API for Accessing Environmental Data
Introducing the Envirofacts REST Data Service v1: Accessing U.S. EPA Environmental Data Easily
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made it simpler than ever to access environmental data with the launch of the Envirofacts REST Data Service v1. This innovative service provides a user-friendly interface to query and retrieve data from various EPA databases, making it an invaluable tool for state and local governments, federal agencies, and individuals alike.
Key Features of Envirofacts
- Data Registries: Envirofacts offers access to essential data registries, including the Facility Registry Service (FRS), the Locational Reference Tables database (LRT), and the Substance Registry Services (SRS).
- Data Modelling: The Envirofacts model page displays the relationships between tables within a program, helping users navigate the complex web of environmental data.
- Filtering and Sorting: The service supports various operator types for filtering data and allows users to sort the results by a specific column.
- Geospatial Datasets: Envirofacts utilizes geospatial datasets from multiple sources, such as the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the EPA, to help users visualize and link environmental data to geographical features and landmarks.
- Multiple Output Formats: Envirofacts supports multiple output formats, including JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML, JSONP, Parquet, PDF, and XML, making it simple to use the resulting output with desktop applications like Excel or other custom applications.
Querying the Data
To query specific tables and columns using the Envirofacts REST Service, users can construct a URL following a simple pattern:
For example, to query the table for facilities where equals and get results in JSON, users would use:
Users can also chain filters by adding more column/value pairs separated by slashes. If users want all rows from a table regardless of filter, they can omit column/value pairs and just request the table and format.
Data Sources
Envirofacts gathers and aggregates data based on activities that impact the environment from a wide variety of sources, such as ICIS-AIR, Biennial Reporting (BR), Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEMS), Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO/IDEA), Cleanups in My Community, Next Generation Grants System (NGGS), RadNet database, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo), Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), and UV Index.
Metadata and Limits
The entire Envirofacts database metadata is available online, with all tables and columns within Envirofacts documented. The service currently limits requests to being completed in under 15 minutes. If more data is needed than this, users can page through the data, requesting the next set of records in the table.
In summary, the Envirofacts REST Data Service v1 is a powerful tool for accessing U.S. EPA environmental data. Its user-friendly interface, extensive data sources, and flexible querying capabilities make it an essential resource for anyone interested in environmental activities that may affect air, water, and land across the United States.
- The Envirofacts REST Data Service v1 provides access to multiple databases, including the Facility Registry Service (FRS), which stores data about facilities affecting our air.
- By utilizing geospatial datasets, Envirofacts allows users to visualize and link environmental data with specific landmarks and geographical features.
- In the event of climate-change or environmental-science research, data from the Cleanups in My Community or the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) might be crucial for data analysis.
- Users can construct URLs following a simple pattern to query specific tables and columns in the Envirofacts database, such as the drinking water data from the Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS).
- The Envirofacts REST Data Service v1 could be an invaluable tool for state and local governments working on waste reduction and cleanup initiatives, as it gathers data from the Superfund Enterprise Management System (SEMS) and the Next Generation Grants System (NGGS).
- As technology advances and data-and-cloud-computing becomes more prevalent, Envirofacts remains committed to enforcing compliance and promoting a cleaner environment by encompassing a wide range of environmental data sources.
