Geospatial Policies and Standards
These policies and standards allow EPA to more easily share information by making it possible for many different organizations to use the same format and structure for their data and applications. These documents are of interest to the staff of federal, state and local Agencies who create data and applications, or who create the policies that guide the development of data and applications.
EPA Policies and Guidance:
- EPA Geospatial Strategic Plan This plan provides direction and guidance (for FY2023-2027) for the EPA Geospatial Program to identify priorities that support the Agency's mission now and in the future. (Contact, Ana Greene, Greene.ana@epa.gov)
- ArcGIS StoryMap Guidance and Publication Requirements
EPA’s licensed mapping software provider, Esri, developed the concept of StoryMaps to enhance content communication around spatial data. This guidance established a standard approach to making ArcGIS StoryMaps. (Contact: Alex O'Neill, oneill.alexander@epa.gov) - ArcGIS Web StoryMaps Web Standards
StoryMaps, which include Esri StoryMaps and ArcGIS StoryMaps, are map-centric data presentation tools. This standards allows map products to more effectively communicate environmental data. (Contact: Alex O'Neill, oneill.alexander@epa.gov) -
Collection and Documentation of General Descriptive Geospatial Site Data
The purpose of this guidance is to provide a uniform method for collecting, documenting and managing geospatial information for sites subject to cleanup across all EPA Regional Offices under the following EPA’s statutory authorities: It currently supports cleanups under Superfund (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, CERCLA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action (CA) program, including Federal Facilities under both programs. - EPA GeoPlatform Data Publishing Workflow SOP
EPA Developed this Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to help guide individuals through the process of publishing data to EPA's GeoPlatform. This document explains the process of preparing and publishing data to each of the four data publishing options. - EPA Metadata Technical Specification
This document establishes guidelines for publishing geospatial and non-geo metadata for data sets, applications and services developed by the EPA. (Contact: Ana Greene, Greene.ana@epa.gov) - Enterprise Data Management Policy (EDMP) & EPA National Geospatial Data Policy
The availability of data, information, and evidence of appropriate quality is critical to EPA’s ability to make sound policy, regulatory, and program management decisions to protect human health and the environment and to manage agency programs and operations. These procedures establishes the operating framework for geospatial data management at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA, EPA). Centered around data lifecycle processes, the associated phases define requirements, designate responsibilities, and standardize processes supporting full integration of geospatial data into Agency operations. (Contact: Ana Greene, Greene.ana@epa.gov) - National Geospatial Data Policy Procedure for Geospatial Metadata Management
The purpose of this document is to establish procedures, requirements and responsibilities for maintaining geospatial metadata used by EPA programs. (Contact: Ana Greene, Greene.ana@epa.gov) - EPA Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Policy
The purpose of this policy is to provide EPA with rules on the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and any data collected using UAS at EPA’s direction.
Other Federal Policies:
- Geospatial Data Act
- Foundations for Evidence Based Policymaking Act
- Federal Data Strategy
- Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC):
- The FGDC is a 32 member interagency committee composed of representatives from the Executive Office of the President, and Cabinet level and independent Federal agencies. View FGDC and OMB policies and plans on the FGDC website.
EPA GIS Technical Guidance
- National Geospatial Deliverable Standard
This document is intended to establish a uniform method for submitting geospatial data and related products to the US EPA. It provides guidance for contracts, grantees, potentially responsible parties, Agency staff, and any others who provide geospatial data and products to US EPA programs, projects, or staff. - EPA Metadata Style Guide for Geospatial and Non Geospatial Data
The Style Guide provides suggestions on geospatial and non-geospatial metadata creation that adhere to EPA’s Metadata Technical Specification and requirements from OMB’s Project Open Data (POD) and ISO’s 19115 standards. Detailed guidance on metadata requirements, standard language, and naming conventions are provided with the goal of simplifying the documentation process and standardizing dataset metadata across multiple collaborative environments – EPA’s Environmental Dataset Gateway (EDG), EPA GeoPlatform web services, and EPA GeoPlatform Online (GPO).