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| Subject: | RE: GISList: NIMA VMAP 1 request problems |
| Date: |
08/19/2002 01:30:52 PM |
| From: |
Fass, Jim |
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Ned,
I did system development some years ago for the staff of one of NIMA's
subcontractors who built VMAP1. I know that the information is tiled in
regular intervals of latitude and longitude corresponding with legacy NIMA
products at 1:250,000 scale.
Because the separation you requested would be by country boundary, the
operation would require more than a simple copying of selected tiles from
those that already exist. What would be required is the processing of very
large datasets into new tile definitions at irregular political boundaries.
Whether such processing should be considered "a significant expenditure of
resources and manpower" in this context is a subjective matter, but it is
fair to say that the separation is not trivial.
That there are variations in security classification by country makes a good
case for having archived data separated by political boundary prepared in
advance and ready for public consumption. Since this is an important issue
for you, you might consider lobbying in this direction--that is, a generic
solution for all potential consumers.
--Jim
James C. Fass
Program Director
Analytical Surveys, Inc.
11900 Crownpoint Dr., Suite 100
San Antonio, TX 78233
(210) 657-1500 x215
FAX (210) 657-1304
jfass@anlt.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ned Horning [mailto:nedh@lightlink.com]
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2002 12:50 PM
To: GISList: IMAGRS-L
Subject: GISList: NIMA VMAP 1 request problems
I wanted to relate my latest escapades with NIMA to see if anyone out there
can provide some advice. For the last year-and-a-half I have been trying to
get access to 4 CDs of VMAP1 data over Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos through a
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Most of that time consisted of
NIMA saying those data were currently available from USGS and me telling
them that they were not. This past May they acknowledged those data could
not be released to the public because they contain foreign-owned source data
over China and Thailand with the proviso that they can only be used by U.S.
Dept. of Defense activities. The data for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos do not
have these restrictions but since they are on CD with restricted data the
entire CD is restricted.
In June I responded requesting only those data covering Vietnam, Cambodia,
and Laos and that request was denied because : "The FOIA applies to existing
records: the NIMA need not create a record in order to respond to a request.
A thorough assessment by our FOIA staff has determined we cannot provide the
data in the format you requested. The existing VMAP CDs 153, 154, 171, 172
contain non-releasable data that cannot be removed from the CDs. Because of
the way our software is configured, creating a new or modifying existing CDs
would entail a significant expenditure of resources in the time and manpower
which would cause significant interference with the operation of automated
information systems and adversely affect mission accomplishment." This is
followed by: "I understand that when the capability exist to respond to a
FOIA request which would require only a 'business as usual' approach to
electronically extract the data and compile a new record or reformat data to
satisfy a FOIA request, then creation of a new record or reformatting the
data would be appropriate. In this case, a significant expenditure of
resources and manpower would be required to compile a new record or reformat
existing data. This activity would cause a significant interference with the
operation of our automated information systems. The creation of a new record
or reformat existing data in order to respond to this request would not be
reasonable, under the circumstances.
I have not used VMAP1 data but I find it difficult to believe that cutting
out these releasable data from the CD would be all that disruptive. Writing
a script should make short work out of this request. Can someone with
experience with VMAP1 data let me know if my request does indeed seem
unreasonable? I plan to appeal this decision and could use help form the
community in drafting my appeal.
These data seem to be quite valuable and it seems like such a waste that
they are not releasing them. I know there are issues regarding the release
of foreign-owned data with the abovementioned restrictions but it seems like
a good first step would be to get NIMA to release all of the VMAP1 data
without these restrictions even when they share CDs with restricted data.
All advice and comments are appreciated.
Ned
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