Project Background
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) mission is “to protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials that are essential to our daily lives.” Hazardous liquid pipeline operators are required to perform risk assessments in collaboration with federal and state agencies for pipelines located in or within a quarter mile of an Unusually Sensitive Area (USA).
In 2000, PHMSA (formerly OPS) led an effort to make USA information available to hazardous liquid pipeline operators through their online National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS). USAs include ecological areas that are susceptible to permanent or long-term damage from a hazardous liquid release (EcoUSAs). EcoUSAs include areas with critically imperiled species, multi-species assemblages, and migratory waterbird concentration areas. The original EcoUSA data layers released in 2001 were developed from several sources with the majority coming from NatureServe and its network programs across the U.S.
PHMSA is committed to providing the best available data on EcoUSAs to pipeline operators in order to avoid and mitigate potential impacts by hazardous liquid pipeline releases. This project between PHMSA and NatureServe provides access to a current (2018) version of the EcoUSA data layer for the U.S., including all states except for Hawaii, Ohio, and Rhode Island (due to lack of complete data or data permissions from these states in 2018). This new version is the 2018 EcoUSA Licensed Dataset.
Data License Agreement
Now that you have completed the four NatureServe Data Use Training modules, the next step is to carefully review the terms outlined in the Data License Agreement (DLA), available on this page as a viewable PDF. This DLA includes detailed information relevant to NatureServe Certified Data Users accessing the 2018 EcoUSA Licensed Dataset through PHMSA.
This License Agreement provides PHMSA and hazardous liquid pipeline operators with access to an updated version of the EcoUSA dataset that includes all available data outlined in 49 CFR Part 195, and is created using current, comprehensive, and standardized data on imperiled plants, animals, and ecosystems for the U.S. The 2018 EcoUSA Licensed Dataset is provided to PHMSA under this DLA.
Access to the new 2018 EcoUSA Licensed Dataset under the terms of the Data License Agreement shall start on April 12, 2020 and shall expire on April 12, 2021.
After reading and agreeing to the terms outlined in the DLA, you will submit your contact information below indicating that you have:
- 1) viewed all four NatureServe Data Use Training videos,
- 2) completed the corresponding Data Use Training quizzes, and
- 3) read and agree to the terms outlined in the Data License Agreement attached to this page.
If you have any questions about the DLA, or your responsibility as a NatureServe Certified Data User, please contact NatureServe at datausetraining@natureserve.org.