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Procedures for Detection and Quantitation
Policy Workgroup
Federal Advisory Committee on Detection and Quantitation Approaches and Uses in Clean Water Act (CWA) Programs
Summary of Policy Work Group Conference Call #3
November 7, 2005
1:20 – 3:00 p.m. EST
- Welcome and Introductions
- Meeting Summary Review and Approval
- Review of Draft Descriptions of Uses
- Policy Issues
- Wrap-up and Closing
- Attendance
The next Policy Work Group call is scheduled for Monday, November 21, from 1:00 - 3:00 PM EDT.
Welcome and Introductions
Facilitator Alice Shorett convened the conference call at 1:00 PM EST and called the roll of participants. (Attendance is listed at the end of the summary.) After briefly reviewing the protocols for the teleconference, she thanked Policy Work Group members for revising the draft statements of uses. She also thanked two members who had taken the task a step further: Larry LaFleur who had developed a flowchart of two of the uses and Mary Smith who had developed a continuum of all the uses. She said the teleconference would focus on the policy issues, which the facilitators had consolidated in a separate document.
Meeting Summary Review and Approval
Ms. Shorett asked for comments on the Draft Summary of the October 24 Policy Work Group call. There were no comments, and the summary was approved as drafted.
Review of Draft Descriptions of Uses
Ms. Shorett asked the group for comments on the revised descriptions of the uses they had received in advance of the call. In the discussions that followed, the Group agreed to make the following revisions.
- Dave Akers was to check the language for "Compliance Assurance and Enforcement" and "Permit Applications" to ensure there was no unnecessary duplication.
- Mary Smith was to:
- revise language under Existing uses of detection and quantitation for "Water Quality Criteria and Local Water Quality Standards Setting" to note that in some cases, detection limits are moot because the studies rely on spiking known amounts of the pollutant into the test environmental and measuring organism response.
- confirm the number of data sets used for "EPA Method Promulgation and Validation"
- refer to the national effluent guidelines, rather than standards, under "Effluent Limitation Development, BAT Averaging and Effluent Guideline Development Variability."
- Chris Hornback was to provide Larry LaFleur with an example of public utility non-regulatory operational monitoring.
Ms. Shorett noted that the revisions Mike Murray had sent by email prior to the call would also be reflected in the revised descriptions of uses.
After brief discussion, the Group agreed to present the revised descriptions in a white paper that would be distributed to the Advisory Committee in advance of the December meeting.
The Group then briefly reviewed the continuum of uses that Mary Smith had drafted. Ms. Smith asked members to send her their comments about the continuum by Tuesday, November 15. Ms. Shorett said the continuum of uses would be included in and would serve as an executive summary of the white paper. She said that the Policy Work Group would review and finalize the white paper during the November 21 conference call.
Policy Issues
Ms. Shorett asked the Group to consider which of the uses and associated policy issues should be the focus of discussion at the December Advisory Committee meeting. After discussion, the Group agreed that "Permit Applications," "Compliance Assurance and Enforcement," and "Data Reporting" - and their associated policy issues -- were the ones to "tee up" for the Advisory Committee to discuss in December. A subgroup of members (Larry LaFleur, Tom Mugan, Mary Smith and Barry Sulkin) agreed to work together to revise the decision tree drafted by Larry LaFleur to accurately reflect the policy issues associated with those uses for discussion on the next Policy Work Group call.
Ms. Shorett asked the subgroup to complete its work by November 15 so the materials could be distributed to the Policy Work Group by Thursday, November 17.
Wrap-up and Closing
In concluding the call, Ms. Shorett noted that the primary focus of the November 21 call would be to finalize the Policy Work Group product (white paper) and to discuss presentation of the white paper at the December meeting.
The next Policy Work Group Call is scheduled for Monday, November 21, 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST.
Attendance
- Policy Work Group Members
- States: Dave Akers and Tom Mugan
- Environmental Laboratories: Cary Jackson and Nan Thomey
- Environmental Community: Mike Murray and Barry Sulkin
- Public Utilities: Chris Hornback
- Industry: Larry LaFleur and Roger Claff
- US EPA: Mary T. Smith (Director, Engineering and Analytical Division)
- Triangle Associates
- Alice Shorett and Vicki King
- Observers
- Marion Kelly
- Meghan Hessenauer