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, Nat’l 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 EPA’s bio-criteria group and Biological Advisory Committee

•                     Reviewed Tetra Tech’s 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 Tech’s 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N:\General Use Data\JDiamond\Methods_Board\Accreditation.wpd