Implementation of Joint District Reviews by the Office of Ground Water and the Office of Water Quality


In Reply Refer To:                             June 2, 1994
Mail Stop 411 or
Mail Stop 412



OFFICE OF GROUND WATER TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM 94.03
OFFICE OF WATER QUALITY TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM 94.15


Subject:  Implementation of Joint District Reviews by the Office
          of Ground Water and the
          Office of Water Quality


                     Purpose of Memorandum

The Office of Ground Water (OGW) and the Office of Water Quality
(OWQ) have established a policy to conduct joint District reviews
to the extent practicable.  This memorandum sets the policy and
describes the general approach the OGW and OWQ will use.


                         Background

During the past 18 months, OGW and OWQ have conducted a number of
pilot joint District reviews.  The intent was to determine the
feasibility and desirability of conducting joint reviews on a
permanent basis.  Increasingly, ground-water projects involve an
aspect of water quality.  It is natural to review such projects
with persons representing both disciplines.  During fiscal year
(FY) 1994, the two offices are conducting about half of the
reviews jointly.  We plan to increase this proportion in FY 1995.
For each review, the ultimate decision of whether to conduct a
joint or separate review will reside with the region.


              Scope of Joint OGW/OWQ Reviews

The joint District reviews will focus on both data and projects.
Reviewers will seek to develop a collegial atmosphere to (a)
increase interchange, awareness, and understanding among
personnel in District, regional, and technical offices; (b)
enhance technology transfer; (c) identify and resolve technical
problems; and (d) identify ways to enhance projects and create new
projects.

The intent of the two offices is to jointly review (a) all
projects that have both ground-water- hydrology and ground-water-
quality components; and (b) most projects that seemingly comprise
just one discipline, especially if the projects are new or in the
proposal stage.  The intent in the latter circumstance is to
determine if the technical soundness of the project would be
improved by having components added from the other discipline.
The reviews will decrease the time spent on projects near
completion and devote more time to projects in their early or mid-
term stages.  Increased emphasis also will be placed on reviewing
proposals for new projects.  In conductingthe review, the team
will split into smaller groups to review the data-collection
methods, laboratories, and data-base issues.  The OWQ contingent
may also decide to separately review selected issues and projects
concerning surface-water quality.

For each joint review, a lead reviewer will be selected from one
of the two offices.  During each fiscal year, the number of lead
reviews will be split about equally between OGW and OWQ.  The lead
reviewer and the designee from the other office will read the
previous review report(s) and meet to share ideas about the
upcoming review.  They also will discuss the District program and
needs with the regional specialists and collectively select
additional reviewers appropriate for the technical content,
complexity, and size of the District program.

For each joint review, a single report will be prepared.  The team
will attempt to complete a draft report within a couple weeks and
to complete the final report for review by the Office Chiefs
within 30 working days.  Appendix 1 presents a recommended report
outline that has been used successfully in the joint reviews
conducted to date.




  William M. Alley               David A. Rickert
  Chief, Office of Ground Water  Chief, Office of Water Quality

Attachment

Key words:  District reviews

This memorandum does not supersede any previous Office of Ground
Water or Office of Water Quality Technical Memorandums.

Distribution: A, B, S, FO, PO, AH





Recommended Outline for a Ground-Water/Water-Quality
Discipline Review Report


Executive Summary (Include major recommendations)

I. Background

II.   Overview of the District (Include recommendations and
      highlights)
    A. Organization and management (includes personnel and
       discipline specialists)
    B. Ground-water and water-quality issues
    C. Cooperators
    D. Program development
    E. Relationship with universities and outside technical
       contacts
    F. Status of reports
    G. District library
    H. Quality-assurance plans
    I. Training
    J. Model archive
    K. Action on previous review comments

III. Projects and Proposals (Include table at front listing all
     projects and funding level for current fiscal year)

IV. Field and Laboratory Techniques
    A. Records and field measurements
    B. Data bases
    C. Field service unit
    D. Outside laboratories used by the district

V. Recommendations and Questions from the District to Other
   Organizational Units