FY-2015-Exchange-Network-Grant-SN-FINAL (rev 10.20.14).pdf

Fiscal Year 2015 National Environmental Information

Exchange Network Grant Program

Solicitation Notice

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Environmental Information

Office of Information Collection Information Exchange and Services Division

Information Exchange Partnership Branch October 20, 2014

Fiscal Year 2015 National Environmental Information Exchange Network Grant Program

Table of Contents

I. Funding Opportunity Description

I-A. Background

I-B. Grant Program Funding History and Results

I-C. Assistance Activities

I-D. Environmental Results Supported by Assistance Activities

I-E. Program Priorities

I-E.1. Exchange Network Priorities

I-.E.2. E-Enterprise Priorities That are Being Incorporated into the EN Program

I-F. Partnership Agreements

II. Award Information

II-A. General Information

II-B. Types of Assistance

II-C. Funding Restrictions

III. Eligibility Information

III-A. Eligible Applicants

III-B. Threshold Criteria for Funding Goals

III-C. Eligibility Criteria for Partnership Applications

III-D. Cost Sharing or Matching

IV. Application and Submission Information

IV-A. Submission Date and Time

IV-B. Intergovernmental Review

IV-C. Partnership Agreements

IV-D. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

V. Application Review Information

V-A.1 Exchange Network Evaluation Criteria

V-A.2 Evaluation Criteria for EN Projects that Relate to E-Enterprise

V-B. Review and Selection Process

V-C. Anticipated Award Dates

VI. Award Administration Information

VI-A. Award Notices

VI-B. Administration and National Policy Requirements

VI-C. Reporting

VI-D. Dispute Resolution Provision

VI-E. Unliquidated Obligations

VI-F. Additional Provisions for Applicants Incorporated Into the Solicitation

VII. Agency Contacts

Appendices

Appendix A: Suggested Exchange Network Data Exchange Activities ....................................... A-1

Appendix B: Cloud Transition Grants for EN partners ................................................................... B-1

Appendix C: Shared CROMERR Services ................................................................................................ C-1

Appendix D: Detailed Instructions for Submitting Applications ................................................. D-1

Appendix E: Sample Project Goals, Outputs and Outcomes ........................................................... E-1

Appendix F: Contracts and Subawards .................................................................................................. F-1

Appendix G: Checklist of Documents to Submit ................................................................................. G-1

Appendix H: Quality Assurance Reporting Form .............................................................................. H-1

Appendix I: Reusability: RCS and ENDS ................................................................................................. I-1

Appendix J: How to Register in RCS ......................................................................................................... J-1

Appendix K: Definitions .............................................................................................................................. K-1

Fiscal Year 2015 National Environmental Information Exchange Network Grant Program

Overview Information

Agency Name and Office: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Environmental Information (OEI)

Funding Opportunity Title: FY 2015 National Environmental Information Exchange

Network Grant Program

Announcement Type: Availability of Funding Solicitation

Notice Funding Opportunity Number: EPA-OEI-15-01

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.608

Dates: November 24, 2014 - Deadline for submitting applications to EPA July 31, 2015 - Expected Award of FY 2015 Exchange Network Grants

I. Funding Opportunity Description In FY 2015, the National Environmental Information Exchange Network (Exchange Network, Network or EN) Grant Program is focusing on Phase 2 of the EN and the incorporation of certain aspects of the E-Enterprise for the Environment (E-Enterprise or EE) initiative into the EN program. The general goals of the EE initiative align with the goals of the EN program, and, for this reason, the incorporation of certain EE initiatives into the EN program will further the goals of Phase 2.

The Exchange Network is a partnership that supports better decision-making through improved access to environmental information. EPA and agencies from states, tribes, and territories are collaboratively building the Network to improve the nation’s ability to understand, protect, and preserve human health and the environment.

The aspects of the EE initiative that we are incorporating into the EN program will improve environmental outcomes and dramatically enhance service to the regulated community and the public by maximizing the use of advanced monitoring and information technologies, optimizing operations, and increasing transparency.

In addition to supporting similar goals, the EN and EE also affect similar stakeholders. EE began as joint U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/state effort, and the EE leadership is reaching out to Indian Tribes to integrate them into this initiative.

While we believe the EE initiative activities that we are incorporating into the EN program are important, we maintain that it is also appropriate to continue to devote the significant majority of EN funds to continue to support the Phase 2 (and Phase 1) goals developed over the previous years (e.g., the implementation of new priority flows and the development of Web services/APIs and access tools and applications). For this reason, we are setting aside a portion of the EN funds for the new EE related activities. Eligible applicants (page 25) may apply for, and potentially be awarded two grants: one for traditional Phase 2 (or Phase 1) activities and one for the EE activities that are being incorporated into the EN program. We are phasing in the new EE related activities because we still have work to complete under Phase 2 of the EN program, and because we want to evaluate the effectiveness of the EE related activities prior to committing a larger portion of the limited resources available for the EN program. Applicants may apply for grants under one category or both, but they must submit separate applications for each grant for which they apply. The Agency will evaluate, score, and rank proposals under each category separately, and it will develop separate ranking lists for each category of EN grants. An award for an EE related grant will not exclude an applicant from receiving a traditional Phase 2 (or Phase 1) award for an EN grant and vice versa.

Exchange Network partners use Web services and standard data formats to electronically report, share, and integrate both regulatory and non-regulatory environmental information. Web services and machine-readable data formats allow for automated machine-to-machine communication over the Internet. EN partners can use those services to automate reporting requirements; integrate data sets for analysis, power mobile and desktop applications; support more efficient business processes; and be consistent with EPA's Open Data Policy1. More information about the Exchange Network is available at www.exchangenetwork.net.

The Exchange Network Grant Program provides funding to states, tribes, inter-tribal consortia and territories to develop and implement Web services, Web Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and associated tools and applications that support efficient, open, and timely access to environmental data. Grantees will be required to register their work products in EPA’s Reusable Component Services (RCS) database to promote discovery and reuse by other EN partners.

The focus of EE is on improving environmental outcomes. E-Enterprise is an initiative to fully integrate and streamline the way government protects the environment. Ideal E- Enterprise related projects for EN grants are those that improve efficiency, modernize programs, and reach across organizational boundaries.

I-A. Background

Exchange Network: EPA and its state, tribal, and territorial partners continue to invest collaboratively to expand the Exchange Network. Guided by the Exchange Network’s Phase 2 implementation plan, approved by the Exchange Network Leadership Council in spring 2013, EPA and its partners will build upon the success of the Network’s Phase 1 to enable timely, on-demand access to environmental data through innovative technologies, improved support systems, and expanded collaboration. In Phase 2, the Network community actively

1 http://www.epa.gov/digitalstrategy/pdf/EPA_OpenDataPolicy_ImplementationPlan_2013Nov26.pdf http://www.exchangenetwork.net/ http://www.epa.gov/digitalstrategy/pdf/EPA_OpenDataPolicy_ImplementationPlan_2013Nov26.pdf works to:

• build Web-based services and APIs that deliver environmental data in standard machine-readable formats;

• develop mobile, desktop, or Web applications that consume data via Web services and APIs and present information to users for analysis and access;

• expand the use of the Network for data reporting to EPA data systems;

• expand inter- and intra-partner data sharing including programs where EPA does not have a central data store (e.g. institutional controls for cleanup sites);

• expand the use of the Network for meeting goals related to transparency and open data; and

• develop new technologies that make data sharing easier and less costly.

To date, Exchange Network partners have almost exclusively used Exchange Network Node or Node Client software to submit or publish data via Web services2. Nodes and Node Clients will continue to be important tools for EN partners into the future, particularly for supporting secure reporting to EPA data systems. However, with Phase 2’s emphasis on data access and availability, the Exchange Network Leadership Council (ENLC) and the Network Technology Board (NTB) are actively embracing additional approaches to Web service development that complement the traditional Node-based services.

RESTful Web services and APIs may offer partners a simpler and more flexible alternative for meeting certain business needs, such as lightweight data publishing and mobile application development. The NTB has developed guidance and standards for partners that wish to build RESTful Web services and APIs. Applicants should review that guidance for an explanation of REST and the options available for building EN-compliant REST services3.

In their project descriptions, applicants should propose a design approach (with or without a Node) that best meets their business needs and is consistent with Exchange Network guidance and standards. Applicants should also make data available in eXtensible Markup Language (XML). As business needs dictate, applicants are also encouraged to offer data in additional machine-readable formats such as JSON and CSV.

E-Enterprise: E-Enterprise grew out of a recognition by environmental regulatory agencies that they needed to streamline the way they do business. As EPA began to develop its policy of converting paper reporting to E-Reporting, the Agency realized that the process has to include its co-implementers as well as a thorough update of both business processes and the use of technology, an effort that many of EPA’s state partners have already begun. EPA, and states acting through the Environmental Council of States (ECOS), agreed that it made sense to pursue this process together. In September 2013, ECOS and EPA signed a charter to create the E-Enterprise Leadership Council (EELC). As EPA issues the 2015 Solicitation Notice, the E-Enterprise Leadership Council is working with the tribes to include them in the partnership.

With the limited funding available this year for the new EE related activities that are being

2 http://www.exchangenetwork.net/exchange-network-products/ 3 The document is available at: http://www.exchangenetwork.net/rest-guidance/ http://www.exchangenetwork.net/exchange-network-products/ http://www.exchangenetwork.net/rest-guidance/ incorporated into the EN program, EPA will focus on a few priorities (described in section I.E.2 on page 16), including business process analysis and reengineering and business architecture development. EPA will only accept E-Enterprise related project proposals from partnerships to maximize the value of this work.

The statutory authority for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Exchange Network Grant Program will be the State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) heading in EPA’s Fiscal Year 2015 appropriation. The FY 2015 President’s Budget requests $9,964,000 for the National Environmental Information Exchange Network activities. Funding of grant applications under this Solicitation Notice is subject to the availability of program funds in the FY 2015 annual appropriation for EPA. EPA is making $1.4 million of EN program funds available for projects implementing E-Enterprise activities that are being incorporated into the EN program.

I-B. Grant Program Funding History and Results

FY 2015 is the fourteenth year EPA will be awarding Exchange Network grants. From FY 2002 through FY 2014, EPA provided approximately $190 million for state, tribal and territorial awards and associated program support through the grant program. As of May 2014, all 50 states, 94 tribes and 5 territories have received Exchange Network grants4.

For information on the progress of the data exchanges, see http://www.exchangenetwork.net/. This year, for the first time, EPA is making grant funding available for E-Enterprise related projects.

I-C. Assistance Activities

This Solicitation Notice requests that states, tribes, inter-tribal consortia, and territories develop and submit applications that support the Exchange Network or E-Enterprise priorities in Section I-E. For Exchange Network proposals, applications must commit to and clearly describe the development and implementation of EN tools and services reusable by other partners or the development and implementation of technologies and services directly related to Exchange Network activities. Examples of EN activities are in Section I-E and in Appendix A. Applicants may propose projects that include activities other than those listed as examples, provided they are consistent with EN priorities and conform to Exchange Network technologies, services and specifications. For E-Enterprise related EN proposals, applications must explain how the project can be replicated by other states and tribes and how the grant funded work will benefit the Exchange Network and be consistent with E-Enterprise principles. Building on previous EN grant priorities that were focused on data exchange, the EE-related work must benefit the overall E- Enterprise initiative, including harmonized rulemaking, streamlined business processes, and advanced monitoring.

EPA will determine the eligibility of each applicant (see Section III-A). EPA will then evaluate applications from eligible applicants based on the evaluation criteria in Section V-

4 For descriptions of previously awarded Exchange Network Grants, please see:

http://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/grants/index.html http://www.exchangenetwork.net/ http://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/grants/index.html

A. Applicants are responsible for reading and complying with the instructions and criteria found in this Notice.

I-D. Environmental Results Supported by Assistance Activities

EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment. Timely access to information supports strong environmental decision-making and improves the ability of EPA, with its state and tribal partners, to carry out that mission. The Exchange Network helps states, territories, tribes, and EPA share environmental information more efficiently and effectively over the Internet. Phase 2 of the Exchange Network will make data critical for decisions more readily available. Efficient sharing of and increased access to high-quality data among EN partners strengthens their ability to make sound environmental decisions including improved priority setting and resource targeting. E-Enterprise will support EPA’s mission by streamlining and reducing the burden of business operations, fully integrating Exchange Network technology and services into business operations, and increasing the use of advanced monitoring technologies to improve environmental outcomes and increase building on the achievements of the Exchange Network. E- Enterprise is an initiative to improve environmental outcomes and increase transparency.

Applications under this Solicitation must clearly demonstrate support of the EPA 2014-2018 Strategic Plan, Cross-Agency Strategies, Objective of “Launching a New Era of State, Tribal, Local, and International Partnerships”5. It is EPA policy to directly link work supported by assistance agreements to the Agency’s mission and Strategic Plan.

Grant applications, assistance agreements, and work plans must all have outcomes that lead to or are instrumental in achieving environmental results supporting the Agency’s mission and Strategic Plan goals.

Applications for E-Enterprise-related EN projects under this Solicitation should also support the EPA September 30, 2015 Agency Priority Goal to “Improve environmental outcomes and enhance service to the regulated community and the public.” The goal states, “By September 30, 2015 reduce reporting burdens to EPA by one million hours through streamlined regulations, provide real-time environmental data to at least two communities, and establish a new portal to service the regulated community and public6.

Consistent with EPA’s goal, states, tribes, and territories should address similar goals to reduce reporting burdens to their own agencies, support cross-agency sharing of real-time environmental data, and establishing interoperable state and EPA portals.

5 EPA’s 2014-2018 Strategic Plan can be found at: http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2014-2018-strategic-plan 6 EPA’s 2014-2015 Agency Priority Goal can be found at http://www.performance.gov/node/360?view=public#apg http://www2.epa.gov/planandbudget/fy-2014-2018-strategic-plan http://www.performance.gov/node/360?view=public#apg

Goals, Outputs, Outcomes and Environmental Results EPA recognizes that Exchange Network and E-Enterprise-related EN projects do not directly produce environmental results and will therefore evaluate applications based on the major technical and non-technical outputs and outcomes of the proposed work. Each proposed goal should have at least one outcome the applicant expects will lead to or be instrumental in achieving an environmental result.

Examples of Project Outputs:

development of schema development of Web services and application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable data publishing establishment of new interagency processes, advanced monitoring systems, portals, or shared services issuance of Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

Examples of Project Outcomes:

improving the timeliness and accuracy of environmental data reducing burden and costs associated with data management and reporting increasing access to environmental data from program systems or real-time environmental data from advanced monitoring systems supporting better decision-making by building data access for environmental professionals and the public facilitating place-based decision-making through the inclusion of quality locational data which transcend jurisdictional boundaries streamlining and harmonizing source environmental regulations and policies to avoid inconsistent, redundant, or cumulative burden achieving operational efficiencies and reducing burden for regulated entities and citizens through new interagency processes or shared services

Figure 1-1 below presents an example workplan for an Exchange Network project showing the relationship of goals, outcomes and outputs leading to environmental results.

Figure 1-1: Exchange Network Project example

Goal 1 – Electronic Notice of Intent (eNOI) and eForms

Goal 1 Outcome(s)

1. Increased availability of timely, high quality data to other Exchange Network Partners will improve environmental decision–making.

2. Increases efficiency needed to review and process notice of intent applications, allowing program implementation resources to be spent on other environmental needs.

Output Scheduled Date

1.1 Design and develop Microsoft.Net Web forms/

pages for each NOI.

January 2016

1.2 Design and develop eForms to TEMPO

automated data migrations.

February 2016

1.3 TEMPO administrative review and technical

review automation and quality verification routines.

March 2016

1.4 Create and Implement GIS active data layers. December 2016

1.5 Create and implement ICIS-NPDES XML data

flows, flow data using State Node to Exchange Network Node.

December 2016

Each goal should result in a major deliverable, such as a sustained dataflow.

Applications should list and schedule major outputs that lead to achieving a goal.

Each goal should have at least one outcome that leads to environmental results.

Figure 1-2 below presents an example workplan for an E-Enterprise-related EN project showing the relationship of goals, outcomes and outputs leading to results that streamline a source environmental policy or the services for implementing that policy.

Figure 1-2: E-Enterprise Related EN Project example

Goal 1 – Federated Identity for Regulatory Reports in State X and Tribe Y

Goal 1 Outcome(s)

1. Integrate with a federated bridging solution that will allow a business to reuse a single set of credentials (e.g. user ID and password) for environmental sector services across multiple levels of government.

2. Integrate the bridging solution in zz reports for affected regulated entities in State X and Tribe Y.

It is estimated that 25,000 regulated entities submitting this report must also directly report to other EPA regulatory reporting systems. This will reduce burden for identification and authentication across federal and state governments by 1,250 hours annually.

Output Scheduled Date

1.1 Analysis and redesign of zz reporting system

to accept protocols and standards for TFS.

January 2016

1.2 Communications plan for existing and new

users describing new process for identity management.

March 2016

1.3 User acceptance testing in test environment. June 2016

1.4 Transition of user accounts and move new

identity system to production.

August 2016

1.5 Use-case documentation and lessons learned

for distribution to other E-Enterprise stakeholders.

October 2016

Each goal should result in a major deliverable, such as a streamlined service or new shared service.

Applications should list and schedule major outputs that lead to achieving a goal.

Each goal should have at least one outcome that leads to results that streamline a source environmental policy or the services for implementing that policy.

I-E. Program Priorities

EPA expects Exchange Network assistance agreement supported projects will improve the exchange of and access to high-quality environmental data from public and private sector sources.

I-E.1. Exchange Network Priorities

In FY 2015, the Exchange Network community will be fully engaged in Phase 2 development efforts. For prospective applicants not familiar with the current focus of the Exchange Network, Phase 2 emphasizes making data available through Web services and application programming interfaces (APIs), inter-partner data sharing and reporting to new national priority systems. This is in contrast to the first phase of the Network, which focused more on grantees reporting regulatory data to EPA as mentioned in the Phase 2 Implementation Plan7.

EPA will place a high priority on activities that advance Phase 2 goals. These include:

development of Web services and APIs that deliver automated access to environmental data;

reusable tools and applications that support data access and analysis and are built to consume Web services and APIs; new regulatory reporting data flows; use of Virtual Node services; and use of Cross Media Electronic Reporting Regulation (CROMERR) compliant shared services. EPA recognizes that partners continue to implement automated reporting to the 10 EPA National Priority data systems that were the focus of Phase 1. EPA will support states, federally recognized tribes and territories in completing these priority flows through Exchange Network grant funding.

EPA is categorizing Exchange Network grant priorities into two tiers. In general, Tier 1 focuses on Phase 2 activities (development of Web services/APIs and access tools and applications, implementation of new priority flows, integration of virtual node services into a partner’s information technology infrastructure, implementation of new national data exchanges). Tier 2 focuses on Phase 1 priorities including the implementation of the original 10 priority data exchanges and the reminder of Exchange Network related activities.

As described in Section V-A (evaluation criteria), applications that include at least one Tier 1 goal are eligible to receive 30 points. Applications that include at least one Tier 2 goal but no Tier 1 goal are eligible to receive 20 points.

No Exchange Network grant funds will be available to state, federally recognized tribes, intertribal consortia and territorial partners for node development projects. EPA is making available, and encourages all applicants to use, the Agency’s new virtual node. Furthermore, operations and maintenance of flows is not an eligible activity for funding.

7 Available online at:

http://www.exchangenetwork.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Phase_2_Implementation_Plan.pdf http://www.exchangenetwork.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Phase_2_Implementation_Plan.pdf

Tier 1 Exchange Network Activities:

Development of Web Services/APIs and Tools that Promote Data Access and Support Better Environmental and Public Health Decisions. Applications will include projects that improve access to environmental information for environmental program staff, managers, the public and other stakeholders. Projects will include goals that lead to the creation of Web services and APIs that make data available in XML and other standard machine-readable formats (e.g. JSON, CSV). Applicants should consider opportunities to share data across programs within their organization; across agencies within a state or tribe; or with EPA. Applicants should also consider opportunities to build Web services and tools that support EPA’s open data and transparency goals and serve interested non-governmental organizations, research institutions, and the public.

Example activities include:

Creating Web services and APIs that make data available in XML and other machine-readable formats.

Creating Web services and APIs that support cross-program data integration and support more efficient environmental business processes such as permit writing or compliance inspections or cross-jurisdictional data comparisons analyses or integration.

Creating tools that consume Web services and APIs to support access and analysis of environmental information. Examples of such tools include:

Desktop, laptop, mobile, and Web applications that allow users to display, analyze, or collect environmental information.

Web sites that allow users to access environmental data sets that are available through Exchange Network Web services or APIs.

Dashboards for program managers, EPA and other Agency executives.

Example datasets may include institutional controls at contamination sites, data on cleanup sites, data sets of national significance to tribes (such as open dumps), Underground Storage Tank data, and data that support environmental management of multi-state or regional airsheds, watersheds, and water bodies of priority concern (such as the Great Lakes or Chesapeake Bay). See appendix A for more detail on specific project opportunities.

Grantees must use either existing EN-based services, APIs, and schemas or new EN-based services, APIs, and schemas that conform to Exchange Network standards and design rules. This includes REST-based APIs that conform to the Network’s REST guidance and standards. Information on the Network’s technical standards and design guidance are available in the Knowledge Base of the Exchange Network website (http://www.exchangenetwork.net/knowledge-base). Grantees must register grant-funded data flows and Web services in the Exchange Network Discovery Service (ENDS).

Grantees must register grant-funded tools, applications, schemas, and other reusable resources in the EPA Reusable Components Service (RCS).

http://www.exchangenetwork.net/knowledge-base

Specific Tier 1 activities include:

New EPA Reporting Data Flows. Applications will include goals to implement data flows that enable Exchange Network reporting to and from EPA data systems. Applicants must commit to register these data flows in ENDS. The new flows include:

Integrated Compliance Information System – Air (ICIS-Air), which will replace the Air Facility System or AFS;

Safe Drinking Water Information System (SWDIS) Prime;

Electronic Notice of Intent (eNOI) flow to Integrated Compliance Information

System – National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (ICIS-NPDES);

eManifest Radon and Assessment TMDL Tracking & ImplementatioN System (ATTAINS)

Virtual Node Implementation Support for States, Tribes, and Territories. Applicants should commit to the transition from locally installed nodes to the EPA-hosted Virtual Node, creation of data publishing services and new data flows on the Virtual Node and support Virtual Node-related security analyses and plans. Applicants must commit to register all virtual nodes in ENDS. Appendix B provides a detailed description of the Virtual Node and suggested implementation activities.

Shared CROMERR Services and Components. Applicants will commit to the design of systems to use one or more EPA Web services that provide CROMERR compliant functionality, such as electronic signature, to reduce or eliminate redundant development by partners and streamline Technical Review Committee (TRC) application reviews. Applicants must commit to register these tools in RCS. Appendix C provides a detailed description of the EPA CROMERR services.

Examples of specific potential projects related to these broad topics include:

ICIS-Air Collaborative Opportunity: A partnership application that includes joint state, local government or a regional or national Clean Air Act association to create a tool that facilitates the exchange of CAA stationary source compliance and enforcement data between and among state agencies, air pollution control districts or local agencies and EPA. The focus of this opportunity is to enable states and locals to develop and implement a common tool to easily exchange data using the EN with the modernized Air Facility System (AFS), ICIS-Air. EPA plans to deploy ICIS-Air in 2015. Applications should clearly identify all partners and their roles and responsibilities. The lead applicant must be an eligible entity (Section III-C). Projects eligible for the partnership level funding must include two or more states. Partnerships eligible for this opportunity may have state or local agencies from two or more states or by having a Clean Air Act association with members that come from two or more states in the partnership.

eReporting Collaborative Opportunity: A partnership proposal that builds an eReporting system integrating one or more EPA Web services that provide CROMERR compliant functionality such as electronic signature. In order for this proposal to be eligible for funding, applicants must commit to flowing the reported data to EPA using the Exchange Network, which will provide a complete end-to-end electronic reporting solution for environmental data. An example of an e-reporting grant proposal would be Clean Air Act Title V reporting (such as annual compliance certifications).

Continuous Water Quality Monitoring Collaborative Opportunity: A partnership to develop an exchange of water quality sensor data. Continuous water quality monitoring (monitoring performed with a sensor that measures a particular parameter or suite of parameters automatically at set intervals) is becoming more common. The EPA Office of Water (OW) is exploring options for enabling the exchange of this type of data. Several partners have been sharing summaries of this type of data using the Water Quality Exchange (WQX). WQX has worked well for sampling data, but the data model for sensor data is inherently different. It uses less metadata for more results. Because of this, approaches for sharing sensor data may also be different. This project would take advantage of current thinking on the publishing approaches defined under Phase 2 of the Exchange Network, as well as make use of the Exchange Network REST specification. EPA is evaluating approaches that would allow state, tribal and territorial partners to share sensor by using a publishing service from their node or via a cloud node. As a Phase 2 project, partners should consider approaches that would make water quality sensor data available via a publishing service that would allow for data to be cataloged and searched from a central portal. Project work plans should include a commitment to evaluate schemas developed for sharing this type of data, such as the recently approved Open Geospatial Consortium WaterML 2.0 standard8 and the Sensor Observation Service9. The partnership would also work with EPA on defining approaches for integrating this information with sampling data made available from WQX, as well as providing public access to this combined set of information. Through this project, EPA is seeking to more fully represent the complete set of water quality data that is being collected by continuing to support WQX for water quality sampling data while identifying new approaches for sharing sensor data.

Tier 2 Exchange Network Activities:

Phase 1 EPA Reporting Flows. Additional funding for completing 10 priority flows as listed in Appendix K (Register in ENDS)

1) Implementation by an Exchange Network partner (or partners) of any of the 10 flows for which an applicant has not received funding; or ,2) Addition of entirely new modules to existing dataflows. For example, adding an entire class of UIC reporting, adding a new RCRAInfo module, or adding a new data family under ICIS-NPDES.

Cross-Media Electronic Reporting Regulation (CROMERR). Development and deployment of CROMERR upgrades to an existing electronic reporting system, described

8 http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/waterml 9 http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/sos http://www.opengeospatial.org/standards/waterml in a CROMERR application previously approved by EPA, to bring it into compliance with the regulatory standards. Applicants must commit to registering these resources in RCS.

Collaborative Opportunity. Partnership to develop multi-program CROMERR application for states that currently do not have an enterprise-wide approach or to adapt CROMERR solutions already approved by EPA that other states have implemented. (An application that additionally commits to using the new EPA components and services that will provide CROMERR-compliant functionality will be scored as a Tier 1 proposal.)

Collaborative Tribal Opportunity. Tribal governments and inter-tribal consortia are eligible to apply for Exchange Network grants to build tribal capacity that will enhance environmental programs on tribal lands and a tribe’s ability to share environmental data electronically with EN partners. Collaborative tribal capacity building proposals must include multiple tribes and identify tribes with existing capacity that can serve as mentors. Collaborative tribal capacity proposals must identify specific outputs that result in the increased ability to share environmental information electronically with EPA or other EN partners (for example, developing a backend database for a priority data system).

Updating large national data sets. Schema development effort that will enable states to flow data through the Exchange Network to update large national datasets that fall under Appendix E of OMB Circular A-16: “Coordination of Geographic Information and Related Spatial Data Activities.” These datasets can include the National Hydrography Dataset (NHD), National Watershed Boundary dataset, National Wetland Inventory Dataset, National Elevation Dataset, Geographic Names Dataset and others listed in A-16.

In addition to the priority activities above, EPA programs have identified other activities listed in Appendix A. The tier for these other activities are in bolded, italicized text in Appendix A. For each data system in this appendix, the tier is identified either in a note directly following the list of activities for that system (if the activities are all in the same tier) or in parentheses after each activity if the activities within a system are in different tiers.

I.E.2. E-Enterprise Priorities That are Being Incorporated into the EN Program

Consistent with the Exchange Network grant priorities, EPA is creating two tiers of EE related grant priorities in the EN program. Tier 1 focuses on activities that will lay the groundwork for a successful intergovernmental partnership to streamline and modernize the “enterprise” of environmental protection. Tier 2 focuses on immediate progress toward joint EPA, State, Tribal, and Territorial enterprise-wide performance goals for one million hours of regulatory burden reduction. In both tiers, EPA will only accept project proposals from partnerships, and the project outcomes must be transferrable to other partners.

As described in Section V-A (evaluation criteria), applications that include at least one Tier 1 goal are eligible to receive 30 points. Applications that include at least one Tier 2 goal, but no Tier 1 goal, are eligible to receive 20 points.

Tier 1 E-Enterprise Related EN Activities:

Joint Enterprise Architecture (EA) Analyses. The EPA has acquired federal contract support for an E-Enterprise EA analysis. A copy of the task order is available on www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/grants . Although the contract task order is structured to be collaborative, the scope and available funding will have limited capacity to perform detailed analyses of internal state, tribal, and territorial programs. To support active contribution of intergovernmental analyses, the E-Enterprise and Exchange Network Leadership Councils have chartered the Enterprise Architecture Integrated Project Team (IPT). Applications cannot be limited to participation in joint IPT meetings. Projects must include significant analysis of business processes and systems within and across state/tribal and EPA governments. The projects must lead to qualifying outputs as described in Section V-A.2, and those outputs must adhere to guidelines and approaches established as part of this joint EA IPT.

In order to understand, protect, and preserve human health and the environment, the partner governments in the national enterprise of environmental protection must not only share data in a standardized way, but understand the context of the data and the interrelationships of the source programs, processes, and services that drive the information exchange. Enterprise architecture is a disciplined framework for analyzing these interrelationships and identifying more effective and efficient ways of coordinating among environmental regulators.

Example activities include:

Strategic and Business Architecture: In support of Task 1 on the EPA contract, use reference models and other tools to conceptually organize and analyze strategic performance goals, mission functions, and business processes. This will help to identify the breadth of services offered across environmental agencies and establish a baseline for analyses of performance improvements and shared services.

Functional Integration: In support of Task 3, identify groups of services within the environmental sector that support similar functional requirements across multiple programmatic and organizational silos. This would include intergovernmental services that share common customers and interact with those customers through similar mechanisms. For example, a qualifying application could propose cross-governmental analysis to identify shared services for reporting, permitting, financial assurance, labeling, registration, or signatures. This could also include cross-governmental policy harmonization or process improvement to address overlapping or inconsistent policies and procedures that inhibit the ability to offer shared or streamlined services.

IT Resource Optimization: In support of Task 4, conduct inventories of existing IT systems that support transactions between environmental regulators and regulated entities and other citizens. This includes the underlying data, applications, and infrastructure in state and tribal governments. Identify gaps in technology services, including opportunities to convert remaining paper-based processes to technology services. Identify inefficiencies and http://www.epa.gov/exchangenetwork/grants redundancies in existing IT systems and offer recommendations for new shared IT data, applications, and infrastructure, including cloud-based services, platforms or infrastructure.

Support for Policy Mandates: In order to coordinate distributed systems and shared services, there need to be standardized methods for analyzing and documenting individual IT systems and broader IT portfolios. In establishing common methods and standards across governments, it is important to identify any applicable policy drivers. At the federal level, EA is addressed in a variety of policies, and the documentation of IT architectures plays an important role in budgeting for IT capital investments. Task 8 of the EPA EA contract includes the development of standardized tools and formats for EA documentation. Example grant projects could include an analysis of corresponding state and tribal level policy mandates and the development of EA tools and documentation formats that comply with those policy mandates.

Participation in Pilot Projects. In addition to the broad and comprehensive Enterprise

Architecture analysis, the EPA will be focusing on immediate opportunities for shared services that can both reduce burden and optimize IT resources. As was the case with the overall EA project, these efforts are intended to be collaborative and will require state, tribal, and territorial participation on IPTs. Applications cannot be limited to participation in joint IPT meetings. Projects must include significant development and integration of services within and across state/tribal and EPA governments. The projects must lead to qualifying outputs as described in Section V-A.2, and those outputs must adhere to guidelines and approaches established as part of joint IPTs.

The EN has traditionally been focused on data exchange. The systems that collect or publish the data, however, can involve redundant processes and supporting technologies.

E-Enterprise principles support the natural next step in the evolution of the EN program to improve decision-making and environmental outcomes through a more comprehensive view of interrelated data and services.

Example activities include:

Federated Identity: The EPA is seeking opportunities to allow regulated entities to use a common set of credentials (e.g. login and password) across multiple environmental agencies and levels of government. To accomplish this in the most efficient manner possible, the EPA is researching the development of a single bridging solution. This federated bridge would accommodate a single identity for state/tribal-specific users and systems, CDX reporters, and users who would like to access My.USA.gov and other federal agency services that adhere to the Federal Identity Credential and Access Management (FICAM) trust framework solutions.

Portals: The EPA is initiating a scoping project for the development of portals for consolidating and streamlining services and information for regulated entities and the public.

Advanced Monitoring: The EPA has identified pilot initiatives for advanced monitoring, including the Village Green program. State, tribal, and territorial participation is needed to support the implementation of these programs in at least two communities in fiscal year 2015.

BPM Suites and Model-Driven Architecture: The EPA is implementing a pilot project for developing and coordinating environmental IT services from platform-independent models rather than hard-coded software. Grant funds can be applied to develop shared services for states and tribes using the same model-driven software suite.

Mobile Solutions: The EPA is scoping the development of mobile platforms or device-agnostic services that can be accessed from multiple mobile devices.

Specifically, the EPA is scoping the development of a National Inspection Evidence System, a tablet-based compliance inspection tool. Grant funds can support intergovernmental IPTs for scoping state inspection tools or other mobile solutions that support transactions with regulated entities.

Support for EELC Projects. On January 21, 2014, the EELC adopted a Conceptual Blueprint. Operating Principle #3 in the Blueprint is to “Modernize and Improve Environmental Regulations and Programs, and their Implementation.” In support of this effort to improve efficiency and performance, the Blueprint also includes Principle #4 for “Joint Governance Prioritizing Activities.” Specifically, the Blueprint states “Within the context of an overall E-Enterprise business case analysis, this principle anticipates the use of a return-on-investment (ROI) to assist the EELC in implementation decisions. The business case information and methods will also enable the measurement of progress and inform ongoing management of the initiative.”

The EELC began work on a prioritized list of action items from the Blueprint, including an action item to identify a list of potential E-Enterprise modernization and streamlining projects. On March 21, 2014, the EELC directed a Coordinating Team to manage the process of soliciting project proposals, including performing an initial screening of the projects and presenting them to the Leadership Council for further consideration. On March 31, 2014, the EELC Co-Chairs kicked off a solicitation to collect project modernization proposals from States, EPA Headquarters, EPA Regions and others.

During an E-Enterprise Leadership Council Meeting on May 22-23, 2014, the Council reviewed and evaluated 84 submitted proposals. The following five proposals were selected for further scoping and analysis:

Promote availability and use of water data for water resource protection.

Explore integrating and streamlining air emissions reporting Investigate business process improvements and smart mobile technology tools to support state and EPA inspectors.

Develop a “smart pesticide label” to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of the label in promoting safe pesticide use.

Pilot a compliance assistance and community service tool for local governments

The EPA has acquired federal contract support for the scoping of proposals that have been prioritized by the E-Enterprise Leadership Council (EELC). To support active contribution of intergovernmental partners, the E-Enterprise and Exchange Network

Leadership Councils are forming Integrated Project Teams (IPTs) with co-chairs from EPA and state/tribal representatives.

Grant applications may be submitted to support EELC priority projects. To ensure the widest benefit and adoption rate among qualified grant recipients, applications will not be limited to the original participants in the IPTs. Award of the grants will be contingent on approval of the project scoping analyses by the EELC, which will depend on a sound business case and a positive return on investment. The EELC approval must precede the convening of the grant proposal review panels. There are no guarantees that any or all of the scoping efforts will be completed soon enough to achieve EELC approval prior to the grant reviews.

Regardless of whether the EELC approved the scoping analysis, there are no guarantees that the projects will receive grant funding. The applications will be considered together with other Tier 1 and Tier 2 applications, and all projects will undergo the same review and selection process described in Section V-B. They will be subject to the same evaluation criteria described in Section V-A.2. In order to achieve Tier 1 status, the proposals must substantively align with the projects described in the original scoping proposals.

Modernizing the Legal Framework. Consistent with federal Executive Orders 12866, 13563 and 13610, the EPA is planning new regulations and retrospectively reviewing existing regulations to identity opportunities for regulatory burden reduction. Grant funds can support corresponding projects that address the roles of delegated partners at the state, tribal, and territorial level of government.

Example activities include:

Regulatory Reviews: Establishing policies and processes for tracking the relationships between federal and state regulations and identifying inefficiencies, redundancies, and cumulative burden in how EPA and the state collaborate to implement a policy.

E-Regulations: Establishing IT tools to support the tracking and analysis of regulations. For example, information systems are used by the Federal Office of Management and Budget, EPA, and various state and tribal programs to track the progress of active rulemakings. Through the appropriate use of metadata and application programming interfaces, these information systems could be useful in identifying the impact of new rulemakings on existing services, and evaluating whether the proposed rules could be harmonized with existing rules to minimize inefficiencies, redundancies, and cumulative burden. Similarly, information technologies could be helpful in accessing and analyzing existing codified regulations.