Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Managing Geographic Features as Complex Events
within ArcView GIS
Information Management - GIS Section
Bureau of Submerged Lands & Environmental Resources
Division of Water Resource Management
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Richard Butgereit
850/921-9933
richard.butgereit@dep.state.fl.us
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS (ERPgis)
The ERPgis application has been developed and implemented with the
specific focus of managing permit information and locations, sharing the
resultant data sets, and analyzing potential affects of activities on water
and wildlife resources within ArcView.
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
ERPgis History
• Funded through the State/Tribal EPA Wetland Protection Grant program,
ERPgis is an enhancement upon the Marine Spill Analysis System (MSAS).
• Responding to an extensive, consensus-building, inter-agency needs
assessment performed by FDEP, new tools to manage program data and
conduct powerful analyses were identified by BSLER and created by ESRI.
• These tools were delivered through the ERPgis Extension to ArcView.
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Inter-Agency Implementation of ERPgis
Department of Environmental Protection Water Management Districts
• ERP Permitting (6 District/Branch Offices )
Corp of Engineers Environmental Protection Agency
• Jacksonville District • Region 4 Office (Atlanta)
• South Florida Office (WPB)
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Geographic Feature Creation within ERPgis
• Complex Events Management is the tool specifically created to be used
within ERPgis and MSAS bringing enhanced functionality modeling real-
world data within ArcView.
• This is achieved through the ERPgis Activity Manager...
…a dialogue that allows new geographic features to be created as members
of Complex Events.
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Complex Events
• The technical definition of a Complex Event:
An Event is any point, line, or polygon that represents something that
happens at a spatially referenced location. An Event becomes Complex
when it acquires a feature class and subclasses, takes on one or more
attributes, and/or is updated throughout time.
• In the practical realm of GIS, a Complex Event defines:
– a major event feature with a unique identifier
– and allows numerous sub-features (of different feature types) with
different attributes to be tracked with that unique event.
• The relationship between the major event and its sub-features is internally
tracked within ArcView.
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
For Example
A typical Environmental Resource Permit site may best be represented by a
point locator
Point Locator - unique, identifying feature
However, the site may also include many different sub-features boundaries
with different attributes:
Project Boundary - sub-feature of the Point Locator
Conservation Easement - sub-feature of the Point Locator
Mitigation Boundary - sub-feature of the Point Locator
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
A Complex Event Definition is created for an ERP site which includes these
features, as well as the attributes that will be collected with these features:
Sub-feature
Class feature - unique ID
#
Sub-feature
Sub-feature
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Geographic features are then created (from numerous sources-- GPS, digital photo
interpolation, importing from existing GIS datasets) and attributes are collected:
#
When importing from existing
GPS/GIS data, attributes may be
populated with values from
source datasets.
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Features are then ―checked-in‖ to an Active Database of sites where they are stored
as a suite of ArcView Shapefiles:
• Geographic feature creation simplified
• Data entry rules enforced
• Data entry aided by pop-up menus and pick lists
• Attributes from source datasets will populate
• Relationship between features is tracked
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Complex Events in FDEP
Complex Events developed for use within FDEP/FWCC:
• Mitigation Banking Sites
• Marine Spills
• Restoration Sites
Complex Events that could be developed within FDEP:
• Managed Areas
• Mine Reclamation Sites
• Potable Water Supply Wells
• WAFR Facilities
Complex Events that have been created for other permitting agencies:
• COE Point Locator
• EPA Point Locator
• WMD Point Locator
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Marine Spill Complex Event Definition
Developed for the Marine Spill Analysis System:
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Restoration Site Complex Event Definition
Developed for the South Florida Restoration Task Force:
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Complex Event Definitions
The Complex Event Definition tool was also created for ERPgis. This tool
allows the user to create new, modify existing, save to file, and load from file
Complex Event Definitions to be used within ArcView...
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
For Example - to create a CED for a Natural Resource Management Area:
Step 1. The Event class, or major feature, is defined. This includes:
• Defining a class key - each class must have a unique key
• Defining a file extension - to be used with event import/export
• Defining class and type descriptions
• Choosing the class shape type (point, line, or area)
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Step 2. Symbol and Label properties may be set for all geographic features
within a Complex Event.
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Step 3. For each attribute to be collected for a feature the following are defined:
- Field name - Width of field
- Description - Default value
- Field type - List of valid values
Data entry may by restricted to the list of valid values, null values may
not be allowed, and help strings may also be set for each field.
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Step 4. Feature key, description, shape type, symbol, and attributes are then
defined for each subclass, or sub-feature...
Feature keys are actually the name of the shapefile the features will be
written to-- therefore, each feature key must be unique.
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Step 5. Complex Event Definitions may then be saved to a file for use in
ArcView with the ERPgis Extension...
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Step 6. Back in the ERPgis Activity Manager, the user may easily switch back
and forth between Event classes, changing the program data to be
used...
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Step 7. System Administrations control building Active Databases to support
the use of Complex Event Definitions, and the user may check events
in and out of the database, adding new features and editing existing
ones...
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Step 8. Users are now ready to set to the task of collecting program data within
ArcView...
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
A Suite of Analysis Tools
Whenever a feature is created as a Complex Event member within ERPgis, that
feature is available to used with a suite of analysis tools :
Standard Resources-At-Risk Customized Resource Analysis
Topic Query and Analysis
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS Standard Resources-At-Risk
Analyze predefined, broad-base of datasets and
User Input - Create Site User Control - Initiate Report report general information for a vicinity area.
Administrator Control -
Datasets accessed via Directory Structure
(SQL/SDE/One-to-many also Available with Avenue)
+
Output to User - Text Results Report
Application Features -
Quick Access to Numerous Datasets
Clipping (Polygons/Lines), Counting (Points)
Precise Area/Length Calculations
Characterization :
1.) Analysis Area Buffered
2.) Report General Information
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS Topic Query & Analysis
Analyze predefined set of related datasets
User Input - Create Site User Control - Initiate Report and report more thorough information for a
user specified area.
Administrator Control - Same Table
+
Output to User - Text Results Report
Application Features -
Multiple Attributes/Feature
Boundary Analysis Returns Landscape Relative
Results (Primary, Secondary, Cumulative Impacts)
Characterization :
1.) Focus Analysis Topically
and Geographically
2.) Report Detailed Information
for Each Feature
3.) Calculated Results shown
Relative to Landscape
(Inherited from MSAS)
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS Customized Resource Analysis
Analyze Datasets available within View
User defines Attributes to Report
User Input - Create Site User Control - Defines Analysis
User Control - Initiate Report
+
Application Features -
Output to User - Text Results Report One Attribute/Feature
Analysis Definitions saved to Files
One-to-many Relationships
Rounded Acreage/Length
Comparison Resource Analysis
Characterization :
1.) No Distinction between
Site and Buffered Area
2.) Complex Reporting of
ESI/GWIS Data
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Future Development of ERPgis
Management Plan
• NOAA Initiative to Evaluate and Enhance GIS tools of MSAS & ERPgis into Coastal
Resource Analysis application
• Modularization of Extensions into Functions (and Renaming)
— Active Database Manager
— Resources-At-Risk (Analysis Tools of Both MSAS & ERPgis)
Integration of SDE
• Management of Active Database as SDE Data Layers would allow Multi-User Updates
of Database (Ability to Lock Record Rather than Lock Table) and Enhance Real-Time
Connections to Other Permit Tracking Databases
• Currently, Analysis of SDE Datasets only accomplished with ―Work-Around‖
Web-Based Analysis
• Some Analysis Capabilities Already Mimicked with MapObjects Application
• More Robust Analysis Capabilities may be Available within newer MapObjects
Continue to Develop Analysis Tools within ArcView
• Support Wetland Assessment Methodologies
• Improve Cumulative/Secondary Impact Analyses
• Import Ground Water and Surface Water Model Results
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
More Information
ERPgis Homepage
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/slerp/gis/erpgis.htm
• General Information
• Contacts
• Newsletters
• Download Extensions
• On-line Tutorial
(coming soon)
Marine Spill Analysis System
http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/msas/index.html
• General Information
http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/msas/bplan.html
• Initiate a Collaborative, Multi-agency Project
to Evaluate and Enhance GIS tools within the
MSAS, and to Evaluate a Framework for
Coordinating Future Development with
the Coastal Community and the GIS Software
Industry
Environmental Resource Permitting GIS
Questions?
Richard Butgereit
850/921-9933
richard.butgereit@dep.state.fl.us