WIN also seeks to provide improved internal and public access to hazardous waste information, to reduce the burden of data providers, and to match new and existing information technologies to the identified data and systems needs. The WIN initiative is a team effort between EPA's headquarters and regional offices in partnership with the states. The ISP is a strategic plan which will be used to guide the Agency through the next three phases. It discusses the hazardous waste program visions and related activities and information and systems needs at a high level. Finally, it discusses findings and recommendations and includes EPA s transition plan that lays out the process by which the Agency will conduct the analysis phase.
More emphasis is needed on reducing unnecessary burdens on information providers.
The national systems received the lowest confidence levels because these mainframe systems are considered to be medium in reliability and low in accessibility. Significant reliance on textual information indicates that strategic information management needs cannot be met solely through automated database applications. Technology Assessment EPA needs to seek stakeholder involvement prior to making recommendations on any specific information technologies for the hazardous waste program. To effectively support new program directions, new technologies need to facilitate the integration of information from many sources. Any technologies considered for a national hazardous waste program information system must be evaluated against a set of criteria that reflects user requirements.