1. Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) and Data Visualization PRTR Global Round-Table Session on Next Generation PRTRs Spain, November 24 2015, 17:00-18:00

2. Page 2 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 Outline 1. Data Visualization and the NPRI 2. The Canadian PRTR Experience with Data Visualization

3. Page 3 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 1. Data visualization and the NPRI

4. Page 4 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 Established in 1993, the NPRI is… Canada’s legislated, publicly-accessible inventory of pollutant releases (to air, water and land), disposals (e.g. underground injection, landfill) and transfers for recycling. The NPRI includes: -Information collected from ~7,500 facilities on over 300 substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (mandatory annual reporting)

5. Page 5 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 Data Visualization and the Annual NPRI reporting cycle Output: NPRI data is collected through the on-line reporting system (EC’s Single Window), and quality controlled Output: NPRI data is published in various formats, along with a summary report and other information to help interpret data Output: Facilities are aware of the requirements and use Guides/Tools to determine whether and what they must report to the NPRI Output: NPRI requirements are published in the Canada Gazette, taking into account input from stakeholders and departmental needs CONSULTATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS COMPLIANCE PROMOTION AND GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT DATA COLLECTION AND QUALITY CONTROL DATA INTERPRETATION AND DISSEMINATION 1 2 3 4

6. Page 6 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 Accessing NPRI data NPRI data is publicly available from: the Government of Canada Open Data Portal, the NPRI website, and will soon be available on the Government of Canada Geospatial Platform. NPRI tools facilitating visualization of data include: 1. NPRI online data search and pre-defined queries 2. NPRI Map Layers for use in Google Earth 3. NPRI Summary Report Microsoft Excel flat files, Microsoft Access Database, and CSV files are also available for users needing raw data.

7. Page 7 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 NPRI Online Data Search (Query Site) Quick, easy to find information on a particular facility or for a group of facilities that meet specific search criteria Search can be customized using different options such as a single substance, a specific location, industrial sector or type of release and disposal Available at : http://ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/donnees-data/index.cfm?lang=Enhttp://ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/donnees-data/index.cfm?lang=En

8. Page 8 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 NPRI online data search – Pre-defined queries In response to data users feedback, pre- defined queries have been added to the NPRI online data search. These queries show on-site release data broken down by media (air, land, water) for the last five years. They are made available on the query site following the annual release of reviewed data.

9. Page 9 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 Each NPRI facility is geo-referenced (associated with a latitude and a longitude) The NPRI Facility Location table contains latitude and longitude information for every facility that has ever reported to the NPRI program –Data users can use this information to create custom maps in various GIS and mapping applications Reported lat-long data is verified by NPRI using satellite imaging, legal land descriptions and other tools, and when required, corrected Visualization through geographical data

10. Page 10 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 NPRI Map Layers for use in Google Earth™ The map Layers for use in Google Earth™ allow users to “explore” NPRI data in an intuitive and visual way. http://www.ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri/default.asp?lang=en&n=1D892B9F-1

11. Page 11 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 Users can type in a city name and Google Earth will zoom to that area. They can see all the facilities reporting to the NPRI for that city. They can zoom further to see what the facility looks like. Users can also use the « Street View » function to see the facility as if they were passing by. A table with report data can pop up with the click of a button. Users can get to even more detailed data by clicking the « NPRI Data » link at the bottom of each data page which will direct them to the facility page on the NPRI Facility query site. NPRI Map Layers for use in Google Earth™: Examples of functionalities

12. Page 12 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 Summary Report Published on an annual basis on the NPRI website Provides a national-scale summary analysis of the information submitted by facilities to the NPRI for a given reporting year by substance, industrial sector, reporting category, geographic distribution etc. Also provides trend information Includes visualization of data through maps, charts, and graphs

13. Page 13 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 2. The Canadian PRTR Experience with Data Visualization

14. Page 14 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 Lessons learned Work with reporting facilities to improve data quality of reported quantities: quality control of facility reported geographical information is key Consult periodically and proactively with data users to understand their needs in terms of data dissemination and visualization by organizing, for example, workshops, webinars, and surveys Consider both technical and non-technical audiences for dissemination of information from PRTR Provide contextual information and considerations for using PRTR data to data users

15. Page 15 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 Looking ahead Possible improvements to online query site: –Explore linkages with other data sets to increase functionalities –Simplify the data structure to provide more accessible and usable tables –Increase the variety of pre-defined queries available for download Possible improvements to geographical data: –Increase awareness at the reporter level about importance to report exact geographical information –Explore linkages with other data sets that are using map layers through the program’s presence on the new Government of Canada Geospatial Platform (i.e. monitoring data, data from watershed studies, etc.) Future improvements to Annual Summary Report: –Increase use of maps and graphs –Adjust content to address data users’ needs

16. Page 16 – PRTR Global-Round-Table November 24 2015 Thank you! Questions / Comments? Karen Mailhiot, Director Environment Canada karen.mailhiot@canada.ca General contact information for the NPRI: Environment Canada 5 th Floor, Place Vincent Massey 351 St-Joseph Blvd. Gatineau, Québec, Canada K1A 0H3 Tel: 1-877-877-8375 E-mail: inrp-npri@ec.gc.cainrp-npri@ec.gc.ca NPRI Website: www.ec.gc.ca/inrp-npri