Are QA Plans needed for my project? - Chesapeake Bay Program

<body> <H4>Are QA Plans needed for my project?</H4><P>Organizations conducting programs and research projects funded by EPA that acquire, generate, compile, or use environmental data are required to establish and implement a quality system. Within the Chesapeake Bay Program, these projects include the collection of groundwater, surface water, sediment, atmospheric, living resource, and remotely sensed data. Also subject to EPA quality requirements are data used for environmental model development, calibration, verification, and application, and data collected from existing sources of information such as computer databases, models, and literature searches.</P><P>Grantees and cooperators usually describe their quality systems in two formal documents: 1) Quality Management Plan, and 2) Quality Assurance Project Plan. EPA must review and approve all Quality Management and Quality Assurance Project Plans prior to the initiation of environmental data collection and/or compilation activities.</P><H4>What's required for a Quality Management Plan?<A NAME="preq"></A></H4><P>The Quality Management Plan documents management practices used to ensure that the results of technical work are of the type and quality needed for their intended use. The elements to be addressed in a Quality Management Plan include: management and organization; quality system description; personnel qualifications and training; procurement of items and services; documentation and records; computer hardware and software; planning; implementation of work processes; assessment and response; and quality improvement. The Quality Management Plan is sometimes viewed as the umbrella' document under which individual projects are conducted. State environmental agencies typically have one Quality Management Plan that covers all of their programs involving monitoring.</P><P>Quality Management Plans must be prepared in accordance with EPA QA/R-2: EPA <A HREF="http://www.epa.gov/quality/qa/docs.html" TARGET="_top">Requirements for Quality Management Plans</A> must be submitted at least 45 days prior to the initiation of data collection to the EPA Project Officer or <A HREF="mailto:jones.monica@epa.gov">Monica Jones</A>, EPA Region 3 QA Manager, for review and approval. </P><H4>What's required for a Quality Assurance Project Plan?<A NAME="req"></A></H4><P>All monitoring programs and research projects must have an EPA approved Quality Assurance Project Plan prior to the start of monitoring or data compilation. A QA Project Plan documents the technical and quality aspects of a project, including project management, implementation, and assessment. It specifies responsibilities, monitoring objectives, sampling design, sample collection methods, analytical methods, quality control, data management and data validation activities. The detail expected will correspond to the cost, complexity and duration of the project. Specific requirements for quality assurance project plans are defined in QA/R-5: <A HREF="http://www.epa.gov/quality/qa/docs.html" TARGET="_top">EPA Requirements for Quality Assurance Project Plans</A> (EPA 1999) </P><H4>How do I get my QA Project Plan approved?</H4><P>Submit your QA Project Plan to the EPA Project Officer the draft grant application, or list the QA Project Plan as a deliverable to be received at least 30 days prior to the initiation of each data collection activity. The QA Project Plan is reviewed by the Chesapeake Bay Program <A HREF="mailto:mley@chesapeakebay.net">QA Coordinator</A> using a <A HREF="../pubs/quality_assurance/QAPPChecklist.PDF">checklist</A> <IMG SRC="../images/pdf.gif" WIDTH="17" HEIGHT="16" ALT="PDF File"> (11 kb) for reviewing Quality Assurance Project Plans to ensure it addresses the required elements. Plans must be approved by the <A HREF="mailto:batiuk.richard@epa.gov">Quality Assurance Officer</A> before sampling begins. </P><P>Approved QA plans should be submitted in an electronic file for released on the Chesapeake Bay Program website. If you would like to see examples of approved QA Project Plans, please look under the topics below.</P><UL><LI> <A HREF="qa_tidal.cfm">Tidal Water Quality Methods and QA</A> </LI><LI><A HREF="http://va.water.usgs.gov/chesbay/RIMP/methods.html" TARGET="_top">River Input (Fall Line) Methods and QA</A> </LI><LI><A HREF="http://www.vims.edu/bio/sav/sav00/report/reportindex_page.html" TARGET="_top">Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Methods and QA</A> <BR> </LI><LI><DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="http://www.chesapeakebay.net/data/data_desc.cfm?DB=CBP_BENDB">Chesapeake Bay Benthic Methods and QA</A> </DIV></LI><LI><DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="http://www.chesapeakebay.net/data/data_desc.cfm?DB=CBP_PLANKDB">Plankton Methods and QA</A> </DIV></LI><LI><DIV ALIGN="LEFT"><A HREF="../pubs/subcommittee/amqawg/doc-CitMonTribQAPP1997.PDF" TARGET="_top">Alliance for Chesapeake Bay Citizen Monitoring</A> <IMG SRC="../images/pdf.gif" WIDTH="17" HEIGHT="16" ALT="PDF Files"> (87 kb)</DIV></LI><LI>Quality Assurance Plans for Academic Research Projects<BR></LI></UL><table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" bgcolor="#C6C68C" width="100%"> <tr valign="top"> <td><strong>Other Sites of Interest:</strong><ul><li><A HREF="http://www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/volunteer/qappcovr.htm">The Volunteer Monitor's Guide To Quality Assurance Project Plans </A>-<BR> </li><li>Chesapeake Bay Grant Guidance, Attachment 7</li><li><A HREF="http://www.epa.gov/reg3esd1/qa/r3qmp.pdf" TARGET="_top">USEPA Region III Quality Management Plan</A> </li></ul></td></tr> </table><hr> <P ALIGN="CENTER"><a name="Ecosystem"></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="2">To bookmark this page, please use this URL: <a href="../qualityassurance.htm" target="_top">http://www.chesapeakebay.net/qaplanning.htm</a></font></P><P ALIGN="CENTER"><font size="2">For more information, contact the Chesapeake Bay Program Office:<br> 410 Severn Avenue, Suite 109, Annapolis, MD 21403 / Tel: (800) YOUR-BAY / Fax: (410) 267-5777</font><font size="2">.</font></P><P ALIGN="CENTER"><font size="2"><a href="../termsofuse.htm" target="_top">Terms of Use</a> | <a href="../privacypolicy.htm" target="_top">Privacy Policy</a> | <a href="../comments.htm" target="_top">Contact Us<br> </a></font><font size="2"><a href="http://www.chesapeakebay.net/directions.htm" target="_top"> Directions to the Bay Program Office</a></font><br> <a href="http://www.chesapeakebay.net/cims" target="_top"><img src="../images/cims1.gif" height="19" width="51" border="0" align="left" vspace="10" alt="Chesapeake Information Management System (CIMS) "></a><a href="javascript:print()"><img src="../images/print.gif" width="31" height="38" border="0" alt="Print Current Page" align="right"></a><br> <font size="2">Last modified: 02/12/02</font></P></td><td align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="#E7E7D6">   </td></tr> <tr> <td align="left" valign="top" bgcolor="#E7E7D6"><img src="../images/endc3.gif" alt="endc3.gif (827 bytes)" WIDTH="8" HEIGHT="14"></td><td align="right" valign="top" bgcolor="#E7E7D6" colspan="2"><img src="../images/endd3.gif" alt="endd3.gif (827 bytes)" WIDTH="8" HEIGHT="14"></td></tr> </table></div>