Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Launches EN Tribal Support

July 29, 2014

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) is pleased to announce that we have begun work with the Exchange Network Tribal Governance Group (TGG) and EPA’s Office of Environmental Information (OEI) to support Tribal involvement in the Exchange Network.
 
We will focus on expanding Tribal participation in the Network, work with Tribes to facilitate a unified Tribal voice amongst the EN Partners, and identify ways to help foster projects and initiatives that are both relevant and sustainable for Tribes. To that end, ITEP will be reaching out to Tribal representatives to assess current needs, priorities, and challenges with respect to Exchange Network activities. Additionally, ITEP will facilitate an annual meeting for Tribes, EPA and other EN Partners, where there will be ample opportunities to share and learn from Tribal perspectives and experiences. ITEP will also be developing and launching a new website that will contain additional information and Exchange Network resources for Tribes. We welcome the participation and input of all Tribes, not just those currently using Network tools and services. If you have any feedback on dates, topics, presenters, etc., for the upcoming meeting, please contact Lydia Scheer at lydia.scheer [at] nau.edu or Cristina Gonzalez-Maddux at cristina.gonzalez-maddux [at] nau.edu.
 
To subscribe to ITEP’s EN Tribal listserv for periodic announcements and updates, send an email message to: [email protected] with a single line of text in the body of the message that reads: subscribe NEIEN_TRIBAL-LISTSRV your_first_name your_last_name (e.g:, subscribe NEIEN_TRIBAL-LISTSRV Joe Smith). The email address used to send the message will be added to the subscriber list to receive future email updates from the listserv. You may need to check your JUNK or SPAM folders for an email from [email protected] and approve the sender.
 
Lydia Scheer
Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals
P: 928.523.6887
E: lydia.scheer [at] nau.edu
 

EPA Releases Draft FY 2015 Exchange Network/E-Enterprise Grant Solicitation Notice

July 22, 2014

In preparation for the FY 2015 Exchange Network/E-Enterprise Grant application process, EPA will hold two stakeholder conference calls to review the Draft FY 2015 Exchange Network/E-Enterprise Grant Solicitation Notice and answer questions from the Exchange Network community. The Draft Notice and an overview of the significant changes from FY 2014 are available here.

The first call will be held on Monday, July 28, 2014, from 1:00-2:00 PM EDT.

The second call will be held on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, from 1:00-2:00 PM EDT.

To participate in either call, please dial: 1.866.299.3188, and enter conference code: 202 566 0466 #

EPA will accept comments on the Draft Notice until 5:00 PM EDT, July 30, 2014. Written comments should be emailed to Salena Reynolds at reynolds.salena [at] epa.gov. EPA plans to issue the Final FY 2015 EN/EE Grant Solicitation Notice by early September 2014.

Salena Reynolds
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202.566.0466
E: reynolds.salena [at] epa.gov

EPA Releases Version 3.0 of AQS Submission Schema

July 16, 2014

EPA has released the final Version 3.0 of the AQS Submission schema. The schema is available here.

Version 3.0 adds elements necessary for the implementation of the air monitoring program quality assurance procedures. These include new quality assurance transactions and additional monitor metadata. Site and monitor metadata have been changed to better align AQS with physical reality and the intended meanings of terms in the monitoring program. Finally, elements that are no longer needed or that are superseded by the new elements have been deprecated.

It is important to note that for data elements that are not changing, such as raw sample data, the basic structure of the schema from v2.x to v3.0 has not changed. For routine raw sample data submissions, no changes may be necessary by the submitter.

All data collected on or after January 1, 2015, must be submitted using v3.0. EPA is using the data collection date, rather than the submittal date, because AQS processes generally operate on a calendar year. The new schema deprecates elements that AQS will no longer allow for data collected beginning in calendar year 2015.

AQS v3.0 test and production environments will be available by August 1, 2014

Nick Mangus
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 919.541.5549
E: mangus.nick [at] epa.gov