North Carolina 2016 ESI POLITICAL/JURISDICTIONAL Polygons, Lines

This data set contains vector polygons depicting locations for counties, EPA regions, Army Corps of Engineers areas, and FEMA regions, and lines depicting state water boundaries in North Carolina. Location-specific type and source information are stored in associated data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set is a portion of the ESI data for North Carolina. As a whole, the ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil, and include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources.See also the PARKS/MANAGED AREAS (POINTS and POLYGONS), NAVIGATION/MARINE (POINTS and POLYGONS), POLITICAL/JURISDICTIONAL (LINES and POLYGONS), RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (POINTS and POLYGONS), and NAT_HAZARD (POLYGONS) data layers for additional human-use information.

The ESI data are intended to provide baseline environmental data for oil spill planning and response. The Clean Water Act with amendments by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires response plans for immediate and effective protection of sensitive resources. The ESI data may be appropriate for many other coastal management efforts, though the original intent should be kept in mind.

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Prepared by Quantum Spatial Inc., Corvallis, Oregon for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration, Emergency Response Division, Seattle, Washington

Data content is considered static once published. However, if issues with the Geodatabase linkages or table contents are identified, the Geodatabase and/or the associated Map Document may be updated. Assure most current data is being used by downloading from https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/esi_download and/or comparing modification dates provided at this site.

In addition to the geographic data layers, two associated data tables, SOC_DAT and SOURCES, are used to store the complex socioeconomic data in the ESI data structure. The geographic data layers containing socioeconomic data resource information (in this case, POLITICAL_POLY and POLITICAL_LINE) are linked to the Socioeconomic Resources table (SOC_DAT) using HUNUM. HUNUM is a unique reference number concatenated with the atlas number (for North Carolina, the number is 335). SOC_DAT and the associated data tables are described in detail in this document. See the Browse_Graphic section for a link to the entity-relationship diagram, which describes the way these tables relate to the geographic data layers and other attribute tables in the ESI data structure.

NOAA ESI Guidelines

Although these data have been processed and used successfully on a computer system at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by NOAA regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. NOAA warrants the delivery of this product in computer-readable format. If problems are encountered in downloading the ESI data or with file corruption, contact NOAA (see Distributor). These data represent a snapshot in time and temporal changes may have occurred. The data are not intended to include all biological or human-use resources present in an area; they focus on species and resources particularly sensitive to oiling. In the event of a spill, they should be used for a first assessment only. The data providers are the experts with regard to individual resources. They should be contacted to confirm if more current data exist or if in-depth information is needed about a particular resource.

Data can be accessed by downloading the zipped ArcGIS geodatabase from the Download URL (see Distribution Information). Questions can be directed to the ESI Program Manager (Point Of Contact).

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DO NOT USE MAPS FOR NAVIGATIONAL PURPOSES. Management boundaries are not to be considered legal boundaries. Edges may have been altered for cartographic processes. Note that the ESI database should not be used to the exclusion of other pertinent data or information held by state or federal agencies or other organizations. Likewise, information contained in the database cannot be used in place of consultations with environmental, natural resource, and cultural resource agencies, or in place of field surveys. Recognize that the information contained in the ESI database represents known concentration areas or occurrences of natural, cultural, and human-use resources, but does not necessarily represent the full distribution or range of each species or resource. This is particularly important to recognize when considering potential impacts to protected resources, such as endangered species, wetlands, etc. Besides the above warnings, there are no use constraints on these data. Acknowledgment of the originators, publishers, contributors, and sources listed would be appreciated in products derived from these data.

The software package used to develop the atlas is Environmental Systems Research Institute's ArcGIS for Desktop 10.2(R). The hardware configuration is PCs with Windows Operating System 7.

A multi-stage error checking process is used to verify both attribute accuracy and logical consistency throughout data production. The process includes a standardized data entry methodology, data review by in-house and external resource experts, a final Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) process, and multiple automated logical consistency checks. Quantitative data (such as densities, counts, abundances, or concentrations) provided by resource experts for inclusion in the data set may vary widely in attribute accuracy, depending upon the methodology used to collect and compile such data. For a more detailed evaluation of source data attribute accuracy, contact the sources listed in the Lineage section.

Spatial components for the human-use data layers can come from expert interviews and digital sources. Most of the spatial components of the human-use data layers are developed from pre-existing digital sources and reflect the positional accuracy of these original data. Some of the spatial components of the human-use data layers are compiled on digital base maps with a scale of 1:24,000 or larger. See the Lineage and Process_Description sections for more information on the original source data and how these data were integrated or manipulated to create the final data set.

These data represent a synthesis of multiple sources of data (e.g. expert knowledge, digital data, hardcopy documents and maps) on socioeconomic resources. Polygon data should not be considered "legal boundaries" and they do not necessarily represent all managed areas in the North Carolina region.

For additional human-use information, see other feature class themes within the SOCECON Directory, including PARKS/MANAGED AREAS (POINTS and POLYGONS), NAVIGATION/MARINE (POINTS and POLYGONS), POLITICAL/JURISDICTIONAL (LINES and POLYGONS), RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (POINTS and POLYGONS), and NAT_HAZARD (POLYGONS).

A multi-stage error checking process, described in the above Attribute Accuracy Report, is used to verify both attribute accuracy and logical consistency throughout data production. This process includes multiple automated logical consistency checks that test the files for missing or duplicate data, rules for proper coding, GIS topological consistencies, and SQL SERVER(R) to ArcGIS(R) consistencies. A final review is made by the GIS manager, before the final Geodatabase and metadata are created. After the data are delivered to NOAA, they are again subjected to several consistency checks, and processed into the final delivery format.