- Community Spotlight, Success Stories
- Environmental Resource Assessment & Management
Expanding a Popular Flood Exposure Tool

We recently assisted our client, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management, with updating one of their most popular tools, the Coastal Flood Exposure Mapper. Our staff provided data management, content development, and outreach support to expand the coverage to the U.S. Great Lakes for some of the flood layers, as well as to include tsunami zones for the East Coast. With this update, users can now view people, places, and natural resources exposed to new flood risks in areas previously not available.
In addition, our communication specialist recommended a higher level of outreach efforts for this expansion to more broadly advertise the implications for the Great Lakes region. This led to engaged interest from NOAA, congressional notifications, a press release, and social media rollouts.
Visit NOAA’s Digital Coast to explore this tool.
See More Success CSS Stories
Assisting with Design and Validation of Mobile Chemical Analysis Laboratory
Portable High-throughput Integrated Laboratory Identification System (PHILIS) is the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) suite of mobile laboratories designed to provide on-site analysis of chemical agents. CSS employee owners support the PHILIS team with on-site responses and chemical analysis. CSS PHILIS teams recently supported the technical design and integration of state-of-the-art emergency response mobile laboratory units engineered for the rapid detection and quantification of hazardous materials. CSS PHILIS teams in…
Continued Analysis of Contaminants from East Palestine Train Derailment
In February 2023, a freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio spilling chemicals that contaminated surrounding soil, water, and the air. Several Portable High-throughput Integrated Laboratory Identification Systems (PHILIS) – the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) suite of mobile laboratories designed to provide on-site analysis of chemical agents – and staff were mobilized to the site following the accident to conduct analysis of various contaminated media. The CSS…
Revamping Coral Reef Conservation Program Website
NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program is a cross-NOAA program that focuses on resilience-based management of U.S. coral reef ecosystems and provides scientific data and information to coral reef managers, scientists, educators and the interested public. CSS employee owners recently played an integral role in updating the website with a fresh new look and reorganizing content…
