TO:
Study Unit Chiefs (1991, 1994, 1997), National Synthesis Team Leaders, NAWQA Leadership Team, NAWQA Planning Team, Regional Water Quality Specialists, and Trace Elements National Synthesis Planning Team

FROM:
Timothy L. Miller, Chief, National Water-Quality Assessment Program

SUBJECT:
Charter for the Trace Elements National Synthesis Planning Team

As the third set of National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) study units begins intensive data collection in October 1998, a Trace Elements National Synthesis effort will be added as a focus for data collection and interpretation. Data collection for several trace elements has been part of the Program since our beginning, and has resulted in several study unit fact sheets, as well as other ongoing interpretation efforts. At issue, now, is how NAWQA should change to address trace element issues in response to this new national synthesis focus and to questions posed by external information needs, such as reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act.

In February, Dennis Helsel was selected to lead the Trace Elements National Synthesis project. In order to ensure that the plan for this effort reflects the full expertise and capability of the Bureau, we are forming an ad hoc Trace Elements National Synthesis Planning Team (TENSPT) to receive and coordinate input from the many individuals and groups with expertise in this area.

As with the newly formed Ecological Synthesis Planning Team, the TENSPT will develop a synthesis plan; however, they will call on expertise from around the USGS and outside the Bureau to assist in this effort. Denny Wentz has agreed to assist Dennis Helsel by leading the planning team effort.

Below is the TENSPT Charter. Please note the section on "Structure and Composition of the Planning Team". The TENSPT will need to obtain assistance from others. If asked, please consider assisting the TENSPT in this important endeavor for NAWQA.

CHARTER for TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS PLANNING TEAM

A. ESTABLISHMENT

This document establishes an ad hoc Trace Elements National Synthesis Planning Team (TENSPT) and sets forth the purpose, scope, process, composition, and tenure for this team.

B. BACKGROUND

The long term goals of the NAWQA Program are to describe the status and trends in the quality of the Nation's surface and ground water resources and to provide a sound, scientific understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting the quality of these resources. This information, which will be obtained on a continuing basis, will be made available to water managers, policy makers, and the public to provide an improved scientific basis for evaluating the effectiveness of water quality management programs and for predicting the likely effects of contemplated changes in land and water management practices.

The activities of the NAWQA program are organized to coincide with efforts at the study unit and national scales. Study unit investigations are the principal building blocks of the NAWQA Program. The full scale program will be accomplished through investigations of a set of 50-59 study units (major river basins and aquifer systems) distributed throughout the Nation that in aggregate account for a large percentage of the Nation's water use and population. To make the program manageable, the assessment activities in each of the study units will be done on a rotational, rather than a continuous basis. Only about one-third of the study units will be studied in detail at a given time.

The national benefits of NAWQA primarily accrue in two ways. First, there is the simple accumulation of high quality data from perennial assessments of some of the most important hydrologic systems of the Nation. In this respect, NAWQA study unit investigations could be independently designed to address the most critical water quality issues in each study unit. The second way that benefits of NAWQA accrue at the national level is through the process and results of national synthesis. The goal of national synthesis is to provide policy relevant water quality information that is more meaningful and complete at the national scale than the simple accumulation of independent water quality studies of individual hydrologic systems. The unique characteristic of the NAWQA Program that lends itself to national synthesis is the coordinated application of comparative hydrologic studies at a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. This approach is intended to simultaneously provide new insights into the status and trends of water quality and, more importantly, to improve our understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological processes and causal relationships. The linkage of information on status and trends with an understanding of environmental processes is a key design concept that is of fundamental importance to environmental management and policy development. National synthesis products are being developed from a combination of existing water quality and ancillary information, along with new findings from the NAWQA study unit investigations and regional synoptic surveys.

Two national synthesis projects began in fiscal year 1991; they are focused on pesticides and nutrients in surface and ground water. A third national synthesis project, focused on VOCs, began in 1994. Planning for trace elements and ecological national synthesis projects are presently (1997) underway. Trace element issues are currently of great interest to the U.S. EPA and states that are reconsidering regulatory levels for arsenic and radon, evaluating whether other trace elements warrant regulation in water and fish tissue, and investigating health effects of mercury and other elements in humans and animals. Therefore, a Trace Elements National Synthesis is not only essential to meeting the basic goals of the NAWQA Program, but the information produced by the synthesis could be of great value in addressing current and future management and regulatory issues of Federal and state agencies.

Implementation of a Trace Elements National Synthesis plan may require modest changes to the current design of study unit investigations and field protocols, and to the relation and coordination of activities among other national synthesis studies (pesticides, nutrients, VOCs, and ecology). After approval of the plan by the NAWQA Leadership Team (NLT), the job of the ad hoc Planning Team will be complete, and it will dissolve.

C. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

The TENSPT will be responsible for preparing a written plan for Trace Elements National Synthesis in the NAWQA Program that will be presented to the NLT. The plan should include (but is not limited to) the following components:

I. IDENTIFICATION AND SUMMARY OF TRACE ELEMENT QUESTIONS REQUIRING NATIONAL OR REGIONAL APPROACHES

1. TRACE ELEMENT INFORMATION NEEDS OF WATER RESOURCE MANAGERS, POLICYMAKERS, AND THE GENERAL PUBLIC

* Description of trace element information needs of other Federal and nonfederal agencies appropriate to regional and national synthesis
* Role of trace element data in addressing key pieces of environmental legislation
* Environmental standards, criteria, etc., that may require trace element data.

2. TRACE ELEMENT MONITORING ACTIVITIES OF STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES

* Information required to avoid duplication of effort and enhance applicability of data collected to other programs.

II. PRIORITIZATION OF QUESTIONS TO BE ADDRESSED AS PART OF TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS

The Trace Elements National Synthesis plan will address hypotheses, objectives, and questions that are topically, regionally, or nationally significant. The plan will provide a prioritized list of questions. These priorities can guide NAWQA in the event that budget difficulties require identification of hypotheses/objectives/questions to be deferred. Criteria used for prioritization will be developed. Linkage of trace elements synthesis questions to other NAWQA syntheses, and to other Federal programs, will be addressed.

III. DESIGN ELEMENTS FOR TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS ACTIVITIES

The Trace Elements National Synthesis Plan will specify the appropriate spatial (regional, national) and temporal scales of questions to be considered. The plan will address the following elements.

1. ENVIRONMENTAL FRAMEWORK FOR TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS

* Concepts for an environmental framework
* Definition of population about which we are drawing inferences
* Integration and reconciliation with environmental frameworks of other national synthesis studies
* Existing frameworks for agriculture and urban areas
* Additional requirements for trace elements synthesis
* Conceptual organization of a trace elements synthesis environmental framework
* Consideration of the role of minimally impacted and comparative reference settings
* Consideration of land use aspects and how NAWQA will obtain a nationally consistent environmental framework
* Other factors that may be important for addressing the critical questions/objectives of interest, such as human population distribution and point and nonpoint sources
* Critical needs related to the above and plans for addressing these needs

2. SELECTION OF TARGET VARIABLES FOR TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS

* Considerations include elements, forms, media, etc.
* Criteria/rationale for selection of variables
* Key characteristics of candidates
* Application of criteria and resulting target variables

3. PLAN FOR RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS FOR TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS

* Prioritized objectives and linkage of retrospective analysis to planned synthesis studies
* Review of experience, progress, and products of 1991 and 1994 study units
* Evaluation of existing approaches
* Products (what can be accomplished from the first two sets of study units plus historical data)
* Evaluation of quality of historic data
* Availability of ancillary data from 1991 and 1994 study units
* Timeframe
* Guidance requests for the 1997 study units, as appropriate

IV. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS

1. PLAN FOR STUDY UNIT ACTIVITIES

* Determine the role of different study units in addressing specific Trace Elements National Synthesis objectives (e.g., not all study units may be equally important for addressing all objectives, particularly those of a regional scale)

2. RELATION OF TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS PLANS TO OTHER NATIONAL SYNTHESIS ACTIVITIES AND WRD PROGRAMS (NASQAN, BENCHMARK), GD, AND BRD EFFORTS

* Trace elements in NAWQA urban studies and study unit surveys
* Opportunities to enhance existing topical studies and objectives
* Proposed role(s) of other synthesis efforts for accomplishing Trace Elements National Synthesis objectives
* Potential for interdivisional collaboration

3. DATA BASE ELEMENTS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS

* Review of existing data base elements
* Specification of new requirements and links with other data bases
* Options, analysis, and recommendations for addressing needs

4. ANCILLARY DATA NEEDS FOR TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS

* Prioritized list of potentially useful existing data bases
* Brief description of selected data bases
* Coordination with ancillary data bases of other national synthesis studies
* Identification of other data needs
* Options, analysis, and recommendations for meeting needs

5. PRIORITIZED LABORATORY ANALYTICAL METHODS, QUALITY CONTROL, AND OTHER NEEDS OF TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS

* Definition of needs
* Current laboratory and field capabilities in relation to stated goals and objectives
* Relation to specific objectives
* Options, analysis, and recommendations for meeting needs

6. GENERAL TIMEFRAME FOR COMPLETION OF TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS STUDIES

7. STAFFING PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS STUDIES

* Recommendations for areas of expertise for the synthesis team
* Description of major work activities by position
* Relation to study unit activities
* Relation to ongoing state programs

8. 3-5 YEAR BUDGET WITH OPTIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF TRACE ELEMENTS NATIONAL SYNTHESIS STUDIES.

D. PLANNING PROCESS

There are several elements to the planning process: (1) Structure of the planning process guided by the TENSPT; (2) timing for initial planning, internal and external reviews, and final revisions and recommendations to the plan; (3) authority of the team and its relation to the NLT; and (4) products from the planning process.

Structure and Composition of the Planning Team

To accomplish the planning process, this Charter establishes the Trace Elements National Synthesis Planning Team, which will consist of the following individuals:

Denny Wentz, Planning Team Leader, Portland, OR
Bill Brumbaugh, Environmental Chemist, BRD, Columbia, MO
Roger Fujii, Research Chemist, CA District, Sacramento, CA
Dennis Helsel, NAWQA Trace Elements National Synthesis Project Chief, Denver, CO
Art Horowitz, Research Chemist, NRP, Atlanta, GA
Mike Koterba, NAWQA QA/QC Project Chief, Baltimore, MD
Jim Kuwabara, Hydrologist, NRP, Menlo Park, CA
Rich Wanty, Research Chemist, GD, Denver, CO

Ex officio members -------------------Tim Miller, Bill Wilber

Ex Officio members will provide necessary linkages between the TENSPT and the NLT and provide advice and guidance where needed. Individuals may be added or removed from the TENSPT by recommendation of the Team Leader to the NLT.

Because this effort should be well integrated with other components of the program and to incorporate additional experience and perspectives from completed NAWQA study unit investigations and other national synthesis teams into the planning process, individuals from the following program components will be identified to serve as key resources and linkages:

1991, 1994, and 1997 Study Units
Nutrients National Synthesis Team
Pesticides National Synthesis Team
VOCs National Synthesis Team
Ecological Synthesis Planning Team
Numerous ongoing national efforts supported by the NAWQA Program and related to interpretation of trace elements in sediment cores, bed sediment, tissue, and ground water

Additional individuals, both within (NMD, GD, BRD, WRD) and outside the USGS, will be asked to act as key resources for the development of the Trace Elements National Synthesis Plan. Resource individuals will be called on to provide input and advice on specific topics and to provide suggestions related to draft plans prepared by the team. In particular, key resource individuals will be necessary to (1) review priorities of hypotheses/objectives/questions to be studied, (2) provide technical expertise as required, (3) provide assistance with and review of implementation plans. Time commitments required of various resource individuals may vary considerably, and significant time commitments will be reviewed by the NLT and appropriate supervisors.

Planning Components and Timing

Beginning in October 1997, the TENSPT will convene to begin the planning process at the call of the team leader and the ex officio members. Because of the scope of work, it is anticipated that the planning and review process will require about 1 year to complete. One of the first tasks of the TENSPT will be to develop a work plan for completing the Trace Elements National Synthesis Plan, which will identify key tasks, individuals responsible for completing these tasks, and time lines for completing the tasks. This work plan will be reviewed by the NLT to ensure there is agreement on direction of the team and that the necessary resources are made available to complete the plan in a timely manner.

Authority

The TENSPT has authority to draft plans and make recommendations to the NLT. It is the responsibility of the TENSPT to interface with other groups both internal and external to the USGS including study units, national synthesis teams, the National Research Program, the National Water Quality Laboratory, and other agencies and universities as needed. The NLT responsibilities include: (1) ensuring that necessary staff time and resources are made available to complete the plan, (2) providing guidelines and identifying planning constraints, (3) reviewing and carefully considering recommendations in the plan at strategic times in the planning process and providing feedback to the team, (4) approving the plan after any necessary revisions are completed, and (5) tasking the Trace Elements National Synthesis project team leader to implement the approved plan.

Products

The principal product of this team is a peer reviewed document describing the recommended plan for trace elements synthesis in the NAWQA Program. Periodic progress reports will be provided at key milestones during the planning process.

TENURE OF THE PLANNING TEAM

The TENSPT is established and individual members serve at the discretion of the Chief, NAWQA. The tenure of the Team is expected to be about 1 year unless, based on the work plan, a different time schedule is approved by the NLT.