OVERVIEW

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Major Facilities datalayer is a statewide point dataset containing the location of a subset of facility types regulated by DEP’s Bureau of Waste Prevention (BWP). The layer is stored in ArcSDE as BWPMAJOR_PT.

In a preliminary effort to begin locating facilities regulated by DEP, the BWP chose to locate facility types having the greatest potential environmental significance. At this time, the following facility types have been located:

• Large Quantity Generators of Hazardous Waste (LQG)
• Large Quantity Generator of MA-regulated Hazardous Waste (LQG_MA)
  
• Large Quantity Generator of EPA/RCRA-regulated Hazardous Waste (LQG_RCRA)
  
• Large Quantity Toxic Users (LQTU)
• Hazardous Waste Recyclers (HWR)
  
• Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage and/or Disposal Facilities (TSDF)
• Facilities with Air Operating Permits (AIR)
  
• Facilities with Type II Groundwater Discharge Permits (GWD)
• Facilities with Type II Surfacewater Discharge Permits (SWD)

Data Universe
In April 1998, DEP’s Facility Master File Database (FMF) was queried to identify facilities engaging in the activities listed above. A “development coverage” was created from this data using global positioning system (GPS), address-matched, and coordinate-derived data developed at DEP and EPA Region 1. The data are current as of March 2005.

Data Sources
The primary sources of information for this datalayer include:

• Site-specific knowledge of BWP Compliance and Enforcement staff
• GPS field verification by BWP and/or DEP GIS staff
• Surveys, site plans and locus maps from DEP records

The attribute section of this document contains additional information regarding data sources utilized in the development of this datalayer.

Point Development Tool
To facilitate conversion of institutional knowledge and paper data to a digital format, the DEP GIS Program created the Point Development Tool (PDT), a customized application using ESRI’s ArcView software (the PDT application is available as an extension to the MassGIS DataViewer).  The PDT provides a standardized platform that guides users through the automation and documentation of geographically referenced point data.  DEP technical staff used the PDT to locate facilities based on knowledge gained in the course of their professional activities.  On screen digitizing using the PDT was the primary method of automation.

Basemap Scale
Using data in the “development coverage,” the PDT navigates data developers to the general vicinity of a site.  The PDT then displays the best digital base imagery available for that vicinity.  The PDT uses MassGIS 1 meter (1:5,000) black and white digital orthophoto images (DOQ) as the default basemap.  Where 1 meter 1:5,000 DOQs were not available, the PDT defaulted to 1 meter USGS (1:12,000) black and white digital orthophoto images or (1:25,000) USGS topographic quadrangle imagery respectively.  When data development began, the only available digital basemap imagery for much of Massachusetts was the MassGIS scanned USGS (1:25,000) topographic images.  Therefore, the base scale of this datalayer is considered to be 1:25,000.

Other Methodologies
In the absence of staff with professional knowledge, facility files were checked for location information.  Facility files maintained by the DEP contain a variety of types and quality of maps, including surveys, site plans and locus maps.  DEP GIS and BWP Program staff reviewed this file information and identified the best manuscript maps and supplemental text information for locating sites.  When suitable maps were not available, field verification was performed by GIS staff.  Locations were entered using the PDT.

1. Attribute Data Structure
The point attribute table for the DEP Major Facilities datalayer contains the following items:

General Facility Information Items:
 

ITEM		TYPE-WIDTH		DEFINITION
FAC_ID		B – 4 / 7		Facility ID from FacilityMaster File (FMF) Database
FAC_NAME		C – 45 / 45		Facility Name fromFMF Database
ADDRESS		C – 38 / 38		Facility Addressfrom FMF Database
TOWN		C – 21 / 21		MassGIS town name
REGION		I  – 1 / 1		MassGIS DEP Region code
RTN		C – 9 / 9		DEP BWSC 21e Release TrackingNumber (RTN)
HW_ID		C – 12 / 12		EPA RCRAINFO HazardousWaste Generator ID
SW_ID		C – 10 / 10		Solid Waste Facility ID
SSEIS_ID		B – 4 / 7		Stationary Source Emission Inventory System ID
NPDES_ID		C – 15 / 15		National Pollution Discharge Elimination System ID

Major Activity Items:

ITEM		TYPE-WIDTH		DEFINITION
AIR		C - 1 / 1		Air Operating Permit
GWD		C – 1 / 1		Type II Groundwater Discharge
HWR		C – 1 / 1		Hazardous Waste Recycler
LQG_MA		C - 1 / 1		Large Quantity Generator of MA-regulated Hazardous Waste
LQG_RCRA		C - 1 / 1		Large Quantity Generator of EPA/RCRA-regulated Hazardous Waste
LQTU		C - 1 / 1		Large Quantity Toxic User
SWD		C - 1 / 1		Type II Surfacewater Discharge
TSDF		C - 1 / 1		Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage and/or Disposal Facility

2. Description of General Facility Information Items
General facility information attributes are populated using DEP‘s Facility Master File (FMF) Database.

a. FAC_ID
Facility ID from DEP‘s Facility Master File (FMF) Database. The FAC_ID is a unique identifier used in the FMF Database to identify facilities and their ownership.

b. FAC_NAME
Facility name from the FMF Database.

c. ADDRESS
The number and street address of the facility, as listed in the FMF Database.

d. TOWN
The standard MassGIS town name.

e. REGION
A code corresponding to the DEP Region in which the facility is located. This field uses standard DEP Region codes:

REGION		DEP REGION – Office location		ACRONYM
1		Western Region - Springfield		WERO
2		Central Region - Worcester		CERO
3		Northeast Region - Wilmington		NERO
4		Southeast Region – Lakeville		SERO

f. RTN
If a relationship between a BWP Facility and a BWSC Chapter 21e site was uncovered in the data development process, the RTN field will be populated.  The Release Tracking Number (RTN), is a unique 7-digit site identifier assigned to reportable releases by the BWSC.  This number is preceded by the digit 1, 2, 3, or 4 (e.g. 3-0001234) according to the DEP region in which the site is located (see: description of DEP-ID above).

g. HW_ID
EPA Hazardous Waste Generator ID from the RCRAINFO database.  A unique identifier generated by RCRAINFO, EPA’s database formerly known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Information System (RCRIS).

h. SW_ID
Solid Waste Facility ID from DEP’s Solid Waste Facility database.

i. SSEIS_ID
Stationary Source Emission Inventory System ID from DEP’s SSEIS database.  This unique identifier is a composite ID comprised of an EPA Air Quality Control Region identifier (AQCR) and a Plant ID.

j. NPDES_ID
If a relationship between a BWP Facility and a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) facility was discovered in the data development process, the NPDES_ID field will be populated.  The National Pollution Discharge Elimination System ID is a unique identifier generated by EPA.

3. Description of Major Activity Items
The Major Activity Items are Y/N fields indicating which of the more significant types of activities occur at a given facility. There are no specific if/then relationships between any of the Major Activity items.

a. AIR
A value of “Y” indicates the facility has an active air operating permit.  This is a permit with specific restrictions on the type and amount of particulate or other matter emitted from the facility.

b. GWD
A value of “Y” indicates the facility has an active Type II groundwater discharge permit.  Type II permits require more extensive review than Type I permits and corresponding discharges are considered more significant than Type I discharges.  Please note we have attempted to locate the center of the facility rather than a specific discharge location.  Refer to the L_TYPE to see what feature of the facility was mapped.

c. HWR
A value of “Y” indicates the facility engages in the recycling of hazardous waste.

d. LQG_MA
A value of “Y” indicates the facility is a large quantity generator of one or more Massachusetts regulated hazardous wastes, including but not limited to, waste oil and PCBs.

e. LQG_RCRA
A value of “Y” indicates the facility is a large quantity generator of one or more EPA-RCRA regulated hazardous wastes.

f. LQTU
A value of “Y” indicates the facility is permitted as a large quantity toxics user and falls under the requirements of the Toxic Use Reduction Act (TURA).  For a Toxics Use Reduction Act overview, visit the DEP TURA webpage at http://www.mass.gov/dep/bwp/dhm/tura/turaover.htm

g. TSDF
A value of “Y” indicates the facility engages in the treatment, storage and/or disposal of hazardous wastes.

h. SWD
A value of “Y” indicates the facility has an active Type II surfacewater discharge permit.  Type II permits require more extensive review than Type I permits and corresponding discharges are considered more significant than Type I discharges.  Please note we have attempted to locate the center of the facility rather than a specific discharge location.  Refer to the L_TYPE to see what feature of the facility was mapped.

DEP Location Documentation Table (BWP_MAJ_LDT) - See DEP Standards for Point GIS Data.

DEP Tier Classified Oil or Hazardous Material Sites 
The BWSC maintains a file (release.zip) that can be downloaded from the DEP Web Site http://mass.gov/dep/cleanup/sites/sdown.htm. This compressed (.zip) file includes a database (.dbf) file containing a record for all reportable releases tracked by the BWSC, and accompanying documentation (wsc_all.doc). BWSC updates the wsc_all.dbf on a regular schedule. Tabular data records in wsc_all.dbf can be related to the BWP Major Facilities datalayer by the Release Tracking Number (RTN) field.

General and technical questions regarding Chapter 21E, the MCP and waste site cleanup in Massachusetts should be directed to the DEP BWSC Helpline at (617) 338-2255 or (800) 426-0444. Considerable information on the waste site clean-up program is available on the DEP Web Site: http://mass.gov/dep/cleanup/index.htm. For more comprehensive coverage of oil and hazardous material sites in the Commonwealth, see the DEP Tier Classified Chapter 21e Sites datalayer.

Environmental Protection Agency data
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Envirofacts Web Site http://www.epa.gov/enviro presents information in a searchable format.  Using the Facility Name, Address information or HW_ID, facility records can be queried on the EPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRAINFO) web page http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/rcris/rcris_query_java.html.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has set up a Web site, http://www.hud.gov/offices/cio/emaps/index.cfm, offering free site-specific maps related to a variety of environmental hazards.

The DEP Major Facilities datalayer is maintained by the DEP Bureau of Waste Prevention. A regular update schedule has not been determined at this time. Updates may include improvements to mapped facility locations and/or the location of major facilities not included in the datalayer at this time. Updates may also include additional facility types and an altered database structure.

Changes to the layer in the March 2005 update include:

1. New BWP Major Facility type added - Type II Surfacewater Discharge Permits (SWD)
2. LQG BWP Major facility type broken out into MA-regulated LQG of Haz. Waste and EPA/RCRA-regulated LQG of Haz. Waste
3. Feature level metadata attributes have been removed from the feature class DEP and a location documentation table (BWPMAJOR_PT_LDT) has been created to store DEP standard metadata.

The February 2009 update brought the total number of features to 1,552 and included updated classification information presented in the "major" fields: AIR, GWD, HWR, LQG_MA, LQG_RCRA, LQTU, TSDF, SWD.

If you have questions regarding this datalayer, please contact the DEP Bureau of Waste Prevention at (617) 292-5694.

Last Updated 2/18/2009
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