[Talk-us] Import of EPA data

[Alan Mintz]

At 2009-12-13 05:12, Mike N. wrote:
> > Wouldn't "url" be a better tag for it? For your example, the "ref" would
> > actually be more like "110010106081".
>
>   Although 'url' might be semantically better, this has been deprecated by
>the Wiki:
>
>http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:url

I don't see that. I see a statement that it is too generic, with which I 
don't agree. That's the point of a URL - to be able to stick it in anything 
that reads a URL in order to see the data. In the common case of wikipedia, 
it made sense to me to have a separate tag, but otherwise?


>    But a ref=110010106081 would also work since it would key back to the
>original data.

Agreed, though it's nice to also have the link to avoid the user having to 
do research (or find and parse the changeset, or find a Wiki page) to find 
out where to plug the number in to get the data.

Some other thoughts on the data:

Like a lot of government databases, I have the feeling that this one is 
poorly maintained. I see points that are badly misplaced, for places that 
no longer exist, etc. e.g.:

http://iaspub.epa.gov/enviro/national_kml.registry_html?p_registry_id=110037378655
The name is "RTE 134 EB PM 12.07 TO 12.63 IN THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES EA 07 
235904", which seems to describe a section of CA SR-134 eastbound, which is 
over 6 miles away ( 
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=34.14286&lon=-118.17127&zoom=17&layers=B000FTF 
). Why is this an environmental hazard, anyway?

There are a number of elementary schools tagged (e.g. 
http://iaspub.epa.gov/enviro/national_kml.registry_html?p_registry_id=110022045400 
). Are these really hazardous waste sites?

I can understand why some high schools and adult education centers might be 
tagged if they have auto shops, but it doesn't seem to be enough of them in 
that case. Same goes for gas/service stations - a few but not all. Is it 
really useful info anyway? Don't we all assume that such places deal with 
toxic substances (hopefully correctly)? Or am I missing the point of the data?


--
Alan Mintz <Alan_Mintz+OSM at Earthlink.net>