Sec. 26.08.05.03. Definitions

A. "Analyst" means a person responsible for performing tests and reporting analytical results.

B. “Certification Authority” means the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee who has signature authority for all certification decisions.

C. “Certification officers” means the Department personnel who have the responsibility of certifying water quality laboratories under their purview.

D. “Denial” means a refusal of certification for a specific method or the analysis of specific parameters, or refusal of initial certification for a water quality laboratory.

E. "Department" means the Department of the Environment.

F. "Director" means director of a laboratory.

G. “Laboratory” means a water quality laboratory.

H. "Laboratory quality assurance" means an integrated system of management activities involving planning, quality control, quality assessment, reporting, and quality improvement to ensure that laboratory results meet defined standards of quality with a stated level of confidence.

I. “NELAP” means the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, a program operated by TNI to provide certification for environmental laboratories.

J. "Person" means an individual, corporation, company, association, partnership, state, county, municipal corporation, federal agency, special taxing area, or any other entity.

K. “Provisionally certified” means a certification status for a laboratory that has deficiencies but demonstrates its ability to consistently produce valid data within the acceptance limits specified in the National Public Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR), and within the policy required by their certification authority.

L. “Quality Assurance Manual” means a document that describes the water quality laboratory’s Quality Assurance Program, which includes the organizational structure, policies, and procedures for training, sampling, reporting, corrective action, ethics, preventative maintenance, pollution control, and disposal.

M. “Quality assurance officer” means the laboratory personnel responsible for keeping the laboratory’s Quality Assurance Manual updated, and ensuring that the quality assurance practices are implemented.

N. “Revocation” means a cancellation of a valid laboratory certification or for a specific approved drinking water method.

O. "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of the Environment.

P. “TNI” means The NELAC Institute. The institute is a nonprofit organization for the development of standards for the accreditation of laboratories and the evaluation and approval of accreditation bodies.

Q. "Water quality laboratory" means a facility that examines public drinking water for the purpose of identifying or measuring microbiological, chemical, physical, or radiochemistry parameters to determine its compliance with, or produces laboratory data for enforcement of, the federal Safe Drinking Water Act or State standards or public drinking water.

R. "Water quality laboratory supervisor" means a person who directs the day-to-day activities of a water quality laboratory and is responsible for assuring the quality of laboratory results.