EE2020 Has Been Cancelled Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

March 31, 2020

This message contains very important information about EE2020, the E-Enterprise National Meeting. After carefully weighing the situation, the EE2020 meeting chairs and other leaders in the E-Enterprise and Exchange Network governance have concluded that we cannot safely conduct an in-person meeting on May 12-14, 2020.  Regrettably, we must cancel EE2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is certainly disappointing and unwelcome news, but it is clearly the right thing to do. We are committed to working with our amazing lineup of speakers to explore new options for sharing everyone’s work and stories. While a rescheduled in-person meeting will be our ultimate goal, we cannot yet say when that would be feasible. In the days and weeks ahead, we will be  considering options for delivering some of the planned content virtually via webinars. We kindly ask for your patience while we undertake a process to determine the appropriate approach and timing. Once we have more information to share, we will be back in touch with more details.

We will automatically cancel existing EE2020 meeting registrations. If you have already made travel arrangements with an airline or the hotel, please take steps to cancel those. The hotel will accept cancellations without penalty up to 72 hours in advance of your arrival date. Most airlines have implemented flexible cancellation policies and have waived cancellation fees and penalties.  

We promise to make the most of this unfortunate situation and find alternate ways for our community to connect. In the meantime, please take care of yourselves, your loved ones, and the people in your community. Thank you and be well.

EPA Extends Application Due Date for Exchange Network Grant Applications until April 10, 2020 at 11:59 PM Eastern

March 20, 2020

The application due date for the FY2020 Exchange Network grant cycle has been extended, due to potential applicant difficulties associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications are now due to EPA by 11:59 PM Eastern Time, Friday, April 10, 2020.

An amended version of the FY2020 Exchange Network Solicitation Notice is now available on the EPA website.

Other helpful resources available on the EPA Exchange Network website include a PDF version of the slide deck presented during our Solicitation Notice webinar series, an audio recording of one of our webinar presentations, a FAQ document which captures all of the questions asked by applicants during this grant cycle, and various other resources pulled from our solicitation notice, including optional templates and application submission guidance.

Please note that EPA only accepts project proposals for EN assistance agreements submitted electronically through Grants.gov, unless applicants have a waiver. EPA anticipates that it will announce selection decisions in or around August 2020, and tentatively plans to issue awards by October, 2020.

For more information, please contact:

Erika Beasley
Exchange Network Grants Program Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
P: 202-566-2530
E: [email protected]

EPA to Host Final Webinar on FY 2020 Exchange Network Grant Solicitation

March 16, 2020

In support of the FY 2020 Exchange Network (EN) Grant cycle, the EPA will host the last of four webinars to assist interested applicants. The final webinar will be held on March 17th. It will include a presentation on the following topics: a brief overview of the EN Grants Program and FY 2020 timeline, critical elements of the Solicitation Notice, notable changes from FY 2019, an overview of new guidance materials and optional templates, and common mistakes to avoid. This will be followed by a question and answers session with participants. Please note that the session will end when all the participants’ questions have been addressed.

 

Notes on Joining the Webinar:

  • Note: The webinar will be given through Skype for Business, which can be joined by clicking the link provided below. 

  • Tuesday, March 17, 2020, 12:30 – 2:00pm ET 

    For Audio – Dial-In Number: 1(202) 991-0477; Conference ID: 68630018#

  • Note: After clicking the link, you will be prompted to ‘Join Meeting Audio.’ You can either:
    • Select ‘Do Not Join Audio’ to view the presentation on your computer/device and call in using the provided dial-in number to hear the audio portion on your phone [recommended for best call/audio quality]; OR
    • Select ‘Use Skype for Business – Full Audio and Visual Experience’ to view the presentation on your computer/device and hear the audio/speak using your computer’s microphone and speaker.

 

Please direct questions to:

Erika Beasley

Exchange Network Grants Program Manager

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

P: 202-566-2530

E: [email protected]

Peer Sharing Opportunity on Low-Code Development: Join Us for a March 24 Open Call

March 12, 2020

March 24, 2020 from 1-2:30 pm Eastern

Agencies are increasingly exploring low-code approaches to building software that powers the business of environmental protection. Low-code tools have the potential to help reduce an agency’s dependence on traditional coding and programming, open up application development to a wider range of people, and accelerate the delivery of new tools and software. The transition also requires new skills and approaches to governance. 

Please join us on March 24, 2020 for an open call focused on the use of low-code software development within environmental agencies. This call provides a peer sharing opportunity designed for E-Enterprise partners to learn from each other and share their experiences applying low-code methods to their work. Representatives from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will join the call to talk about their own work in this space. These presentations will be followed by a discussion period where participants can engage with each other, ask questions, and share their own experiences, challenges and lessons learned.

This call is open to all members of the E-Enterprise community. We would particularly like to encourage those planning to attend the EE2020 National Meeting (https://www.eenationalmeeting.net/) in May to join in preparation for more low-code discussions at the conference.

Two New Versions of the Water Quality Exchange (WQX) Data Flow Coming Soon

March 2, 2020

Two new versions of the Water Quality Exchange (WQX) data flow are now available for review, but not yet in production. U.S. EPA’s Office of Water anticipates that final versions will be available in March 2020. States, tribes, and other WQX users should review these new versions in preparation for production release on March 31, 2020.

The new versions include a minor version upgrade to Version 2.2 and also a major version upgrade to Version 3.0. EPA will continue to support existing versions of the WQX data flow. You can visit the Exchange Network website at https://www.exchangenetwork.net/data-exchange/wqx/ to download and review resources for these two new versions, including XML schemas and updated Flow Configuration Documents and Data Exchange Templates.

WQX Version 2.2 is 100% backwards compatible with v2.1 and provides expanded data element lengths for various key description text type elements. See the schema change log v2.2 (final) and Data Exchange Template v2.2 (final) for more details. 

Version 3.0 adopts new elements, some of which are not backwards compatible with version 2.1. See the schema change log v3.0 (final) and Data Exchange Template v3.0 (final) for more details. Version 3.0 also contains changes that will improve quality assurance through best practices and business rules. Good QA/QC ensures that your data can be reused by another user for analysis and helps safeguard against misuse. New version 3.0 supported QA/QC business rules are outlined in both the WQX 3.0 Flow Configuration Document and guidance documents at the WQX website (https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/water-quality-data-wqx).

The Water Quality Exchange (WQX) data flow allows Exchange Network Partners to share ambient water quality data with EPA and with the Water Quality Portal (https://www.waterqualitydata.us/). The Water Quality Portal is the nation’s largest source for water quality monitoring data and contains over 340 million water quality data records data from 400 federal, state, tribal and other partners.

Contact:

Kevin Christian

U.S. EPA Office of Water

[email protected]