Quality Assurance Project Plans

1 TheVolunteerMonitor'sGuideToQualityAssur anceProjectPlansUnitedStatesEnvironmenta lProtectionAgencyOfficeofWetlands,Oceans andWatersheds4503 FEPA841-B-96-003 September1996 The Volunteer Monitor s Guide toQuality AssuranceProject PlansDear Reader:Across the country, volunteers are monitoring the condition of streams, rivers, lakes,reservoirs, estuaries, coastal waters, wetlands, and wells. The number and variety of theseprojects are continually on the rise. So, too, is the complexity of the monitoring volunteersconduct and the uses of the data they of the most difficult issues facing volunteer environmental monitoring programstoday is data credibility. Potential data users are often skeptical about volunteer data -- they mayhave doubts about the goals and objectives of the Project , about how volunteers were trained,about how samples were collected, handled and stored, or about how data were analyzed andreports written.

2 A key tool in breaking down this barrier of skepticism is the Quality assuranceproject Quality Assurance Project plan , or QAPP, is a document that outlines the proceduresthat those who conduct a monitoring Project will take to ensure that the data they collect andanalyze meets Project requirements. It is an invaluable planning and operating tool that outlinesthe Project s methods of data collection, storage and analysis. It serves not only to convinceskeptical data users about the Quality of the Project s findings, but also to record methods, goalsand Project implementation steps for current and future volunteers and for those who may wishto use the Project s data over a QAPP is a dynamic, interactive process that should ideally involve qualityassurance experts, potential data users, and members of the volunteer monitoring Project team. It is not an easy process.

3 This document is designed to encourage and facilitate the developmentof volunteer QAPPs by clearly presenting explanations and examples. Readers are urged toconsult, as well, the additional resources listed in the appendices to this document, and to contacttheir state or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Quality Assurance staff forspecific information or guidance on their projects. Sincerely,Geoffrey H. Grubbs, DirectorAssessment and Watershed Protection DivisionContents:Executive 2 Developing a 3 Some Basic QA/QC 4 Elements of a BEPA Regional DAbbreviated QAPP manual was developed by the Environmental Protection Agencythrough contract no. 68-C3-0303 with Tetra Tech, Inc. The Project manager wasAlice Mayio, USEPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds. Principalauthors include Margo Hunt, USEPA Region 2; Alice Mayio, USEPA; MartinBrossman, USEPA; and Abby Markowitz, Tetra Tech, Inc.

4 The authors wish to thank the many reviewers who provided constructive andinsightful comments to earlier drafts of this document. This guidance manualwould not have been possible without their invaluable advice and illustations by Dave Skibiak and Emily Faalasli of Tetra Tech, Inc., andElizabeth Yuster of the Maryland Volunteer Watershed Monitoring 1996 Executive SummaryiEXECUTIVE SUMMARYEPA-funded monitoringprograms must have anEPA-approved QAPP before sample collectionbegins. However, evenprograms that do notreceive EPA moneyshould considerdeveloping a QAPP,especially if data mightbe used by state, federal,or local resourcemanagers. he Quality Assurance Project plan , or QAPP, is a written document thatToutlines the procedures a monitoring Project will use to ensure that thesamples participants collect and analyze, the data they store and manage,and the reports they write are of high enough Quality to meet Project Environmental Protection Agency-fundedmonitoring programs must have an EPA-approvedQAPP before sample collection begins.

5 However,even programs that do not receive EPA moneyshould consider developing a QAPP, especially ifdata might be used by state, federal, or localresource managers. A QAPP helps the data userand monitoring Project leaders ensure that thecollected data meet their needs and that the qualitycontrol steps needed to verify this are built into theproject from the monitoring programs have longrecognized the importance of well-designedmonitoring projects; written field, lab, and data management protocols; trainedvolunteers; and effective presentation of results. Relativelyfew programs, however, have tackled the task of preparing acomprehensive QAPP that documents these importantelements. This document is designed to help volunteer programcoordinators develop such a QAPP. Steps to Developing a QAPPD eveloping a QAPP is a dynamic, interactive process thatshould ideally involve state and EPA regional QA experts,iiThe Volunteer Monitor s Guide to Quality Assurance Project PlansA QAPP helps the datauser and monitoringproject leaders ensurethat the data collectedmeet their data users, and key members of the volunteer monitoring Project .

6 Thereare 11 steps a volunteer monitoring Project coordinator might take to prepare aQAPP. These are:Step 1:Establish a small team whose members will serve as advisors inhelping you develop the QAPP by offering feedback and guidancethroughout the entire 2:Determine the goals & objectives of your Project --why it s needed,who will use the data, and how the data will be used. Step 3:Collect background information to help you in designing 4:Refine your Project s goals once you ve collected more 5:Design your Project s sampling, analytical & data requirements--essentially, what, how, when, and where you ll be 6:Develop an implementation plan that lays out Project 7:Draft your standard operating procedures (SOPs) & 8:Solicit feedback on your draft SOPs & QAPP from state or EPAregional QA contacts and potential data SummaryiiiThe PARCC ParametersTaken together, the termsPrecision, Accuracy,Representativeness,Completeness , andComparability, comprisethe major data qualityindicators used to assessthe Quality of your data.

7 It is essential tounderstand these termsand to address them inyour QAPP. Chapter 3of this document includesa discussion of these indicators and givesexamples of how to evaluate the Quality of yourdata in relation to these to EPAguidance, 24 distinctelements can beincluded in a QAPP,although not allelements may benecessary for 9:Revise your QAPP based on reviewcomments and submit it for 10:Once your QAPP is approved, begin yourmonitoring 11:Evaluate and refine your Project over time,and reflect any major changes in a QA/QC ConceptsIt is important to understand the terminology ofquality Assurance and Quality control in order todevelop a QAPP. Key definitions include:Precision -- the degree of agreement among repeated measurements of thesame characteristic. It may be determined by calculating the standarddeviation, or relative percent difference, among samples taken from thesame place at the same time.

8 Accuracy -- measures how close your results are to a true or expected valueand can be determined by comparing your analysis of astandard or reference sample to its actual value. Representativeness -- the extent to whichmeasurements actually represent the trueenvironmental condition or population at the time asample was -- the comparison between the amountof valid, or usable, data you originally planned tocollect, versus how much you -- the extent to which data can becompared between sample locations or periods of timewithin a Project , or between of a QAPP According to EPA guidance, 24 distinct elements can be included in a QAPP,although not all elements may be necessary for all programs. Which elementsyou end up including in your QAPP depends on your Project 's goals, objectives, scope, data uses, and on the guidance you receive from your state orivThe Volunteer Monitor s Guide to Quality Assurance Project PlansEPA regional Quality Assurance contacts.

9 The 24 elements are grouped into fouroverall categories and are listed below: Project Management(elements 1-9) and Approval of Identification/ Quality Objectives for Measurement and RecordsMeasurement/Data Acquisition (elements 10-19) Process Methods Handling and Custody Methods Control Testing, Inspection, and Calibration and Requirements for Acquisition ManagementAssessment and Oversight(elements 20-21) and Response Validation and Usability(elements 22-24) Review, Validation, and Verification and Verification with Data Quality ObjectivesChapter 1: Introduction1 Chapter 1:INTRODUCTIONTop 20 ParametersAssessed byVolunteerMonitorsWater temperaturepHDissolved OxygenMacroinvertebratesDebris clean-upHabitat assessmentsNitrogenPhosphorusTurbidityCo liform bacteriaSecchi depthAquatic vegetationFlowBirds/WildlifeFishWatershe d mappingRainfallPhotographic surveysSalinitySediment assessmentsSource: Directory of VolunteerEnvironmental MonitoringPrograms, 4th Editioncross the country, volunteers are monitoring the condition of streams,Arivers, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, coastal waters, wetlands, and wells.

10 The number and variety of these projects is continually on the rise; so,too, is the complexity of the monitoring they conduct and theuses of the data they volunteer monitoring projects evaluate the chemical,physical, or biological condition of waters in a given watershed. They may address different kinds of waters , streams with associated embayments and they may conduct several types ofmonitoring activities. Some projects may address only one typeof monitoring in one type of waterbody, , nutrient samplingin estuaries. Morecomprehensive projects maytake basic chemicalmeasurements of conditionssuch as dissolved oxygen levels,pH, or salinity, evaluate thephysical condition of streamsidehabitat, and evaluate thebiological condition of aquaticinsects or vegetation. Not only do volunteer projects monitor many differentparameters and types of waters, they are also organized andsupported in many different ways.