Way to go, Dennis

Way to go, Dennis!

If you have been around the Network much at all, you already know Dennis Burling. If not, well, Dennis is the IT manager in Nebraska. He’s been around the Network since it was not even a concept. Dennis has turned out the kind of “firsts” that don’t get noticed the way they should. He’s a “learn by doing” kind of guy.

Dennis and a few others (Dennis Murphy, Frank Catonese, Connie Dwyer, Chris Clark, …) got tired of talking about what the network might be, and went off to build it. Of course, they were way too early, so almost nothing of what they did survives. But everything we know about today’s Exchange Network those folks learned for us. Dennis also owned the first and only node ever to go to jail (his node was commandeered by hackers. If you want details, the cost of loosening his tongue is on you).

I guess you could say he is our leading authority on what not to do. So it is fitting that Nebraska was first out the gate with Facility 3.0. That flow was designed to incorporate everything we know about making a useful data flow. Full disclosure: I chaired that IPT with Pat Garvey when I was still with state government. Dennis took over for me when I moved on. Whether because of or in spite of my involvement, facility 3.0:

• Works exactly the same for everyone. EPA’s FRS implements the same services as any state or tribe.
  
• Provides ways to update a copy of the data without linking the systems. If Missouri wants Nebraska’s data, they can ask for it—to look at, or to store. Nebraska doesn’t have to even know which they did. It uses the same routines that update FRS, or allow any network partner to view the data.
  
• Includes full-featured publishing as an integral part of the flow.
  Allows you to “shop before you buy”. Very fast lightweight services allow you to preview what’s there—and then you can drill down for details. But only for the info you really want. That saves you plowing through data you didn’t want, and saves your partners the trouble of sending it.
  
• Incorporates the very latest in geo-referencing. Facility 3.0 includes GeoRSS. Today, you can use it to express a point location (Lat/Long) in a format that every GIS tool already understands. Later, you can plug in facility boundaries—without changing a thing.
  
• Answers that impossible question: What isn’t there? Facility 3.0 finally manages deletes, through a special service that allows copies of the data to be kept current.
  
  So, if you are designing any flow, take a look a Facility 3.0 (to be released to the Network web site soon). And join me in recognizing Dennis—for getting there first, and for learning for us all how to get there—the hard way.
  
  
  

Big Win for the Network

This week, I’m off to the annual Emissions Inventory Conference. For the air regulators and air scientists, this is mostly about air emissions, what they mean, and how to use them in making decisions. For me, it’s about two things: Greenhouse gasses and the new Emissions Inventory System (EIS). If you aren’t an air person, EIS is the new database that EPA is implementing to replace the National Emissions Inventory System (NEI).

If you have been watching Exchange Network progress, NEI was one of the earliest data flows. We have made steady progress over the years with states implementing NEI. However, the release of EIS is a really big deal for the Exchange Network. Here’s why:

Since the inception of the Network, we have assumed that one day, it would be “the way we do things”. But all the old EPA systems had a “way we do things”. Mostly, it was some variation on “log on, upload a flat file, download an error check report, and if you pass, promote the contents of your file to production”. The Network has always been the new thing, going head to head against something folks already know. ECOS just adopted a resolution saying that it was OK to talk about the Network being the only way—but EIS was already there!

Like NEI, EIS has no user interface. There will be three ways to get data into EIS:
• Use an Exchange Network Node to deliver it using the Network
• Use a desktop client to deliver it via the Exchange Network
• Use the new Network Web Client to deliver it via the Exchange Network

By he way, if you haven’t seen that last item yet, Kudos to Chris Clark at EPA—the web client is a nifty web site acts a lot like a node—but you need not install anything. You can use it to submit data, or ask others for data, using the Network. Just get a NAAS ID and you are on your way.

There has been an increasingly urgent conversation in the Network governance of late about how we get to our targets on national systems. Guess what? When the transition to EIS is complete, we’ll be at 100% for one flow. WQX was technically first to declare that the Network is the only way, but the Office of Water still does not require reporting into STORET as a condition for all monitoring. In contrast, if you implement the Clean Air Act (CAA) under a delegation agreement, Emissions Inventor data submission is a mandatory element of the program. .

I can hear the counterpoint: If someone uses a web site to upload a file, how is that a win for the Network? Looks a lot like the old way. As it says on the back of your lottery ticket, “There may be more than one winner”.
• EPA will use only he fully automated CDX processes to handle the file, regardless of the submission option chosen.
• EIS will use an XML format that complies with EN data standards.
• The EIS QA is Network friendly. It isn’t Schematron due to the complexity of some of the rules. However, it is possible to run QA on a file without submitting it—EPA need not waste their time trying to load bad data. Meanwhile, your node can test the file, get the report (almost immediately), and notify you when done. If your system is good enough, you can set your node to deliver on a schedule, and automatically upload if I passes QA.
• EIS will use the Consolidated Emissions Reporting Schema (CERS). CERS is an Office of Air, Climate Registry, and Exchange Network initiative to ensure commonality between collections of emissions and GHG data.
• EIS will grow the Network community. Remember CAA Delegation? Well, some regions implement CAA where states are not delegated, but in some states, CAA is delegated to local authorities. When all these folks use the EN to report, sharing data prior to the reporting cycle is just around he bend.

Sounds like a win to me. I’m calling it one, and many thanks for to the Air program for buying in. Let’s make it worth their trouble.