April 1, 2003 FGDC Coordination Meeting Summary


Action items.

Action 1: Please contact Michael Sherman (michael.sherman@ncpc.gov) if you would like to join the NCPC GIS Consortium.

Action 2: Please provide information that would be useful to Don Campbell regarding the resolution on Worldwide Databases of Terrain Height and Surface Features (dcampbel@fcc.gov or 202.418.2405).

Action 3: Don Campbell will give a presentation at an upcoming Coordination Group Meeting regarding the FCC database.

Action 4: FGDC approved the Address Data Content Standard for public review.

Action 5: If you would like to become a member INCITS Technical Committee L1 please send a letter expressing interest in membership to Norm (norman.c.andersen@lmco.com) who will provide guidance on membership.

Action 6: Please let Leslie Wollack (lwollack@fgdc.gov) or Rob Dollison (rdollison@fgdc.gov) know if a change needs to be made to the GOS website or if something is missing.

Action 7: If your agency would like to submit something for the GOS "what's new" page, please send it to Leslie Wollack (lwollack@fgdc.gov).

Action 8: Please send any Steering Committee agenda topics to Alison (akiernan@fgdc.gov).

Host: Michael Sherman, NCPC

Attendees:

Ivan DeLoatch, FGDC Acting Staff Director
Alison Kiernan, FGDC
Hank Garie, GOS Manager
Fred Miller, GSA
Ron Fresne, OGC
Leslie Wollack, GOS/NASA
Lou Kerestesy, Consensus Systems/GOS
John Clarke, GSA
Carol Anadale, GSA
Bob Harding, GSA
Michelle Torreano, EPA
Kim Owens, NOAA
Elizabeth Banas, USFS
Rick Yorczyk, NOAA
Theodore J. Hull, NARA
Lee R. Warren, NIMA
Mario Lopez-Gomez, DOJ/Civil Rights
Rebecca Moser, EPA
Milo Robinson, FGDC
Paul Cutler, NRC
Rob Dollison, Orkand/GOS
Susan Hargrove, DOE
Julie Binder Maitra, FGDC
Robby Wilson, NOAA/NOS
Rick Pearsall, USGS
Dan Mates, BLM
Carol Brandt, USDOT
Nancy Blyler, HQ USACE
Jeff de La Beaujardiere, NASA
Fred Broome, Census
Donald Draper Campbell, FCC
Anne O'Connor, Census
David Morehouse, DOE
Ralph Crawford, FS
David Stein, NOAA/NOS
Anne Miglarese, NOAA
Billy Tolar, USGS
Stacy Wood, NCPC
Shane Dettman, NCPC
Jochen Albrecht, UCGIS

Welcome - Michael Sherman, NCPC

Michael Sherman welcomed the group and gave a quick overview of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which serves as the Federal Planning Agency for the D.C. Area. Michael Sherman is the Director of Technology for NCPC.

NCPC tracks all Federal capital improvements and plans monuments and Federal buildings. NCPC is involved in long range planning.

The NCPC GIS Consortium meets on a bimonthly basis. Coordination Group members are invited to join.

Action 1: Please contact Michael Sherman (michael.sherman@ncpc.gov) if you would like to join the NCPC GIS Consortium.

Update on FGDC Staff Director Position - Ivan DeLoatch, FGDC Acting Staff Director

Ivan will be acting as the FGDC Staff Director until the position is filled permanently. The position will be advertised shortly and the FGDC Staff Director should be in place this summer.

Ivan also introduced Dr. Ralph Crawford (USFS), the new Vegetation Subcommittee Chair.

WGA Forum "Putting Land Records to Work" - Dan Mates, BLM

The WGA Forum will take place in Salt Lake City, UT on May 6 &7. The Forum will focus on accelerating the implementation and use of a comprehensive geographic system of parcel and land records across the west. About 250 participants are expected, participants will include: local, Federal, State, tribal, banking, and real estate. For more information please visit: http://www.westgov.org/wga/meetings/cadastral.pdf

Terrain Height & Surface Features Resolution - Don Campbell, FCC

Don Campbell solicited comments regarding the ITU Resolution entitled Worldwide Databases of Terrain Height and Surface Features (document attached). This international resolution will be used for a terrain database for national spectrum management purposes. Don is looking for worldwide elevation data greater than 30 arc seconds (higher resolution data). The data will be used to develop propagation models.

Action 2: Please provide information that would be useful to Don regarding this resolution (dcampbel@fcc.gov or 202.418.2405).

Action 3: Don will give a presentation at an upcoming Coordination Group Meeting regarding the FCC database.

[ MS Word 27KB ] [ PDF 64KB ]

Address Data Content Standard - Julie Binder Maitra, FGDC & Anne O'Connor, Census

The Address Data Content Standard (ADCS) has been reworked since its first public review in 2001. The purpose of the Standard is to facilitate the exchange of address information. The ADCS standardizes the information describing the data being exchanged regarding 3 types of addresses: geographic, postal, and physical. The Standards Working Group recommends that the Coordination Group approve the draft Standard for a 90-day minimum public review.

Comment: First responders should be involved in the public review. The Standard should go through Ryan D. Cast (DHS) or Sue Kalweit to be distributed to the first responders.

Action 4: FGDC approved the Address Data Content Standard for public review.

Introduction [ PPT 96KB ]

[ PPT 324KB]

ANSI/INCITS Briefing - Norman Andersen, Lockheed Martin

INCITS L1 (International Committee for Information Technology Standards) was established in 1993 to develop, adopt, or adapt national standards for GIS. The INCITS LA officers are: Chair, Norman Andersen; Vice Chair, Julie Binder Maitra; International Representative, Charles Roswell; and Secretariat, April Avnayim. If you would like to view charts and diagrams of the organization, please visit http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/related_activities.html

Action 5: If you would like to become a member of ISO TC 211, please send a letter requesting membership to Norm (norman.c.andersen@lmco.com)

L1 Activities [ MS Word 137KB ] [ PDF 154KB ]

Q: There are 40 ISO Standards that the One Stop will have to harmonize with. All of the One Stop Standards will be submitted together in one package for ANSI approval. Are we going all we can as we develop the One Stop standards so that they will harmonize with ANSI?
A: The MATs are using ANSI Standards and harmonization is occurring. If an ANSI standard doesn't apply the MAT doesn't need to use it.

Q: How long will it take for ANSI L1 to review the GOS standards?
A: L1 will see the standards and comment before submission. Once the standards are officially submitted it will take 9 months for ANSI to approve them as national standards.

Julie Binder Maitra: The Subcommittees have internal mechanisms to work with State organizations to provide State participation and a local audience.

If you have any questions regarding ANSI L1 please contact Norm Andersen at 703.460.3402 or norman.c.andersen@lmco.com.

[ PPT 233KB ]

Status Update on GOS Standards - Chris Clarke, NRCS

The types of standards being developed in the GOS are content, symbology, and transfer standards. The standards should not mandate change to the business process (an agency shouldn't have to go back and redo data) but the standards should help guide the agency in the future. If you believe that the adoption of a standard could produce a negative impact you can request an OMB waiver. The Framework will be dependable, best available, certified and contain data elements defined by the user community. There will be 2 formal public reviews during the standards process: before the standards go to ANSI and then while being reviewed by ANSI L1.

GOAL: By September 30, 2003 we will deliver a pre-ANSI harmonized base standard and subparts to the chair of ANSI L1.

Need to focus on: finalizing requirements for harmonization; consensus standards development; Framework; and the resources of theme leads as well as full MAT participation.

These standards must be built by a broad community and cannot be viewed as Federal centric.

  1. Theme Leads should reach out to ensure that all who would like to participate get the opportunity.
  2. Federal partners that have committed FTEs to the GOS should ensure that their supervisors are allowing them the latitude to get their GOS work done. Theme leads should probably be working on their GOS responsibilities full time.

There is an 11 member GOS Board of Directors which is comprised of 7 non-Federal members.

[ PPT 173KB ]

Geospatial One Stop - Hank Garie, GOS Manager

A new GOS website has been developed collaboratively by Jeff de la B, Chris Clarke, Sharon Shin, Ivan DeLoatch, Hank Garie. The collaboration brought together staff resources and built the website quickly. The website will be live soon and will serve in the interim until the GOS Portal is online. A search tool and site map links will be added. Bruce McKenzie is developing a search page for geospatial information that he will discuss at an upcoming Coordination Group meeting.

Action 6: Please let Leslie Wollack (lwollack@fgdc.gov) or Rob Dollison (rdollison@fgdc.gov) know if a change needs to be made to the GOS website or if something is missing.

Action 7: If your agency would like to submit something for the "what's new" page, please send it to Leslie Wollack (lwollack@fgdc.gov).

GOALS:

  • To increase visibility of geospatial activities
  • To engage new audiences

The portal will allow the public easy access to Federal geospatial data. The Portal team is surveying possible portal options. The form will be distributed to technical people.

Suggestion: The GOS Project Managers should give updates at each Coordination Group meeting.

NSGIC Conference - Ivan DeLoatch, FGDC Acting Staff Director

The NSGIC Conference was held in Denver from March 28 - 30. It was well attended. There was concern and a need to understand how the many Federal geospatial activities relate. We need to develop a communications tool to articulate the relationships to help ease the confusion.

There may be a FGDC Steering Committee meeting coming up in the next couple of months. Details will follow.

Action 8: Please send any Steering Committee agenda topics to Alison (akiernan@fgdc.gov).

Update: CEG, Dan Chenok (OMB), Tony Frater (OMB), and FGDC staff met to discuss the status and future of the I-Teams. Ivan will discuss with OMB the Future Directions activities regarding the FGDC to ensure the expectations of FGDC and OMB are in concert. Ivan will meet with Ryan D. Cast sometime in the near future to discuss how FGDC can participate with the Department of Homeland Security.

CAP 2003

The 2003 CAP was released to the Federal Register and is open until May 30. The funding level will be held at $1 million. The program will be used to work with Federal, State, and local partners to move forward with the development of the NSDI. The CAP information may be accessed at: http://www.fgdc.gov/funding/2003/index.html

** PPTs available at http://www.fgdc.gov/fgdc/coorwg/2003/cwgmin_2003.html **
* Please contact Alison (akiernan@fgdc.gov) with any changes or corrections*

Next Coordination Group Meeting:
May 6, 2002
Hosted by NCPC
Agenda will be sent in late April.