Part I. General Provisions
1VAC30-41-10. Purpose.
A. This chapter establishes the requirements for certification of drinking water laboratories.
B. The federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) mandates the establishment of a national drinking water program to protect public health. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at 40 CFR 141.28 requires that laboratories be certified to analyze samples of drinking water for compliance purposes. EPA at 40 CFR 142.10(b)(3)(i) requires states to establish and maintain programs for the certification of drinking water laboratories.
C. The Virginia Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water (VDH-ODW) maintains primary enforcement responsibility (primacy) under the SDWA and the federal SDWA regulations for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The VDH-ODW at 12VAC5-590-340 requires that all analyses done to demonstrate compliance with primary and secondary maximum contaminant levels or action levels be performed by the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services of the Department of General Services (DCLS) or by laboratories certified by DCLS. VDH-ODW at 12VAC5-590-440 further requires that laboratories seeking certification to perform drinking water analyses shall comply with this chapter.
Statutory Authority
§§ 2.2-1102 and 2.2-1105 of the Code of Virginia; 42 USC § 300f et seq.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 30, Issue 14, eff. May 1, 2014.
1VAC30-41-20. Applicability.
A. This chapter applies to the following:
1. Owners of drinking water laboratories in Virginia.
2. Owners of drinking water laboratories located outside Virginia who seek reciprocal certification under 1VAC30-41-90.
B. Covered contaminants.
1. This chapter covers the contaminants regulated in 40 CFR Parts 141 and 143 as specified in 12VAC5-590, Waterworks Regulations, of the Virginia Department of Health.
2. Laboratory testing for alkalinity, calcium, chlorite, conductivity, disinfectant residual, orthophosphate, pH, silica, temperature, and turbidity for compliance purposes may be performed by laboratories or persons not certified under this chapter but acceptable to VDH-ODW.
Statutory Authority
§§ 2.2-1102 and 2.2-1105 of the Code of Virginia; 42 USC § 300f et seq.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 30, Issue 14, eff. May 1, 2014.
1VAC30-41-30. Alternative certification for drinking water laboratories.
Drinking water laboratories may become certified by meeting the requirements for accreditation set out in 1VAC30-46.
Statutory Authority
§§ 2.2-1102 and 2.2-1105 of the Code of Virginia; 42 USC § 300f et seq.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 30, Issue 14, eff. May 1, 2014.
1VAC30-41-40. Definitions.
The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Analyst" means a chemist, microbiologist, physicist, or technician who actually performs a test. The analyst may carry out the complete test or participate jointly with other analysts.
"Certification officer" means a DCLS employee who has the responsibility for evaluating drinking water laboratories for certification.
"Contaminant" means any objectionable or hazardous physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water. Contaminants are the analytes for which drinking water laboratories test in the drinking water samples they analyze.
"Corrective action" means the action taken to eliminate the causes of an existing nonconformity, defect, or other undesirable situation in order to prevent recurrence.
"DCLS" means the Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services of the Department of General Services.
"Drinking water laboratory" or "laboratory" means a laboratory that performs analyses to demonstrate compliance with primary or secondary maximum contaminant levels or action levels or any combination of these specified in 12VAC5-590.
"EPA" means the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
"Findings" means factual, objective statements that provide evidence of deficiencies in meeting the requirements of this chapter.
"Laboratory director" or "laboratory supervisor" means the person who directs the operation of the drinking water laboratory on a day-to-day basis.
"Manual" means the EPA Office of Water, Manual for the Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water: Criteria and Procedures Quality Assurance, Fifth Edition, EPA 815-R-05-004 (January 2005).
"Manual Supplement" means the EPA Office of Water, Supplement 1 to the Fifth Edition of the Manual for the Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water, EPA 815-F-08-006 (June 2008).
"Maximum contaminant level" or "MCL" means the maximum permissible level of a contaminant in pure water that is delivered to any user of a waterworks. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology. Maximum contaminant levels may be either "primary" (PMCL), meaning based on health considerations, or "secondary" (SMCL), meaning based on aesthetic considerations.
"Maximum contaminant level goal" or "MCLG" means the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.
"National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program" or "NELAP" means the national program to establish and implement a program for the accreditation of environmental laboratories. NELAP relies on consensus standards representing the best professional practices in the industry to establish the requirements for this program, which is then implemented by state agencies recognized by the NELAC Institute (TNI) as accreditation bodies.
"Owner" means any person who owns, operates, leases, or controls a drinking water laboratory.
"Persistent" means to continue an activity without change in spite of opposition or warning.
"Private laboratory" means a laboratory that is, or is part of, a commercial entity.
"Proficiency testing sample" or "PT sample" means a sample, the composition of which is unknown to both the analyst and the laboratory. The PT sample tests whether the analyst or laboratory or both can produce analytical results within specified acceptance criteria.
"Public laboratory" means a laboratory that is, or is part of, a local, state, or U.S. governmental agency.
"Pure water" means water fit for human consumption and domestic use that is sanitary and normally free of minerals, organic substances, and toxic agents in excess of reasonable amounts for domestic usage in the area served and normally adequate in quantity and quality for the minimum health requirements of the persons served (see Article 2 (§ 32.1-167 et seq.) of Chapter 6 of Title 32.1 of the Code of Virginia).
"Quality assurance" means an integrated system of management activities involving planning, quality control, quality assessment, reporting, and quality improvement to ensure that a product or service meets defined standards of quality with a stated level of confidence.
"Quality assurance plan" or "QA plan" means a comprehensive plan detailing the aspects of quality assurance needed to adequately fulfill the data needs of a program.
"Quality control" means:
1. The overall system of technical activities whose purpose is to measure and control the quality of a product or service so that it meets the needs of the users.
2. The operational techniques and activities that are used to fulfill requirements for quality.
"SDWA" means the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 USC § 300f et seq.).
"VDH-ODW" means the Virginia Department of Health - Office of Drinking Water.
Statutory Authority
§§ 2.2-1102 and 2.2-1105 of the Code of Virginia; 42 USC § 300f et seq.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 30, Issue 14, eff. May 1, 2014.
1VAC30-41-50. Incorporation by reference - EPA guidance documents.
A. The following EPA guidance documents are incorporated by reference into this chapter:
1. Manual for the Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water: Criteria and Procedures Quality Assurance, Fifth Edition, EPA 815-R-05-004 (January 2005).
2. Supplement 1 to the Fifth Edition of the Manual for the Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water, EPA 815-F-08-006 (June 2008).
B. The federal regulatory requirements incorporated by reference into 1VAC30-41-55 shall govern if a conflict is found between the requirements of the Manual or the Manual Supplement and the requirements incorporated by reference into 1VAC30-41-55.
Statutory Authority
§§ 2.2-1102 and 2.2-1105 of the Code of Virginia; 42 USC § 300f et seq.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 30, Issue 14, eff. May 1, 2014.
1VAC30-41-55. Incorporation by reference - federal regulations.
A. The sampling, analytical methodology, and laboratory certification requirements of 40 CFR 141 and 40 CFR 143 in effect as of July 1, 2023, are incorporated by reference into this chapter.
B. The alternative test methods published at 89 FR 5780 through 5794 on January 30, 2024, and the corrections to those alternative test methods published at 89 FR 7624 through 7625 on February 5, 2024, are incorporated by reference into this chapter.
C. The specific sampling, analytical methodology, and laboratory certification requirements incorporated by reference are listed as follows by category for information purposes:
1. Inorganic chemistry: 40 CFR 141.23, 40 CFR 141.89, and 40 CFR 141.131.
2. Organic chemistry: 40 CFR 141.24 and 40 CFR 141.131.
3. Microbiology: 40 CFR 141.21, 40 CFR 141.74, 40 CFR 141.174, 40 CFR 141.402(c)(2), 40 CFR 141.704, 40 CFR 141.705, and 40 CFR 141.852. 40 CFR 136.3(a) for E. coli requirements under 40 CFR 141.704.
4. Radiochemistry: 40 CFR 141.25.
5. Alternative testing methods: 40 CFR Part 141, Subpart C, Appendix A.
6. Test methods specified for secondary maximum contaminant levels: 40 CFR 143.4.
D. The exceptions to the requirements for laboratory certification in 40 CFR 141.28, 40 CFR 141.74(a), 40 CFR 141.89(a)(1), 40 CFR 141.131(b)(3), and 40 CFR 141.131(c)(3) are incorporated by reference into this chapter.
Statutory Authority
§§ 2.2-1102 and 2.2-1105 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 30, Issue 14, eff. May 1, 2014; amended, Virginia Register Volume 35, Issue 6, eff. December 12, 2018; Volume 40, Issue 24, eff. August 14, 2024.