NOAA Data Access Procedural Directive Version 1.0

NOAA environmental data are produced at public expense and should be broadly accessible to the public. Furthermore data gathered for a specific purpose may be found useful in other contexts, and the ability to easily obtain and combine data from multiple sources may support decision-making, disaster response, or new economic opportunities. Finally, a mandate for public access is expressed in both federal policy and in NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 212-15, Management of Environmental Data and Information. The purpose of this Directive is to declare that all NOAA environmental data (with limited exceptions, upon approval of a waiver) shall be made discoverable and accessible via the Internet in a timely fashion. NOAA Data Access Procedural Directive, which was first approved by NOAA's Environmental Data Management Committee (EDMC) on February 11, 2015.