Hazardous Materials and Oil Spill System

Client:  Maine Department of Environmental Protection 
Project:  Hazardous Materials and Oil Spill System  

Challenge: 
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is responsible for the Hazardous Materials and Oil Spill System (HOSS), one of the most fundamental information sources for the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management (BRWM).  It is the HOSS record that establishes the need and type of any further action by DEP and it is the HOSS record that starts to establish the groundwork for liability and insurance fund coverage decisions.  The HOSS record also serves as the cornerstone for many “downstream” systems like the Leaking Underground Storage Tanks system for expense tracking and to critical functions such as the Groundwater systems.  In addition, new EPA reporting requirements are clearly based on a thorough analysis and understanding of the processing of HOSS events.

Unfortunately, the HOSS has been through several evolutionary versions reflecting changing business processes and technologies.  The DEP realized that the HOSS was in need of a fundamental re-design to bring the system architecture back into line with contemporary and future business processes, and to re-define its core position within a more global agency information system.

Penobscot Bay Media’s Solution:
Given their challenges, DEP contracted Pen Bay Media to design and deliver critical services to improve information access across the department and beyond.  Pen Bay Media was able to supply 25 of BRWM’s Division of Response Services environmental field responders with mobile, ruggedized GIS-enabled laptops.  On a round-the-clock basis, they are the first official representatives on the scene of oil, hazardous waste or hazardous materials spill, interacting with over 2,700 spill events every year.  Additionally, they use a Spill Site Tracking System (SSTS), developed by Pen Bay Media, that serves as an enterprise-wide database and GIS system for tracking and managing environmental spills.  It provides responders with access to a wide range of data that was previously only available in the office.  Coupled with HOSS, SSTS greatly enhances BRWM Field Responders’ ability to assess the environmental considerations for clean up and remediation, such as the presence of underground aquifers, nearby water bodies, and public drinking water supplies.