Introduction: Federal agencies working on national issues relevant to the USGS
mission should be able to obtain nationally consistent chemical and biological
analyses that are well documented over time for environmental assessments and
trends. These agencies recognize the value of USGS analytical work and are
willing to pay for it; however, they are not willing to enter into traditional
agreements where USGS conducts the entire study because they may already have
resources for collecting and processing samples and for managing and
interpreting environmental data.
Bureaus
in the Department of Interior and other Federal Agencies (EPA, NPS, BLM, CDC,
NIEHS, etc) frequently need water-quality analytical results with the same
level of quality assurance that the USGS needs for environmental water-quality
assessments and trends studies. These agencies often utilize available USGS
data and data from other sources; however, new data or new analytical
capabilities are sometimes needed by these agencies, and they cannot
efficiently obtain the needed results from their own agency or from private
sector laboratories.
Purpose: To establish a framework for providing analytical chemical and
biological expertise directly from the NWQL to other governmental agencies and
to the private sector for hydrologic environmental assessments.
Objective: To establish policies that define the nature, extent, and
requirements for work with others by the NWQL.
Potential Benefits for the
USGS (Expected outcomes):
1.
WWO
projects can help USGS fulfill its role as the science provider for DOI and
other federal agencies.
2.
WWO
projects may be a first step in familiarizing others with the full capabilities
of the USGS, thus enhancing the Survey’s visibility and ability to attract new
customers and projects.
3.
WWO
projects can further the USGS mission and scientific knowledge base by
generating new analytical methods and/or additional scientific data for USGS by
coordinating resources provided by others that have overlapping interests in
hydrologic environmental assessments.
4.
Participation
may increase the NWQL customer base.
NWQL will follow the same approach to project and program planning that is used by other Water offices. NWQL will work with the Associate Director for Water, the Office of Water Quality, and the appropriate regional executives and technical office staff (including the regional WQ specialist) as needed for the tasks outlined below.
WWO projects
will not impact the sample turn-around times or the ability of NWQL and the
Methods Research and Development Program (MRDP) to complete planned technical
methods development activities needed to support the USGS. The NWQL will
continue to place emphasis on the necessity for project planning and effective
communication between the laboratory and its customers to avoid potential
overloads for everyone. If a WWO request is made of NWQL that will negatively impact
ongoing commitments, the workload will be renegotiated or rejected.
1.
Requests
for work from DOI or other federal agencies on issues of national or regional
interest consistent with the USGS mission will be discussed with the
appropriate Regional Executive and/or Associate Director before a WWO proposal
is developed. Potential inclusion of
other USGS offices in hydrologic components of the agency study will be
explored. Suitability of the work, including explicit benefits to the USGS,
will be discussed and documented in the WWO proposal.
2.
All
work must adhere to the guidelines in Water Resources Memorandum 95.44,
Avoiding Competition with the Private Sector. WWO projects must provide an
enhancement of knowledge or methodology that is likely to be useful beyond the
immediate needs of the customer. The work should help USGS lead the Nation in
providing new understanding, approaches, technology, and research for
water-resources problems. It must be demonstrated that the proposed work goes
significantly beyond what the private sector would do, either in terms of
research or innovation, or in terms of contribution to shared hydrologic data
or knowledge. If the project is limited to the routine application of standard,
pre-existing protocols and does not fulfill any broader goals, then the work
will be rejected.
3.
NWQL
will not negotiate directly with State or local entities for work without the
approval and involvement of the appropriate USGS offices.
4.
Requests
for work from the private sector will be administered through a CRADA, and will
be carefully screened to ensure that all required policies are met and that the
work does not compromise the scientific neutrality of the USGS. Efforts will be made to include an impartial
technical overseer of the CRADA products (example is the National Water Quality
Monitoring Council oversight of the DuPont CRADA) as appropriate.
5.
Work
must adhere to the applicable policies of the USGS, as these products will bear
the USGS name and reputation.
6.
A
WWO proposal will be developed between NWQL and the requesting agency that
details the work to be done. All pertinent required QA plans will be included.
Current policy on USGS overhead, local overhead, and facilities charges will be
followed. Appropriate funding mechanisms will be followed. Before any work
begins, proposals will be submitted through the Office of Water Quality for
approval by the Associate Director for Water.
7.
NWQL
will work with the appropriate USGS offices to ensure that procedures are
included in the WWO proposal (with funding if needed) to provide site
identifiers and handle data storage for environmental results suitable for
NWIS. Results that cannot be stored in NWIS will be provided separately to
appropriate offices. A summary of the results of the work will be documented in
a transmittal letter that is shared with appropriate offices.
8.
If
the work involves methods development, suitable USGS publications will be
included in the WWO proposal to document the new methods.
9.
The
NWQL will establish an internal web page for USGS users to review any
established WWO agreements and transmittal letters documenting results.
Interested persons or groups can contact the laboratory for more information
should they be interested in any of the projects.
10.
A
summary of WWO activities of the NWQL will be provided annually to Senior
Staff.
Capabilities and Scope of
Services the NWQL Can Provide:
1.
Provide
chemical and biological methods research and development.
2.
Provide
technical analytical water-quality support for projects and programs. The NWQL can be a valuable team member for
projects/programs that need chemical or biological analytical expertise to help
design, build and execute a comprehensive sampling and analysis program.
3.
Provide
long-term analytical support for studies where laboratory consistency and/or
trend identification is critical.
4.
Include
well-documented methods, QA/QC protocols and data deliverables.
5.
Provide
capability for special analytical requirements where low level and or
non-standard analytical methods are required.
6.
Provide
easy access to specialized analytical services for other Federal agencies, both
technically and fiscally, through the use of agreements, Memoranda of
Understanding, and CRADAs.