The Major Facilities datalayer is a statewide point dataset containing the location of a subset of facility types regulated by MassDEP’s Bureau of Air and Waste.
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The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Major Facilities datalayer is a statewide point dataset containing the location of a subset of facility types regulated by MassDEP’s Bureau of Air and Waste (formerly the Bureau of Waste Prevention (BWP)).
The following “major” facility types have been located:
- Facilities with Air Operating Permits (AIR)
- Hazardous Waste Recyclers (HWR)
- Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage and/or Disposal Facilities (TSDF)
- Large Quantity Generators of MA-regulated Hazardous Waste (LQG_MA)
- Large Quantity Generators of EPA/RCRA-regulated Hazardous Waste (LQG_RCRA)
- Large Quantity Toxic Users (LQTU)
New in 2016: Facilities with Ground Water (GWD) and Surfacewater (SWD) discharge permits have been removed from this layer. Permitting of these activities is currently managed by the MassDEP Bureau of Water Resources (BWR). See the MassDEP Ground Water Permits layer for Ground Water discharge locations.
The layer is stored in ArcSDE as BWPMAJOR_PT.
Source
Data Universe
In April 1998, MassDEP’s Facility Master File Database (FMF) was
queried to identify facilities engaging in the activities listed
above. A “development coverage” was created from this data using
global positioning system (GPS), address-matched, and
coordinate-derived data developed at MassDEP and EPA Region 1.
The data are current as of April 29, 2016.
Data Sources
The primary sources of information for this datalayer include:
- Site-specific knowledge of BAW Compliance and Enforcement staff
- GPS field verification by MassDEP staff
- Surveys, site plans and locus maps from MassDEP records
- Interpolation of orthophoto imagery and parcel data from MassGIS
The Attributes section of this page contains additional information regarding data sources utilized in the development of this datalayer.
Production
Point Development Tool
To facilitate conversion of institutional knowledge and paper
data to a digital format, the MassDEP GIS Program created the
Point Development Tool (PDT), a customized application using
ESRI’s ArcView software (the PDT application is available as an
extension to the MassGIS DataViewer). The PDT provides a
standardized platform that guides users through the automation
and documentation of geographically referenced point data.
MassDEP technical staff used the PDT to locate facilities based
on knowledge gained in the course of their professional
activities. On screen digitizing using the PDT was the primary
method of automation.
Basemap Scale
Using data in the “development coverage,” the PDT navigates data
developers to the general vicinity of a site. The PDT then
displays the best digital base imagery available for that
vicinity. In 1998, the PDT used MassGIS 1 meter (1:5,000) black
and white digital orthophoto images (DOQ) as the default
basemap. Where 1 meter 1:5,000 DOQs were not available, the PDT
defaulted to 1 meter USGS (1:12,000) black and white digital
orthophoto images or (1:25,000) USGS topographic quadrangle
imagery respectively. When data development began, the only
available digital basemap imagery for much of Massachusetts was
the MassGIS scanned USGS (1:25,000) topographic images.
Therefore, the base scale of this datalayer is considered to be
1:25,000.
Other Methodologies
In the absence of staff with professional knowledge, facility
files were checked for location information. Facility files
maintained by MassDEP contain a variety of types and quality of
maps, including surveys, site plans and locus maps. MassDEP GIS
and BAW Program staff reviewed this file information and
identified the best manuscript maps and supplemental text
information for locating sites. When suitable maps were not
available, field verification was performed by MassDEP staff.
Locations were entered using the PDT. With multiple years of
orthophoto imagery and the increased availability of parcel
data, many recently mapped locations were developed without the
need for fieldwork.
Attributes
The point attribute table for the MassDEP Major Facilities datalayer contains the following fields:
General Facility Information Fields:
FIELD | TYPE-WIDTH | DEFINITION | |||||||||||||||
FAC_ID | Long Integer | Facility ID from Facility Master File (FMF) Database. The FAC_ID is a unique identifier used in the FMF Database to identify facilities and their ownership. | |||||||||||||||
FAC_NAME | Text - 45 | Facility Name from the FMF Database | |||||||||||||||
ADDRESS | Text - 38 | Number and street address of the facility, as listed in the FMF Database. | |||||||||||||||
TOWN | Text - 21 | The standard MassGIS city/town name. | |||||||||||||||
REGION | Short Integer | A code corresponding to the MassDEP Region
in which the facility is located. This field uses standard
MassDEP Region codes:
|
|||||||||||||||
RTN | Text - 9 | DEP BWSC 21e Release Tracking Number (RTN). If a relationship between a BWP Facility and a BWSC Chapter 21e site was uncovered in the data development process, the RTN field will be populated. The RTN is a unique 7-digit site identifier assigned to reportable releases by the BWSC. This number is preceded by the digit 1, 2, 3, or 4 (e.g. 3-0001234) according to the MassDEP region in which the site is located (see: description of REGION above). | |||||||||||||||
HW_ID | Text - 12 | EPA Hazardous Waste Generator ID from the RCRAINFO database. A unique identifier generated by RCRAINFO, EPA’s database formerly known as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Information System (RCRIS). | |||||||||||||||
SW_ID | Text - 10 | Historic Solid Waste Facility ID from MassDEP’s Solid Waste Facility database. | |||||||||||||||
SSEIS_ID | Long Integer | Stationary Source Emission Inventory System ID from MassDEP’s AirQual database. This unique identifier is a composite ID composed of an EPA Air Quality Control Region identifier (AQCR) and a Plant ID. | |||||||||||||||
NPDES_ID | Text - 15 | National Pollution Discharge Elimination System ID, a unique identifier generated by the EPA. If a relationship between a BWP Facility and a NPDES facility was discovered in the data development process, the NPDES_ID field will be populated. |
Major Activity Fields:
The Major Activity Fields are Y/N fields indicating which of the more significant types of activities occur at a given facility. There are no specific if/then relationships between any of the Major Activity fields. Although Ground and Surface Water discharges are no longer regulated within the Bureau of Air and Waste, the GWD and SWD fields remain (null) for structural consistency.
FIELD | TYPE-WIDTH | DEFINITION |
AIR | Text - 1 | Air Operating Permit: A value of “Y” indicates the facility has an active air operating permit. This is a permit with specific restrictions on the type and amount of particulate or other matter emitted from the facility. |
GWD | Text - 1 | Groundwater Discharge Permit: Historic field has Null value. |
HWR | Text - 1 | Hazardous Waste Recycler: A value of “Y” indicates the facility engages in the recycling of hazardous waste. |
LQG_MA | Text - 1 | Large Quantity Generator of MA-regulated Hazardous Waste: A value of “Y” indicates the facility is a large quantity generator of one or more Massachusetts regulated hazardous wastes, including, but not limited to, waste oil and PCBs. |
LQG_RCRA | Text - 1 | Large Quantity Generator of EPA/RCRA-regulated Hazardous Waste: A value of “Y” indicates the facility is a large quantity generator of one or more EPA-RCRA regulated hazardous wastes. |
LQTU | Text - 1 | Large Quantity Toxic User: A value of “Y” indicates the facility is permitted as a large quantity toxics user and falls under the requirements of the Toxic Use Reduction Act (TURA). For a TURA overview, visit the DEP TURA webpage. |
TSDF | Text - 1 | Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage and/or Disposal Facility: A value of “Y” indicates the facility engages in the treatment, storage and/or disposal of hazardous wastes. |
SWD | Text - 1 | Surface Water Discharge Permit: Historic field has Null value. |
Related Information
MassDEP Location Documentation Table: (BWPMAJOR_PT_LDT) - See DEP Standards for Point GIS Data.
MassDEP Underground Storage Tank Program: Effective July 1, 2009, MassDEP began implementing federal requirements addressing the registration and inspection of Underground Storage Tank (UST) systems used to store petroleum fuels or hazardous substances. UST Facility locations were field-verified and/or mapped using digital orthophotos and parcel data.
Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Combustion Facilities: The MassDEP Solid Waste Diversion and Disposal Datalayers include the locations of active and historical Solid Waste Combustion Facilities. Active MSW Combustion Facilities are a small subset of the Air Operating Permits in this BAW Major Facilities layer.
MassDEP Tier Classified Oil or Hazardous Material Sites
The BWSC maintains a file (release.zip) that
can be downloaded from the MassDEP
Web Site. This compressed (.zip) file includes a database
(.dbf) file containing a record for all reportable releases
tracked by the BWSC, and accompanying documentation
(wsc_all.doc). BWSC updates the wsc_all.dbf on a regular
schedule. Tabular data records in wsc_all.dbf can be related to
the BWP Facilities datalayer by the Release Tracking Number
(RTN) field.
General and technical questions regarding Chapter 21E, the MCP and waste site cleanup in Massachusetts should be directed to the DEP BWSC Helpline at (617) 338-2255 or (800) 426-0444. Considerable information on the waste site clean-up program is available on the DEP Web Site: https://www.mass.gov/orgs/bureau-of-waste-site-cleanup-massdep. For more comprehensive coverage of oil and hazardous material sites in the Commonwealth, see the MassDEP Tier Classified Chapter 21e Sites datalayer.
Environmental Protection Agency data
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Envirofacts Web Site https://www.epa.gov/enviro
presents information in a searchable format. Using the
Facility Name, Address information or HW_ID, facility records
can be queried on the EPA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRAINFO) web page.
Maintenance
The MassDEP Major Facilities datalayer is maintained by the MassDEP Bureau of Air and Waste.
A regular update schedule has not been determined at this time. Updates may include improvements to mapped facility locations and/or the location of major facilities not included in the datalayer at this time. Updates may also include additional facility types and an altered database structure.
As of April 29, 2016: 2,106 features include refined locations and updated classification information presented in the "major" fields: AIR, HWR, LQG_MA, LQG_RCRA, LQTU, TSDF. Currently 68% of Large Quantity Generators of MA Regulated Waste (LQG_MA) and 100% of the other "major" categories have been located.
If you have questions regarding this datalayer, please contact the DEP Bureau of Air and Waste at (617) 292-5720 or Air.Quality@state.ma.us.
Last Updated 5/20/2016
Items
Contributor | |
---|---|
Modified Date | 2020-10-19 |
Release Date | 2018-12-11 |
Identifier | 217ba80b-1352-4dc6-b921-05b6695dce3f |
Spatial / Geographical Coverage Location | Massachusetts |
License | |
Author | |
Contact Name | MassGIS |
Contact Email | |
Public Access Level | Public |
Data Quality | False |
Content Type | |
Language | English (United States) |