LPAC Charter To: "David A Rickert, Chief, OWQ, Reston, VA" , "T. John Conomos, Regional Hydrologist, WR, Menlo Park, CA" , "Ivan C James II, Asst. Reg. Hydrologist-NAWQA, Denver, CO" , "John B Weeks, Chief, Branch of Reg. Res., Denver, CO" , "Sandy(Alex K Williamson, Central Columbia NAWQA Ch., Tacoma, WA" , "Carolyn J. O Childress, Hyd. (QW Specialist), Raleigh, NC" , "Leo G Moore, District Chief, Troy, NY" , "Robert E Broshears, Reg. QW Specialist, Denver, CO" , "Merle W Shockey, Inorganic Program Chief, Denver, CO" cc: "A - Division Chief and Staff", "B - Branch Chiefs and Offices", "DC - All District Chiefs", owq@srv1rvares.er.usgs.gov, "Linda K Pratt, Laboratory Operations Chief, Denver, CO" , "Marcia A Greer, Secretary (Office Automation), Denver, CO" , "Peter F Rogerson, Chief, BAS, NWQL, Denver, CO" , "Thomas J Maloney, Quality Managem. Program Chief, Denver, CO" , "Deborah M Treseder, Admin Off Nwql, Denver, CO" , "William T Foreman, Research Chemist, Denver, CO" , "Robert S Williams Jr., Hydrologist, Denver, CO" , reg.wqspecs@srv1rvares.er.usgs.gov Subject: LPAC Charter Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 07:51:30 -0400 From: "David A Rickert, Chief, OWQ, Reston, VA" To: Laboratory Program Advisory Committee (LPAC) From: David A. Rickert Chief, Office of Water Quality Subject: LPAC Charter I want to thank each of you for agreeing to serve on the LPAC. The National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) has made great strides over the last decade in developing and implementing new methods and in improving liaison with District customers. These efforts have enabled the Federal-State Cooperative Program and the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program to be at the cutting edge of water-quality science in the United States. Now, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing close ties with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will bring new opportunities for low-level, environmental chemistry work related to human and aquatic health. This new work will require additional new methods, new quality-assurance (QA)/quality-control (QC) measures, new requirements on the transfer and reporting of data, and new training of District personnel in sample collection and data interpretation. In addition, the NAWQA Program is undergoing a re-evaluation that will define new needs from the NWQL in chemical and, perhaps, microbiological methods. Lastly, August 7 was ground-breaking day for the new NWQL building on the Denver Federal Center. The Division will finally have the laboratory facility it needs, but the move will create temporary NWQL service disruptions which we need to minimize and communicate in advance to District personnel. So, welcome to the LPAC. The next several years will be exciting and challenging for you as LPAC members and for the NWQL staff. The charter for the LPAC is attached. This sets forth the purposes, scope, composition, and procedures for LPAC. In addition, I want to take this opportunity to provide information on several topics. 1. First LPAC Meeting Because a Division Senior Staff meeting is scheduled for the last week of October, we will schedule the first LPAC meeting for either the weeks of October 20-24 or November 3-7, 1997. I will coordinate the first meeting, at which the LPAC will select a Chair and a Vice Chair to serve for one year. After the first meeting, the Chair will coordinate the meetings, and the Vice Chair will coordinate taking and distributing the minutes and recommendations. At the conclusion of year 1, the Vice Chair will become the Chair and a new Vice Chair will be elected. Length of service on the Committee will be discussed and determined at the first meeting. I will send a draft agenda for the first meeting in the near future for your comment. 2. Relation of the Laboratory Services Committee to LPAC An ad hoc Laboratory Services Committee (LSC) met for the first time the week of July 14-18. The LSC will exist for about nine months to prepare detailed recommendations to the Division Senior Staff on NWQL financial and District/NWQL liaison issues. The LSC will brief the LPAC on its progress and final recommendations and then report the recommendations to the Division Senior Staff. In the future, we envision that the LPAC will commission ad hoc committees such as the LSC to explore, in detail, specific NWQL issues that need resolution. 3. Other Laboratories Because of the existence and purpose of the LSC and the rapid evolution of the NWQL, the LPAC will focus entirely on the NWQL for year 1. Thereafter, it may be appropriate for the LPAC to review the role and functioning of other laboratories in meeting analytical needs of the Division. The other laboratories could include the Ocala Lab; District production labs; coop labs; contract labs; and the large research labs in the California, New York, and Kansas Districts. Attachment Copy to: distribution.a distribution.b distribution.c owq@srv1rvares.er.usgs.gov nwql.sr.staff bobwill reg.wqspecs ------------------------------------------ CHARTER LABORATORY PROGRAM ADVISORY COMMITTEE A. Establishment It is the goal of the U.S. Geological Survey to maintain a state-of-the-art National Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) to support current and future water-quality programs. In support of this goal, the Division Senior Staff has established the Laboratory Program Advisory Committee (LPAC). This charter sets forth the purpose, scope, composition, and procedures for LPAC. B. Purposes The LPAC has two purposes: 1. To provide the Chief, Office of Water Quality (OWQ), with advice on issues concerning the plans for and the operation of the NWQL. 2. To foster a partnership between the NWQL and the Division so: o The NWQL understands the Division's evolving needs for analytical services and associated support. o The Division understands the NWQL's ability to meet the Division's needs. o The NWQL and the Division work together to increase the NWQL's abilities to meet the Division's needs. C. Scope The LPAC will work with the Division and the NWQL staff to seek ways to: 1. Identity needs for new analytical methods. 2. Increase the efficiency of data production. 3. Achieve more effective quality assurance/quality control. 4. Improve the ease of data transmission to Districts. 5. Assist field personnel in interpreting the new types and low levels of analytical data. The partnership is also needed to: 1. Develop long-range plans for analytical support and associated services by prioritizing, right sizing, and resolving all of the listed issues in a balanced manner. 2. Keep NWQL customers informed of planned actions. 3. Inform customers as NWQL implements changes. 4. Educate customers about how to deal with changes from the NWQL. D. Composition of the LPAC The initial members of the LPAC are: Regional Hydrologist: John Conomos Assistant Regional Hydrologist, National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program: Ivan James Regional Water-Quality Specialist: Bob Broshears District Chief: Grady Moore District Water-Quality Specialist: Callie Childress NAWQA Study Unit Chief: Sandy Williamson Regional Branch Chief, National Research Program: Jack Weeks NWQL Production Program Chief: Merle Shockey Office of Water Quality: Dave Rickert The LPAC membership was purposely selected to provide a cross section of management and technical positions across the Division, and, thereby, be a microcosm of the Water Resources Division. As individuals leave the committee, the intent will be to select another representative from the same management/technical position. Each member of LPAC is expected to communicate with their peers throughout the Division to: (1) bring information and insights to the LPAC meetings, and (2) report back LPAC deliberations and recommendations. By peers, we mean that the LPAC Regional Hydrologist will keep the other Regional Hydrologists informed; the LPAC District Chief will inform the other District Chiefs; and the LPAC District Water-Quality Specialist will inform the other District Water-Quality Specialists; etc. E. Rules and Procedures 1. General: The LPAC will explore and provide recommendations on the issues identified under "Scope." The LPAC is not formed for management or fiscal oversight of NWQL operations. However, the LPAC may make recommendations on operational issues to the Chief, OWQ, to facilitate achievement of objectives the LPAC deems important. The LPAC may form subcommittees to focus on specific issues. Because resources and needs change rapidly, the charter will be revisited every two years to make necessary adjustments. 2. Officers: The LPAC will have a Chair and a Vice-Chair. These assignments will last for one year. At that time the Vice-Chair will become the Chair and a new Vice-Chair will be selected. 3. Reporting: The LPAC will provide recommendations for meeting analytical service needs of the Division in an effective and efficient manner to the Chief, OWQ. When the LPAC deems that the recommendations will have major policy, financial, or technical impacts on the Division, the Chief, OWQ, together with the LPAC Regional Hydrologist, will present the recommendations to the Division Senior Staff. 4. Meeting Agendas: Topics for discussion at each quarterly meeting will be identified at beginning of each fiscal year and updated prior to each quarterly meeting. Each meeting may have a general topical theme or several topics may be covered. 5. Meetings: Meetings will be held four times a year. The meetings generally will be held the last week of October, January, April, and July. Each meeting will last two days. F. Minutes The Vice-Chair will be responsible for recording the minutes of the meeting and distributing those minutes within 30 days. G. Support The OWQ will maintain copies of all meeting minutes and reports. H. Tenure The LPAC members serve at the discretion of the Chief Hydrologist. The tenure of the LPAC is indefinite until modified by the Chief Hydrologist.