NOAA National Environmental Data Index

Organize the implementation of a National Environmental Data
Index. 

By July 1994, the Government Information Technology Services Working
Group should direct NOAA to organize the implementation of a National
Environmental Data Index. An implementation plan, including the
establishment of data standards, should be completed by November 1994.
This plan should recognize environmental data as a public resource to be
shared and not treated restrictively as the property of the scientific
community. The plan should address the frequency and method of updating
the data index.

NOAA should coordinate closely with the Environmental Protection Agency,
NASA, and the Departments of Energy, Defense, Interior, and Agriculture
to ensure unity of purpose. To implement the index, these agencies
should provide descriptions of their databases to NOAA. These
descriptions should include items such as type of data held,
geographical area, data elements available, and access arrangements
including methods for automating access.

The first phase in implementing this index is to coordinate the
development and use of environmental data gathered by government
agencies. The second phase will be to coordinate the indexing of non-
federal and international environmental data.