Environmental Information from the Government
Government agencies are major sources of environmental information. Laws, regulations, baseline studies, technical papers, consumer information—all these kinds of resources, and more, are produced by governments at all levels.
In this page's righthand column, you'll find links to major websites within the main federal environmental agency, the EPA, and links to government-provided databases in the environment and energy. In this column there's a box with other important government links, followed by a box of links to Texas environmental agencies, and boxes with links to San Antonio government offices and regional water-related agencies.
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a key agency for information about the environmental issues. Here are a few key EPA websites.
- AirNow (EPA)Provides search access to the Air Quality Index to assess the quality of outdoor air by zip code, state, or current location.
- Climate Change (EPA)Snapshot from the EPA website as of 1/2017. Details about climate change research.
- ECHO (Enforcement & Compliance History Online)EPA database to find "facilities in your community to assess their compliance with environmental regulations." Search by city, state, or zip code. Topics include Water, Air, Hazardous Waste.
- EnvirofactsProvides a sampling of environmental information for specific areas, which can be designated by zip code, city, county, or place name.Topics include toxic releases, air emission estimates, water discharge permits, etc.
- Environmental Justice (EPA)Resources from the EPA's working group on environmental equity.
- Toxics Release Inventory (TRI)Resource for learning about toxic chemical releases and pollution prevention activities reported by industrial and federal facilities. Searchable by location.
- Web Archive (EPA)Historical information from the EPA. Website prior to 1/2017.
Local Water Agencies & Issues
- Bexar Regional Watershed Managementfloods & floodplain information
- Texas Reservoir LevelsInteractive map built from the Texas Water Development Board's Water Data for Texas that visualizes the current state of Texas' reservoirs.
- Texas Water Development Board: Population and Water Demand Projectionslarge amount of data concerned with projections of water use and demands
San Antonio & Bexar County
- Municipal Archives & Recordssearch historical records, maps, vital stats, and more; some collections go back to the city's founding
Other government sources
- Climate Program Officeoutreach and educational resources, including curriculum and data, aiming to develop a "climate-smart" public
- Coastal Flood Risks (FEMA)information, maps, and documentation regarding coastal flood-prone areas of the US
- Data Snapshots: Reusable Climate Mapsdatasets and visualizations of climate information, from NOAA
- SciTech ConnectFree, publicly-available Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored research & development results including technical reports, bibliographic citations, journal articles, conference papers, books, multimedia, software, and data information, developed by the US DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI).
- Fuel Economy.govDept. of Energy portal to information of all kinds on vehicle efficiency
- Office of Scientific and Technical Information - Department of EnergyScience, technology, and engineering research information funded by the Department of Energy (DOE).
Texas Environment/Weather
- Coastal Flood Risks (FEMA)information, maps, and documentation regarding coastal flood-prone areas of the US
- State Water Plan
information used by the Texas Water Development Board in water planning; includes projections of needs, supplies, and possible strategies - Texas Commission on Environmental QualityInformation on a variety of environmental topics for the public, businesses, and government. Their Publications Catalog offers extensive online content.
- Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.Information on state parks, historical sites, hunting and fishing regulations
- Texas Railroad Commissionoversees energy regulation and development, including oil and gas
- Texas Water Development BoardStatistics and other information on topics such as drought, groundwater, conservation, and desalination research (along with other innovative technologies)
- Texas Water Development Board: Water Resources Planningthis site is rich with historical, current, and projections data concerning water use and demand
- Virtual Landscapes of TexasCollection of digitized documents reflecting early writing on the geology and environment of Texas
- Weather.gov Watches/Warnings/Advisories for TexasFor specific city information and forecasts go to their home page (weather.gov) and enter the city name or zip code for the area you need
Research Guides & other resources
- Government DatabasesFreely available databases that include journal articles, statistics, and datasets.