The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality received the Special Achievement in GIS award from geographic information system provider Earth Science Research Institute (ESRI) because of its innovative application of mapping, data analytics and leadership in the field of environmental protection.
“Being honored for the groundbreaking and transformative work that DEQ is doing reflects our commitment to being transparent and publicly accessible,” said DEQ Secretary Michael Regan. “This collaborative effort provides an efficient, straight-forward means for people, businesses and organizations to find, explore and use environmental data collected by the department. This tool gives a transparent view of our department, saves time and money, and enhances communication among departmental programs.”
The open, easy-to-use platform was a joint effort developed by DEQ’s GIS team comprised of staff from DEQ’s 10 divisions that provides access to applications and maps detailing the vast environmental topics that the department oversees. It not only meets the public’s need to view data and maps but enables DEQ staff to better share this information across programs.
The open data platform project makes all of the department’s data easily available in a one-stop-shop format. It provides a warehouse of data and maps about water, waste, land, regulatory and remedial efforts managed by DEQ throughout North Carolina. It enables visitors to sort by location, topic, division or program. Data found can be viewed as a map, such as those for surface water classifications, beach and waterfront accesses, and an artificial reef interactive map, or the data can be downloaded into different formats depending on need.
The department was chosen from more than 300,000 candidates and was one of more than 180 organizations in areas such as commercial industry, defense, transportation, nonprofit work, telecommunications, and government to receive a SAG Award. ESRI staff annually nominate hundreds of candidates from around the world for consideration, and ESRI founder Jack Dangermond selected the finalists.
To view the DEQ Online GIS website, go to: http://data-ncdenr.opendata.arcgis.com/.