DES recently kicked off its new "One Stop Reporting and Information
Access Program" with two very productive days of work sessions for a wide
range of staff from all program areas. With financial and technical assistance
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department is embarking
on this three year effort focused on more effective and efficient information
collection, use and dissemination. The One Stop Program is a key ingredient
to the successful implementation of the Department's overall Strategic
Information Management Plan for 1999-2003.
The broad goals of the DES Information Management Plan are (1) improving
DES's effectiveness through better use and analysis of existing information,
(2) improving measurement of environmental conditions and program performance,
(3) improving public access to environmental information, (4) improving
the management, coordination and measurement of DES programs, and (5) reducing
the reporting burden on the regulated community. The One Stop Program will
work to accomplish these broad goals in four specific ways:
Database integration - Particularly where multiple programs have data on
the same facility or site;
GIS connection - Linking the databases to Geographic Information System
(GIS) technology to show the relationships between environmental features
and regulated facilities/sites;
Internet access - Establish GIS on the Internet as the "gateway" for access
to comprehensive site specific and environmental resource information;
and
Common facility id - Develop and implement a unique identification system
for sharing information across programs regulating common facilities/sites.
DES has already made significant progress with improved information management,
and in recent years has invested substantially in developing the hardware,
software and systems to support continued improvement. For example, the
DES website now hosts real time site-specific permit information for certain
programs, and two PCs in the lobby at Hazen Drive provide public access
to GIS data for contaminated sites. Look for more of this kind of progress
over the next three years.
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