Map Tool Instructions

Information about locations that includes addresses, latitudes and longitudes, or other geospatial coordinates, can be visualized on a map. There are many interactive mapping platforms on federal, state, county and municipal websites that will allow you to turn on and turn off layers for environmental data (for example, locations of Superfund sites or flood risk), add layers for jurisdictional boundaries (for example, tribal reservation boundaries, census tracts), and even import data files that you have created yourself. 

In today's activities we will use government mapping/database tools (NEPAssist FEMA NFHL, etc) as well as data layers that are publicly available to import into the free ESRI ArcGIS Map Viewer.

The maps we will use to obtain data are provided by federal agencies (EPA, FEMA), and are built on the ESRI platform. All of the EPA tools will pull data from the same public databases (for example, all of the Brownfields sites will be mapped from data accessed from the ACRES database). This means that if there is a data layer you want to use, find the platform (e.g. EnviroMapper, Cleanups In My Community, EnviroAtlas, NEPAssist, FEMA Flood Hazard Layer Map, etc.) that most easily allows you to view, analyze, and download the data in a user friendly format. 

You will find a series of step-by-step instructions for a wide variety of mapping platforms below and in the case studies; look over the case studies since there are different approaches illustrated in each and you can pick and choose what you wish to use for your own work. Note: The federal govenment has taken down EJScreen and CEJST, however, you can access an unofficial version of EJScreen that has been recreated by The Public Environmental Data Partners. Note also that Google Earth Pro is transitioning to Google Earth Web, and that EnviroAtlas is undergoing a major update.

For an overview of almost 150 different mapping tools you can use this Spreadsheet of climate and environmental risk mapping tools and for a 2-hour training on using the mapping tools ASTM E3460 Climate and Community Mapping training

The simplest way to use a map for your report is to look up the location on the public Google Map and use 3D and Street View to do a virtual site visit. Go to maps.google.com

Use the search bar to find your location. Switch to Satellite View and then you can use 3D view. Use Street View and the photographs in the side bar to get a close up of the location.

You can print the map as a PDF file by using the menu in the upper left corner.

• NEPAssist is an online GIS mapping tool which provides data layers needed for impact assessments. It allows you to visualize many geospatial data layers on an ESRI ArcGIS online map, draw polygons, and export maps in PDF or image file format for reports. 

• It does not provide a user friendly way to export data in CSV, SHP or KML/KMZ formats for use in your own GIS or mapping platform - data are saved as a JSON file which may give you problems on platforms other than NEPAssist. 

• The data files that go into the layers, however, can be accessed from other databases and downloaded for your use on other platforms. 

• We can access data from EPA EnviroFacts/EnviroMapper and EPA Cleanups in My Community, and link the EJ Screen to provide demographic data.

The EnviroAtlas has hundreds of curated data layers that allow you to run scenarios. For example, you can explore the capacity for trees along city streets to improve air quality, or estimate where water flowing off of a contaminated site will end up. It is currently undergoing an update and the new version should be released by the end of 2026.