Data Bank
Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
Thursday, February 19, 2004, 1:30 P.M.
Department of Natural Resources Conference Room, 4th Floor
301 Centennial Mall South, Lincoln, Nebraska
68509
Those present were: (Voting Members *)
Laura Hardesty * HHS-Regulations & Licensure
Jack Daniel HHS-Regulations & Licensure
Mark Kuzila * School of Natural Resources/UNL
John Erickson * Governor’s Policy Research Office
Paul Yamamoto * Department of Environmental Quality
Tom Lamberson Department of Environmental Quality
Steve Schafer * Department of Administrative Services
Wayne Vanek* Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA
John Miyoshi Lower
Platte North NRD
Anna Stambaugh Lower Platte South NRD
Rex Gittins Department of Natural Resources
Mahendra Bansal Department of Natural Resources
Gayle Follmer Department of Natural Resources
Steve Rathje Department of Natural Resources
Call to Order
Chairperson Mark Kuzila called the meeting to order at 1:40 p.m. and a roll call was taken. The quorum was present. Bansal introduced Rex Gittins, the new IT Supervisor, he joined the Department as Chief of the newly created Information Technology division.
Public Notice
A public notice of the meeting was published in the Lincoln Journal and Star on February 10, 2002. The meeting notice and agenda were also posted on the DNR Web site on February 1, 2004.
Public Comment
None
Approval of Minutes
Chairperson Kuzila called for a motion to approve the minutes of August 13, 2002 meeting. He reminded that these minutes were mailed out to all participants, and were also posted at the agency web site. There being no corrections, the minutes of August 13, 2002 meeting were approved as presented.
Informational Material
The following informational material was handed out during the course of the meeting. A copy of each is attached to the file copy of the Minutes.
Explanation Paper of Selected Agenda Items
List of Data Bank Activities (and Projects) as of February 2004
Data Bank’s Proposed Priority List
Copy of Data Bank Statutes
Excerpts from Legislative Hearing of Enabling Legislation (LB384, 1969)
Role
of Data Bank Technical Advisory Committee - Discussion Points
National Map Viewer web page printout
DNR Geospatial Metadata Clearinghouse web page printout
Databases managed in the Data Bank as of February 2004
DEMs Status Map
DOQs Status Map
SSURGO Soils Status Map
NHD Status Map
Bansal reported that the DNR completed statewide production of 10-meter Digital Elevation Models and the 1-meter resolution Digital Orthophoto Quadrangles projected in both the UTM and State Plane coordinate systems. These projects were undertaken in a work-share agreement with the U. S. Geological Survey and were accomplished on schedule. The soil surveys of 91 counties have been SSURGO certified, Keya Paha County is under certification and that of Knox County is under compilation. Wayne Vanek stated that the NRCS is re-mapping soil surveys of some counties and will be re-digitized and recertified. Rathje inquired if the re-mapping was done to create consistent soils lines across county lines. Vanek affirmed the need and said that the NRCS is looking at having line for line and soil for soil across the county boundaries.
Also, the development of high-resolution Surface Water features or the National Hydrographic dataset for 11 hydrologic unit areas has been completed, and that of 7 HUC areas is in progress. This is a cooperative project with the Conservation and Survey Division, UNL and the U. S. Geological Survey.
Data Bank’s Recent Accomplishments
Bansal reported that the Data Bank has developed and created a DNR
metadata clearinghouse for dissemination of geospatial databases using Internet
Map Server applications. It is now
developing a front-end software to receive, update and support metadata received
from other agencies. The next step is
to work with the GIS Steering Committee and make it a unified enterprise-wide
geospatial Data Center, and provide one-stop portal for online access to
geospatial data in Nebraska. Steve
Rathje provided a computer demonstration on how to access the ESRI or the FGDC
compliant metadata and as well as the geospatial databases using the national
portal called the FGDC metadata clearinghouse.
The Nebraska Metadata Clearinghouse is a node interfaced with the FGDC
metadata clearinghouse.
Kuzila asked if the metadata site for the GIS Steering
Committee was functional. It is operational but it uses an older technology, and is, therefore,
not fully functional. Kuzila raised the
question to take it off if it was not fully functional. Miyoshi asked if DNR housed all its data on
this clearinghouse site. Bansal
clarified that through a clearinghouse, metadata just provides a link to the
spatial data, whereas the data resides on different servers. Eventually other agencies data would also be
linked to this site.
Bansal reported that the Department of Natural Resources has entered into a partnership
agreement with the U. S. Geological Survey for the creation of a National Map
database and the delivery of geographic information services for the state of
Nebraska. As part of this Memorandum of
Agreement, the Data Bank has already created and installed an Internet Map
(ArcIMS OGC) connector, and an interface to continually test the Nebraska Map
site. Currently,
the Data Bank is creating a series of spatial data layers and metadata pointers
that the agency will include in the National Map database for Nebraska. Rathje provided a
computer demonstration as to how various data themes or the map layers are
overlaid. This would allow DNR to
display and disseminate data through this National Map site. Miyoshi asked, if it was downloadable
data. Rathje said that it has that
option, but it is in the development stage.
Kuzila added that this Map would have multiple agencies’ data. Yamamato enquired if the National Map
supports only a single node per state.
The USGS supports multiple nodes although most states have a single
node. Schafer asked if all DNR data
would be accessible through the National Map.
Rathje said that SSURGO soils will not be a part of the National Map as
it is not one of the National Map’s eight data themes. Bansal said that USGS primarily evaluates
state partner’s data and decides which layers to include in the National Map. Kuzila suggested that for the benefit of the
publisher, the author (ownership) of data should also be identified. Schafer asked if there was a search option
by direction and location. It is a work
in progress.
Proposed Changes in Data Bank Fee Schedule – Action Item
A motion was made to
approve agency recommendations that the Data Bank charge five dollars for each
DVD blank and one dollar for each CD blank. The motion carried and the changes
in Data Bank Fee schedule was approved as presented.
Kuzila brought to
the attention of the Committee the findings and recommendations made to the DNR
by the IT Review Committee, headed by CIO. The review included the Data Bank
statutes and also the role and leadership of this Technical Advisory
Committee. Those findings and
recommendations included:
FINDINGS: Data Bank Statutes. A
review of the Data Bank statutes (Sections 2-1568 to 2-1570) generated several
conclusions:
1.
The activities of the Data Bank Technical Advisory Committee
are very similar to some of the functions of the GIS Steering Committee;
2.
The Data Bank statutes no longer reflect the full range of
data development and data sharing of information pertaining to natural
resources that DNR provides;
3.
The concept of a central data repository, which is implicit
in Section 2-1568, does not reflect options for linking to data that are
maintained by other entities on their own computing equipment;
4.
The GIS Steering Committee has made recommendations for
facilitating geo-spatial data sharing. Some of these recommendations are
similar to the original purpose of the Data Bank statutes, but exceed existing
statutory authority in several respects.
Areas of differences include:
·
State statutes restrict membership of the Data Bank
Technical Advisory Committee to representatives of state and federal
agencies. The GIS Steering Committee
has broader representation, including local government and other political
subdivisions.
·
Section 2-1569 limits the activities of the Data Bank to a
list of twelve types of “basic data” pertaining to soil and water resources. Recommendations of the GIS Steering
Committee address all geo-spatial data.
·
The Data Bank statutes direct DNR to “maintain and
administer a data bank in the field of soil and water resources.” Besides a broader range of data, the
recommendations of the GIS Steering Committee include responsibilities in these
other areas: geo-spatial data
clearinghouse, FGDC-compliant metadata, on-line catalog and data access point,
help desk, data integration, interactive Internet mapping, technical assistance,
and pooling of resources.
·
The Data Bank statutes pertain only to DNR. The strategy of the GIS Steering Committee
anticipates a collaborative approach to projects that would involve active
partnerships with other entities. In
particular, the report recommends collaboration between DNR and the University.
Recommendation: Data Bank Statutes. DNR should propose changes to the Data Bank
statutes, Sections 2-1568 through 2-1570.
The changes should:
1.
Replace the Technical Advisory Committee with a formal relationship
to the GIS Steering Committee to advise DNR on collecting and disseminating
geo-spatial information and providing assistance in the use of such data.
2.
Expand the definition of “basic data” to include the full
range of geo-spatial data and related information.
3.
Give explicit recognition to multiple options for
administering, disseminating, and maintaining data, including the practice of
linking to data that are maintained by other entities on their own computing
equipment.
4.
Authorize DNR to participate in other activities, including
those recommended by the GIS Steering Committee (geo-spatial data
clearinghouse, FGDC-compliant metadata, on-line catalog and data access point,
help desk, data integration, interactive Internet mapping, technical assistance,
and pooling of resources).
5.
Authorize DNR to enter into partnerships with other entities
to achieve the goals for expanding access and improving the use of geo-spatial
data.
6.
Recognize the responsibility of the director of DNR to
manage the staff, budget and other resources of DNR and to set priorities for
meeting the needs of the department.
Recommendation: GIS Clearinghouse. DNR should develop a memorandum of agreement
with the GIS Steering Committee (Recommendation 2, “Facilitating Geospatial Data
Sharing in Nebraska,” 9/4/02). DNR
should also implement Recommendation 6(g) of the same report regarding a formal
collaborative relationship with the University for operating an “enterprise
geospatial data center.” Both of these
actions would be steps toward a broader role in facilitating geospatial data
sharing that could be accomplished with no additional commitment of resources.
Considerable
discussion ensued about the role and need of the Data Bank Technical Advisory
Committee, whether the enabling legislation be amended or repealed. Also, it discussed the relationship between
the Technical Advisory Committee and the GIS Steering Committee, and that
between the Data Bank and the Metadata Clearinghouse.
Kuzila questioned
the role and need of the Technical Advisory Committee. The GIS Steering Committee could form a
subcommittee to replace this function.
Erickson felt that the Data Bank statutes need not be changed, but the
Section 2-1570 concerning the Advisory Committee be repealed. Schafer concurred, and stated that when the
Data Bank was created, it was unique. Erickson
made a motion to recommend that DNR seek to repeal Data Bank Statute’s Section 2-1570 relating to the Technical Advisory
Committee, and Kuzila seconded. There
being no other discussion, the motion carried.
It was suggested that if DNR needed any advice in the operations of its
Data Bank or the Clearinghouse, it should contact the GIS Steering Committee
like any other agency for technical assistance.
Kuzila stated that
after he receives the minutes of the meeting, he will recommend to Director
Patterson to act upon the motion to proceed with the repeal of Section
2-1570. Since this is a short session,
the Committee will probably have to wait until next legislature for any action.
Data
Acquisition and Updates
– Federal Databases
Bansal reported that
the Data Bank acquires basic data from various government agencies, both
federal and state. It is then
reorganized, processed and published over the web for on-line access and
dissemination purposes. Currently, most
of this data is also available at the web sites of federal agencies where it is
acquired from. However, a few agencies,
like the National Climatic Center, charge for the data. Should the Data Bank only provide a link to
the processed data rather than process the data itself? The Data Bank does not charge for the data
disseminated through the Internet.
Hardesty raised some
questions. How much of this data collected from other agencies, is not
available through the clearinghouse, how much of it is not available through
the Internet, and how much of it is already available somewhere else. It was stated that all processed data,
managed in the Data Bank, is available through the Internet. Only geospatial data is available through
the Clearinghouse. Most of this data
available through the Data Bank is also available from the parent source. Rex Gittins reiterated that all data is
available through the Internet. Some
agencies charge for the data and some do not.
The Data Bank, however, does not charge for any data disseminated over
the web through Internet. Hardesty felt
that the Clearinghouse should be done by somebody like the GIS Steering
Committee.
Schafer cautioned that having several agencies pay for the same
data may not be economical. If the Data Bank decides to discontinue data
acquisition and dissemination, it should first give affected agencies an
opportunity to collaborate through a joint purchasing arrangement. It
was suggested that the Data Bank keep a log and provide a report on data usage
at its next meeting for Committee’s review.
In view of the
motion adopted to recommend repeal of Section 2-1570, abolishing the Technical
Advisory Committee, it sees no need to elect a new chair. It was decided that Kuzila will continue to
chair pending legislative action.
The next meeting was proposed to be scheduled for sometime in September 2004, and any agenda items be sent to Bansal. The meeting adjourned at 3:20 P.M.