. Already, it is the largest network of its kind anywhere and reflects a fresh approach.

"The exchange network exemplifies the benefits of collaboration -- different parties working together to create a better solution for all -- in this case, a national environmental computer network," said Kim Nelson, the EPA's CIO and assistant administrator for environmental information. "The EPA needs timely environmental information to make informed policy decisions. The states and other partners require accurate data to monitor their progress toward cleaner water and air, and the American public is entitled to view the latest and best available data on their communities. By combining resources, all parties get what they need quicker and at less cost to the taxpayer."

The point of the network is to foster timely sharing of vital environmental data between states and federal government better, faster and cheaper than was possible even a decade ago. Replacing the old linear hierarchy of states sending data to Washington, D.C., the network enables universal exchanges between all levels of state and federal government, in almost real time.

And the information is critical. The country spends billions of dollars every year to protect the environment -- the EPA's budget for fiscal 2006 is $7.5 billion. Cleanup costs from past problems add up to billions more, in addition to costs from health care and the economy. The list goes on. Nelson points out that without good information -- and good information being exchanged in a timely fashion -- those costs could be even higher.


Clogged Information Arteries
It's no mystery how the arteries of environmental data became clogged.

The EPA was created in December 1970, by cobbling together a variety of programs from different federal agencies that all had different ways of doing things -- much like the more recently created Department of Homeland Security. Over the years, the EPA's mandates and consequent demands for data from the states increased.

Each state responded in its own way, collecting information as it saw fit. There was no uniformity. By the time data was keyed into the EPA system, it was often ancient history. "There was a lot of frustration getting data to the EPA," recalled Molly O'Neill, executive project manager of the ECOS Network Steering Board.

Moreover, by the late 1990s, states started moving away from the clumsy EPA system, desiring more advanced internal technologies.

In December 1993, 20 frustrated states established ECOS to improve the environment by asserting state roles in environmental management, by providing for interstate exchange of ideas and coordinating environmental management, and by dealing with the federal government.

With more states on board in 1995, ECOS opened a permanent office in Washington, D.C. Although it formed in response to EPA shortcomings, ECOS developed into a partner rather than an adversary.

Both the EPA and ECOS established mostly collegial relations in the mid-1990s, when information management issues came to the forefront. These practices developed haphazardly, and everyone agreed that the jerry-built system was incoherent and antiquated. As reporting requirements multiplied and missions crept, states responded on paper, by