CHICAGO, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- NAVTEQ, the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data for in-vehicle, portable, wireless and enterprise solutions, announced today that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected NAVTEQ(R) map data to power its geospatial analysis needs.

The EPA uses geospatial data across a wide variety of research and regulatory programs in support of its mission to protect human health and the environment. NAVTEQ map data will be used in a wide range of the EPA's mission support areas, both for internal analysis in support of decision making as well as enhancing many of its public facing mapping applications available on the Internet.

One representative use of NAVTEQ map data will be the further development of the Texas Ecological Assessment Protocol, which requires the development of a sustainability layer that describes how resistant a particular area is to disturbance. For example, an increase in the relative number of roads in a defined geographic area and associated traffic are important indicators of air, land and water pollution which can be used for assessing the sustainability of the land.

NAVTEQ map data includes geospatial vector data layers of important value to the EPA including roads, cities, political boundaries, physical features, places, railroads, census boundaries, parks, schools, fire departments, police departments, and hospitals.

"NAVTEQ is committed to supporting Federal Government agencies and we are excited to be selected by the EPA as the map data provider for their geospatial application needs," said Roy Kolstad, vice president, Enterprise Americas, NAVTEQ. "Accurate, high quality maps are critical to the EPA mission of protecting human health and the environment and we look forward to extending our relationship with the EPA as their needs evolve."

About NAVTEQ

NAVTEQ is the leading global provider of digital map, traffic and location data that enables navigation and location-based platforms around the world. NAVTEQ supplies comprehensive digital map information to power automotive navigation systems, portable and wireless devices, Internet-based mapping applications and government and business solutions. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 4,400 employees located in 195 offices and in 44 countries.

NAVTEQ is a trademark in the U.S. and other countries. All rights reserved.

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Web site: http://www.navteq.com/