March 18, 2021
The application deadline for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Exchange Network (EN) Grant Program is quickly approaching! Applications are due to U.S. EPA by 11:59 PM Eastern Time, Wednesday, March 31, 2021.
Applicants can find a copy of the Solicitation Notice (SN) on the Grants.gov website at: https://www.grants.gov/
For more information, please contact:
Erika Beasley
EN Grants Program Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
E: [email protected]
March 17, 2021
**This message contains important new details about forthcoming changes to the Exchange Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS). The new information includes tentative migration dates and the new NAAS IP addresses. Please read this message in its entirety to understand if your agency or organization will be affected.**
As previously reported on March 8, U.S. EPA is planning updates to the Exchange Network’s security infrastructure known as the Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS). The current NAAS application will be migrated to a new platform in the coming weeks. The system will retain all existing functionality and the re-platforming should be transparent to most users. Here are some important highlights about this upcoming change:
Please see below for more information about anticipated timing and other considerations. If you have any questions or comments please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk (see contact information below).
Schedule and Downtime
The anticipated schedule for re-platforming the NAAS is:
EPA anticipates that the NAAS will be unavailable for part of the deployment weekends. EPA will communicate more specifics about the amount of downtime anticipated as that information becomes available. Watch for more details in a future EN Alert email. Please take note of this anticipated downtime and inform your agency’s Exchange Network users that they will not be able to connect to the Exchange Network or NAAS-supported applications during the NAAS platform change.
Testing
Once the NAAS Test environment has been migrated to the new platform, EPA will notify the Exchange Network community in an EN Alert email. This will open an opportunity for the community to help verify that the re-platformed NAAS services are continuing to operate normally. During this testing period, partner agencies should:
Exceptional Situations
In most cases, the NAAS re-platforming will be completely transparent and users will not need to take any action. The exceptions to that rule are listed below. Please read on to determine if your organization will be impacted by one of these situations. If you have questions, please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk (see below).
Test NAAS
New IP Address: 204.47.254.135
URL: https://naas.epacdxnode.
Planned Effective Date: March 29, 2021
Production NAAS
New IP Address: 204.47.254.197
URL: https://cdxnodenaas.epa.
Planned Effective Date: April 19, 2021
Exchange Network Help Desk
For any questions or comments, or to report testing issues, please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk at:
March 8, 2021
**This message contains important information about forthcoming changes to the Exchange Network Authentication and Authorization Service. Please read this message in its entirety to understand if your agency or organization will be affected.**
U.S. EPA is planning updates to the Exchange Network’s security infrastructure known as the Network Authentication and Authorization Service (NAAS). As part of a longer-term modernization effort, the current NAAS application will be migrated to a new platform in the coming weeks. The system will retain all existing functionality and the re-platforming should be transparent to most users. Here are some important highlights about this upcoming change:
Please see below for more information about anticipated timing and other considerations. Some details are still forthcoming, so watch for more information in future EN Alert emails. If you have any questions or comments please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk (see contact information below).
Timeline and Downtime
The tentative schedule for re-platforming the NAAS is:
EPA anticipates that the NAAS will be unavailable for part of the cutover weekend. EPA will communicate more specifics about the dates and the amount of downtime anticipated as that information becomes available. Watch for more details in a future EN Alert email. Please take note of this weekend downtime and inform your agency’s Exchange Network users that they will not be able to connect to the Exchange Network or NAAS-supported applications during the NAAS platform change.
Testing
Once the NAAS Test environment has been migrated to the new platform, EPA will notify the Exchange Network community in an EN Alert email. This will open an opportunity for the community to help verify that the re-platformed NAAS services are continuing to operate normally. During this testing period, partner agencies should:
Exceptional Situations
In most cases, the NAAS re-platforming will be completely transparent and users will not need to take any action. The exceptions to that rule are listed below. Please read on to determine if your organization will be impacted by one of these situations. If you have questions, please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk (see below).
Exchange Network Help Desk
For any questions or comments, or to report testing issues, please contact the Exchange Network Help Desk at:
February 25, 2021
In support of the FY 2021 Exchange Network (EN) Grant cycle, the EPA is currently hosting a series of webinars to assist interested applicants. There are two remaining sessions scheduled, one on March 1st (for tribal applicants) and one on March 8th (for all applicant types). Please note that the connection information for the remaining webinars has been updated and is listed below.
The Exchange Network Grant Program website also hosts a copy of the webinar presentation document, accessible here: https://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/exchange-network-grant-program#Resources. A recording of a prior webinar session will also shortly be made available. Potential applicants are also encouraged to review the FAQs posted to this section of the website.
Tribal SN Webinar Session:
Monday, March 1, 2021, 3:00 – 4:30pm ET
General SN Webinar Session:
Monday, March 8, 2021, 11:00 – 12:30pm ET
Please direct any questions to Erika Beasley, Exchange Network Grants Program Manager, at [email protected].
Although not mandatory, EPA would appreciate if you would pre-register for webinar sessions by sending an email to Shela Poke-Williams ([email protected]) indicating the session you plan to attend and listing the participant name(s), organization, and state, tribe, or territory. Please note that EPA will maintain these records internally and they will not be shared with any third parties.
February 10, 2021
In support of the FY 2021 Exchange Network (EN) Grant cycle, U.S. EPA will host three webinars to assist interested applicants. The webinars will be held on February 22nd, February 25th, and March 8th. Each webinar will include the same presentation on the following topics: a brief overview of the EN Grants Program and FY 2021 timeline, critical elements of the Solicitation Notice, notable changes from FY 2020, an overview of new guidance materials and optional templates, and common mistakes to avoid. This will be followed by a question and answer session with participants. Please note that the sessions will end when all the participants’ questions have been addressed.
Notes on Joining the Webinars
Webinar Details and Connection Information
Monday, February 22, 2021, 2:00 – 3:30pm ET
Thursday, February 25, 2021, 2:00 – 3:30pm ET
Monday, March 8, 2021, 11:00 – 12:30pm ET
Please direct any questions to Erika Beasley, Exchange Network Grants Program Manager, at [email protected].
Although not mandatory, U.S. EPA would appreciate if you would pre-register for webinar sessions by sending an email to Shela Poke-Williams ([email protected]) indicating the session you plan to attend and listing the participant name(s), organization, and state, tribe, or territory. Please note that EPA will maintain these records internally and they will not be shared with any third parties.
February 9, 2021
Please be advised that U.S. EPA will be conducting system maintenance and infrastructure improvements on Sunday, February 14, 2021 from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM EST. During this time, the Exchange Network, Shared CROMERR Services, and the EPA Central Data Exchange (CDX) may experience extended service outages or interruptions. Please plan accordingly and reschedule any activity planned during this window.
If you have questions, you may contact the Exchange Network Help Desk.
February 3, 2021
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Exchange Network (EN) Grant Program Solicitation Notice (SN) has been published to Grants.gov and is available here: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=331293. Applications are due to EPA by 11:59 PM Eastern Time, Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Additional guidance tools, including optional fillable templates, are available for applicants both on Grants.gov and on the EPA Exchange Network website. Applicants are encouraged to review the new FY21 SN in full, as significant updates have been made since the FY20 version. Information on applicant webinars will be provided shortly.
The purpose of Exchange Network (EN) grants are to foster better environmental management and decision-making through increased access to timely, high quality, environmental information. An applicant’s proposed project goals and outputs should align with one or more funding areas in the SN and EPA’s FY 2018-21 Strategic Plan Goal 3: Greater Certainty, Compliance, and Effectiveness, Objective 3.4: ‘Streamline and Modernize’.
EPA expects to award 25-35 grants of up to $400,000 each, totaling approximately $8,000,000 in FY21. Most awards will be in the $50,000 to $200,000 range. The exact number of grants will depend on the number of applications submitted to EPA by the application deadline, the amounts of proposed project budgets, and the quality of proposals.
EPA only accepts project proposals for EN grants submitted electronically through Grants.gov, unless applicants have a waiver. EPA anticipates that it will announce selection decisions around August 2021, and tentatively plans to issue awards by September 30, 2021.
For more information, please contact:
Erika Beasley
EN Grants Program Manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
E: [email protected]
December 9, 2020
The Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council (ITRC) is recruiting members for a new project team on Environmental Data Management Best Practices. The Team will produce a toolkit and online trainings that focus on the fundamentals of environmental data management practices, so that organizations can progress toward more modern and efficient data management. The team will launch in 2021 and operate for one to two years. E-Enterprise and Exchange Network partners from states, tribes, and EPA can consider lending their perspectives and expertise to this effort.
To learn more, visit the project team’s webpage or follow a related discussion on the E-Enterprise Community Inventory Platform.
To apply for membership on the team, visit the ITRC website and create a new member profile.
The ITRC is a state-led coalition working to reduce barriers to the use of innovative air, water, waste, and remediation environmental technologies and processes. ITRC produces documents and training that broaden and deepen technical knowledge and expedite quality regulatory decision making while protecting human health and the environment. For more information on the ITRC, visit the ITRC website or Frequently Asked Questions.
November 30, 2020
The next and final installment of the EE2020 webinar series is set for Thursday, December 17 at 1:00 PM Eastern! Visit the EE2020 Meeting Website to reserve your spot today.
Deploying Drones for Environmental Results
Date: December 17, 2020
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 PM Eastern
Register: https://www.eenationalmeeting.
The link to join the webinar will be distributed to registrants via email shortly before the webinar begins.
November 12, 2020
The next installment of the EE2020 webinar series is set for Thursday, November 19 at 1:00 PM Eastern! Visit the EE2020 meeting website to reserve your spot today.
Do We Even Need Programmers? Low-Code Software and the Future of Environmental Protection Systems
Date: November 19, 2020
Time: 1:00 – 2:30 PM Eastern
Register: https://www.
The link to join the webinar will be distributed to registrants via email shortly before the webinar begins.
The next phase of digital transformation—from systems of record to GIS and data analytics—relies on no-code and low code platforms. These systems allow people with very little programming knowledge to create robust cloud applications in order to meet a wide variety of needs. Agencies are beginning to use these systems outside of traditional IT to meet emerging needs. However, these systems are not without their challenges. They require a new set of skills and a different governance model to achieve their full potential. Agencies will need to adjust their work to support this emerging cloud technology or face a wave of organizational chaos. This panel will outline the promises and pitfalls of the no-code/low-code platforms along with suggestions on how to fully leverage this new approach to tool and service development.
For registration questions, please email: [email protected].
October 20, 2020
Are you a tribal official who works with environmental data? Interested in streamlining or enhancing your data management capacity? The Exchange Network Tribal Governance Group and the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) invite you to join their 2020 Virtual Data Academy and Conference.
The conference portion of the event is being held from October 26-28 (open to all interested attendees) and will demonstrate how tribes can benefit from participating in the EN through live discussions and a showcase of tribal projects and tools. The series of workshops comprising the data academy are from November 2-12 (open to tribal officials only) and will offer practical lessons for tribes working with environmental data.
Interested? Please check out the resources outlined below or visit the meeting webpage for more information.
AGENDA
PRE-REGISTRATION
By pre-registering, you will be granted priority access to event sessions and added to our announcements email list which will share updates about the upcoming event and notifications about conference recordings. Conference Sessions are open to the public, workshop sessions are open to tribal employees only and require pre-approval.
Register for Workshops after submitting your pre-registration form. Session details can be found in the Agenda. Workshops include:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Additional Questions? Contact [email protected] or visit www.
September 30, 2020
Please be advised that the EPA is experiencing intermittent network connectivity issues. This may impact access to the Central Data Exchange (CDX), the Exchange Network (EN) and Shared CROMERR Services (SCS). Please know that actions are being taken to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
September 28, 2020
The next installment of the EE2020 webinar series is set for Thursday, October 8 at 1:00 PM Eastern! Visit the meeting website to reserve your spot today.
EE2020 Webinar on Community Science
Date: October 8, 2020
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern
Register: https://www.eenationalmeeting.net/october-2020
The link to join the webinar will be distributed to registrants via email shortly before the webinar begins.
Community science, or the involvement of the public in expanding scientific knowledge and understanding, is becoming more and more widespread in environmental and public health programs at the local, state, and national levels. The use of community-collected data to help address environmental issues presents both opportunities and challenges for government agencies.
This session will showcase results from an EPA-funded project at the Environmental Law Institute that is assessing how different state and tribal environmental programs use community science. Panelists will review and discuss a diverse set of state and tribal case studies. The goals are to: 1) learn about different types of state and tribal community science programs that can serve as models; 2) analyze different program’s operations and best practices, and; 3) engage the audience in their ideas for how EPA, states and tribes can better partner on community science programs.
Visit the website to register and to find a more detailed agenda and information on our featured speakers.
September 9, 2020
The next installment of the EE2020 webinar series is set for Thursday, September 17 at 3:00 PM Eastern! Visit the EE2020 meeting website to reserve your spot today.
EE2020 Webinar on the E-Enterprise Digital Strategy
Date: September 17, 2020
Time: 3:00-4:30 PM Eastern
Register: https://www.
The link to join the webinar will be distributed to registrants via email shortly before the webinar begins.
The September webinar will focus on the E-Enterprise Digital Strategy which represents a shared vision to help environmental agencies:
Better coordinate their IT systems and services;
Improve collaboration using shared data, and;
Reimagine ways to use technology to achieve better environmental outcomes and provide more responsive services to the public and the regulated community.
This webinar will begin with a brief introduction to the key principles of the E-Enterprise Digital Strategy and a conversation about how the drinking water program is applying it to the modernization of the Safe Drinking Water Information System. The bulk of the webinar will focus on the Information-Centric principle of the E-Enterprise Digital Strategy. We will explore examples that show how agencies are making their data available as a service and the benefits of doing so.
For registration questions, please email: [email protected].
August 20, 2020
If you aren’t able to join this meeting, but would like to provide feedback on the FY’20 EN Grant Solicitation Notice or the application process, please email your comments to Erin McGown at [email protected] before September 9th, 2020.
Joining the Call:
By participating in EPA hosted virtual meetings and events, you are consenting to abide by the agency’s terms of use. In addition, you acknowledge that content you post may be collected and used in support of FOIA and eDiscovery activities.
June 29, 2020
The next installment of the EE2020 webinar series is set for Thursday, July 9 at 1:00 PM Eastern! Visit the EE2020 meeting website to reserve your spot today.
EE2020 Webinar on Machine Learning & Predictive Analytics
Date: July 9, 2020
Time: 1:00-2:30 PM Eastern
Register: https://www.eenationalmeeting.net/july-2020
The link to join the webinar will be distributed to registrants via email shortly before the webinar begins.
The July 9 webinar will focus on applications for machine learning and predictive analytics in environmental protection. The webinar will include:
Information about the basics of machine learning and predictive analytics;
Case studies in using predictive analytics to help agencies target resources for environmental inspections where they can do the most good; and
An interactive discussion on machine learning, implementation challenges, use cases, and collaborative development opportunities for the environmental protection community.
Visit the website to register and to find a more detailed agenda and information on our featured speakers.
June 9, 2020
On June 19, 2020, U.S. EPA’s Central Data Exchange (CDX) will be decommissioning one of its Exchange Network Node endpoints in order to increase operational efficiency and reduce maintenance costs. The retiring endpoint is associated with a seldom used service called the Node Relay located at https://noderelay.epa.gov/
Most partner agencies will not be impacted by this change. If you are still pointing your data flows to submit to the Node Relay endpoint, please update your settings to use https://node2.epa.gov/
If you have any questions or need support, please contact the Exchange Network Node Help Desk at [email protected].
June 8, 2020
On Thursday, June 25, 2020 from 3:00 – 4:30 PM Eastern, you are invited to participate in a webinar that will provide an update on work to plan a modernization of the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). The webinar will describe the work to date of the state/EPA SDWIS Modernization Board and its process and schedule to develop a modernization alternatives analysis.
To register for the webinar, please visit: https://attendee.gotowebinar.
Background on the SDWIS Modernization Board
In January 2020, U.S. EPA and states initiated the SDWIS Modernization Board. The Board is guiding the SDWIS Modernization process, following the principles of the E-Enterprise Digital Strategy. Members include leaders from state and EPA drinking water programs and information management offices. See the full Board Membership here.
The first phase of Board activities has been focused on providing input to support an Alternatives Analysis of SDWIS modernization options. The Analysis will assess these options for a long-term replacement of SDWIS State that supports the data management needs of primacy agencies and U.S. EPA. The Alternatives Analysis is scheduled to be delivered at the end of June, with option selection in July.
The SDWIS Modernization Team
May 27, 2020
Don’t forget that EE2020 is going virtual in just over 1 week! Visit the EE2020 meeting website to reserve your spot on the June 4th kickoff call that will launch our monthly webinar series. We’ll be featuring a selection of presentations, discussions, and networking opportunities from the originally planned program. You can find more details about the Kickoff Webinar below. Watch your inbox and the website in the weeks ahead for news about other topics that will be featured throughout 2020!
EE2020 Webinar Series Kickoff
Date: June 4, 2020
Time: 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern
Register: https://www.
The link to join the webinar will be distributed to registrants via email shortly before the webinar begins.
The Kickoff Webinar will feature:
An introduction to the EE2020 webinar series;
A featured discussion on The Chicago Array of Things and its work to collect data on the urban environment, infrastructure, and activity of Chicago; and
Virtual networking, interaction, and conversation with your colleagues from across the environmental protection enterprise.
Visit the website to register and find more details about the featured topics and speakers.
For registration questions, please email: [email protected].
May 15, 2020
EE2020 is going virtual! In lieu of an in-person meeting, the 2020 E-Enterprise and Exchange Network National Meeting will launch as a series of monthly webinars beginning on June 4, 2020. The series will feature a selection of presentations, discussions, and networking opportunities from the originally planned program. You can find more information about the Kickoff Webinar below. Watch your inbox and the website in the weeks ahead for news about other topics that will be featured throughout 2020!
EE2020 Webinar Series Kickoff
Date: June 4, 2020
Time: 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern
Register: https://www.
The link to join the webinar will be distributed to registrants via email shortly before the webinar begins.
An introduction to the EE2020 webinar series;
A featured discussion on The Chicago Array of Things and its work to collect data on the urban environment, infrastructure, and activity of Chicago; and
Virtual networking, interaction, and conversation with your colleagues from across the environmental protection enterprise.
Visit the website to register and find more details about the featured topics and speakers.