Methods Board Meeting: Madison, WI
June 4-6, 2001
Summary Minutes
Participants
Herb Brass USEPA/OW/Co-chair
Charlie Peters USGS, Co-chair
Bob Berger EBMUD
Bernie Malo ASTM
Bill Ingersoll Navy
John Klein USGS
Elane Streets Argonne, Natl Lab
Gail Mallard USGS, NWQM Council Co-chair
Cliff Annis Merck & Co.
Sam Stribling Tetra Tech, Inc.
Chuck Job USEPA/OW/OGWDW
Larry Keith WPI
Glenn Patterson USGS
Tim Kubiak USFWS
Ellen McCarron FDEP
Alan Cherepon TNRCC
Ron Jones FIU
Jim Cox
Sherwin Beck Tetra Tech
Dave Hall USGS/WDNR
Don Dycus TVA
Jim Boiani DynCorp
Chuck Spooner USEPA, Council Co-chair
Richard Ayers VDEQ
Bart Simmons CAEPA
Andy Eaton Std Methods
Katherine Alben NYDH
Ed Santoro DRBC
Harold Aroudel USGS
Abby Markowitz Tetra Tech, Inc.
Mike Miller WDNR
Dave Hall
Fred Van Alstyne NYDEP
Jerry Diamond Tetra Tech, Inc.
Dan Sullivan USGS
Mary Verwolf DOE
Greg Gfross
Jim Cox
David Denig Chakrof
Barbara Hayes Radian Corp.
Bob King USEPA/OW
Peter Ruhl USGS
Announcements
1.
Next Board meeting is September 12-14 in Annapolis, MD
1. National Water Quality Monitoring Conference in Madison, WI, May 21-23, 2002. Abstracts due October 12, 2001.
Workgroup: Accreditation
Meeting Date: 6/4/01
Chair: Harold Aroudel
Discussion at meeting:
Response from ACWI on white paper
NELAC meeting
NACLA and NIST coordination
Field survey next steps
PT sample issue
Status of Open Projects:
White paper needs to be revised and accompanying explanatory materials developed for ACWI.
Need continued coordination with NELAC
Need meeting with NIST
Field survey form results in need to determine next steps
Harold stepping down need new Chair
Next Steps:
White paper will be revised by Tetra Tech, Herb, and others and sent to ACWI by July
Herb and Tetra Tech will draft explanatory materials for review as well for ACWI
Jerry Parr and Bart will continue acting as liaisons with NELAC
Will set up a meeting with NIST
Develop a framework for field accreditation next steps
NIST will have first PT workshop at WQTA August 15, Arlington, VA
Bart named Chair
Need outreach strategy
Develop better process for bringing products/recommendations to ACWI
Herb will talk to NELAP Executive Board
Workgroup: Water Quality Data Elements
Meeting Date: 6/5/01
Chair: Chuck Job
Discussion at meeting:
Develop outreach plan
Chemical and micro implementation plans developed
Pilot test development
Plans for Biology WQDE list
Status of Open Projects:
Outreach plan to be finalized
Level 1 and 2 updates to be resolved
Proposed changes discussed
Bias versus accuracy?
Outreach handout to be finalized
Objectives and needs for pilot tests
Next Steps:
2.2 definition revised
Analyte name changed to taxon, metric, or index
Audience for handout needs to be refined
Survey of labs regarding onerous nature of WQDE
Pilots identified include: NY, WDNR, Florida, MMSD and others. Chuck to coordinate summaries for each pilot and distribute for discussion.
Glen Patterson (USGS) will be co-chair and outreach liaison
Agreed on pilot objectives: (1) audit which elements are utilized; (2) incorporate data elements to developing databases; and (3) evaluate cost of using data elements.
Workgroup: NEMI
Meeting Date: 6/4/01
Chair: Larry Keith
Discussion at meeting:
Resolve Phase 1 issues: business rules, prototype framework, method summaries, presentations to agencies.
Phase 2: add additional methods, review and revise database
Keywords resolve what goes in this field
Old versus new methods how to handle older methods when a more current version is also in the database
Reviewer comments
Biological methods to be added in Phase 2
Status of Open Projects:
Phase 1 business rules need to be finalized
Presentations to EPA and ASTM need to be done
Getting additional methods for Phase 2
Bio methods and business rules still needed
Next Steps:
Larry, Dan, Jim will finalize business rules
Larry, Herb will talk with ASTM and EPA
Keep all methods, new and old have links to old methods
Initial keyword selection was agreed to be okay
Review comments evaluated and NEMI format will be refined by Dan, Jim based on comments
Jerry, Mike, and Katherine will work with Dan to get rules for bio methods
Add category for sample preparation
Request method sources to add field methods for Phase 2
Develop Phase 3 plan
Workgroup: Biology
Meeting Date: 6/4/01
Chair: Katherine Alben
Discussion at meeting:
Microbiological and immunoassay methods/business rules for NEMI
Briefing of EPAs bio-criteria group and Biological Advisory Committee
Reviewed Tetra Techs WERF DQO project for toxicity and field community relationships
Water quality data element presentations by USGS, EPA, WDNR
Status of Open Projects:
Micro and immunoassay methods and rules nearly final need finalization with NEMI
Board needs to provide input on WERF study design and DQOs
WQDE for biology needs to be initiated
Tox and field methods need business rules
Next Steps
Katherine will finalize micro and immunoassay NEMI rules and some examples based on most recent NEMI info from Larry
Gil Dichter will provide Idexx and other micro NEMI tables
Jerry will draft rules and some examples for Tox testing methods
Mike Miller will draft examples for field macroinvertebrate collection methods. Mike and Jerry will draft rules.
Charlie will take lead on collating WQDE examples.
Jerry will get draft summary of performance information for tox and field collection methods.
Outreach needs:
Workgroup: PBMS
Meeting Date: 6/4/01
Chair: Cliff Annis
Discussion at meeting:
Need liaison to outreach
Move to take out matrix spikes by some organizations need to address with paper
Tetra Tech revise paper
Matrix spikes extremely important
Extract paper for managers
What is future of PBMS given pilot? What do you recommend to Council? Other pilots?
Status of Open Projects:
Next steps training essential
Develop PBMS Implementation Paper Workplan #2
Regulatory implementation of PBMS Bart, Andy
Nutrient and Biology PBMS pilots
Next Steps:
Cliff and Jerry to go over current workgroup roster
Rock will serve as outreach liaison? Confirm with Rock.
Jerry will prepare Executive Summary and Abstract for COD Pilot Report
Jerry will prepare ES&T manuscript of Pilot and distribute for comment
Distribute Pilot Report with Abstract and Executive Summary to Council
Workgroup: Nutrients
Meeting Date: 6/4/01
Chair: Ed Santoro/Ron Jones
Discussion at meeting:
Potential PBMS actions: (1) TKN versus total Nitrogen and use of high temp catalytic assessment of total nitrogen versus (2) Enzymatic assay of nitrates
Follow-up on new technology related to electrode determination of nitrogen
Status of Open Projects:
Get Council approval of Nutrient Criteria white paper
Develop strategy for working with EPA on MDCB recommendations
Next Steps:
Avenues to elevate nutrient memo and attachment that can be used by the MDCB and Council
NEMI field nutrient methods
Use of WQDE to track nutrient data
Use of nutrient memo and attachment as an umbrella
Examine Everglades nitrogen data as possible PBMS pilot Ron Jones
Examine Florida DEP study for total Phosphorous as possible PBMS pilot; comparability study. Ellen McCarron can help obtain data.
Need to get nutrient method information collected by Tetra Tech into NEMI Jerry and Larry.
Publish Tetra Techs nutrient method discussion
Workgroup: Outreach
Meeting Date: 9/4/01
Chair: Charlie Peters, temporary chair
Discussion at meeting:
NWQM conference in 2002 in Madison
Workgroup liaisons
Outreach strategy/framework
Status of Open Projects:
Need outreach liaisons for PBMS, Accreditation, WQDE, and NEMI.
Need more discussion on conference planning with respect to Board activities: abstracts, themes, special workshops?
Need a new Outreach Chair
Next Steps:
Abby will develop a draft framework and distribute to Workgroup chairs
Council and Board framework need to be intertwined and used for conference as well as next version of fact sheet, Information Packet.
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