A1 APPROVAL PAGE
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
Technical Analysis Division
Jim Thomas,
Director Date Charles
Dvorsky, Manager Date
Technical Analysis Division Water
Quality Planning & Assessment Section
Linda Brookins Date Eric Reese Date
Program Manager, Clean Rivers Program Project
Manager, Clean Rivers Program
Compliance Support Division
Carol Batterton, Director Date Stephen
Stubbs Date
Compliance Support Division TNRCC
Quality Assurance Manager
Bernard Ray Date
CRP Quality Assurance Specialist
Quality Assurance Section
Gerard Sala Date Leigh-ann
Arena Date
Sabine River Authority
Project Manager Sabine River
Authority Quality Assurance Officer
The SRA will secure written documentation from each sub-tier project
participant (e.g., subcontractors, other units of government, laboratories)
stating the organization’s awareness of and commitment to requirements
contained in this quality assurance project plan and any amendments or
revisions of this plan. The SRA will
maintain this documentation as part of the project’s quality assurance records,
and will ensure that the document is available for review.
A2 TABLE
OF CONTENTS
A5 PROBLEM DEFINITION/BACKGROUND
A7
QUALITY OBJECTIVES AND CRITERIA..
A8 SPECIAL TRAINING/CERTIFICATION
B3 SAMPLING HANDLING AND CUSTODY
PROCEDURES
B6 INSTRUMENT/EQUIPMENT TESTING,
INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE
B7 INSTRUMENT CALIBRATION AND
FREQUENCY
B8 INSPECTION/ACCEPTANCE OF SUPPLIES
AND CONSUMABLES
C1 ASSESSMENTS AND RESPONSE ACTIONS
D1 DATA REVIEW, VERIFICATION, AND
VALIDATION
D2 VERIFICATION AND VALIDATION METHODS
D3 RECONCILIATION WITH USER
REQUIREMENTS
APPENDIX B: SAMPLING PROCESS DESIGN AND MONITORING
SCHEDULE (PLAN)
APPENDIX E: DATA MANAGEMENT PLAN
Table A7.1 - Data Quality Objectives for Field and
Laboratory Measurements
Table A9.1 Project Documents and Records
Table B2.1 Sample Storage,
Preservation and Handling Requirements.
Table C1.1 Assessments and Response Requirements
Table D2.1 Data Verification Tasks
FIGURE A4.1 PROJECT ORGANIZATION CHART
Figure C1. CORRECTIVE ACTION FORM
Upper Sabine Basin Sampling Sites
Lower Sabine Basin Sampling Sites
LIST OF ACRONYMS
AWRL Ambient
Water Reporting Limits
BMP Best
Management Practices
COC Chain-of
Custody
CRP Clean
Rivers Program
DMP Data
Management Plan
DQO Data
Quality Objective
FY Fiscal
Year
MDMA Monitoring
Data Management & Analysis
QA Quality
Assurance
QAM Quality
Assurance Manual
QAO Quality
Assurance Officer
QAPP Quality
Assurance Project Plan
QAS Quality
Assurance Specialist
QC Quality
Control
QMP Quality
Management Plan
RBP Rapid
Bioassessment Protocol
RWA Receiving
Water Assessment
SOP Standard
Operating Procedure
SRA Sabine
River Authority
SWQM Surface
Water Quality Monitoring
TMDL Total
Maximum Daily Load
TNRCC Texas
Natural Resource Conservation Commission
TRACS Texas
Regulatory and Compliance System
TSWQS Texas
Surface Water Quality Standards
VOA Volatile
Organic Analytes
WMT Watershed
Management Team
NA Not
Applicable
A3 DISTRIBUTION LIST
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
P.O. Box 13087
Austin, Texas 78711-3087
Technical Analysis Division
Eric Reese, Project Manager
Clean Rivers Program
MC-147
(512) 239-2611
Compliance Support Division
Stephen Stubbs Bernard
Ray
TNRCC Quality Assurance Manager CRP Quality Assurance
Specialist
MC-176 MC-176
(512) 239-6343 (512)
239-1976
Sabine River Authority
1895 O-I Road
Orange, TX 77632
Gerard Sala, Project Manager Leigh-ann
Arena, Quality Assurance Officer
(409) 746-2192 (409) 746-3284
The SRA will provide copies of this project plan and
any amendments or revisions of this plan to each sub-tier project participant,
e.g., subcontractors, other units of government, laboratories. The SRA will document distribution of the
plan by sub-tier participants and maintain this documentation as part of the
project’s quality assurance records, and will ensure that the document will be
available for review.
A4 PROJECT/TASK ORGANIZATION
Description of
Responsibilities
TNRCC
Linda Brookins
CRP Program Manager
Responsible for TNRCC activities supporting the
development and implementation of the Texas Clean Rivers Program. Responsible for verifying that the QMP is
followed by CRP staff. Supervises TNRCC
CRP staff. Oversees the development of
QA guidance for the CRP. Reviews and approves
all QA audits, corrective actions, reviews, reports, work plans, contracts,
QAPPs, and program QMP. Enforces
corrective action, as required, where QA protocols are not met. Ensures CRP personnel are fully trained.
Bernard Ray
CRP Lead Quality Assurance Specialist
Responsible for CRP QA management. Assists CRP Project Managers in QA-related
issues. Assists in CRP guidance
development. Develops and updates the
CRP QMP. Coordinates the review and
approval of CRP QA documents. Conducts
monitoring systems audits of Planning Agencies. Monitors implementation of corrective actions. Conveys QA problems to appropriate
management. Advises CRP Project
managers regarding the development of QAPPs.
Facilitates and monitors corrective action process.
Eric Reese
CRP Project Manager
Responsible for the development, implementation, and
maintenance of CRP contracts. Tracks
deliverables. Participates in guidance
development. Reviews and approves QAPPs, QAPP amendments and appendices. Assists CRP Lead QA Specialist in conducting
Planning agency audits; verifies that QAPPs are being followed by contractors
and that projects are producing data of known quality. Reviews data and reports produced by
contractors. Notifies QA Specialists of
circumstances which may adversely affect the quality of data derived from the
collection and analysis of samples. For
corrective actions, determines and documents the root cause(s), programmatic
impact, required corrective action(s), actions needed to prevent recurrence, method(s)
of verification, timetable(s) for completion, and responsible staff for
correcting and monitoring the corrective action.
Eric Reese
CRP Data Manager
Responsible for tracking and verifying CRP data. Provides quality assured data sets to TNRCC
Information Resources in compatible formats for uploading to the statewide
database. Coordinates correction of
data errors with CRP Project Managers, Planning Agency Data Managers, and TNRCC
Information Resources staff. Provides
training and guidance to CRP and Planning Agencies on technical data
issues. Reviews and approves
data-related portions of program QMP and project-specific QAPP’s. Performs technical reviews of project-specific
Data Management Plans. Develops and
maintains Standard Operating Procedures for CRP data management.
Laurie Curra
CRP Project Quality Assurance Specialist
Assists Lead QAS with CRP QA management. Serves as liaison between CRP management and
agency QA management. Responsible for
CRP guidance development related to program quality assurance. Responsible for the review and approval of
amendments and appendices to QAPPs.
Serves on planning team for CRP special projects. Monitors implementation of corrective
actions.
Sabine River Authority
Gerard Sala
Sabine River Authority Project Manager
Responsible for implementing CRP requirements in
contracts, QAPPs, and QAPP amendments and appendices. Coordinates basin planning activities and work of basin
partners. Ensures monitoring systems
audits are conducted to ensure QAPPs are followed by planning agency
participants and that projects are producing data of known quality. Ensures that subcontractors are qualified to
perform contracted work. Ensures CRP
project managers and/or QA Specialists are notified of circumstances which may
adversely affect quality of data derived from collection and analysis of
samples. Responsible for validating that all data collected meet the data
quality objectives of the project and are suitable for reporting to the TNRCC.
Leigh-ann Arena
Sabine River Authority Quality Assurance Officer
Responsible for writing and maintaining basin QAPPs,
amendments and appendices. Responsible
for determining if all data collected meet the data quality objectives of the
project and are suitable for reporting to the TNRCC. Assists with conduct of monitoring
systems audits for planning agency projects.
Mary Vann
SRA Data Manager
Responsible for ensuring that field data are properly
reviewed and verified. Responsible for
the transfer of basin quality-assured water quality data to the TNRCC in a
compatible format. Maintains
quality-assured data on planning agency internet sites. Responsible for the basin Data Management
Plan.
Miles A. Hall
Assistant Environmental Services Division Manager
Responsible for coordinating
activities between the Laboratory Supervisor, Biomonitoring Coordinator, and
Field Office Coordinators. This
includes the collection testing and reporting of CRP data. The development and implementation of the
Water Quality Monitoring Program (WQMP) and any other special studies. The coordination of data transfer from the lab to the Data
Resources Manager.
Laboratory Supervisor
Responsibilities include,
but not limited to the supervising of: the receiving of samples into the laboratory,
the analyzing of the samples within proper holding time, and the entry of the
results into the laboratory information system (LIMS).
Debra Ebarb
Biomonitoring Coordinator
Responsible for the
coordination of all Biomonitoring activities which include, but not limited to
Ambient Toxicity testing for the WQMP in conjunction with the CRP.
Cynthia Darbonne/John Payne
Lower and Upper Basin Field
Office Coordinators
Responsible for designing
and implementing the WQMP and any other special studies. Responsible for all field equipment
calibration and maintenance, data collection and, bench sheets. Responsible for all special
investigations. Responsible for the
collection of Global Positioning Systems (GPS) data. Responsible for entering all field data into the SRA database.
Eastman Chemical Company
Personnel from Eastman
Chemical Company will collect water samples and send them to the SRA laboratory
for metals analysis. The samples will
be analyzed for both dissolved and total lead and cadmium. The samples will be collected and handled as
specified in this document.
City of Longview
Personnel from the City of
Longview will collect field data and water samples to be sent to the SRA
laboratory for analysis. The samples
will be collected and handled as specified in this document.
FIGURE A4.1
PROJECT ORGANIZATION CHART
A5 PROBLEM DEFINITION/BACKGROUND
In 1991, the Texas Legislature passed the Texas Clean River Act (Senate
Bill 818) in response to growing concerns that water resource issues were not
being pursued in an integrated, systematic manner. The act requires that ongoing water quality assessments be
conducted for each river basin in Texas, an approach that integrates water
quality issues within the watershed. The CRP Legislation mandates that “each
river authority (or local governing entity) shall submit quality-assured data
collected in the river basin to the commission.” “Quality-assured data” in the
context of the legislation means “data that complies with commission rules for
water quality monitoring programs, including rules governing the methods under
which water samples are collected and analyzed and data from those samples are
assessed and maintained.” This QAPP addresses the program developed between the
SRA and the TNRCC to carry out the activities mandated by the legislation. The QAPP was developed and will be
implemented in accordance with provisions of the Quality Management Plan for
the Clean Rivers Program (most recent version).
The purpose of this QAPP is to clearly delineate SRA QA policy,
management structure, and procedures, which will be used to implement the QA
requirements necessary to document the reliability and validity of
environmental data. The QAPP is
reviewed by the TNRCC to help ensure that data generated for the purposes
described above are scientifically valid and legally defensible. This process will ensure that data collected
under this QAPP and submitted to the state-wide database have been collected
and managed in a way that guarantees its reliability and therefore can be used
in water quality assessments and other programs deemed appropriate by the
TNRCC. Project results will be used to
support the achievement of Clean Rivers Program objectives as contained in the
Clean Rivers Program Guidance and Reference Guide FY 2002 -2003.
The SRA Environmental
Services Division (ESD) collects surface water quality data as part of its
commitment to water quality protection in the Sabine Basin. This Water Quality Monitoring Program (WQMP)
includes fixed station monitoring and analyses of physical, chemical,
bacteriological, and biological parameters.
SRA also conducts special investigations concerning pollution
complaints.
Additional monitoring
requirements have been brought about through the implementation of the
TCRP. This additional systematic
monitoring program complements the existing fixed station monitoring by
providing information on the many subwatersheds not covered by the fixed
station monitoring. The systematic
monitoring utilizes biological screening studies in combination with routine
physical and chemical parameters to provide data on the health of aquatic life
and long-range water quality protection.
The systematic monitoring also includes field investigations to provide
data on subwatersheds, which have never been sampled.
The basin topography has
been used to divide the Basin into 110 subwatersheds (24 of these are located
in Louisiana), which are organized into 7 reaches. A ‘reach’ of the main-stem of the River roughly corresponds to
the old segment system but the reaches are based on hydrography and similarity
of land features. This system allows a
manager to determine which areas have adequate water quality information and
which areas do not. The subwatershed
approach also incorporates risk factors such as municipal and industrial
outfalls, solid waste sites, urban and rural land use, etc., into the decision
making process.
Water quality data is
analyzed using the data analysis program developed by SRA following guidance
from the TNRCC. The fixed station and
systematic programs are reviewed each year to consider revisions in every
aspect of the programs.
The 1999 TCRP Sabine Basin Summary Report identified subwatersheds with
water quality concerns in the Sabine Basin.
The areas were prioritized using input from the Sabine Basin Steering
Committee and the SRA staff. Monitoring
plans were developed by the SRA and other monitoring partners in cooperation
with TNRCC staff at the annual coordinated monitoring meetings to address these
priority Subwatersheds.
A6 PROJECT/TASK
DESCRIPTION
SRA will conduct monitoring at
fixed monitoring sites to adequately characterize water quality trends and
monitor progress in protecting or restoring water in the Sabine Basin. All monitoring plans are coordinated with
the TNRCC regional offices to avoid duplication of effort. The fixed monitoring sites include 30 - 40
sampling sites that are monitored monthly for routine physical and chemical
parameters. Selected sites are also
monitored annually for metals in water and metals in sediment. Details of the monitoring schedule,
parameters, and sampling locations are included in Appendix B.
SRA will conduct systematic
monitoring utilizing biological screening studies in combination with routine
physical and chemical parameters.
Approximately seven sites will be monitored in FY 2002 and four to six
sites will be monitored in FY 2003. Details of the monitoring schedule, parameters,
and sampling locations will be included in Appendix B. The water quality data includes
monitoring and analyses of physical, chemical, bacteriological, and biological
parameters. Instantaneous flows will be
collected at selected sites. These
programs provide data on the health of aquatic life and long-range water
quality protection.
Special studies will be
conducted in the Caney Creek Subwatershed to determine impacts due to changes
in effluent loading. A non-point study
will continue in the Grace Creek Subwatershed to delineate concerns identified
in the 1999 assessment. The Rabbit
Creek and Hawkins Creek Subwatersheds are scheduled for special studies to
determine non-point impairments.
See
Appendix A for the project-related work plan tasks and schedule of deliverables
for a description of work defined in this QAPP.
See Appendix B for
details on monitoring to be conducted under this QAPP. The TNRCC monitoring sites are included only
for the purposes of showing coordinated basin monitoring and are addressed by
the TNRCC Surface Water Quality Monitoring (SWQM) QAPP.
Amendments to the QAPP
Revisions to the QAPP may be necessary to reflect changes in project
organization, tasks, schedules, objectives, and methods; to improve operational
efficiency; and to accommodate unique or unanticipated circumstances. Requests for amendments are directed from
the SRA Project Manager to the CRP Project Manager in writing. They are effective immediately upon approval
by the SRA Project Manager, the Planning Agency QAO, the CRP Project Manager,
the CRP Lead QA Specialist, and the CRP Project QA Specialist. They will be distributed by the SRA Project
Manager and incorporated into the QAPP by way of attachment and distributed to
personnel on the distribution list.
Appendices to the QAPP
Appendices as referenced under the Project Description above will be
submitted as work is planned. Projects requiring QAPP appendices will be planned in consultation with the SRA
and the TNRCC Project Manager and TNRCC technical staff. Appendices will be written in an
abbreviated format and will reference the Basin QAPP where appropriate. Appendices will be approved by the SRA
Project Manager, the SRA QAO, the CRP Project Manager, the CRP Project QA
Specialist, the CRP Lead QA Specialist and other TNRCC personnel as
appropriate. Copies of approved QAPPs
appendices will be distributed by the SRA to project participants before
monitoring activities are commenced.
A7 QUALITY OBJECTIVES AND CRITERIA
The purpose of fixed/routine water quality monitoring is to collect
surface water quality data needed for
conducting water quality assessments in accordance with TNRCC’s Guidance for
Assessing Texas Surface and Finished Drinking Water Quality Data. These water quality data, and data collected
by other organizations (e.g., USGS, TNRCC, etc.), will be subsequently
reconciled for use and assessed by the TNRCC.
No decisions will be made by the project team based on the data
collected.
The measurement performance criteria to support the project objectives
for a minimum data set are specified in Table A7.1. The SRA Laboratory will perform all of the analyses listed in
Table A7.1.
Table A7.1 - Data Quality Objectives for Field
and Laboratory Measurements
|
PARAMETER |
UNITS |
MATRIX |
METHOD |
STORET |
AWRL |
PRECISION of laboratory duplicates (RPD) |
ACCURACY at AWRLS (%Rec.) |
ACCURACY of
lab matrix spikes (%Rec.) |
LABORATORY PERFORMING ANALYSIS |
Field Parameters
|
|||||||||
|
pH |
pH/ units |
water |
150.1(1) & TNRCC SOP |
00400 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
DO |
mg/L |
water |
360.1(1) & TNRCC SOP |
00300 |
NA* |
NA
|
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
Percent Saturation of DO |
% |
water |
360.1(1)
& TNRCC SOP |
00301 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
Conductivity |
uS/cm |
water |
120.1(1)
& TNRCC SOP |
00094 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
Salinity |
ppt, marine only |
water |
SM 2520B & TNRCC SOP |
00480 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
TDS |
mg/L |
water |
calculated |
70294 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
Temperature |
°centigrade |
water |
170.1(1) & TNRCC SOP |
00010 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
Secchi Depth |
meters |
water |
TNRCC SOP(2) |
00078 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
Days since last significant rainfall |
days |
NA |
TNRCC SOP(2) |
72053 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
Water Color |
1-brown 2-reddish 3-green 4-black 5-clear 6-other |
water |
Field Observation |
89969 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Water Odor |
1-sewage 2-oily/chemical 3-rottenegg 4-musky 5-fishy 6-none 7-other |
water |
Field Observation |
89971 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Weather |
1-clear 2-ptcloudy 3-cloudy 4- rain |
NA |
Field Observation |
89966 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Wind Intensity |
1-calm 2-slight 3-moderate 4-strong |
Air |
Field Observation |
89965 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Wind Direction |
1-North 2-South 3-East 4-West 5-Northeast 6-Southeast 7-Northwest 8-Southwest |
Air |
Field Observation |
89010 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Total water depth |
meters |
water |
TNRCC RWA SOP |
82903 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
Flow |
cfs |
water |
TNRCC SOP(2) |
00061 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
Flow severity |
1-no flow, 2-low, 3-normal, 4-flood, 5-high, 6-dry |
water |
TNRCC SOP(2) |
01351 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
PARAMETER |
UNITS |
MATRIX |
METHOD |
STORET |
AWRL |
PRECISION of laboratory duplicates (RPD) |
ACCURACY of calibration control stds. AWRLS (%Rec.) |
ACCURACY of
lab matrix spikes (%Rec.) |
LABORATORY PERFORMING ANALYSIS |
Field Parameters continued
|
|||||||||
|
Flow Estimate |
Ft3/sec |
water |
TNRCC SOP |
74069 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
Flow measurement method |
1-Gage 2-Electrical 3-mechanical 4-weir/flume |
water |
TNRCC SOP |
89835 |
NA* |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
24hrDO ave. |
mg/L |
water |
EPA 360.1 |
89855 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
24hr DO min. |
mg/L |
water |
EPA 360.1 |
89856 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
24hrDO max. |
mg/L |
water |
EPA 360.1 |
89857 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
24hrDO num. meas. |
-- |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
89858 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
24-hr ave. water temperature |
°C |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
00209 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
max daily water temperature |
°C |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
00210 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
min daily water temperature |
°C |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
00211 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
24hr temperature number
measurements |
-- |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
00221 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
24-hr ave. conductivity |
uS/cm |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
00212 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
max daily conductivity |
uS/cm |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
00213 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
min daily conductivity |
uS/cm |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
00214 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
24hr conductivity number
measurements |
-- |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
00222 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
max daily pH |
s.u. |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
00215 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
min daily pH |
s.u. |
water |
TNRCC SOP/ Calculation |
00216 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |
|
24hr pH number measurements |
-- |
water |
TNRCC
SOP/ Calculation |
00223 |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
Field |