2
body
assessments. Water body assessments are performed
to prepare the
biennial water quality report required under
Section 305(b)
of the Act and the list of impaired waters
under Section
303(d) of the Act.
Iowa Code
sections 455B.193 to 455B.195 require that
credible data,
as defined in Iowa Code section 455B.171,
be used for the
purpose of preparing Section 303(d) lists
and other water
quality program functions. Data provided
by a volunteer
are not considered credible data unless
provided by a
qualified volunteer. The purpose of this
chapter is to
establish minimum requirements for data
produced by
volunteers to meet the credible data and
qualified
volunteer requirements.
567-61.11(455B) Monitoring plan required.
Volunteer
water quality
monitoring data submitted to the department
must have been
produced in accordance with a
departmentapproved
volunteer water quality monitoring
plan before the
data may be used for any of the purposes
listed in Iowa
Code section 455B.194. Approval of a plan
will establish
qualified volunteer status for the personnel
identified in
the plan for those monitoring activities
covered under
the plan.
61.11(1)
Submittal of the
plan. Prior to initiation of
volunteer water
quality monitoring activities intended to
produce credible
data, a water quality monitoring plan
must be
submitted to the department for review and
approval. The
plan must be submitted to the Volunteer
Monitoring
Coordinator, Department of Natural Resources,
Wallace State
Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319, a
minimum of 90
days before planned initiation of volunteer
monitoring
activities. A letter transmitting the plan must
specifically
request formal review and approval of the plan
and identify a
contact person. Volunteer monitors are
encouraged to
communicate with the department and to
attend volunteer
monitoring training sessions prior to
formal submittal
of a plan.
61.11(2)
Content of the
plan. A volunteer monitoring
plan must
contain, at a minimum, the following to be
considered an
acceptable volunteer monitoring plan:
a. A statement
of the intent of the monitoring effort.
b. The name(s)
of the person or persons that will be
involved in data
collection or analysis, the specific
responsibilities
of each person or group of people, and the
general
qualifications of the volunteers to carry out those
responsibilities. For
groups, such as educational
institutions, it
will be acceptable to identify the persons
involved by
general description (e.g., tenth grade biology
class) with the
exception of persons in responsible charge.
c. The name(s)
of the person or persons that will
oversee the
monitoring plan, ensure that quality assurance
and control
objectives are being met, and certify the data.
The person or
persons in responsible charge must have
training
commensurate with the level of expertise to ensure
that credible
data is being generated.
d. The duration
of the volunteer monitoring effort. In
general, the
department will not approve plans of greater
than three
years' duration unless a longer duration is
justified.
e. Location and
frequency of sample collection.
f. Methods of
data collection and analysis.
g. Record
keeping and data reporting procedures.
61.11(3)
Department
review of the plan. The
department will
review monitoring plans and normally
approve or
disapprove the plan within 90 days of receipt.
The department
will work with the contact person
identified in
the plan to make any necessary changes prior
to taking formal
action. The department will use
guidelines
contained in the publications EPA Requirements
for Quality
Assurance Project Plans (EPA QA/R5, 2001)
and Volunteer
Monitor's Guide to Quality Assurance
Project Plans
(1966, EPA 841B96003) or equivalent
updates to
determine if the plans provide adequate quality
assurance and
quality control measures. Approval or
disapproval of
the plan will be in the form of a letter and
approval may
include conditions or limitations.
61.11(4)
Changes in
monitoring plans. The department
must approve any
changes to an approved monitoring plan.
Data collected
under a modified plan will not be
considered
credible data until such time as the department
has approved the
modifications. Modifications to an
approved plan
should be submitted at the earliest possible
time to avoid
interruptions in data collection and to ensure
continuity of
data.
61.11(5)
Appeal of
disapproval. If a monitoring plan
submitted for
approval is disapproved, the decision may be
appealed by
filing an appeal with the director within 30
days of
disapproval. The form of the notice of appeal and
appeal
procedures are governed by 567-Chapter 7.
567-61.12(455B) Use of volunteer monitoring data.
Data produced
under an approved water quality monitoring
plan will be
considered credible data for the purposes listed
in Iowa Code
section 455B.194 if the following conditions
are met.
61.12(1)
Data submittal.
A volunteer monitor or
monitoring group
must specifically request that data
produced under
an approved volunteer monitoring plan be
considered
credible data. A letter identifying the specific
data must be
submitted along with a certification from the
volunteer or the
person in responsible charge for volunteer
groups that the
data, to the best of the volunteer's or
responsible
person's knowledge, was produced in
accordance with
the approved volunteer monitoring plan.
The department's
volunteer coordinator should be
contacted to
determine the data submittal format and
related
information. The departmentencourages volunteers
to enter
monitoring data on theIOWATER volunteer
monitoring
database maintained by the department, but
doing so does
not constitute submittal to or acceptance of
the data by the
department for uses requiring credible data.
61.12(2)
Department
review of submitted data. The
department must
review and approve the submitted data.
The person
submitting the data will be informed of the
department's
decision either to accept or reject the data.