Facility Explorer Help

Welcome

Welcome to the Facility Explorer—a data warehouse of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR)—that brings together core environmental information in one place for easy access by DNR staff and the public. 

 

Use it to explore environmental information collected by Iowa DNR to answer questions such as:

 

Some of these questions can be answered now; others will be answered as it nears completion.  Facility Explorer is a constantly growing system.  Check out the Current Status and Future Plans.

Use the Map

Moving Around

Ways to Zoom In

Choose one of the following methods:

Move the Map Sideways

Extent Buttons

Other Buttons

 

 

Map Layers

More details can be seen as you zoom into the map.

 

Environmental Facilities

Display a Layer

-Note in the example at lower right, the Roads and Highways layer will not show because the Infrastructure group box is not checked.

Hide a Layer

Identify

For layer-specific details about a point:  (THIS MAY BE DIFFERENT)

Layer Explanations

Find out details about a layer by clicking on  to the right of each layer. This will take you to the metadata described in Iowa DNR’s GIS library.

 

Iowa Layers

Many additional layers are available as shown in the example at right.

 

 

 

 

Reports

Air Emissions

This report provides a map of facilities with air quality permits, known as Title V, in a given radius, and a table of details about air emissions from those sites.  It is useful when gathering information for an air quality construction permit for Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD).

NOTE:  If you want a quick list of only the facilities (not their emission points), do the same Radius Search, but under View Results, select As a List. 

 

Leaking UST

This report provides a map of Leaking Underground Storage Tank sites in a given radius, and a table of details about those sites.  It is useful for identifying petroleum-contaminated areas to be avoided when proposing to construct new wells.

 

Well Search

This report provides a map of known wells in a given radius, and a table of details about those wells.  It is useful for identifying wells near Leaking UST sites or for finding nearby wells when applying for a Water Use permit.  The All Wells layer can only be viewed if you are logged in and have been granted user rights.  To request permission to view wells, please go to https://programs.iowadnr.gov/wellsearch/pages/wslogon.aspx.

Steps:

 

Limitations on Data

 

View Map/List View

Login

Click on login to gain rights to the Facility Maintenance application.  This allows users to add/move/edit points, and to view sensitive layers. Iowa’s Enterprise A&A application is used to log in.

Shrink/Enlarge Sections  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoom sliderLabels

There are 2 ways to get the name or label for a point:

 

Search & Zoom

Facility Search

In the left Search panel, click on the Facility tab.

Owner Search

In the left Search panel, click on the Owner tab.

 

Zoom To

In the left Search panel, click on the Zoom To tab, and select one of the following from the drop-down list. Then for most items, type or select the item from a drop-down list, and click on Zoom To.
Exceptions are described below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Radius Search

In the left Search panel, click on the Radius tab.

 

 

 

 

 

Facility List

The Facility List is returned after either doing a Search As a List OR clicking on List View .

 

 

 

 

 

Facility Detail

There is a Facility Detail Page for each Facility Site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report An Error

If you see data on Facility Explorer for a site that you believe is incorrect, you have the ability to report an error.  Some examples may include: the facility name is wrong, the owner is incorrect, the site’s location is not correct.  When you report an error, you should also if possible identify the correct information.  Errors that are reported will be routed to contacts in the appropriate program area for further review and correction if needed.   The contact person will respond to you within seven days to let you know about the outcome of their review.  It is therefore very important that you provide your contact information, as well as detailed identification for the site.

 

To report an error, click the “Report Error” link at the top of the Map or Site Detail page.  You then will complete the form that appears with as much detail as possible.

 

 

  

 

Your first and last name and email are required.  If you can identify the DNR program that the site is associated with in the DNR Program dropdown menu, please select it.   Also, if you know the programID (usually a permit, registration, or facility identifier), please enter that.  If you do enter a programID, a selection from the DNR Program drop down will also need to be made.  The State Facility ID is a nine digit identifier that appears in the top section of the Site Detail page of Facility Explorer.  The Federal Facility ID is a twelve digit number that also appears in the top section of the Site Detail page. In the Error Description input box, enter a detailed explanation of the incorrect data, as well as what you believe the correct data to be.  Finally, click the Submit button to complete the submission of the report.  

 

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

1.      How do I find the name for a point?
A: See Labels.

2.      How do I remove or clear programs selected in the Search Program list?
A: Hold down the [Ctrl] key on your keyboard and click on the highlighted program; OR
Click on Clear results / map.

3.      I have searched for a Facility Name, but can’t find it. What options do I have?
A:  Try using a shorter part of the name, and select Contains in the drop-down.
OR if you know about where it is, try zooming in to the area on the map, and look for a point which might have a different name.

4.      I am having trouble clicking on an item from a drop-down list. What should I do?
A:  Click exactly on the word in the list, not on the space next to it;  OR
Click on the list’s down arrow, and type the first letter of the word you want to select or the key with the down arrow.

 

5.    What do I do if something stops working in the application?
A:  Usually your web browser just hasn’t been able to track everything it should, so you need to refresh it or restart it.  Below are some ways to refresh the application you use to browse the Internet.

 

Internet Explorer 7/8
(You must use at least version 7.0 or higher.)

·        Quick Refresh:   OR [F5] (uses cached items)

·        Moderate Refresh:  [CTRL]-  or [CTRL]-[F5] (ignores cached items and gets everything from the server)

·        Major Refresh: 

 

Firefox 3

Go to Tools  à Clear Recent History à  Check Cache, Browsing & Download History and Cookies (will clear Saved Views; do not clear Cookies if you want to keep saved views)

 

 

Sample Searches

  1. Search for a particular facility in my town:
    1. Do a Facility Search for the name of the facility.
    2. OR Zoom to > City > For: (select city)
    3. OR  Zoom to > Place Name > For: (type in town)

  2. Search for all the Animal Feeding Confinements in Hamilton County:
    1. Zoom to >County> For: Hamilton
    2. In Layers in the left panel, click off all the check boxes under Environmental Facilities, and check on the box for Confinement.

Limits of the Data

Accuracy of Point Locations:

Environmental Compliance

Current Status

Facility Explorer will currently allow the public to view facility information for the following Iowa DNR programs. 
Click on the hyperlink to find out more about each program.

 

In addition, facility information from EPA programs include:

Future Plans

 

Potential other programs, which may be considered for integration with the Facility Explorer, include:

Frequency of Update

Data is transferred to the data warehouse nightly. Certain enforcement action data is available to the public only after the action has been completed. Every effort is made to ensure the quality of the data recently acquired. Historical data has been subject to less quality check.

Contact