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| Certifying Official |
The person listed on the organization's
NPDES permit that validates the data submitted to the coordinator. This
person must sign or electronically approve the data reporting attestation
statement. 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
their final graded results within the time frame specified. |
| DMR-QA – Discharge Monitoring
Report |
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 PT Providers cannot evaluate "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, etc.) cannot be evaluated
and will return an evaluation result of "No Evaluation".
|
| Method Description |
Report your method references using
the following standardized code. Identify the method publisher using the
following acronyms:
* US Environmental Protection Agency - EPA
* Standard Methods - SM
* American Society for Testing Materials - ASTM
* US Geological Survey - USGS
After the organization add a space and then the Method Number. Examples:
If you are using Standard Methods 18th Edition 4500-Nh3-b, you would report
SM 4500 NH3 B. If you are using method 8270C for GC/MS Semi-Volatiles from
SW846, you would report EPA 8270C.
If you are using an in house method, list the title of the method as
completely as possible. You can use up to 15 characters to report each
method reference. A reference of "Lab PBMS 015" is acceptable. |
| 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. Without the NPDES Permit Number, ERA cannot process
your data. 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. 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. |
| 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. |
