Forum on Environmental Measurements

The EPA develops, evaluates, and applies a wide variety of field and laboratory methods and assesses data quality to characterize the environment and the materials entering the environment (e.g., wastes), and to support its enforcement activities. These protocols and methods encompass: sample collection, sample analysis, quality assurance, and assessment of data quality. EPA policies on environmental measurements influence which data and metadata are collected, what methods are used to collect and evaluate the data, and how the data are used in decision-making. The application of these methods and policies impacts not only the Agency's own data gathering efforts but also those of the regulated community, the states and the commercial laboratory sector.

The Forum on Environmental Measurements (FEM) is a standing committee of senior EPA managers established to develop policies to guide the EPA measurement community in validating and disseminating methods for environmental monitoring; for ensuring that monitoring studies are scientifically rigorous, statistically sound, and yield representative data; and for employing a quality systems approach that ensures that the data gathered and used by the Agency is of known and documented quality. The Forum was established to promote consistency and consensus within the EPA on measurement issues. Furthermore, the Forum will provide EPA and the public with a central point for addressing measurement methodology issues with multi-program impact.

The FEM welcomes questions and suggestions. E-mail the FEM staff at fem@epa.gov.

Current FEM activities include:

FEM Charter (PDF) (5 pp, 246KB, info about PDF)

Forum on Environmental Measurements

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