Q. Who should perform my DMR-QA testing?
A. The lab that routinely performs the analysis for your facility, in-house, or contract laboratory.

Q. What type of studies will meet my DMR-QA requirements?
A. A DMR-QA Specific study will meet your requirements. A WP study may also meet your DMR-QA requirements if the following are true:
a. WP study ends after May 1, 2008.
b. WP study closes before August 29, 2008.
c. The study is offered by an A2LA Accredited Provider. If you choose to use a WP study to meet your DMR-QA requirements, you must meet the WP Study deadline, even if it is sooner than the August 29, 2008 deadline. Also, inform your Provider that you are using the WP study to meet DMR-QA requirements before the data is submitted.

Q. Can I meet both my state and DMR-QA requirements with a single study?
A. In many cases yes, but contact your state coordinator to determine what studies are acceptable to meet your state certification and DMR-QA requirements.

Q. Do I have to run all analytes?
A. If the analytes appear on your permit and are part of Study 28, you are responsible for reporting data for those analytes.

Q. Can I report more analytes than what is on my permit?
A. Yes. You can report analytes that are not on your permit by checking the voluntary analyte box on the Provider's data return forms.

Q. Are there other resources that I can use for more information?
A. Yes. www.APGQA.com or the US EPA website are excellent resources to obtain more information.

Q. How do I know what samples I need to purchase?
A. You are required to analyze any analyte listed on your NPDES permit and found on the analyte checklist in the 308 Letter.

Q. Where do I find my DMRQA state coordinator?
A. You can use the locator to find your state coordinator.

Q. What if my contract laboratory and I purchase samples from the same provider, but we have different due dates?
A. No problem. Simply report your data by your due date, and report your contract laboratory’s data by the due date for their study.

Q. Can I report my data online?
A. Yes. The APGQA.com Online Data Entry System reviews your data for completeness while you are entering it, and the system remembers your information so you never have to re-type it. You also receive important email updates and customized reminders so you never miss a deadline. Finally, it completes your paperwork and emails it to you. The APGQA.com Data Entry System is safe and secure and provides complete assurance that your data has been received.

Terms & Definitions

Certifying Official - The person listed on the organization`s NPDES permit who validates the data submitted to the PT Provider. This person must sign or electronically approve the Data Return Form. Without this signature, the data cannot be evaluated by the PT Provider; consequently, the PT Provider will not report the results to the State/Regional DMR-QA Coordinator.

Contract Laboratory - A laboratory contracted by a Permittee to provide some or all of the routine testing listed on the permit. Contract laboratories can only be used for DMR-QA testing if the contract laboratory is the entity that routinely performs the Permittee`s testing. If an in-house laboratory performs the routine testing, the in-house laboratory must complete the DMR-QA testing. If a Permittee uses a contract laboratory, it is the responsibility of the contract laboratory to provide the Permittee with the completed Laboratory Data Return Form within the time frame specified.
DMR-QA – Discharge Monitoring Report – Quality Assurance study that helps regulatory agencies monitor the quality of the data used by laboratories to ensure the safety of our nation’s waters. According to Section 308 (a) of the Clean Water Act, this study is mandatory.

In-house Laboratory - A laboratory that is part of the Permittee`s organization. The in-house laboratory must be used to test DMR-QA samples if it routinely tests the normal samples as required by the permit.

Less Than (<) Reporting - The US EPA database cannot handle "text" results such as "BDL", "ND", "Non-Tested", etc. Therefore, to receive credit for testing an analyte and determining a non-detect, you must report a "less than" value using the < symbol. The evaluation will result in an "Acceptable" value if one of the following is true:

1) The numeric part of the reported value (i.e. 8 if the Report Value were <8) is less than the upper limit of the EPA acceptance range AND zero (0) is included in the EPA acceptance range.

2) OR if you report a "less than" value AND the assigned value is equal to zero (i.e. the analyte was not spiked in the sample).

Any other non-numeric value (e.g. BDL, ND, >10, etc.) cannot be evaluated and will return an evaluation result of "No Evaluation". This method of evaluation is consistent with the US EPA National Standards for Water Proficiency Testing Program Criteria Document (December 30, 1998) and the NVLAP/NIST Handbook 150 document.

Method Description - A 15-character, alpha-numeric string that describes the process used to evaluate the sample. APG can only report 15 characters to the US EPA; therefore, APG will enter the first 15 characters of the reported Method Description (not including blank spaces).

NPDES Permit Number - The identification number on your permit. A valid NPDES Permit Number contains a two-letter state designation and a seven-digit numeric code. If you have any questions, please contact your State/Regional DMR-QA coordinator. The NPDES Permit Number must be recorded on all documentation and correspondence with all organizations involved with the DMR-QA program. This includes your Permittee Data Return Form. Without the NPDES Permit Number, APG cannot process your data return. The NPDES Permit Number is different than the US EPA Lab Code. The US EPA Lab Code is specific to the laboratory (in-house or contract laboratory) executing the actual testing. Both of these numbers are extremely important with respect to reporting.

Reported Value - The test result you report for a specific analyte. Be sure to verify that you are reporting the value in the proper units. It is essential that your data is clearly written and that decimal points are apparent. APG is required to evaluate your data to three significant digits based upon the EPA Acceptance Range per the US EPA National Standards for Water Proficiency Testing Program Criteria Document (December 30, 1998). It is recommended that you limit your reporting of results to three significant digits. See the Less Than (<) Reporting definition for more details pertaining to your Reported Value. If you must make a change to your reported value after you have entered the information on the data return form, please clearly cross out the original entry and write in the new value. Do not use whiteout to cover the original entry.

US EPA Lab Code - A unique identification number assigned to a laboratory by the US EPA. If you are unsure about your US EPA Lab Code, please contact Charles Feldman at 513.569.7671 at the US EPA.

Voluntary Analyte - APG will provide you with an evaluation of these analytes, but the US EPA and State Agencies will not require remediation for these analytes should the APG evaluation result in a "Not Acceptable" evaluation. Analytes can only be considered voluntary if they do not appear on your permit.