Great Lakes Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA)

Date of publication unknown

Great Lakes Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA)^® is an online mapping tool for coastal pollution cleanup, restoration, and response efforts in the Great Lakes Basin, from Minnesota to New York in the United States and from Ontario to Quebec in Canada.

In addition to information on natural resources, habitat, weather, water levels, and currents, it includes the most comprehensive collection of environmental contaminant data in the Great Lakes. Great Lakes ERMA gathers all of this data from NOAA and our partners into a centralized, easy-to-use map for environmental responders, resource managers, and decision makers.

NOAA, as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, collaborated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, and University of New Hampshire to develop Great Lakes ERMA. Great Lakes ERMA is helping expedite cleanup and restoration of Areas of Concern (AOCs) by combining environmental contaminant data from NOAA's Great Lakes Query Manager database with ecological, recreational, tribal, commercial, and manufacturing information.

By comparing environmental conditions over time and between locations, ERMA helps to illustrate progress in restoring the health of the Great Lakes, both across the basin and in Areas of Concern. This online mapping tool also improves planning, communication, and coordination for emergency responses to pollution incidents, such as oil and chemical spills.

NOAA continues to work with federal, state, regional, and non-governmental partners in the Great Lakes to incorporate additional regional data and information into Great Lakes ERMA, including spill response plans, potential climate change impacts, and environmental modeling and forecasts.

Visit site Great Lakes Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA)