DEP Proposes Certification for Water Quality Samplers

The West Virginia DEP Division of Water and Waste Management has proposed a certification system for those persons who take samples of wastewater to determine compliance with wastewater discharge permits. A meeting was held early last month to discuss how the system might be structured.  It has not received a warm welcome from industry, who don't see any need for the certification.  The following description of the history of the proposal came in from William Chambers of Acacia Environmental, who wrote it shortly before the first meeting:

A discussion regarding the certification of samplers first began within a committee formed by the WVDEP in 1995, formed to discuss certification of laboratories performing analytical work for statutory programs within the purview of the WVDEP. The results of the meetings during 1995 resulted in legislation establishing the laboratory certification program; however, the field sampler certification program was dropped from consideration. Again in February 2003 the WVDEP sponsored another meeting to discuss a sampler certification program. The meeting again failed to gain support for the program and the issue has remained dormant until announcement of this recently scheduled meeting.

According to Dan Arnold, the certification of field samplers would assist in removing questions regarding the collection and handling of samples. The program envisioned would provide standardized procedures for sampling in accordance with professional standards that includes documentation of the sample collection.   The goal is to obtain more accurate data being reported by the laboratories and result in better decisions regarding each site. Mr. Arnold pointed out that the adjoining states of Pennsylvania and Virginia are working on some component of a field sampler certification program.

If a program for certification would be developed by the WVDEP, a certification would be required for each type of sampling, such as: monitoring wells, surface water, soil, soil gas, air, etc.