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The State of New Hampshire publishes the Demonstrated
Node Configuration (DNC) on the NSB
Website. enfoTech served as the primary
contractor for the development of the DNC.
The DNC will serve as a guidance for other states considering
to establish their own data transfer point, or Node,
on the Exchange Network, which may consequently help
reduce implementation efforts, time and costs. Contact
Us for more information.
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enfoTech Successfully
Connects State Environmental Agencies with EPA's Information
Exchange Network via CDX
As more and more environmental regulations are developed and
refined each year, the EPA is increasingly finding itself sitting
on top of a mountain of environmental information (applications,
reports, compliance, enforcement, etc.). Collecting and managing
this information has been a challenge for years — a challenge
that could be significantly addressed by streamlining the process
using reliable electronic data exchange methods. The
EPA has responded to this challenge by committing to build
a National
Environmental Information Exchange Network (NEIEN) to
allow the sharing of environmental information. The NEIEN
facilitates information sharing amongst the EPA, other federal
agencies, regulated organizations, and state, local and tribal
governments through the use of Network Nodes. Built on a Web
services model used extensively in the business world, Network
Nodes act as information gateways to foster machine-to-machine
information exchange – thus reducing the need for human
involvement in the information exchange process. EPA is currently
developing their own Network Node that will allow Network
Partners (i.e., EPA, States, Tribal, and regulated facilities)
to submit and query environmental information from EPA's multitude
of environmental programs such as Toxic Release Inventory,
Permit Compliance System (PCS)/Discharge Monitoring Data,
Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), National Emission
Inventory, and several others.
Tying in State Environmental Agencies
The majority of environmental information collected by the
EPA comes from the State Environmental Agencies. Because of
this, the establishment of State Nodes is beneficial by allowing
the EPA (as well as other Network partners) to query the environmental
information they need, when they need it, without requiring
human intervention.
In order to foster an increased availability of State environmental
information, the National Steering Board (NSB) for the NEIEN
project initiated a Node pilot project consisting of representatives
from the EPA and 7 states (Delaware, Maine, Mississippi, Nebraska,
New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Utah) to pilot the development
of State Network Nodes. They were charged with developing
not only working Network Nodes, but the Node design specifications,
protocol, and security guidelines that would serve as a model
for all 50 states.
enfoTech Answers the Call
enfoTech was selected as a consultant to help construct
both New Hampshire's and Delaware's Node — the only
contractor to be hired by multiple states. enfoTech's unique
combination of environmental Web application development expertise,
NEIEN experience, and expert environmental regulation domain
knowledge has made them a perfect selection for Network Node
construction and consulting, and helps establish them as a
prominent force in the Node development process.
During this process, enfoTech provided their experience to
develop a technical write-up which helped inform the design
specifications and protocol upon which the Network Nodes are
now based.
Delaware Node Successfully Completed by
enfoTech: A Streamlined .NET Implementation Approach
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources decided to
implement their Network Node by using the Microsoft .NET framework.
Recognizing the reasonably low cost of initial development
software such as Visual Studio .NET, they opted to use this
tool without relying on a higher-end Application Server such
as Biztalk. Using the .NET framework, their Node was able
to interface with their state-wide SQL Server database in
their multi-tiered network environment. enfoTech helped Delaware
ensure that their Node successfully operated in accordance
with the Node 1.0 Specifications. The Delaware Node was successfully
completed on 12/06/2002. The Node has been demonstrated to
flow Facility data to CDX. The Node was then fine-tuned to
meet the Node 1.0 specifications on 3/21/2003.
New Hampshire Node Successfully Completed
by enfoTech: A Biztalk Powerhouse Approach
The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services took
a slightly different approach, opting to utilize a comprehensive
approach that integrates scalability features of Biztalk server
to deploy their Network Node and to provide a broader foundation
to support multiple data flows from various environmental
program areas. Their Node implementation relied on an Oracle
database from which to draw their environmental information,
and a SQL Server database to track Node logging information.
Once again, enfoTech helped New Hampshire ensure that their
Node successfully operated in accordance with the Node 1.0
Specifications. The New Hampshire Node was successfully completed
on 12/06/2002. The Node has been demonstrated to flow Facility
data to CDX. The Node was then fine tuned to meet the Node
1.0 specifications on 3/21/2003.
Building a Node for your infrastructure
environment: Java or .NET Implementations
The first decision that must be made when a State undertakes
a Node construction project is to select the developing environment
upon which the Node will reside. Currently, this means a decision
between a Java (J2EE) approach, or a Microsoft (.NET) approach.
enfoTech has successfully completed Node construction in both
Java and .NET environments.
Understanding that many States prefer to implement Java-based
Network Nodes, enfoTech has constructed a Network Node fully
compatible with the J2EE Java framework. These Node capabilities
were demonstrated to a meeting of representatives from 9 states,
EPA headquarters, and EPA Regions 2, 3, and 5 in February
2003. enfoTech demonstrated bi-directional environmental information
exchange between a .NET Network Node and a J2EE Network Node,
thus demonstrating the interoperability of the Web services-based
Network Node architecture.
Building a Node to meet your business requirements:
Simplified vs. Comprehensive Approaches
Another consideration for Node construction is to choose
between "simple" and "comprehensive" approaches. A final decision
could be made based on:
- Available funding
- State infrastructure and knowledge readiness to implement
the Node
- Needs for multiple data flows from various environmental
programs
A general bench-marking analysis has been completed by enfoTech
to provide you with a quick overview.
enfoTech could help you with Network Node
projects
Although there are a few States that have been in the vanguard
of Network Node construction, other States are still in the
process of learning exactly what a Node is and beginning to
examine how a Node can help streamline their business processes.
enfoTech has provided assistance to several state environmental
agencies, including Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New
Jersey. enfoTech has worked closely with the IT and Program
Area staffs at these agencies to complete a Readiness Assessment
project to identify potential areas that could benefit by
adopting Exchange Network principles, point out areas (either
IT infrastructure, resource availability, or data flow processes)
that may need improvement, and finally, propose a multi-year
transition plan.
Moving Forward
The activities cited above, in addition to enfoTech's Node
construction and consulting activities currently in progress
at other States, help to firmly establish enfoTech as the
premier consultant and implementer of State Network Nodes.
Moving forward, enfoTech's State Network Node construction
strategy is to develop Nodes that work best within a State's
existing environment, while ensuring that they abide by all
required Node specifications and security standards.
For additional information or comments on this document,
please contact:
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