NRT Data Sharing Plan Templates for Marine Spills & Examples

The NRT Response Data Sharing Plan template for marine spills is to be used for generating response data sharing plans (sometimes called "Data Management Plans" or "Information Management Plans"), and should be signed and implemented by the Unified Command. Signatures are required by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC) and/or the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) FOSC, State On-Scene Coordinator, and Responsible Party's Incident Commander. The Data Sharing template outlines: 1) the data management and sharing process, 2) how incident data will be preserved and protected, 3) the common operating pictures that will be used, 4) data infrastructure and hardware where the data will be stored, and 5) requirements for metadata and file naming conventions. This Response Data Sharing Plan template is expected to cover Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) interests as well, with the exclusion of proprietary datasets.

This plan is provided as a value-added tool; it is intended to be flexible and should be modified to meet the needs of the response as necessary.

Essential details for incident-specific data layers should be outlined in the Response Data Streams spreadsheet that are referenced in the Response Data Sharing Plan. This spreadsheet provides the details of the data included in the Plan such as:

     • description,
     • point of contact,
     • use restrictions,
     • delivery schedule,
     • short-term repository,
     • response data short-term storage management, and
     • long-term storage management.
     • When a Common Operational Picture (COP) is used, data sharing capabilities and point of contact.

Data Quality Objectives

Data collected under a response should also be collected with data quality objectives to ensure that quality and consistent data are available for understanding appropriate use in response decision making, as well as for post-response application to any damage assessment and/or post-response review and accomplishments. Quality assurance efforts should set a minimum standard for how to conduct response activities and help provide guidance to agencies and contractors planning response removal and data collection actions. If the response is led by the EPA FOSC, a formal Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) (or equivalent document) may be required per EPA Policy. A QAPP, is a document describing in comprehensive detail the necessary Quality Assurance, Quality Control and other technical activities that must be implemented to ensure that the results of the work performed will satisfy the stated performance criteria.

Reference Documents

Three Data Sharing Plan examples are also provided from specific marine spills:

     • Texas City Y Spill COP Information Management and Sharing Plan (signed 4/21/2014)

     • Refugio Pipeline Spill Document & Data Management Plan (signed 6/20/2015)

     • Tank Barge Argo Incident Data Management and Sharing Plan (signed 11/15/2015)

Quality Assurance Project Plan (external links)

For more information on QAPPs please see these EPA resource documents:

     • Federal Policy for Quality Assurance Project Plans

     • EPA Quality System FAQ

     • EPA Volunteer Monitor’s Guide to Quality Assurance Project Plan

     • EPA QAPP Development Tool