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Quality Management Tools - QA Project Plans
A Quality Assurance Project Plan documents the planning, implementation, and assessment procedures for a particular project, as well as any specific quality assurance and quality control activities. It integrates all the technical and quality aspects of the project in order to provide a "blueprint" for obtaining the type and quality of environmental data and information needed for a specific decision or use. All work performed or funded by EPA that involves the acquisition of environmental data must have an approved Quality Assurance Project Plan.
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References
- Frequently Questions on Quality Assurance Project
Plans
- EPA Quality Manual for Environmental
Programs EPA CIO
2105-P-01-0 (PDF
62pp, 169K). Chapter 5 contains
Quality Assurance Project Plan specifications for EPA organizations.
- EPA Requirements for Quality Assurance
Project Plans (QA/R-5) (PDF 40pp,
120K) - March 2001 (Reissued
May 2006), EPA/240/B-01/003. Reissue
Notice
(PDF 2pp, 91K) Defines specifications for
Quality Assurance Project Plans prepared for activities conducted
by or funded by EPA. These specifications are equivalent to Chapter
5 of EPA Manual CIO
2105-P-01-0.
- Guidance for Quality Assurance
Project Plans (G-5) (PDF 111pp, 401K) -
December 2002, EPA/240/R-02/009. Guidance on developing Quality
Assurance Project Plans that meet EPA specifications for new and
existing data. Note: This document replaces EPA/600/R-98/018 issued
in February, 1998.
- Guidance for Geospatial Data Quality
Assurance Project Plans (G-5G) (PDF 106pp,
1.5MB) - March 2003,
EPA/240/R-03/003. Guidance on developing Quality Assurance Project Plans
for geospatial data projects.
- Guidance for Quality Assurance
Project Plans for Modeling (G-5M) (PDF
121pp, 616K) - December
2002, EPA/240/R-02/007. Guidance on developing Quality Assurance Project
Plans for modeling projects.
- Guidance on Choosing a Sampling
Design for Environmental Data Collection (G-5S) (PDF
178pp, 1.0MB) - December 2002, EPA/240/R-02/005. Guidance on applying standard
statistical sampling designs (such as simple random sampling) and more
advanced sampling designs (such as ranked set sampling, adaptive cluster
sampling) to environmental applications.
- Guidance on Quality
Assurance Project Plans for Secondary Research Data (PDF
2pp, 7K). Example Quality Assurance Project Plan specifications for secondary
research data developed by the QA Managers in EPA's National Risk Management
Research Laboratory.
- Example Checklist for a Developing or Reviewing a QA Project Plan (WordPerfect version 11pp, 170K) (Microsoft Word version 11pp, 150K). From Appendix C of the Guidance on Quality Assurance Project Plans (G-5).
Training
- Introduction to Quality Assurance
Project Plans - This one-day course is designed for individuals
who write, review, and/or approve Quality Assurance Project Plan and
is designed with a "how-to" approach. Participants are expected to have
some basic grounding in quality assurance principles.
- Introduction to Data Quality Indicators - This one-day course discusses the principal data quality indicators (DQIs): precision, bias (accuracy), representativeness, comparability, completeness, and sensitivity. It also includes information on verification, validation, and integrity which, although not classified as indicators, directly influence data quality. This course may also be taught in a half-day by following the instructions in the speakers guide.
Examples and Other On-line Resources
- EPA Great Lakes Program Office - Enhanced Monitoring Program QA Program
Plan
www.epa.gov/glnpo/lmmb/qapps/emp_qapp.pdf (PDF 61 pp, 208K)
- EPA NHEERL Human Studies Division
Available on the EPA Intranet at rthsd.herl.epa.gov/hsd/qa/default.htm
- EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) and the
Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) -
Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plan Development for EPA Funded Cooperative Agreements with State and Tribal Agencies for the Conduct of FIFRA Pesticide Programs
www.epa.gov/region9/qa/pdfs/finalqaappver9.pdf (PDF 118pp, 352KB)
- EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
www.epa.gov/volunteer/qappcovr.htm
- EPA Region 1
www.epa.gov/region01/lab/qa/qualsys.html
- EPA Region 5 - Region's QA Project Plan Policy for the RCRA Program
www.epa.gov/Region5/rcraca/qapp.htm
- EPA Region 6 - How to Review a QA Project Plan
www.epa.gov/Region06/6pd/rcra_c/manual/compone2.pdf (PDF 568pp, 1.4MB)
- EPA Region 7
www.epa.gov/region07/qa/index.htm
- The Uniform Federal Policy for Quality Assurance Project Plans.
The Intergovernmental Data Quality Task Force developed a policy and guidance document to fulfill the project-specific requirements of Part B of ANSI/ASCQ E4, to ensure that Federal departments and agencies will produce consistent quality assurance project plans (QAPPs) that reflect a systematic planning approach to collection and use of environmental data.
www.epa.gov/fedfac/documents/qualityassurance.htm