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INTERIM EPA GUIDANCE FOR GEOSPATIAL-RELATED QUALITY ASSURANCE PROJECT PLANS
Citation:
Brilis, G M. AND B. Chem. INTERIM EPA GUIDANCE FOR GEOSPATIAL-RELATED QUALITY ASSURANCE PROJECT PLANS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-01/062 (NTIS PB2002-104613), 2000.
Impact/Purpose:
The overall objective of this task is to provide the Agency with improved science guidance and strategies for more effective science management and administration.
Description:
This guidance supplements EPA Guidance for Quality,Assurance Project Plans (EPA QA/G-5), in that the focus here is on collection and use of geospatial rather than other environmental data (e.g., strictly chemical or biological data), including unique aspects of data storage, retrieval and processing. This guidance addresses the aspects of the Geospatial Information Lifecyle (Figure 1).
The EPA recognizes that the use of quality management components and tools in the Organization/Program and the Project levels is based on a graded approach where components and tools are applied according to the scope of the program and/or the intended use of the outputs from a process. This approach recognizes that a "one size fits all" approach to quality requirements is not appropriate for an organization as diverse as EPA. For example, the quality expectations of a fundamental research program are different from that of a regulatory compliance program because the purpose or intended use of the data differs. Applying a graded approach means that quality systems tools and components for different organizations and programs will vary according to the specific objectives and needs of the organization.
OVERVIEW OF QA PROJECT PLAN REQUIREMENTS FOR GEOSPATIAL DATA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed the Quality Assurance Project Plan as an important tool for project managers and planners to document the type and quality of data needed for environmental decisions and to provide a blueprint for collecting and assessing those data. The QA project plan is the critical planning document for any environmental data collection or use because it documents how quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) activities will be implemented during the life cycle of a project, or task. EPA policy requires that all projects involving the generation, acquisition, and use of environmental data be planned and documented and have an Agency-approved QA project plan prior to the start of data collection. The QA project plan should be detailed enough to provide a clear description of every aspect of the project and include information for every member of the project staff, including data collectors, software users, and data reviewers. Effective implementation of the plan assists project managers in keeping projects on schedule and within the resource budget.