# **Landtrek Stakeholder Outreach Project**

##### Recommendation Report

*(Questions about this document, please contact Jill Engel-Cox,
engelcoxj@battelle.org, 703-875-2144)*

## Goal

Provide recommendations on the content of the Brookhaven National
Laboratory (BNL) Landtrek pilot project website by collecting and
summarizing input from select onsite staff and a select focus group from
the local community.

## Summary

Through a series of meetings with BNL staff and the local community,
recommendations were developed on the content and format of the Landtrek
website. In general, it is recommended that the website be (1) timely
and place-based, (2) interactive with simple information upfront and
detailed information available, and (3) linked with contextual and
supplemental information. These recommendations are presented in more
detail in the Discussion & Recommendations section of this report.
Example visualizations of the data format and content can be seen in
Figures 1, 2, and 3.

**Scope**

BNL is seeking to establish better communication with stakeholders on
environmental issues that are important to them, as well as increase the
ability of internal staff to review and evaluate site environmental data
easily and in a timely manner. This includes investigating how to
provide environmental monitoring data that is of interest to the
community and staff on the Internet or through other forms of public
communication. To this end, BNL is participating in Landtrek, a data
communication, geographic information system (GIS) project, which is
being funded and piloted at several U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
sites. Hazmed, an environmental and communications company in the
Washington, DC area, will conduct the technical portion of this project.
The initial focus will be groundwater data from several select active
facilities onsite.

The stakeholder outreach activity documented in this report feeds into
the larger Landtrek project by providing information for the content and
format of the website. The activities to collect this input included
research into other environmental monitoring and communication programs
to evaluate their strengths and areas for improvement. It also included
obtaining input from BNL stakeholders on the content and format they
would like the Landtrek website to include. This was accomplished by
working with BNL environmental and community involvement staff, who
helped in soliciting input from two major groups:

-   internal staff consisting of facility users, general staff, and
    media liaisons

-   local community members consisting of a select focus group of
    neighbors, government staff, regulators, and activists.

The stakeholder input, in conjunction with the background research, was
combined to develop recommendations on the content and format of the BNL
Landtrek pilot project, which will be implemented during the summer of
2000. The research, the stakeholder input, and the recommendations are
summarized below.

## Sources of Input

# The following details the sources of input for this project and what kind of information was solicited or extracted from that source.

#### Existing Sites and Projects

-   Reviewed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other public
    communication websites for the types of information and presentation
    that the public generally wants

-   Surveyed BNL existing data and databases.

#### Stakeholder Input

-   Met with Environmental Services and Environmental Restoration staff
    to understand what kind of data is available as well as how they
    would like to be able to see the data in order to help monitor the
    Laboratory for compliance and to prepare reports more efficiently

# Surveyed several BNL facility users to determine what kind of data and in what format they need that data in order to better monitor and understand their facility's environmental performance

### Conducted dialog session with two small groups of general staff (an invited focus group and a open presentation) to determine what kind of data they would be interested in as employees

-   Met with the BNL Public Affairs media/communications representative
    to determine the need for data and its format for media presentation
    and reporting to employees.

```{=html}
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-   Met with a focus group of select community members to determine what
    information they are interested in and in what format.

**Results of Background Research**

Making environmental monitoring data available in real-time or in a
timely manner is becoming easier with the advance of the Internet and
with improved environmental monitoring systems. Many organizations have
begun to establish monitoring websites and other communication
technologies to provide environmental information. Following is a
discussion of some of the more important and relevant organizations and
their strengths and areas of improvement.

*Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking
(EMPACT) Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency*

www.epa.gov/empact

EMPACT is a general program that funds over 40 public environmental
monitoring and communication projects through internal EPA program
offices and regions, as well as through grants to cities. The goal is to
assist communities to make time-relevant environmental information
readily available to the public so that people can make informed
day-to-day decisions about their lives.

EMPACT has done several surveys and focus groups in order to determine
what kinds of data and in what format the public is interested in. The
results indicate that people are interested in

-   *time-relevant information*, updated daily at least and presented in
    a timely manner so they can take action on the information if they
    choose

-   *place-based information*, generally on the community-scale

-   *interaction* with people or with other sources of information to
    help interpret data

-   *simplicity* in language, terminology, and graphics, with the
    ability to go for deeper information if they choose

-   *partnerships between organizations*, seeing different groups
    working together on a common issue

-   *electronic linkages* between monitoring information and relevant
    information elsewhere

-   *availability* of data from a variety of sources, including
    Internet, newspaper, television, radio, depending on the immediacy
    of the information being provided

The strength of the EMPACT program is that it has a clear vision and
criteria. It attempts to be driven from the grassroots level to provide
people the data they want, instead of a government program making the
decisions. The program struggles with managing its diverse range of
projects, including the conflict between very local programs
(implemented on a neighborhood level) and more visible far-reaching
programs (implemented on a state or national level).

*AirNow, EMPACT Project by EPA Office of Air and Radiation*

www.epa.gov/airnow

AirNow is a nationwide monitoring and mapping project that shows
ground-level ozone levels updated hourly. A user can look at the whole
nation's data or, in most cases, zoom into state or regional level maps.
The site provides links to state and city government air quality sites
for more detailed local information. The site also provides information
about the effects of ground level ozone on human health and what
individuals can do to minimize the impact on their health and on the
environment. See Figure A-1 in Appendix A for an example of the AirNow
map.

The strength of the site is its very clear and interesting maps. The
data is also near real-time and defines clear impacts and actions to be
taken. It contains interaction between state and local organizations and
points to more detailed data where needed. Its main weakness is the
difficulty in getting very fine-grained local maps, due to the limited
number of monitors in its system.

*New York State Ozone Forecast and the Pennsylvania Air Quality Site*

www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dar/bts/ozone/oz4cast.html

www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/aq/aqm/pollt.html

Two of the state sites that AirNow links to are the New York State Ozone
Forecast site and the Pennsylvania Air Quality site. The New York site
simply provides daily ozone forecasts and the previous day's ozone
levels with a one-word assessment (Good, Poor, etc.) as well as some
background information about ozone. The site gives levels for only two
portions of the state (upstate and downstate) and a small color-coded
map by county. See Figure A-2 for an example of the map. Overall, the
information is not very local nor is it presented in an interesting
format.

In contrast to the New York air quality site, the Pennsylvania site
provides detailed air quality information updated hourly for nearly 50
cities including PM~10~, PM~2.5~, Ozone, NO~x~, NO~2~, SO~2~, and CO.
The information is presented in a table format. At the bottom is
information about the air quality standards so a reader can compare
values. The information is very local, detailed, and timely, although it
is a bit difficult to compare the readings to health limits and to know
what action should be taken if any of the values exceed a certain level.

*MySound EPA Region II EMPACT Project and the Peconic Bay Brown Tide
Program*

www.mysound.uconn.edu

www.oasd.bnl.gov/peconic/

Several sites provide real-time water quality information for the Long
Island area. MySound is an EMPACT project developed through a
partnership between EPA Region II and the University of Connecticut. My
Sound provides real-time monitoring of water quality using monitoring
buoys in the Long Island Sound, as well as a weather station. See Figure
A-3 for an example of the map showing the buoy locations. The 3 main
buoys monitor for temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and, in the
future, surface hydrocarbons, nutrients/nitrate, and chlorophyll-A. In
addition to the real-time data, the site has time series and historical
data, as well as a glossary and supplemental information about what each
measured factor means.

The Peconic Bay Brown Tide Program will have 3 buoys in the Peconic Bay
between the north and south forks of Long Island, supported by several
weather stations and transmission towers. See Figure A-4 for an example
of the map showing the buoy locations. When the buoys are launched and
functioning, they will measure water temperature, conductivity,
salinity, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll-A. The site is just
developing so there is only minimal information.

Both of these sites are excellent in that they provide real-time
information about a local area. They are map-based and easy to navigate.
They also relate to a local environmental problem. Their main area of
improvement is that there is not a clear link between the data provided
and an event or an action people should take.

*U.S. Geological Survey, Real-time Water Data*

water.usgs.gov/realtime.html

The USGS Real-time Water Data site provides real-time hydrological data
for rivers and streams nationwide. This includes stream flow, stage
(height), and temperature. The data tables also provide a historical
daily mean stream flow so a user can compare this year to historical
averages. The main page of the site is a map of the U.S. with all the
stream monitors on as color dots, with red dots being streams below
normal, green dots for normal, and blue for very high stream flow (see
Figure A-5). Thus, by looking at the overview map, a user can clearly
see the regions and states that are experiencing droughts or floods or
any range in between. A user can get the same type of map for a state
(see Figure A-6). Additionally, a user can go directly to data tables
for the detailed information for each station for a state, or request
the 10 closest stations to any area clicked. The site is an excellent
example of providing summary information in a simple manner upfront,
then being able to get the same summary information at the state and
local level, with more detailed information that can be reached through
a few links.

*U.S. Department of Energy, Neighborhood Environmental Watch Network
(NewNet) and the Idaho Environmental Monitoring Program*

newnet.lanl.gov

oversite.inel.gov/

Several DOE sites provide real-time radiation monitoring. At Los Alamos
National Laboratory, NewNet is a network of environmental monitoring
stations that monitor real-time gamma air radiation. Access to the data
is provided through the Internet and local environmental teller
machines. The data is presented in graph format and the user can choose
the date range of data to view. The monitoring stations are located
throughout LANL and some in the local community (such as at local high
schools). The site was developed in response to local concern over
radiation exposure. The site includes some explanation of anomalies and
supplemental information about radiation. The strength of the site is
that is addresses a local issue in real-time and shows the data in an
easy-to-understand graphical format. It allows user interaction to
select the data and data range. However, the site does not provide very
detailed explanations of anomalies and their potential impact (or
non-impact) on the public. The map showing the locations of the monitors
does not clearly show their relation to site buildings, local
residential areas, site boundaries, or major landmarks important to the
public unfamiliar with LANL. The site also makes no effort to address
any LANL staff concerns.

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory provides
real-time weather and radiation monitoring at several locations on and
offsite of INEEL. The site just provides numeric values and some
supplemental information. One unique aspect is that it provides lesson
plans for teachers about the stations, about weather, and about
radiation.

**Results of Meetings and Interviews**

Detailed descriptions of the meetings and interviews conducted for this
project can be found in Appendix B (for BNL Staff) and Appendix C (for
Public Focus Group). The letter of invitation for the public focus
group, the distribution list, and the project fact sheets can be found
in Appendix D. Below is the summary of the results from those meetings.

*Internal BNL Staff*

The meetings with staff were with several diverse groups; therefore the
results also reflect that diversity. However, general conclusions can be
drawn from their input, including some that are distinct from the input
received from the public.

For groundwater data, staff are interested in both on and offsite wells
that BNL is responsible for, with links to community data in order to
show a context for the onsite data. The site should show flow trends,
layers, depth of sampling, depth to contamination, and the "cone of
influence" of each well. Additionally, they are interested in how the
data affects the Lab's drinking water, even if the answer is no effect.

There was a general feeling that while groundwater data was of interest,
it was not their main priority. One group expressed a strong interest in
drinking water onsite, including sampling results for lead and other
contaminant levels, shown at a building-by-building level. The second
major interest was air releases onsite, both radioactive and chemical.

Other content that staff would like to see included a strong emphasis on
standards, context, confidence intervals, control samples, and trends.
They felt that the data should be presented in terms people can relate
to easily. If a positive trend can be shown, that should be expressed
clearly. The data should also have a geographic context, so people could
see where they live in relation to what is being presented. Links should
be made to other BNL projects, such as weather information and the
Peconic River brown tide monitors. A way for people to get further
information ("Ask a Health Physicist") was also suggested.

The onsite facility managers were interested in water and air data that
is directly associated with their facility operations. They would like
to see the data on a monthly to quarterly basis, in graph format with
the source data included, and they would use it to determine regulatory
compliance. They currently rely on annual reporting for routine data and
phone calls if there are unexpected results. However, they are somewhat
reluctant to get their information from the Internet and would initially
prefer hard copy reports.

The staff that provide data to the media are interested in similar
issues as the public. However they noted that data to the media should
be in the form of simple downloadable graphics of historical and current
data. Contextually, they would like to see a glossary and comparisons to
other DOE sites, DOE standards, regulatory standards, and third party
information. They prefer getting their data from email and the Internet.

In summary, the following were the general results from onsite staff:

-   Key subjects of interest are: onsite drinking water and air
    emissions

-   Secondary subjects: groundwater, surface water, vegetation, fauna

-   Additional information wanted: contextual information, real-time
    weather

-   Important issue: Want data to be public but want people to
    understand the context of the data and to see that the lab is making
    progress

-   Access: Internet access is preferred.

*Local Community Focus Group*

The public focus group provided excellent and specific information about
the areas they were interested in, while understanding the initial focus
would be on groundwater. They represented diverse constituents,
including neighbors, government, regulatory, and activist.

For groundwater data, they wanted the information presented in an
interactive manner so they could select the type and format of data. The
format should be flexible and changeable, showing layers of data.
Information should be easy and quick to understand with backup
information available. They felt that how groundwater contamination
impacts drinking water is important. Thus, they are interested in a
geographical context for the groundwater data, showing where the plume
is going to and where it is coming from. A site or regional map should
show the location of all the wells, even if only a few have active data
for the pilot study. The map should have information about the local
roads so people can identify where they live. Links should be provided
to other groundwater data such as Suffolk County and other agencies in
the region.

Other than groundwater, they voted surface water as the top other media
of concern, in particular the Peconic River, but surface water issues in
general. Fauna was second, including deer and fish sampling. Third was
river sediments and fourth was air issues. Staff who were present at the
meeting also voted (as community members themselves) and their media
ranked: surface water, fauna, air, and soil.

Additional information the community was interested in included
confidence intervals, background dose, and cleanup levels. They were
interested in how samples were collected and how quality was assured,
thus they recommended a video or virtual tour of sample collection.
Other suggestions included a curriculum for students to use the data, a
question-and-answer area, and links to other websites. They only wanted
to see validated data. They recommended keeping the pilot simple and
developed initially without complicated datasets. This would help ensure
a successful pilot, generating the interest and more resources needed in
order to expand into a more comprehensive site.

In summary, the following were the general results from the community:

-   Key subjects of interest are: groundwater and how it relates to
    drinking water, surface (river) water, and fauna

-   Secondary subjects: air emissions

-   Additional information wanted: sources and destination of
    contamination, standards and units in understandable terms

-   Important issue: Make the information interesting and interactive
    for diverse audiences.

-   Access: Internet with email listserv for breaking news.

**Discussion & Recommendations**

The input gathered from staff and the public closely followed many of
the conclusions made by the EMPACT survey, especially that the
information should be

-   timely and place-based

-   interactive with simple information upfront and detailed information
    available

-   linked with contextual and supplemental information.

Based on the input from staff and the public, following are a series of
recommendations, divided into content and format recommendations. The
recommendations are presented with short descriptions and should be
supplemented with the additional information provided in the Results
section and in the detailed Appendices. Figures 1, 2, and 3 are draft
visualizations of the recommendations. Recommendations that are not
intended for implementation during the pilot phase but in future
expansions are identified with the phrase "*for later versions*."

*Recommended Content Components to Include:*

Initial Data

-   Initial pilot data should be groundwater data from BLIP and BMRR.

-   The initial focus should be on a simple dataset with the ability to
    grow.

-   Should make the pilot a successful and interesting site in order to
    generate more interest and resources.

-   Include key supplemental information, including FAQ/feedback e-mail
    space, site/facility descriptions, ambient information, glossary,
    groundwater information, etc.

Growth Potential

-   Ability to include data from other wells and other media easily
    should be made.

-   The main other media to focus on are (in priority order): on and
    offsite drinking water, surface water, air emissions, and fauna
    (*for later versions*).

Site Development

-   Focus groups would like to provide feedback in the beta stage and in
    future development.

-   SUNY Stony Brook students may assist with Java scripts (*for later
    versions*).

Access

-   All data provided should only be validated data.

-   Data should be quarterly unless it is available more often.

-   All data should be made available to all users.

-   Additional tools (especially remembering their work) should be made
    available to users who resister.

Updates

-   Provisions must be made to keep the site updated on a regular basis.

*Recommended Format Components to Include:*

Upfront Overview Map (see Figure 1 for an example)

-   Provide a simple overview map as the initial data presentation.

-   Overview map should be of the site and the local area and show the
    well locations (*for the pilot*) and other monitoring media and
    locations (*for later versions*).

-   Locations should be color-coded based on a standard so there is a
    clear message just from looking at the overview map (similar to the
    USGS water monitoring site in Figure A-5).

-   Clear supplemental information should also be provided at this
    level, such as groundwater flow direction, real-time wind direction,
    temperature, or other relevant environmental data.

-   A user should be able to easily locate their house (if near the
    site) or nearby landmarks on this map (*for later versions*).

-   Links to data provided by non-BNL sources should be provided and
    shown in their proper locations (*for later versions*).

Data Graphs (see Figure 2 for an example)

-   From overview map, be able to click on each well (or ultimately,
    each sampling site or air emission point) and see graphed
    information about that sampling/monitoring point.

-   Graph should show the time-series samples at that point as well as
    the most recent data; users could also select the time-series of
    interest.

-   Graph should also have context information (e.g., discharge
    standards) clearly marked.

Detailed Data (see Figure 3 for an example)

-   From the graph, be able to click into the detailed data in table
    format.

-   Also from the graph, be able to click into the following
    supplemental information: glossary, sampling techniques, regulatory
    information, and health data.

Interactivity

-   Allow for interactivity by the user to choose the datasets and the
    format they desire.

-   Make the information interesting.

-   Show animated plume maps of historical data (*for later versions*).

-   Show video of sampling techniques (*for later versions*).

-   Develop a curriculum so students can use the data (*for later
    versions*).

## ![](media/image1.jpeg){width="6.748425196850394in" height="6.314566929133858in"}  {#section .unnumbered}

## ![](media/image2.wmf){width="4.865354330708661in" height="1.4263779527559055in"} 

## APPENDIX A: Internet Maps from Other Sites

![](media/image10.png){width="4.625in" height="3.5541666666666667in"}

![](media/image12.png){width="6.5in" height="2.8805555555555555in"}

![](media/image13.png){width="5.208333333333333in"
height="3.3333333333333335in"}

![](media/image15.png){width="2.0416666666666665in"
height="1.8958333333333333in"}

## APPENDIX B: Summary and Notes of Staff Focus Group Meetings and Interviews

A series of group meetings, individual interviews, and e-mail
questionnaires were completed in order to collect information from BNL
staff as input to the Landtrek project. This included:

-   invited staff focus group meeting

-   public presentation followed by a brainstorming session

-   e-mail questionnaires with two BNL facility managers

-   personal interview with an interested staff member with facility
    experience

-   personal interview with a BNL staff media communications expert

Following are the notes and summaries of these meetings.

**Invited Staff Focus Group Meeting**

*Time and Location:*

# Tuesday, April 18, 2000, 12:00-1:30 PM, BNL Berkner Hall, Room C

*Attendees:*

Bill Brown

Victor Cassella

# Eloise Gmur

Diane Greenberg

Steve Schwartz

Joyce Tichler

Facilitated by: Kathy Geiger, BNL Public Affairs

Technical Presentation by: Jill Engel-Cox, Battelle

*Purpose and Activities:*

This meeting was held to collect input from staff on the kinds of
environmental information they are interested in and in what format and
medium they would like to receive the information. The audience
represented a range of staff, including administrative, technical, and
programmatic. The provided a wide range of ideas and were interested in
several particular areas of information, as described below. Their input
will be combined with input receive from other groups and a series of
recommendations will be developed. These recommendations will feed into
the development of the Landtrek Project, a DOE pilot project that is
seeking to provide environmental information to the public and staff.

*Results and Notes:*

Following are the list of comments that staff made during the meeting,
organized by subject area.

### 

### [Content]{.underline}

-   Link to BNL's real-time weather site or bring the data into the
    Landtrek site

-   Link to the satellite dish that has AVHRR and other satellite data

-   Include regulatory and other standards when presenting tritium well
    data

-   Include error bars

-   For air radioactivity emissions, include background radiation levels

-   Provide positive environmental information

-   Interested in most recent sampling drinking water data for each
    building, including amount of lead and other contaminants for each.
    Where does drinking water come from? How safe is it? Is it the same
    water in every building? What does the sampling show?

-   Interested in air releases onsite, both radioactive and chemical
    releases, link to weather page to show how this may impact the
    releases (may not be any continuous monitoring, but interested even
    in routine monitoring at buildings and perimeter); real-time gamma
    radiation monitoring would be of interest. Have a link to reports on
    historical air data releases.

-   Add a "Ask a Health Physicist" link so people can ask a specific
    question and get an answer; then summarize the questions in a FAQ

-   Interested in Peconic River brown tide monitors, general water
    quality, link to the real-time site
    (http://www.oasd.bnl.gov/peconic/) being done in partnership with
    Suffolk County.

-   Interested in UVA and UVB readings, perhaps included with weather
    data

-   Vegetation and deer readings of interest

-   Discussed badge data but decided that would not be representative of
    the staff population as a whole, just of those at higher risk of
    exposure due to their work.

### [Groundwater]{.underline}

-   For groundwater data, include data from onsite, offsite, and
    surrounding communities so you can see the context outside the site.
    Include county and other data sources, or at least link to them.

-   Offsite wells that BNL is responsible for should be reported

-   Show groundwater flow patterns and layers

-   Show depth of wells and what that means

-   Show the "cone of influence" for each well

-   If there is a big change in well data close to their building,
    provide information on how that impacts their drinking water and
    other factors related to working in that building

### [Format]{.underline}

-   Measures need to be bound by a standard, such as the NY Times that
    prints annual weather statistics versus maximums and minimums.

-   Need to show a context to make data meaningful

-   Use care that data cannot be used out of context

-   Do separate websites for staff who need data for work purposes
    versus data for the public

-   Use a uniform style, such as standard color codes from chart to
    chart, no matter the medium

-   Show data as a fraction of the standard, makes the data more
    consistent between charts and having to understand different units
    less important.

-   Be careful of data comparability.

-   Show trends over time, that the environment is getting better,
    especially for cleanup data

-   Be able to enter an address so someone could see exactly where they
    live in relation to data.

-   Data should have a geographic sense, and be able to select what
    overlays of other information you want to see.

-   Data should be timely. Real-time is nice, but timely is OK.

-   Most important factor is to show the context of the data, how it
    compares to other data it relates to, such as the curies released
    compared to the curies in standard rainwater, or how much deer meat
    you would have to eat to be above recommended levels for cesium

-   When measuring low numbers, again include the contexts, the control
    data, and uncertainty levels

#### Public Presentation on Environmental Data Public Communication

A presentation on public communication of environmental data was made
onsite during Earth Week. The presentation was open to the public
although primarily staff attended (attendees names were not recorded,
however). After an interactive discussion was held on the subject and
Landtrek was described, the attendees were invited to provide input on
the content and format of the website. Following is a summary of their
input:

-   Include some documentation of the quality and validity of the data.
    Data must be dependable.

-   Include impact data, such as the levels of contamination in fish,
    shellfish, and deer.

-   Show the change over time to document remediation and improvement;
    what it being done, how the plumes are shrinking.

-   Take a video of the plume water model (with the dye in the water)
    and include on website.

-   Show addresses on the maps or be able to find them, a dot that shows
    where you are if you enter in an address (like MapBlast or
    MapQuest).

-   Show graphs of stack emission data in relation to permitted limits

-   Show ambient data

-   Show historical data not just the most recent data.

-   Show the EPA limits and standards. Link to sites with information
    about health effects

-   Use consistent colors.

-   Consider doing website in another language, such as Spanish, to
    reach a wider audience.

-   Internet is the minimum, but consider other methods (TV, radio,
    press releases)

#### BNL Facility Managers E-mail Questionnaires

A short questionnaire was sent to two facility managers: Bill Chaloupka
of the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and Tim Powers of the Brookhaven
Medical Research Reactor (BMRR) Facility. Following are their responses
to the questionnaire (somewhat summarized to reduce redundancy):

+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| ##### Question         | **William            | **Timothy Powers -   |
|                        | Chaloupka - STP**    | BMRR**               |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| What kinds of data are | Water data only,     | I would like to see  |
| you interested in      | VOC, POC's that may  | sample data from the |
| seeing on a            | impact a potable     | three groundwater    |
| timely/time-relevant   | water supply well.   | wells                |
| basis? (This can be    | Also data on         |                      |
| any kind of            | hydrocarbons that    | outside of the BMRR  |
| environmental data:    | may be originating   | and air emissions    |
| air, water, soil,      | at the Fuel Storage  | that exit from the   |
| etc.)                  | facility in response | BMRR stack.          |
|                        | to the Major         |                      |
|                        | Petroleum facility   |                      |
|                        | license.             |                      |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| How often would you    | Quarterly is         | I would like to see  |
| like to see this data? | sufficient.          | this data monthly.   |
| (i.e., what is timely  |                      |                      |
| for you?)              |                      |                      |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| What would you use     | It would only be     | I will use this data |
| this data for?         | useful to determine  | for trending and     |
|                        | if a contaminant     | adherence to         |
|                        | plume was heading    | regulations.         |
|                        | for a water supply   |                      |
|                        | well or if the Major |                      |
|                        | Petroleum facility   |                      |
|                        | had a leak.          |                      |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| Which of these data    | Only ground water,   | I am most interested |
| are most important to  | because I don't have | in any radionuclides |
| you? Why?              | any regulatory       | leaving the BMRR via |
|                        | concern about the    | the groundwater or   |
|                        | others.              | the air.             |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| What other kind of     | Groundwater contour  | (No response)        |
| information do you     | maps and predicted   |                      |
| need to help you       | groundwater flow.    |                      |
| interpret the          |                      |                      |
|                        |                      |                      |
| data you receive?      |                      |                      |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| In what medium would   | In a hard copy       | I would like to      |
| you like to see your   | report format.       | receive this         |
| data (on the Internet, |                      | information in a     |
| in                     |                      | report to start; in  |
|                        |                      | the                  |
| a report, etc.)?       |                      |                      |
|                        |                      | future perhaps on    |
|                        |                      | the Internet.        |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| In what format would   | Tables for each data | I would like to see  |
| you like to see your   | point as well as the | the data in a graph  |
| data (table, graphs,   | historical trends    | format.              |
| summary, all of these, | for the point (in    |                      |
| etc.)?                 | graph format         |                      |
|                        | perhaps)             |                      |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| Do you have access to  | Yes, annual report.  | Current access is    |
| any of these data now? | If anything out of   | via a program that   |
| How? How often?        | the expected occurs, | ERD just set up,     |
|                        | I will get a call.   | however, I am not    |
|                        |                      |                      |
|                        |                      | that familiar with   |
|                        |                      | it.                  |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| Are you satisfied with | Yes                  | (No response)        |
| how you get the data   |                      |                      |
| and how often?         |                      |                      |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| How would you change   | The current system   | (No response)        |
| the way you get your   | satisfies my needs.  |                      |
| data to make it        |                      |                      |
| better?                |                      |                      |
+------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

#### Interested Staff member with Facility Experience

A personal interview was conducted with one staff member, Steve
Musolino, who was interested in the project and had worked with several
facilities, include the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. His responses
are listed below:

-   Just groundwater data is not enough. Air emissions are also
    important. Project should be multi-media.

-   Data should be layered, with the surface being very simple and easy
    to understand, with deeper levels having more information. This can
    also include links to what the facility does, the Lab mission,
    history of the contamination, offsite data, etc.

-   Let people reach their own conclusions, present the facts and a
    context, but they will believe and understand better if they are not
    told what to think.

-   Communicate positive information, shrinking plumes, progress of
    cleanup, etc.

-   Provide any real-time data possible, such as from rad monitors
    around AGS, RHIC, etc. STP outfall data is also good.

-   Internet data is good. To facilitate access, provide a terminal in
    the local library, and the BNL education center.

-   Does not recommend having some data for staff and some for public.
    Do not want to give the appearance of hiding or manipulating data.

-   Consider having the system run by a third party such as a university
    to lend credibility to data.

-   Most important thing is to dedicate the right amount of resources to
    the project. Needs to be done right and to be kept current, and a
    commitment to keep it going.

#### BNL Staff Media Communications Expert

A personal interview was conducted with one staff member, Peter Genzer,
who often works with the local media in getting access to Brookhaven
information. The decision had been made to get the media interest
through Pete rather than directly from media representatives, in order
not to miscommunicate the level of the project. His responses are listed
below:

-   Media will want to see what the public wants to see, i.e.,
    groundwater, air.

-   Especially interested in groundwater monitoring data (current and
    historical), maps of contamination (aerial, cross-section, depth,
    location).

-   Interested in health data, should provide links to third party
    health reports, MSDSs.

-   Provide many links to help them research information, to EPA, DOH,
    DOE, etc.

-   Provide simple, downloadable graphics, graphs, charts, maps,
    available at higher resolutions on request

-   Be able to generate their own maps if possible via a database query,
    such as specifying certain wells or groups of wells

-   Be able to layer information, such as providing basic groundwater
    maps and be able to add other information, such as community
    information.

-   Provide a glossary of definitions with links to it

-   Interested in sewage treatment effluent sampling and primary
    monitoring info, plus information on how cleanup is going.

-   Comparison to data elsewhere, both other DOE sites, DOE standards,
    background levels, drinking water standards, links to other sites,
    third party information (county, state, federal).

-   They will want to use data in publications and stories.

-   Want their information from e-mail and Internet, current access is
    through reports and press releases.

## APPENDIX C: Summary and Notes of Public Focus Group Meeting

A public focus group meeting was conducted in order to collect
information from a select group of local residents, governments,
activists, and other interested parties as input to the Landtrek
project. Twenty-eight people were invited and many of those who were
unable to attend expressed strong interest in involvement in the project
(one e-mail that was received is summarized at the end). Following are
the notes and summaries of this meeting.

*Time and Location:*

# Thursday, May 4, 2000, 7:00-9:00 PM, BNL Berkner Hall, Room B

*Attendees:*

Rita Biss

Mark Lowery, NYSDEC

Ray Corwin, Central Pine Barrens Commission

Eileen Governale

Dave Thompson, Trout Unlimited

Jean Mannhaupt

Eric Simpson, U.S. EPA Region 2

BNL Employee Observers included: Drew Bennett, Benny Hooda, and Doug
Paquette, BNL Environmental Services Division

Facilitated by: Barbara Royce, BNL Environmental Services Division

Technical Presentations by: Elizabeth Zimmerman, BNL Environmental
Services Division, and Jill Engel-Cox, Battelle

Recording by: Kathy Geiger, BNL Public Affairs

*Purpose and Activities:*

This meeting was held to collect input from the public on the kinds of
environmental information they are interested in and in what format and
medium they would like to receive the information. The audience
represented a range of local interested, including neighbors to the Lab,
activists groups, and regulatory agencies. The provided a wide range of
ideas and were interested in several particular areas of information, as
described below.

*Results and Notes:*

Following is the input provided by the public, organized by subject
area.

### 

> [Introductory comments from group on their environmental
> interests:]{.underline}

-   Groundwater quality

-   Ecology/natural resource

-   Groundwater & Lake Panamoka (interested in using some of BNL's data
    for research)

-   Carmens River and groundwater monitoring (regarding trout
    population)

-   BNL's impact on groundwater and surface water

-   Use of Landtrek to show educational aspects of radiation in the
    environment

-   Roundtable participants should help beta test Pilot

> [Groundwater monitoring for on-site active facilities:]{.underline}

-   Web site should be interactive -- data should be accompanied by
    information that explains data -- make it educational

-   Include Java animations (e.g., for plume shrinkage or movement or
    show time lapse for short-lived radionuclides), Shockwave, etc. Make
    it fun, let people play, educational.

-   Colors are important to graphic presentations, but keep in mind that
    explanations of what data means is also important (and also that
    some people are color blind)

-   Colors need to having clear meaning of appropriate risk

-   Question of how important groundwater data is unless people are
    drinking it, maybe potable water information is of more interest

-   Include values of Suffolk County Water Authority testing (link to
    their data)

-   In regards to large data sets -- it would be helpful to be able to
    define scenarios by location, well, time period, so they can get
    usable, understandable data sets

-   Use "cookies" or a logon so system knows who you are and remembers
    your preferences, or the previous scenarios you were working on

-   Add predictability to groundwater plumes by showing 6 months to one
    year projections (e.g., fisherman are interested in long term impact
    to rivers from VOC plumes)

-   Show data for level/depth within plume

-   Suffolk County Department of Health Services wants to develop a
    pictorial web site for contaminated sites in the county. They are
    interested in learning from Landtrek Pilot. Mention of "Toxics
    Targeting" where there are issues with how info is presented, i.e.
    data not updated. County is considering using tax map numbers in
    their web site. Have a great network of wells to use.

-   Be able to back up the data to its source.

-   Put pop-ups to show what each site/building/source does

-   Landtrek Pilot needs to ensure that data is updated regularly. What
    is a reasonable interval for data? Comments were that it depends on
    how frequently the data changes and how quickly response might be
    needed. Quarterly was acceptable for groundwater data.

-   Go for diverse audiences, consider both adults and children.

-   Question was asked: How many in the community know that BNL has a
    monitoring program? Need to communicate the stewardship aspects of
    BNL's monitoring program and the breadth and depth of the monitoring
    program.

-   Community does not understand the difference between the ERD and ESD
    monitoring. Need to make the distinction or communicate what each
    program's mission is. Integrate the data between the programs.

-   Take a small geographic subset for the pilot.

-   Show differences in the size of the plume over time. Show history.
    Show successes in clean up.

-   Make the web site an interactive process so that the community can
    pick a geographic point and be able to ask what is effecting that
    point.

-   Do a map with all the wells, even if only a few of them are active
    for the pilot.

-   Keep data in bounded units with definitions -- bring community up to
    speed, stick to units chosen. Or to percents of a standard. Put
    units in relation to something people can understand.

-   Let user choose the units they'd like to see (English vs. metric,
    picocuries, becquerels, etc.) -- use computer's capability to do
    conversions

-   Try to customize what people see. Make data real to the reader/web
    site user.

-   Would like to be able to link contamination in wells to its source.

-   Link to other sources (including offsite) in same geographic areas
    from other agencies to get full picture.

-   Make the format flexible, in layers of depth. Let the user build a
    view that's useful for them.

-   Link to maps/road names so people can identify their residence/home
    they are planning on buying or selling.

-   Allow people to "layer" data (GIS is capable of this)

-   Put data in perspective (e.g., relative to a standard -- and explain
    how standards are developed).

-   Include 3-D (e.g., depth to aquifer, plume map)

> [Other media of interest if pilot were expanded:]{.underline}

-   Air pollution -- radiation

-   Wildlife

-   Peconic River, surface water in general

-   Monitoring data at the source -- i.e. stack data with
    explanations/descriptions, show wind rose and general patterns (in
    layers), put lab in perspective to other geographic areas' quality
    of air

-   Show historical data, risk from past activities.

-   Soils

-   Fish, deer and flora

-   Surface water

-   Present more accurate timeframe for when VOCs will enter the Carmens
    River (issue is 19 parts per billion will affect trout in river)

-   Show data on non-point sources (stormwater) -- what happens to
    runoff and do you monitor recharge basins, etc.

-   *Roundtable participants voted on what other media (besides
    groundwater) they would like to see on the web site after Pilot is
    complete. Participants were asked to help identify other media and
    then to pick two from this list. The following are the results given
    in terms of priority:*

> *Surface water (Peconic River) -- 5 votes*

# *Fauna -- 4 votes*

> *Peconic River sediments -- 3 votes*
>
> *Air -- 2 votes*
>
> *Flora -- 0 votes*
>
> *Soil -- 0 votes*

-   *The BNL staff that were there also voted. The following are the
    results given in terms of priority:*

## *Surface water (Peconic River) -- 5 votes*

# *Fauna -- 2 votes*

####### Peconic River sediments -- 0 votes

###### Air -- 2 votes

> *Flora -- 0 votes*

######## Soil -- 1 votes

> [Data interpretation needs:]{.underline}

-   Background dose

-   Air (air quality index)

-   Soil (solid definition of cleanup levels)

-   Compare to other DOE sites

> [Data Format:]{.underline}

-   Regarding deer -- represent average dose onsite versus offsite
    versus one mile away from site

-   Explain confidence interval, dose.

-   Map with all data types and sampling locations.

-   Link to different levels of information when presenting data sets

-   Would like to see a virtual tour of a sample from collection to
    analysis to final results (animation). This could be used as an
    educational tool. Gear it to students.

-   Show how well data is collected, quality assurance.

-   A virtual tour or video of sample collection.

-   Answer community's questions through the data presented on the web
    site

-   Regarding air data--need to show the Lab in context to other
    facilities, but may be difficult.

-   Show wind rose.

-   Use validated data only.

-   Recommendation is to keep the pilot simple.

-   The web site should include the most frequently asked questions with
    the answers. In addition, a possible "chat room" or interactive Q&A
    would be useful, or at least a form to fill out to send an e-mail
    with feedback or questions.

-   Have BNL Education group develop curriculum for having students
    using these data.

-   Work with other groups to develop interesting tools.

-   Link USGS to web site.

-   Trout Unlimited's concerns are also long term in regards to surface
    water.

-   Format of data should include: animation, plume maps, 3D,
    historical, validated data and tie to "map quest"

-   Recommendation for frequency of data reporting is quarterly, unless
    data is more dynamic, then monthly.

-   Recommendation that the Pilot should focus on groundwater data from
    BLIP. BMRR is OK.

-   Roundtable participants showed interest in the techniques and design
    of this web site. Don't have to pick something exciting as a pilot,
    so that we're not wrestling with complex data. Focus on the design
    first and show a big success early. Then be able to get more \$ and
    resources to do more later.

> [Contingency Plan -- Unexpected data reporting:]{.underline}

-   Data should be put on web site for general public. Interested public
    can be sent an e-mail that links back to web where fact sheets are
    posted.

-   Put it under a "hot news" link.

-   Level of reporting should depend on the level of data. If data show
    imminent danger, call downs/immediate reporting should occur.
    Regulators should be informed on most levels.

-   NYSDEC would like to use Landtrek as a tool to tell other regulators
    with questions where to go to get data.

-   Current mechanisms of reporting and time frames are more than
    adequate.

######### E-Mail Received from Invitee Who Could Not Attend

-   E-mail from a SUNY Stony Brook employee who runs a program called
    "Project Java" that works with students to develop Java applets and
    applications to download data from the web and present it in various
    graphical format. He would be willing to make students available to
    help develop the interactive portion of Landtrek.

-   Recommends making Landtrek usable by high school and undergraduate
    students for education uses, including developing lesson plans.

-   Provide data in graphical quick form, with more detail available to
    users by request.

## APPENDIX D: Public Focus Group Invitation Letter and Fact Sheet

## Invitation Letter

Environmental Services Division

![](media/image16.png){width="2.1333333333333333in"
height="0.7909722222222222in"}

Building 535A

P.O. Box 5000

Upton, NY 11973-5000

Phone 631 344-4225

Fax 631 344-5812

zimmerman@bnl.gov

managed by Brookhaven Science Associates\
for the U.S. Department of Energy

www.bnl.gov

April 20, 2000

Name

Address

Dear \....:

Subject: Input On the Public Communication of Environmental Data

# Part of Brookhaven National Laboratory's (BNL) commitment to environmental stewardship is open communication with stakeholders on our progress and performance. BNL is interested in developing user-friendly tools to share environmental data in a timely and meaningful manner.

# 

You are cordially invited to participate in a small focus group meeting
and provide input on a pilot project. This project is exploring the
possibility of providing environmental monitoring data to the public and
BNL staff on the Internet. BNL is also interested in gathering input on
how and when to communicate information on unexpected groundwater
monitoring results and on what type of information you are interested in
receiving. The project is just beginning and we want your input on the
kind of data you are interested in and what the website should look
like. **The meeting is Thursday, May 4, 2000, 7:00 pm, at BNL Berkner
Hall, Room C. Please RSVP by April 27, 2000 to Rosemary Taylor at
631-344-3251.**

This project is part of a larger initiative called Landtrek, a data
communication project based on a geographic information system (GIS),
which is being piloted at several Department of Energy sites. For the
BNL pilot, an environmental and communications contractor will create a
pilot website using information and recommendations from Brookhaven. The
initial focus will be groundwater data from monitoring of several select
active operational or support facilities. Due to limited resources for
the pilot, the website will only cover a limited number of wells at
several facilities. Depending on the availability of funding and user
response, the website may be expanded in future years.

This first step in creating this pilot website is to collect input for
its content from BNL staff and interested people in the local community.
Staff will provide input on how this information will help them run and
monitor the environmental performance of their facilities. We need you
to provide input on the content and format of the information that you
would like to see on this website. Based on the input we receive, a
series of recommendations will be made and used to implement this pilot
website later this year. We may also request your input on draft
versions of the website as it develops.

Enclosed is a fact sheet with more information about this project, as
well as some websites of other places that provide monitoring data. If
you have any questions, please contact me at 631-344-4225. We hope you
will attend and we look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

E.A. Zimmerman, CEP, REM, CEA, CESM

Division Manager

cc: J. Carter

J. Engel-Cox

S. Mallette

C. Polanish

R. Simeone

##  

Distribution List

+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| name               | Address                       | phone          |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Sid Bail           | Wading River Civic            | 631-929-8879   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 33 Long Bow                   |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Wading River, New York 11792  |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Linda Benko        | 11A Riverside Ave.            | 631-395-6721   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Mastic Beach, New York 11951  |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Rita Biss          | 29 Lakeside Trail             | 631-929-6325   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Ridge, New York 11961         |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Clifford Bragdon   | NAT Center                    | 631-244-1302   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 1300 William Floyd Parkway    |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Suite 200                     |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Shirley, New York 11967       |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Michael Cain       | Colonial Woods                | 631-924-6563   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 9 Hopkins Commons             |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Yaphank, New York 11980       |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Bob Conklin        | 70 Pleasure Drive             | 631-727-0076   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Riverhead, New York 11901     |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Ray Corwin         | Central Pine Barrens          | 631-563-0307   |
|                    | Commission                    |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | P.O. Box 587                  |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 3525 Sunrise Highway          |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Great River, N.Y. 11739       |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Ray Cowen          | NYSDEC                        | 631-444-0345   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Building 40, SUNY             |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Stony Brook, New York         |                |
|                    | 1790-2356                     |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Ron Crofts         | 253 Carlton Drive, East       | 631-345-3145   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Shirley, New York 11967       |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Mike Giacomaro     | East Yaphank Civic            | 631-924-4609   |
|                    | Association                   |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | P.O. Box 566                  |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Yaphank, New York 11980       |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Paul Giardina      | U.S. EPA                      | 212-637-4332   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 290 Broadway                  |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | New York, New York 10007-1866 |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Eileen Governale   | 223 North Street              | 631-344-4157   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Manorville, New York 11949    |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Connie Kepert      | 8 Cedar Grove Terrace         | 631-924-1427   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Middle Island, New York 11953 |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| James Lister       | NYSDEC                        | 518-457-3976   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 50 Wolf Road                  |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Albany, New York 12233-7010   |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Mary Logan         | U.S. EPA                      | 212-637-4321   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 290 Broadway                  |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 18^th^ Floor                  |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | New York, New York 10007-1866 |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Jean Mannhaupt     | 6 Beatrice Court              | 631-395-1589   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Manorville, New York 11949    |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Andrea Milano      | Manorville Taxpayers          | 631-874-2720   |
|                    | Association                   |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 4 Bruce Drive                 |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Manorville, New York 11949    |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Jerry Minasi       | 297 Carleton Drive, East      | 631-924-7019   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Shirley, New York 11967       |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| James Pim          | SCDHS                         | 631-853-3084   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 415 Oser Avenue               |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Suite 3                       |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Hauppauge, New York           |                |
|                    | 11788-4290                    |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Glenn Richard      | 86 Ridge Road                 | 631-924-6659   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Ridge, New York 11961-1008    |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Eric Simpson       | U.S. EPA                      | 212-637-4024   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 290 Broadway                  |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 28^th^ Floor                  |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | New York, New York 10007-1866 |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Christine Sosik    | 9 Peconic Road                | 631-924-1580   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Ridge, New York 11961         |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Rich Stavdal       | 353 Lockwood Drive            | 631-395-1590   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | E. Yaphank, New York 11967    |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Dave Thompson      | Trout Unlimited               | 631-928-3941   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | 43 Birch Hill Road            |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Mt. Sinai, New York 11766     |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Dawn Triche        | 440 Lockwood Drive            | 631-924-9055   |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Shirley, New York 11967       |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+
| Ms. Nanette Essel  | Yaphank Taxpayers & Civic     | 631-924-5292   |
|                    | Association Long Island       |                |
|                    | Avenue                        |                |
|                    |                               |                |
|                    | Yaphank, New York 11980       |                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------+----------------+

**Factsheet**

# ![](media/image17.png) **Landtrek Outreach Project Factsheet**

# 

# **What is the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Landtrek Outreach Project?**

This project is exploring the possibility of providing environmental
monitoring data to the public and BNL staff on the Internet, including
routine monitoring data as well as any unexpected results.

**What kind of data will be available and how often?**

Initially, the project will focus on results from select onsite
groundwater monitoring wells associated with active operational
facilities. Monitoring wells are sampled quarterly and the information
would be made available as soon as the data is quality checked

**Why is all the sampling data that BNL collects not available
on-line?**

Currently, the data is available to the public on-line, but on an annual
basis through several large reports. This project hopes to provide the
data in a user-friendly and timely manner soon after the data are
available. It is intended to be a pilot project to determine if this can
be achieved from a technical standpoint and to determine if people are
interested in this information. If successful, DOE and BNL will look for
the resources to fund expansion of the project---e.g. to other media
(surface water) or other groundwater monitoring wells.

**What is Landtrek and where can I get more information about it?**

Landtrek is a U.S. Department of Energy data communication project based
on a geographic information system (GIS), which is being funded and
piloted at several DOE sites. Several organizations support Landtrek,
including Hazmed, an environmental and communications company in the
Washington DC area, that will be doing the website development for the
BNL project. More information about Landtrek can be found at
[www.landtrek.org]{.underline}. However, the BNL pilot is different than
the other projects that have been conducted under this program since its
data will be more timely than projects at other sites.

**What other kinds of time-relevant environmental websites are
available?**

Making environmental monitoring data available in real-time or in a
timely manner is becoming easier with the advance of the Internet and
with improved monitors. Many organizations have begun to establish
monitoring websites. Below are some of the organizations and projects
you may wish to investigate in order to get an idea of the type of
information and formats that are possible.

> **U.S. Environmental Protection Agency**

-   *Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking
    (EMPACT)*, a general program with over 40 public environmental
    monitoring and communication projects

> www.epa.gov/empact

-   *AirNow*, hourly monitoring of ground-level ozone nationwide

> www.epa.gov/airnow

-   *My Sound*, real-time monitoring of water quality using monitoring
    buoys in the Long Island Sound

> www.mysound.uconn.edu

**U.S. Department of Energy**

-   *Neighborhood Environmental Watch Network (NewNet)*, real-time
    monitoring of air radiation at Los Alamos National Laboratory

> newnet.jdola.lanl.gov

-   *Idaho Environmental Monitoring Program*, weather and radiation
    monitoring at Idaho National Engineering and Environmental
    Laboratory

> oversite.inel.gov/

**U.S. Geological Survey**

-   *Real-time Water Data*, real-time hydrological data for rivers and
    streams nationwide

> water.usgs.gov/realtime.html
>
> **Other Interesting Places**

-   *New York State Ozone Forecast*, daily forecast of the ground-level
    ozone levels in New York

www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dar/bts/ozone/oz4cast.html

-   *Pennsylvania Air Quality*, hourly air quality information for
    Pennsylvania

www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/aq/aqm/pollt.html

-   *Space Science and Engineering Center*, daily satellite imagery of
    sea surface temperature

> ![](media/image18.png){width="2.6041666666666665in" height="0.625in"}
> www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/sst.html

-   *IRIS Seismic Monitor*, real-time worldwide earthquake monitoring

> www.iris.washington.edu/seismic/60_2040_1_8.html