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Quality Assurance as an Element of Wisconsin's NPDES Program Pages: 6 Published: Jan 1985
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View License Agreement Wisconsin has a long history of concern about data quality in its Wisconsin Pollution Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) program. Since 1978, operators of municipal sewage treatment plants (STP) have been required to pass written and practical exams in laboratory operations to be certified to operate an STP. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) has also developed a program of laboratory evaluations and Performance Audit Inspections (PAI). Results of these evaluations indicate that data quality is improving; however, problems still exist. These problems are related to insufficient operator knowledge of procedures, lack of routine quality control practices at laboratories, and insufficient support of the laboratories by municipal and industrial management. Wisconsin is proposing a laboratory certification program which would certify that a laboratory is actually producing data meeting set standards of accuracy and precision, as opposed to conventional programs which certify a laboratory's capability to produce accurate data. | ||
