[Talk-us] Import of EPA data

[Chris Hunter]

On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 10:00 AM, David Fawcett <david.fawcett at gmail.com>wrote:

> I don't support the import at this time either.
>
> I think that this type of data is far better queried from the source
> at the time it is needed and mashed on top of OSM.  States are
> continually improving this data and pushing it up to EPA where the
> changes will be reflected in new versions of the KML file.  Is it
> likely that OSM contributors will create diffs and hand edit the
> locations and attributes as they change?
>
> If data like this is imported, it should not be done without a well
> thought out tagging/description scheme that others buy into for
> environmental data.  These tags should indicate the type of
> environmental interest that it it is and if it is from a particular
> EPA program, it would be very useful to use namespace specific tags
> like type=epa:npl, type=epa:brownfield, etc.  Maybe a standard OSM tag
> to indicate that the location has not been verified, like the tiger
> data.
>
> Personally, I think that if it is there, it should also be tagged in a
> way that it doesn't show up on the default renders.  An interesting
> project would be something like 'OpenEnviroMap'  (ala OpenPisteMap), a
> stylesheet and tagging scheme to pull all flavors of environmental
> info into a map.
>
> I don't understand what the rush is to put 100k of points into OSM
> without the proper work up front.  In IT-speak, you seem to be heavily
> invested in a solution without having done the business analysis or
> established the business need.  I guess that is the beauty:horror of
> OSM, it is a wiki, anyone can import whatever they want, however they
> want.
>
> I am starting to repeat myself in these posts, so I really don't think
> that I have anything else to add to this discussion.  If your goal is
> to add value to the data or make the latest version of data available
> to people who currently don't have access to it, I don't see the case
> for putting it into OSM.  What is your goal behind this effort?
>
> David.
>
> +1
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