FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY DOCUMENTATION
VERSION 2005

TITLE: US EPA NATIONAL PRIORITY SITES FROM CERCLIS

Geodataset Name:     EPANPL
Geodataset Type:     SHAPE
Geodataset Feature:  POLYGONS

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:

This dataset contains the NPL boundary information developed as one component of the Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR) National Priority List Site Coordinate Quality Assurance and Digitizing project undertaken in 1992 with the EPA's Environmental Photographic Interpretation Center (EPIC).

DATA SOURCE(S):                  US Environmental Protection Agency
SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS:   1:24000  1:250000
GEODATASET EXTENT:               Alachua, Brevard, Broward, Dade, Duval, Escambia, 
                                 Gadsden, Hillsborough, Jackson, Lake, Madison,
                                 Orange, Palm Beach, Polk, Suwannee, Volusia
DATE OF AUTOMATION OR SOURCE:   1991

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES
Datafile Name: EPANPL.DBF

NAME          WIDTH  TYPE      PRECISION
AREA          18     DECIMAL      5                        
PERIMETER     18     DECIMAL      5                        
EPANPL_        5     DECIMAL                              
EPANPL_ID      5     DECIMAL                              
CERCLIS_ID    12     CHARACTER                              
SITE_NAME     60     CHARACTER                              
REGION         2     DECIMAL                              
LATDD         12     DECIMAL      3                        
LONDD         12     DECIMAL      3                        
DESCRIPT      60     CHARACTER                              

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES CODES AND VALUES:

Item                  Definition
CERCLIS_ID            Site identification code number
SITE_NAME             Site name
REGION                EPA Region number
LATDD                 Site latitude in decimal degrees
LONDD                 Site longitude in decimal degrees 
DESCRIPT              FGDL added item containing SITE_NAME  

USER NOTES:

The project was designed to verify that existing site coordinates fell within site boundaries, create a GIS database of the site boundary information, and report on coordinate data accuracy.

The following information is an excerpt from the Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR) National Priority List Site Coordinate Quality Assurance and Digitizing Project Summary (TSPIC-93015, March 1993), Draft, Contract No. 68033532, pages 48.

Scale is an important factor in data usage. Certain scale datasets are not suitable for some project, analysis, or modelling purposes. Please be sure you are using the best available data.

1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the county level. 1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such as property parcel boundaries.

1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the multicounty or regional level.

1:250000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the regional or state level or larger.

Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data before using it for projects or analyses. Every effort has been made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact section of this documentation. For more information regarding scale and accuracy, see our web pages at:

http://www.geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html

FGDL QUALITY ASSURANCE STATUS:

-Reprojected data to FGDL Albers
-Set Precision to DOUBLE
-Set Tolerances to FGDL Standards
-Added DESCRIPT item based on SITE_NAME
-Dropped items: STATE_NAME, Redefined items based on CERCLIS_ID

REFERENCES:

DATA LINEAGE SUMMARY:
Boundary Compilation and Transfer Key information on site boundary sources is archived in the EMSLLV Report Locator Database. Report Locator records containing CERCLIS identification numbers were downloaded to ASCII text files. The text files were read into a dBase format file and related to the master database using CERCLIS identification numbers. Following this procedure, key information such as quadrangle names, AMD_PIC numbers, and Site/Spill Identification (SSID) numbers was obtained from the Report Locator Database and transferred to the master database. Once the master database was updated using Report Locator information, a site data sheet was designed and printed for each site, and a list of quadrangle names was generated. The data sheet provided the initial search information and space for compilation of additional information. The list of quadrangle names was used to order base maps. Boundary Compilation Once the data sheets were completed, the search focused on obtaining site boundaries. Site boundary sources include: CERCLA Atlas, EPIC Reports, EPA Regions and other sources (e.g., information obtained from the EPA headquarters library and federal facility boundaries obtained from quadrangle maps). The two primary sources used to gather site boundary information were the CERCLA Atlas and EPIC Reports. EPIC Reports were obtained for those sites not included in the CERCLA Atlas. These analyses contain boundaries keyed to both maps and photographic enlargements of the site. Boundaries obtained from the CERCLA Atlas and EPIC Reports were considered to be photointerpreted; however, some appear as nonphotointerpreted source due to their standardized shapes or point locations. On site data sheets, these cases were noted as nonphotointerpreted. If site boundaries could not be identified from the CERCLA Atlas or EPIC Reports, the appropriate EPA Region was contacted for boundary sources. In response to requests, a variety of maps and information were received from the regions. This information was considered to be nonphotointerpreted. Regional personnel were unable to assist in providing suitable site boundaries for 25 of the 1249 sites. Other sources of site boundaries included documents from the EPA library in Washington, D.C., and federal facility boundaries delineated on quadrangle maps. Site boundary source and photointerpretation information were recorded at the bottom of the data sheet. In most cases, discrepancies in site data concerning CERCLA identification numbers and site names were settled by referencing a set of publications representing the National Priorities List, 49 state reports (National Technical Information Services (NTIS) publication number: PB2963253). These publications were produced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Emergency and Remedial Response, Office of Program Management. Since no minimum mapping units were specified for this project, site boundaries obtained from various sources representing small sites, buildings, or point data were processed in the following manner. Small site boundaries mapped at 1:24,000 or 1:25,000 scale, were digitized. The smaller site digitized was approximately 1500 square meters or .15 hectacres (.4 acres). Minimum mapping units based on the constraints of digitizing hardware need to be established in order to assess the limitations of digitizing small sites at 1:24,000 scale. Standardized units of area (approx. 1/10 sq. inch) were used to represent sites with points or buildings (mapped using (missing text) scale site maps) as boundary sources. For the purpose of documentation, a photocopy of the site boundary used in this project was provided with the site data sheet. Site Transfer Site Boundaries were traced or transferred onto mylar overlays to the corresponding USGS base maps. In addition; the site boundary, registration marks, CERCLIS identification number, and site name were added to the mylar overlay. For the entire project, 7.5minute quadrangle maps at 1:24,000 or 1:25,000 scale were targeted as base maps. However, in some instances site size or geographical location required either multiple maps, small scale maps at 1:100,000 or 1:250,000 or odd scale base maps. In the case of multiple maps, if a significant amount of site area exceeded or extended beyond two 7.5minute quads, a smaller scale quadrangle was used. These sites were compiled and processed on an individual basis. For those sites in which the source was obtained from a difference scale than the base map or for those obtained from photographic prints, the boundary was transferred via the zoom transfer scope to the appropriate map base. Some sites were represented by more than one area. In these cases, boundaries were traced around individual site areas and an additional boundary enclosing the site areas was traced or drawn onto the mylar overlay. The encompassing boundary was used to generate the centroid coordinate for the group of site areas. Where data was available, multiple site areas were processed on an individual basis to insure quality of data. At this point in the process, site information had been compiled in several forms: a complete data sheet, a photocopy of the site boundary, and a mylar overlay with the site boundary registered to a base map. Notes: Two types of inherent data anomalies and nine types of data problems were encountered by the NGIS team. The following sections document problems that were encountered by the Team. Anomalies: NPL site with multiple areas According to the NPL boundary documentation, the large polygon enclosing multiple NPL areas was created to generate the centroid coordinates for the group of NPL site areas. The ARC/INFO region features created for such NPL sites only included the island polygons. Overlapping NPL boundaries There were cases where the boundaries of two different NPL sites overlapped. The overlapped area was included in the ARC/INFO region feature for both NPL sites. In the situations where labels for the polygons fell within one polygon, one of the labels was moved into an appropriate location after the attribute data were linked to the corresponding region feature. Below is a list of anomalous CERCLIS IDs. The type of anomaly encountered during processing is also listed. CERCLIS ID Anomaly Type FLD080174402 overlapping boundaries FLD041184383 overlapping boundaries In accordance with the accuracy factor reported in the NPL boundary documentation, Office of Emergency and Remedial Response (OERR), National Priority List Site Cordinate Quality Assurance and Digitizing Project Summary, any lines within 40 feet of each other were extented or deleted to become a coincident line. The CERCLIS IDs in which this condition occurred have been paired below. CERCLIS ID Anomaly Type FLD041184383 extented or deleted FLD080174402 extented or deleted

MAP PROJECTION PARAMETERS

Projection                           ALBERS
Units                                METERS
Datum                                HPGN
Spheroid                             GRS1980
1st standard parallel                24   0  0.000
2nd standard parallel                31  30  0.000
central meridian                    -84   0  0.000
latitude of projection's origin      24   0  0.000 
false easting (meters)               400000.00000
false northing (meters)              0.00000

DATA SOURCES CONTACT(S):

Name:                 United States Environmental Protection Agency
Abbr.name:            USEPA
Address:              401 M. Street SW
                      Washington, DC 20460 
Web site:             www.epa.gov               
Email:                nsdi@epamail.epa.gov              

FGDL CONTACT:

Name:                   FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY
Abbr. Name:             FGDL
Address:                Florida Geographic Data Library
                        431 Architecture Building
                        PO Box 115706
                        Gainesville, FL  326115706
Web site:               http://www.fgdl.org
Contact FGDL:
      Technical Support:	        http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfeed.html
      FGDL Frequently Asked Questions:  http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfaq.html
      FGDL Mailing Lists:		http://www.fgdl.org/fgdl-l.html
      For FGDL Software:                http://www.fgdl.org/software.html