About NEPAssist
NEPAssist is a tool that facilitates the environmental review process and
project planning in relation to environmental considerations. The web-based
application draws environmental data dynamically from EPA's Geographic
Information System databases and web services and provides immediate screening
of environmental assessment indicators for a user-defined area of interest.
These features contribute to a streamlined review process that potentially
raises important environmental issues at the earliest stages of project
development.
For documentation on available data features, see Description of Map
Features
For help using the tool, please see the NEPAssist help categories, found on the top of this page. If you still need assistance, please send an email to
nepassisthelp@epa.gov
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Selecting a Study Area
To get started, please select the
study area. Users may choose from many search options such as:
- Address
- Airport
- ZIP code
- City
- County
- State
- Congressional District
- Watershed
- Coordinates
Search by:
Address
To search using an address, enter the address and click Search. A map
centered on the address entered will be displayed.
Where possible, try using the following formats for addresses:
"Address,
city, state" or "Address, city, ZIP"
Airport
To search by airport, enter the 3-letter airport code and click Search. A map
centered on the airport selected will be displayed.
ZIP
Code
To view spatial data by ZIP Code, enter a valid 5-digit United States Postal
Service ZIP code in the text box provided and click Search. A map of the area
for the ZIP code entered will be
displayed.
City/State
To view spatial data by City or State, enter the corresponding city name or a
United States Postal Service 2-letter state abbreviation in the text box
provided and click Search. A map of the City or State entered will be
displayed.
County
To view spatial data by county, please enter the county and state associated
with the county in the text box provided and click Search. A map of the county
entered will be displayed.
Congressional
District
To search by congressional district:
- Begin by typing “cd: ” in the "Enter New Study Area" box followed by the state abbreviation and the 2-digit U.S. congressional district or the name of the congressional official. (Notice there is a space after the “:”).
- Click the “Search” button to the right.
- If you do not know the congressional district or full name of the
official, a dropdown menu will appear with corresponding codes and names to
choose from.
Watershed
To search by watershed:
- Begin by typing “watershed: ” in the "Enter New Study Area" box followed by the 8-digit USGS hydrologic unit code (HUC) or the watershed name.
- Click the "Search" button to the right.
- If you do not know the full 8-digit HUC or watershed name, a drop down menu will appear with corresponding codes and names to choose from.
Coordinates
To search by coordinates:
- Begin by typing the coordinates of your desired destination into the
"Enter New Study Area" box. Enter the coordinates with the latitude first
followed by the longitude using a comma to separate the two. Example:
38.628676,-77.085226.
- Click the search button on the right.
Using the Mapper Search Tool
Once you enter NEPAssist, you can use this tool to search for a new location
using the same capabilities as above. For Congressional Districts, enter "cd: "
and the district code or the name of the representative (Notice there is a
space after the ":"). If you do not know either, just enter your state's
abbreviation, and the program will offer suggestions to help. Similarly, for watersheds, type “watershed: ” followed by the 8-digit USGS hydrologic unit code (HUC) or the watershed name. Sometimes there
may be several places with the same name, and the search will return a few
suggestions to choose from.
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Viewing Map
Features
Depending on the location you have selected to study, multiple map views may
be available. All views are located along the toolbar at the top left corner of
the map.
The map may be viewed in different dimensions. The following are available for each view:
- 2D View the map in 2-dimensions. This is the standard
view for the map.
- 3D View the map in 3-dimensions. With the navigation
control, you can view cities and streets from different heights and angles.
Depending on the selected study area, these views are available:
Road - This view will display a map with a traditional depiction of roads, parks, borders, bodies of water and more.
Aerial - In this view, you will see a photo map of buildings
and geographical features from space.
Bird's Eye - In this view, you will see a low angle, high
resolution aerial map. In 3D mode, bird's eye images can be viewed in road and
aerial views, with or without labels.
Labels - In this view, you will see an overlay of street,
highway, and landmark names that can be applied to the photo maps in aerial or
bird's eye view.
Map
Features
To view map features, first expand the category under the "Select Map Contents" box, then select the feature you wish to be applied to the map. Several features may be selected at once. You may need to expand the menu further to see the legend for that feature.
Some things to note:
-
As you zoom in or out, some features, particularly demographics, become unavailable because they depend on the scale of the current map window. For example, when you zoom in on a single intersection, Population Density by State becomes unavailable. Likewise, when you zoom out to see the whole United States, Population Density by block, blockgroup, and census tract all become unavailable. When this happens, the option under "Select Map Contents" will be disabled and the feature will not be displayed on the map, even if it was selected before you zoomed in or out.
- Also, as you zoom out, facilities that are close together become
clustered. When you mouse over them, you will see a list of sites in the bunch
and as you zoom in, the sites will begin to separate.
- The order in which the layers are shown on the map will depend on the
order in which they are added. Turn layers on/off to change the order in which
they display on the map. If you zoom in or out, the order shown may change
depending on the order in which the data is retrieved.
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Description of Map Features
Please note that clicking on the feature name in the legend will give you
feature definitions and, in some cases, links to their sources.
Sites
Reporting to the EPA:
- Hazardous Waste
(RCRAInfo) - Hazardous waste is
waste that is dangerous or potentially harmful to our health or the
environment. Hazardous wastes can be liquids, solids, gases, or sludges. They
can be discarded commercial products, like cleaning fluids or pesticides, or
the by-products of manufacturing processes.
- Air
Emissions (AFS) - The Air
Facility System (AFS) contains compliance and permit data for stationary
sources regulated by EPA, state, and local air pollution agencies. States use
AFS information to prepare State Implementation Plans (SIP) and track the
compliance status of point sources with various regulatory programs under the
Clean Air Act.
- Water
Dischargers (PCS) - As
authorized by the Clean Water Act,
the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program
controls water pollution by regulating sources, such as municipal and
industrial wastewater treatment facilities, that discharge pollutants into
waters of the United States. EPA tracks water discharge permits through the
Permit Compliance System (PCS), which includes information on when a permit
was issued and when it expires, how much the company is permitted to
discharge, and the actual monitoring data showing what the company has
discharged.
- Toxic Releases
(TRI) - The Toxics
Release Inventory (TRI) is a publicly available EPA database that contains
information on toxic chemical releases and waste management activities
reported annually by certain industries as well as federal facilities. The
database also contains links to compliance and enforcement information.
- Superfund (CERCLIS)
- Superfund is the
Federal Government's program to clean up the nation's uncontrolled hazardous
waste sites. The National
Priorities List (NPL) is the list of national priorities among the known
or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants
throughout the United States and its territories.
- Brownfields
(ACRES) - The Assessment,
Cleanup, and Redevelopment Exchange System (ACRES) captures grantee reported
data on environmental activities and accomplishments (assessment, cleanup and
redevelopment), funding, job training, and details on cooperative partners and
leveraging efforts - a central objective of the Brownfields Program. The
information in ACRES is provided at the property and grant level.
-
RADInfo - The Radiation Information Database (RADInfo)
contains information about facilities that are regulated by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
regulations for radiation and radioactivity. RADInfo uses EPA's current "Standard Data Elements
For Facility Identification" approved on November 21, 2000. This State/EPA standard offers a common and
consistent way to identify facilities of interest to the EPA.
-
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
- The Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976
provides EPA with authority to require reporting, record-keeping and testing requirements, and restrictions relating to
chemical substances and/or mixtures. Certain substances are generally excluded from TSCA, including, among others,
food, drugs, cosmetics and pesticides. TSCA addresses the production, importation, use, and disposal of specific
chemicals including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos, radon and lead-based paint.
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Water Monitoring Stations:
- USGS Water Monitors
(NWIS) - The United States Geological Survey (USGS) water monitors layer is retrieved in real-time from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) website. The NWIS service provides current conditions from selected surface water, ground water, and water quality sites.
- EPA Water Monitors (STORET)
- Water
quality monitoring information comes from EPA's Storage and Retrieval (STORET)
System, a repository of physical, chemical, and biological monitoring data
from State and Federal agencies, watershed organizations, volunteer groups,
and others. Surface water, Ground water, and Others are general categories for
more specific STORET Station Types.
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Places (GNIS)
Places are obtained from The Geographic Names Information System
(GNIS) database. GNIS is a database that contains name and locational
information about more than two million physical and cultural features located
throughout the United States and its territories. GNIS points in NEPAssist
include:
- Schools
() Building or
group of buildings used as an institution for study, teaching, and learning
(e.g., academy, college, high school, university).
- Hospitals
() Building
where the sick or injured may receive medical or surgical attention (e.g.,
infirmary, clinic).
- Worship
Places () Building used for religious worship
(e.g., chapel, mosque, synagogue, tabernacle, temple).
-
National Register of Historic Places
()
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation.
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Transportation
- Airport
Polygons () - Airport
Polygons represent airport boundaries and airport runways within the United
States. All airports have a boundary and most have at least one runway.
- Airport
Points () - The Airport
points layer is public use airports extracted from The Public Use Airports
database of the National Transportation Atlas Databases-2001(NTAD-2001),
published by the Department of
Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
- Railroads
() - Railroads
are linear features representing the nation's railway system at a 1:100,000
scale. The railroads layer is produced by the Federal Railroad Administration
(FRA) and distributed as part of the National Transportation Atlas (NTAD).
Note that, due to source differences and the inclusion of historical rail
lines and rights of way, there may be differences in location and coverage
between this layer and the railroads depicted in the Virtual Earth basemap
layer.
Non-attainment Areas
In United States environmental law, a non-attainment area is an area
considered to have air quality worse than the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards as defined in the Clean Air
Act. Non-attainment areas must have and implement a plan to meet the
standard. An area may be a non-attainment area for one pollutant and an
attainment area for others. NEPAssist includes non-attainment areas for Ozone
8-hour, Lead (Pb), Particulate Matter (PM2.5) 24-hour, and PM2.5 8-hour.
- Ozone
8-hour (1997 standard)() - Ozone (O3) is a gas
composed of three oxygen atoms. Ground-level or "bad" ozone is not emitted
directly into the air, but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of
nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of
sunlight. Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor
vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are some of the major
sources of NOx and VOC.
- Lead
(2008 standard)() - Lead (Pb) is a metal found
naturally in the environment as well as in manufactured products. The major
sources of lead emissions have historically been from fuels in on-road motor
vehicles (such as cars and trucks) and industrial sources. As a result of
EPA's regulatory efforts to remove lead from on-road motor vehicle gasoline,
emissions of lead from the transportation sector dramatically declined by 95
percent between 1980 and 1999, and levels of lead in the air decreased by 94
percent between 1980 and 1999. Today, the highest levels of lead in air are
usually found near lead smelters. The major sources of lead emissions to the
air today are ore and metals processing and piston-engine aircraft operating
on leaded aviation gasoline.
- PM2.5
Annual (1997 standard)() -"Particulate
matter," also known as particle pollution or PM, is a complex mixture of
extremely small particles and liquid droplets. Particle pollution is made up
of a number of components, including acids (such as nitrates and sulfates),
organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles. "Fine particles," such
as those found in smoke and haze, are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller.
These particles, known as PM 2.5, can be directly emitted from sources such as
forest fires, or they can form when gases emitted from power plants,
industries and automobiles react in the air. These areas exceed the 1997
annual design value for PM 2.5.
- PM2.5
24-hour (2006 standard)()
-"Particulate matter," also known as particle pollution or PM, is a complex
mixture of extremely small particles and liquid droplets. Particle pollution
is made up of a number of components, including acids (such as nitrates and
sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles. "Fine
particles," such as those found in smoke and haze, are 2.5 micrometers in
diameter and smaller. These particles, known as PM 2.5, can be directly emitted
from sources such as forest fires, or they can form when gases emitted from
power plants, industries and automobiles react in the air. These areas exceed
the 2006 24-hour design value for PM 2.5.
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Demographics 2000/2010
Demographics 2000 data are from the 2000 U.S. Census of
Population and Housing. Demographics 2010 data are from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-year Summary (ACS).
The demographic elements are mapped using boundary
layers (block, blockgroup, tract, county and state) derived from the
U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER/Line
2000. The fields available are:
- Population
Density (People/sq mi) - Persons per square mile is computed by
dividing the total population count by the land area in square miles.
Available by block, by blockgroup, by tract, by county, and by state.
- Per
Capita Income - Per capita income is computed by dividing the
collective income for all persons 15 years and over by the total population
count within the area. Available by blockgroup, by tract, by county, and by
state.
- Minority
(%) - Percent minority includes all races except non-Hispanic
white persons. Available by block, by blockgroup, by tract, by county, and by
state.
- Below
Poverty (%) - Percent below poverty is
computed by dividing the sum of persons living below the poverty level by the
number of persons for whom poverty status is determined. Available by
blockgroup, by tract, by county, and by state.
- Education
< 12G (%) - The percentage of adults (18 years and older) who
have not completed high school. Available by blockgroup, by tract, by county,
and by state.
- HS
Diploma Only (%) - The percentage of adults (18 years and older)
who have a high school diploma only. Available by blockgroup, by tract, by
county, and by state.
- College Degree
(%) - The percentage of adults (18 years and older) who have a
Bachelors degree or above. Available by blockgroup, by tract, by county, and
by state.
- Age
< 18 years (%) - The percentage of population under 18 years
old. Available by blockgroup, by tract, by county, and by state.
- Homes
pre-1950 (%) - The percentage of homes built before 1950.
Available by blockgroup, by tract, by county, and by state.
- Speak
English < Well (%) - Percentage of population that speak
English less than well is computed by dividing the sum of population speaking
English less than well with the sum of population. Available by blockgroup, by
tract, by county, and by state.
- Female
(%) - Percentage of female population is computed by dividing the
female population by the total population. Available by blockgroup, by tract,
by county, and by state.
- Rental
Units (%) - Percentage of rental units is computed by dividing
the number of rented housing units by the total number of occupied housing
units. Available by blockgroup, by tract, by county, and by state.
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Water Features
- Impaired
Streams () - Streams that have excess
pollutants and are not clean enough to support recreational uses.
- Impaired
Water Bodies () - Water Bodies that
have excess pollutants and are not clean enough to support recreational uses.
- Sole
Source Aquifers () - A sole or principal
source aquifer as an aquifer that supplies at least 50 percent of the drinking
water consumed in the area overlying the aquifer. These areas may have no
alternative drinking water source(s) that could physically, legally and
economically supply all those who depend on the aquifer for drinking water.
For convenience, all designated sole or principal source aquifers are referred
to as "sole source aquifers"(SSAs).
- Streams
() -
Streams are linear surface water features. The streams layer is based on the
National Hydrography Dataset (NHD)
1:100,000 scale streams network.
- Water
Bodies () - Water bodies are area
surface features such as ponds, lakes and wide rivers. The water bodies layer
is from U.S. Census Bureau
TIGER/Line 2000.
- Watershed
(HUC12) () - - Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC)
are used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to catalog bodies of water.
Selecting this feature will highlight the boundaries of each watershed.
Note that streams, water bodies, and watersheds are dependent on the map
scale. You may need to zoom in to see them.
Boundaries
- Congressional
Districts () - A
congressional district is an electoral constituency that elects a single
member of a congress. A congressional district is based on population, which
in the United States is determined by taking a census every ten years.
- City
Boundaries () - City boundaries
are derived from the 2000 Census
TIGER/Line data. These boundaries include incorporated cities and census
designated places.
- Federal
Lands (By Agency: No Data , BIA , BLM , BOR , DOD , FS , FWS , NPS , OTHER , TVA ) - Federal Lands are any land
other than tribal lands that are controlled or owned by the United States,
including lands selected by but not yet conveyed to Alaska Native Corporations
and groups organized pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of
1971. This feature is downloaded from the USGS.
- Zip
Codes () - Zip codes are numbers
that identify each postal delivery area in the United States. The zip code
boundaries feature is provided by TeleAtlas, 2008.
- Counties
() - The Counties feature portrays the county boundaries of the United
States. A county is the largest territorial division for local government
within a state in the United States. This map feature is downloaded from the
U.S. Census
Bureau.
- States
()
- State boundaries are derived from 2000 Census
TIGER/Line generalized boundaries for state and state equivalent areas.
- EPA
Regions ( Region 1 , Region 2 , Region 3 , Region 4 , Region 5 , Region 6 , Region 7 , Region 8 , Region 9 , Region 10 ) - EPA Administrative
Region boundaries derived from State boundaries
- Townships
() - This data set
portrays the Public Land Surveys of the United States, including areas of
private survey, Donation Land Claims, and Land Grants and Civil Colonies. It
is intended for geographic display and analysis at the national level, and for
large regional areas. The data should be displayed and analyzed at scales
appropriate for 1:2,000,000-scale data.
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USA
Topo Map
This map presents land cover imagery for the world and detailed topographic maps for the United States. The map includes the National Park Service (NPS) Natural Earth physical map at 1.24km per pixel for the world at small scales, i-cubed eTOPO 1:250,000-scale maps for the contiguous United States at medium scales, and National Geographic TOPO! 1:100,000 and 1:24,000-scale maps (1:250,000 and 1:63,000 in Alaska) for the United States at large scales. The TOPO! maps are seamless, scanned images of United States Geological Survey (USGS) paper topographic maps.
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National
Land Cover 2006
Land cover is the physical material at the surface of the earth. Land covers
include grass, asphalt, trees, bare ground, water, etc. Land cover is distinct
from land use despite the two terms often being used interchangeably. Land use
is a description of how people utilize the land and socioeconomic activity -
urban and agricultural land uses are two of the most commonly recognized
high-level classes of use. The land cover color scheme may seem slightly
different in the map versus in the legend because the map feature has been made
transparent for easier viewing when overlaying with other data sets.
Soil
Survey Map
USDA/NRCS SSURGO: This layer shows the Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) by the
United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation
Service.
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National
Wetlands Inventory Wetlands
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is the principal Federal agency
that provides information to the public on the extent and status of the Nation's
wetlands. The Service's strategic plan for our vast national wetland data
holdings is focused on the development, updating, and dissemination of wetlands
data and information to Service resource managers and the public. The
development of the Wetlands Master Geodatabase is in direct response to the need
to integrate digital map data with other resource information to produce timely
and relevant management and decision support tools. Wetlands provide a multitude
of ecological, economic and social benefits. They provide habitat for fish,
wildlife and a variety of plants. Wetlands are nurseries for many saltwater and
freshwater fishes and shellfish of commercial and recreational importance.
Wetlands are also important landscape features because they hold and slowly
release flood water and snow melt, recharge groundwater, act as filters to
cleanse water of impurities, recycle nutrients, and provide recreation and
wildlife viewing opportunities for millions of people.
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FEMA Flood
Q3
Flood Hazards
Q3 Flood Hazards layer is portraying an older set of flood hazard data when
data for areas which flood hazard data are not available from the National Flood
Hazard Layer (NFHL).
Flood
Hazard Zones
Flood hazard areas are defined as the area that will be inundated by the
flood event having a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given
year. The 1-percent annual chance flood is also referred to as the base flood or
100-year flood. Special Flood Hazard Areas(SFHAs) are labeled as Zone A, Zone
AO, Zone AH, Zones A1-A30, Zone AE, Zone A99, Zone AR, Zone AR/AE, Zone AR/AO,
Zone AR/A1-A30, Zone AR/A, Zone V, Zone VE, and Zones V1-V30. Moderate flood
hazard areas, labeled Zone B or Zone X (shaded) are also shown on the FIRM, and
are the areas between the limits of the base flood and the
0.2-percent-annual-chance (or 500-year) flood. The areas of minimal flood
hazard, which are the areas outside the Flood Hazard area and higher than the
elevation of the 0.2-percent-annual-chance flood, are labeled Zone C or Zone X
(unshaded).
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Identifying Map Features
In NEPAssist, you can identify additional information on map features using the following methods:
To use the Identify Tool
For the following map features use the identify tool button to gain additional information:
- Transportation
- Water Features
- Non-attainment Areas
- Boundaries
- Demographics
- Soil Survey
- National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) Wetlands
- First click the () button to open the
Identify Tool.
- Click on the radio button () of the data feature you want to identify in the Map Contents. The following features can be selected for identification: Transportation, Water Features, Non-attainment Areas, Boundaries, Demographics, Soil Survey, and National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) Wetlands.
- In the Identify Tool window, there are three options: point, rectangle,
and custom area.
- Point - you can click on the data feature you want to identify on the map. Doing so will provide detailed information on the data feature selected.
- Rectangle – drawing a rectangle will allow you to identify multiple data features on the map. For example: if you want to identify multiple schools, you can draw a rectangle around the schools that you would like to identify. Detailed information will be provided for all the data features selected on the map.
- Custom area - you can draw a custom shape on the map as well. To do so, left-click at each corner of the shape and right click at the last one. If the shape is not closed, it will automatically connect the first and last corners.
Identifying Additional Information on Map Features
For the remaining map features such as EPA facilities, water monitoring
stations and places, NEPAssist can generate or link to many different reports
throughout EPA's databases. Listed below is an example of how to generate the
reports.
To view a facility report for any facility reporting to the EPA, first turn
on the appropriate data feature for the type of facility (e.g., TRI, PCS). When
you mouse-over the facility, it will tell you the type of facility and provide a
link to the Envirofacts report for the
specific category. From here, you can find information about permitting,
inspections and violations, cleanup history for Superfund
sites, demographics, compliance history and watershed for this site. Mousing
over a site on the map also provides a link to the Enforcement and
Compliance History Online (ECHO) report for the facility.
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Define Report Area
You can draw an area and then generate a detailed environmental report for
that area. Using this tool, you can draw a point, line, area, or rectangle. You
can also specify a buffer area radius (e.g., go 1 mile out in all directions)
for which the report will be generated.(Note: You need to change the buffer
before you generate the report or the default radius will be used.)
Start by opening the Define Report area dialog box by clicking the Draw
() button on the left.
To start with a point, click the () button.
- Next, click a point on the map that you want to define. Give it a name and
a description, then click "Continue".
- You can specify a radius around the point you want to include in the
reports by mousing over the point and entering a value where it asks for the
buffer. The default is 0.5 miles.
To draw a line, click the () button.
- For each click on the map, a corner or vertex is added and the line can
change direction. Right-click to end drawing. Give it a name and a
description, the click "Continue".
- You can specify a radius around the line you want to include in the
reports by mousing over the line and entering a value where it asks for the
buffer. The default is 0.5 miles.
To draw an area, click the () button.
- For each left-click, a vertex is added. When you are ready, right click to
set the last vertex. You must have at least three vertices. Give the shape a
name and a description, then click "Continue".
- You can specify a radius around the area you want to include in the
reports by mousing over the area and entering a value where it asks for the
buffer. The default is 0.0 miles.
When you mouse-over a defined report area, you will see two more options in
addition to the buffer setting: NEPAssist Report and Delete. Delete will remove
the digitized feature from the map. NEPAssist Report will generate the reports.
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NEPAssist Report
To generate a report using NEPAssist, you must first draw your project area
on the map. For more information on drawing your project area see Define Report Area.
Once you have drawn your project area, established a buffer and given it a
name, mouse over the drawn area to show the project description window. From
there you can click on the NEPAssist Report button located in
the project description window.
Once you click on the NEPAssist Report button, a report will be generated based
on environmental data available specific to your project area. Information in
the report will be displayed as a series of questions with yes or no answers
based on the location of your project area. The report questions are drawn from publicly available datasets available through EPA databases and web services. The National Report is drawn from nationally available datasets and the State Reports are drawn from datasets available through the EPA Regions. Click on a hyperlinked question to view the data source and associated metadata. If your project area crosses multiple states, NEPAssist will provide a consolidated report containing available information on the multi-state project area.
To gain additional information regarding particular questions, please click on
the yes or no answer associated with that question. In a separate window, the
project area map and selected question will appear with additional information,
including the ability to change the buffer around the point, line or area you
included in the initial report. For example: If based on your project area
the initial answer to "your project area is within 1 mile of a Brownfields site"
was yes; you can click on yes and see additional information such as the name
and distance of the Brownfields site within 1 mile of your project area as well as
change the buffer around your project area to see additional Brownfields sites if
applicable.
NEPAssist also links to another EPA tool, EJ View, to generate detailed
reports based on the geographic areas and data sets. To access EJ View through
NEPAssist, click on the "Link to EJView Report" button at the bottom of the
NEPAssist report.
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Understanding the Data
The NEPAssist application draws and displays environmental data from many
locations and sources to easily provide access to this information in one place.
Metadata
Each mapping layer and report question in the NEPAssist application is supported by metadata that
can be viewed in the data description window.
Metadata describes the contents and context of the data files, including the
source, the date the data was generated, accuracy, and projections. When
accessing information in NEPAssist, the data file and corresponding metadata
need to be referenced by the user. Do not reference the NEPAssist application
directly because data layers within NEPAssist are continually updated and
refreshed when more current data is available.
For example: If you have a hazardous waste site in your project area, cite the EPA Envirofacts database, and the last data retrieval date from the EPA source database, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo) System.
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Printing
To print your map, click the Print button.
This creates a new window with three sections:
- A map title at the top. To edit the title, click in the title area and
type your own descriptive title.
- The map, including a scale bar.
- A map legend is on the right.
Use your browser's print function to send the map to a printer.
Usage Note: Some layers may not appear in the printout of
your map. Currently there are limitations using the Print tool. The NEPAssist mapper layers are provided by multiple map services. It
uses transparency properties to display layers from multiple services. Browsers
can interpret transparency in HTML documents, however printers cannot interpret
the transparency properties for display purposes. The result is that only the
top layer will be visible on the printed page.
Alternate print method: If the resulting printout is
insufficient for your use, please press ALT-PrintScreen (for PC users) to
capture the image, and CTRL-V to paste it into an editor for presentation.
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