Environmental Assessment > Quality Assurance

Quality Assurance at Ecology

The Department of Ecology relies on Quality Assurance (QA) to monitor and improve its scientific practices, especially those involving generation and assessment of environmental data. Ecology's QA system is based on requirements established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and incorporates guidance and methodology from many standards-setting organizations world-wide.

Ecology uses established QA principles to plan, execute and assess all of its data-generation projects. Additionally, QA planning is often required for businesses or agencies submitting data to Ecology.

QA documents

All documents are provided as PDF unless otherwise noted.

QA Policies

• Establishing Quality Assurance, Executive Policy 1-21
• Requiring Use of Accredited Environmental Laboratories, Executive Policy 1-22
• Roles and Procedures for Coordinating the Review of Quality assurance Project Plans Prepared by Water Quality Grant and Loan Recipients - EAP/WQP Joint Procedure 2-03

QA Management Plan and Periodic Quality Reports

• Quality Management Plan
• 2005 Quality Report to Management
• Washington State Department of Ecology′s Quality System for Fiscal Year 2006: System Structure, Activities, and Assessment

QA Planning Guidance

• Guidance for the Preparation of Quality Assurance Project Plans

QA Coordinators

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for sampling, auditing and field methodology

• SOP Master Index
• SOP Policy

• EAP020 - Bedload Collection, Processing, and Analysis
• EAP036 - Benthic Flux Chambers
• EAP026 - Chlorophyll a Analysis
• EAP032 - Collection and Analysis of Conductivity Samples
• EAP031 - Collection and Analysis of pH Samples
• EAP038 - Collection of Freshwater Sample Cores using a box or KB Corer
• EAP034 - Collection, Processing, and Analysis of Stream Samples
• EAP009 - Collection, Processing and Preservation of Finfish Samples
• EAP-044 - Continuous Temperature Monitoring of Fresh Water Rivers and Streams Conducted in a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Study
• EAP002 - Determination of Total Dissolved Gas
• EAP013 - Determining Global Positioning System Coordinates
• EAP021 - Estimating Large Woody Debris Loads Intersecting Headwaters
• EAP022 - Estimating and Delineation of Headwaters Wetlands
• EAP024 - Estimating Streamflow
• EAP019 - Estimating Streamflows Using a Flume
• EAP008 - Resecting DNA Samples and Aging for Finfish
• EAP030 - Fecal Coliform Sampling
• EAP016 - Freshwater Drift Collection, Processing and Analysis
• EAP040 - Freshwater Sediment Sampling
• EAP015 - Grab Sampling - Fresh Water
• EAP045 - Hemispherical Digital Photography Field Surveys
• EAP046 - Hemispherical Digital Images - Computer Analysis

• EAP033 - Hydrolab^®, DataSonde^®, and MiniSonde^® Multiprobes
• EAP017 - Litterfall Collection, Processing, and Analysis
• EAP043 - Marine Macrobenthic Sampling Analysis
• EAP051 - Marine Moorings Field Services and Maintenance
• EAP035 - Measurement of Dissolved Oxygen in Surface Water
• EAP029 - Metals Sampling
• EAP003 - Pesticides Sampling in Fresh Water
• EAP028 - Reagent Preparation
• EAP007 - Resecting Finfish Whole Body, Body Parts or Tissue Samples
• EAP039 - Sampling Marine Sediment
• EAP027 - Seawater Dissolved Oxygen Analysis (Dosimat)
• EAP025 - Seawater Sampling
• EAP014 - Surveying Morphology and Surface Flow of Headwaters Channels
• EAP018 - Turbidity Threshold Sampling
• EAP001 - Use of Semipermeable Membrane Devices

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for laboratory accreditation

• Accreditation of Environmental Laboratories
• Assessment (Audit) of Environmental Laboratories
• Laboratory Accreditation Renewal Applications