Using ArcView 2 in Military Base Closure Management

ABSTRACT

For the past several years, Applied Geographics, Inc. (AGI) has built and maintained the ArcInfo GIS for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), pertaining to the realignment and closure of Ft. Devens. This GIS supports many of the processes associated with the closing and reuse of this military base, and is currently managed by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency. Independent of this GIS, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was written by the US Army Corps of Engineers, with support from ENSR Consulting and Engineering. Recently, AGI has undertaken to automate the EIS map figures, converting them into a collection of figures and tables which can be digitally browsed and queried. The browse and query interface was built in ArcView 2, and the data was derived from the ArcInfo GIS.

Using ArcView 2, the user can read and view the entire set of EIS map figures, searching by chapter, figure or map number, or from beginning to end. A function was also written into the application to allow the user to report data errors or required updates to the master database administrator. Unlike the paper versions, the digital EIS map figures will remain current, with periodic updates from the master database.

In addition, this project includes a pilot effort to bring the EIS map data into compliance with the DoD's Tri-Service Spatial Data Standards. The aim is to make the EIS maps a model of spatial data consistency and uniformity for other base planning and management projects, as well as to ensure suitability for inclusion into the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).

BODY

The disposal and reuse planning for Fort Devens, Massachusetts, officially closed on March 31, 1996, required the writing of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Fort Devens EIS was completed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, with support from ENSR Consulting and Engineering in March, 1995. It contains over 100 map figures produced from a large collection of digital information. Some of this information was drawn from previously existing data sources. Other information was newly developed data that had to be automated to fill data gaps and satisfy the requirements for figures in the EIS.

Of the existing data sources, the most important is the Fort Devens GIS, developed by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and built and maintained for the past several years by Applied Geographics, Inc. (AGI). It is currently managed by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency. This database was developed to help DEP oversee the cleanup and closure of Fort Devens. It has become the defacto standard GIS database for the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. So far it has been used primarily as part of clean-up efforts, and to only a limited extent in the disposal and reuse planning process, even though the data needs of these two processes overlap to a large degree. This pilot project demonstrates one way of expanding the use of the Fort Devens GIS to serve more of the processes involved in closing and re-use plan for Fort Devens.

The EIS document itself, derived in large part from the Ft. Devens GIS, is a static, dated snapshot of Fort Devens and of the ever-changing Fort Devens GIS. AGI has demonstrated with this pilot project how the figures in the EIS can be automated and turned into an interactive document. It can be digitally browsed and queried, and kept current by periodic updates from the ever-changing master GIS. The pilot project focused on automating the map figures of the EIS, rather than the text of the document.

Each of the figures in the paper EIS generally depicts just one GIS data layer such as Floodplains, Zoning or Prime Farmland. Most of the figures share the same map extent, scale and underlying basemap. The simplicity and uniformity of these figures make it easy and logical to automate them as a "View" in ArcView. Once this automation is accomplished it gives the digital EIS figures many advantages, described below, over the paper ones.

Browsing the EIS

Using the custom ArcView interface, a user can read and view the entire set of EIS map figures, searching by chapter or by figure number. Clicking on a figure in the table of contents brings up a View which mimics the hardcopy figure in the paper EIS document. It presents the proper data overlays, map extent, scale and special annotations. To create the effect of EIS figures coming up on the screen, users can turn on and off the appropriate layers and graphics which pertain to each figure.

The EIS interface is a simplified version of the standard ArcView interface. It preserves only the most basic of ArcView functionality - pan, zoom, feature identification and selection - and allows no write or save operations. The simplicity of the interface makes it appropriate as a browsing tool for the general public to examine the EIS, which is a public document. The collection of EIS figures is so extensive that they provide a good overview of Fort Devens to users who may not otherwise be part of the EIS audience.

Data Currency

A great advantage of the digital EIS over the paper document is its ability to remain current. While some of the figures in the EIS such as Aquifers or Archaeological sites are not likely to change -- even over a number of years -- others are so dynamic that they were already outdated by the time the final draft of the EIS was completed. For example, since the figures in the section titled "Hazardous and Toxic Waste Site Remediation" were produced, the status of many Areas of Contamination (AOCs) has changed. Even the Fort Devens basemap which underlies all the EIS figures has changed. Dozens of buildings have been demolished and new roads are being laid out as redevelopment gets under way. The mechanism for keeping the digital EIS current is to simply refresh the ArcView data periodically with downloads from the master database.

Querying the EIS

Many of the EIS figures are paired with tables. For example, a figure showing locations of baseline noise measurements has an accompanying table summarizing the results of the noise level measurements. Lending the familiar query capabilities of a GIS to the digital EIS gives the user the ability to query the table and map together by, say, pointing at a noise measurement record in the table to see where the noise measurement was taken in the figure. Similarly, selecting only AOCs which are near wetlands, or querying an AOC for its latest status, or finding a building by its number are not possible in the paper document but are possible in the digital GIS pilot.

Enhanced Content

In many cases a very rich data layer was plucked from the master or another database (Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs' MassGIS, for example) and presented with much of its content weeded out to accommodate the 81/2 x 11 inch black-and-white format of the EIS. The small scale of the figures, for instance, does not allow directionality, pipe diameters or manholes to be portrayed in the wastewater collection system figure. The user of the digital EIS can zoom in to recover these details and others such as building footprints which are tiny dots at the scale of the EIS figures. Other information such as topographic contours, fence lines and digital orthophotography also serve to enhance the content of the digital EIS figures.

The ability to combine data layers, say to view AOCs in conjunction with public water supplies, is lost in the paper document where these two figures appear in separate chapters. Finally, statewide data layers from the MassGIS database (landuse, open space, zoning, transportation network) place Fort Devens into the wider context of its surrounding communities which can be seen in the digital EIS by zooming out.

Error Reporting

While the Fort Devens master GIS is principally available to its developer, DEP, making it accessible through the digital EIS may expose it to a broader audience. EIS browsers are apt to include members of community-level organizations. These users are seen as potential contributors of information on data errors and updates. Therefore, an important task of the digital EIS is to provide a mechanism for collecting this type of user input. A form menu solicits user comments, which are accumulated in a database until they can be uploaded to the master database administrator for appropriate action.

Standardization

This project also includes a pilot effort to bring the EIS map data into compliance with the Department of Defense (DoD) Tri-Service Spatial Data Standards (TSSDS). The TSSDS provide a universal framework for storing, referencing, documenting, presenting and exchanging spatial data. It is designed to incorporate the variety of data models, terminology, software, hardware and technology employed by all the service branches.

The aim of TSSDS compliance in this pilot was to make the EIS figures a model of spatial data consistency and uniformity for other military base planning and management projects, as well as to ensure suitability for inclusion into the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The digital EIS includes a utility for viewing metadata associated with any data layer. Aside from information about the data source, accuracy and so on, the metadata includes documentation of how each data layer has been "mapped" into the TSSDS data hierarchy.

Conclusion

The development of an automated EIS is well-suited to a simple but powerful ArcView application. The digital EIS takes advantage of the most simple GIS functions and a link to a mature dynamic master database to give it greater content, broader accessibility and better currency than its paper counterpart.

References

Environmental Impact Statement, Ft. Devens, Massachusetts Disposal and Re-Use. March 1995. Prepared by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, New England Division.

Elizabeth Flynn

GIS Manager

Applied Geographics, Inc.

33 Broad Street

Boston, MA 02109

(617) 367-8626

fax: (617) 367-8581

e-mail: boo@appgeo.com

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