NAO 212-15

MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND
GEOSPATIAL DATA AND INFORMATION

Effective: 12/2/08

SECTION 1. PURPOSE.

This Order establishes a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) policy for acquiring, integrating, managing, disseminating, and archiving environmental and geospatial data and information obtained from worldwide sources to support NOAA's mission.

SECTION 2. SCOPE.

This Order applies to all NOAA environmental and geospatial data and to the personnel and organizations that manage these data, including Line Offices, Program Managers, NOAA National Data Centers, and Centers of Data.

SECTION 3. POLICY.

.01 NOAA environmental and geospatial data will be maintained in accordance with applicable Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, including OMB Circulars A-16 and A-130; Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) approved data standards; the Geospatial Profile of the Federal Enterprise Architecture (v1.1, or later); federal law related to records management within federal agencies - Sections 3101-3107 of Title 44 of the United States Code (44 U.S.C. 3101-3107); the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); and National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Records Management Regulations - Parts 1220-1238 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (36 CFR 1220-1238).

.02 NOAA data management planning will include end-to-end data stewardship.

.03 For major systems acquisitions, any exception to including validated data requirements shall be outlined in a decision memorandum to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere before funding is sought.

.04 Decisions within NOAA to retain and preserve environmental and geospatial data and information shall be based upon the procedure and decision process found in "NOAA Procedure for Scientific Records Appraisal and Archive Approval," dated August 15, 2008 (or later edition, if available).

SECTION 4. RESPONSIBILITIES.

.01 The NOAA Chief Information Officer (CIO) shall be responsible for implementing and managing this Order in consultation with the CIO Council and the Data Management Committee.

.02 Each NOAA Program Manager shall:

a. support NOAA's mission for stewardship of the Nation's environmental and geospatial data and information throughout the process of acquiring, archiving, integrating, and disseminating such data and information;

b. develop a data management plan in coordination with the appropriate data center, specifying the data life cycle and disposition of data and information for each program;

c. ensure that during the initial planning of new programs NOAA Line and Staff Office requirements for new data are identified;

d. take appropriate steps to ensure acceptable accuracy, precision, representativeness, documentation, and long-term continuity of NOAA's quality data sets for the user community;

e. be alert to and mitigate the risks caused by changes of instruments, platforms, locations, and methods for observing or processing data;

f. comply with Section 515 of Public Law 106-554 to ensure and maximize the quality of information disseminated by NOAA - scientific procedures shall be followed to ensure quality control and calibration of the data; and

g. cooperate with other agencies to ensure compatibility between the recorded observations of each agency to the maximum extent practicable.

..03 Each Line Office shall determine, in accordance with applicable law, regulations, and policy; where, when, and/or how its environmental and geospatial data and information are archived and how they are made available. Data are considered, and are to be treated as, corporate assets.

.04 NOAA National Data Centers and Centers of Data shall:

a. maintain an environmental data and information metadata catalog;

b. protect and preserve their environmental data and information holdings; and

c. make their holdings accessible to users under uniform guidelines.

SECTION 5. DEFINITIONS.

.01 Environmental Data - recorded observations and measurements of the physical, chemical, biological, geological, or geophysical properties or conditions of the oceans, atmosphere, space environment, sun, and solid earth, as well as correlative data and related documentation or metadata. Media, including voice recordings and photographs, may be included.

.02 Geospatial Data - information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features and boundaries on the Earth. This information may be derived from, among other things, remote sensing, mapping, and surveying technologies. Statistical data may be included in this definition at the discretion of the collecting agency.

.03 Information Quality - a term prescribing requirements for objectivity (accuracy and absence of bias), utility (usefulness), and integrity (protection from unauthorized disclosure or changes) associated with data disseminated by federal agencies.

.04 NOAA National Data Centers are major archives that maintain, process, and distribute retrospective environmental and geospatial data. The Centers provide long-term stewardship for most of NOAA's environmental and geospatial data and a broad range of user services. The Centers serve as Agency Record Centers subject to NARA-accepted archive standards. NOAA National Data Centers may be composed of two or more archive facilities linked together through a computerized wide area network.

.05 Centers of Data are facilities where extensive collections of a given environmental parameter(s) are maintained because of individual or institutional research or operational requirements (e.g., the National Ice Center). The Centers of Data, which are not held to all the NARA archive standards, must still adhere to basic good stewardship practices including off-site data backup and maintenance of adequate environmental control and security for their holdings. Centers of Data transfer their data holdings to the NOAA National Data Centers for permanent archiving when continued storage at the Center of Data is no longer appropriate.

.06 Program Managers, for purposes of this Order, are those individuals who have overall responsibility for the collection or acquisition of data or information. This responsibility extends from the Assistant Administrator level down to the individual manager who is most directly involved in the conduct and outcome of a particular program (e.g., a specific field program).

.07 Data management is the control of data handling operations such as planning, data acquisition, quality control and validation, reprocessing, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of data. Data management services include maintaining active data bases, documenting algorithm development, providing interactive access to both program data and data from other sources, data handling, and assisting secondary users with access to collected data.

SECTION 6. REFERENCES.

The Office of the Chief Information Office (OCIO) will maintain a list of applicable reference materials and will provide access to their electronic editions on the OCIO website. The following items are some of the primary reference materials related to this Order.

.01 "Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by Federal Agencies" - OMB issuance that implements Section 515 of Public Law 106-554; intended to "provide policy and procedural guidance to federal agencies for ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information (including statistical information) disseminated by federal agencies.''

.02 NOAA Information Quality Guidelines - NOAA's policy and procedures document implementing Section 515 of the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-554).

.03 NOAA Information Technology Architecture - contains the Archive and Access segment; NOTE: restricted access - those seeking access to the document must obtain a user identification and password from the OCIO.

.04 NOAA Records Disposition Handbook - documents NOAA's records disposition schedules.

.05 Federal law related to records management within federal agencies (44 U.S.C. 3101-3107) and the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

.06 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) records management regulations (36 CFR 1220-1238).

.07 OMB Circular A-l6, Coordination of Geographic Information and Related Spatial Data Activities.

.08 OMB Circular A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources.

.09 The E-Government Act of 2002 (44 U.S.C. 3602 et seq.) - promotes enhanced access to Federal Government information and services in a manner consistent with laws and regulations.

.10 Federal Enterprise Architecture Geospatial Profile, version 1.1

SECTION 7. EFFECT ON OTHER ISSUANCES.

None.

/S/
Acting Under Secretary of Commerce
for Oceans and Atmosphere

Office of Primary Interest:
  Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (OCAO)
    NOAA Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)