Section 144-263-1 - ADMINISTRATIONA. Purpose and scope Pursuant to 22 MRS chapter 157-A, this rule is to establish quality requirements for laboratory data received by the DHHS and the DEP. The rule establishes procedures for accrediting laboratories by creating minimum criteria for laboratory operations, performance, and administration. Accreditation pursuant to this rule is required for all laboratories, including industrial, commercial, academic and governmental, that analyze samples under the following regulations: Safe Drinking Water Act; Clean Water Act; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act; and Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST) Program for the DHHS and/or the DEP. The Maine Laboratory Accreditation Program (MLAP) within Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) will accredit laboratories for drinking water, non-potable water, air, and solid and chemical materials, including tissues and septage, in accordance with this rule.
B. Exceptions 1. Treatment plants with in-house drinking water laboratories involved in limited analysis required for system or treatment surveillance but deemed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the MLAP as analytes not required for analysis by an accredited laboratory under 10-144 CMR Ch. 231 §7, Rules Relating to Drinking Water, do not need to be accredited.2. Laboratories operated by wastewater discharge facilities licensed pursuant to 38 MRS §413 may analyze wastewater discharges for biological or biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), carbonaceous BOD, chemical oxygen demand, chlorine residual, color, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, E. coli, enterococcus, fecal coliform, pH, settleable solids, temperature, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, and turbidity, without being accredited under this rule. a. This exception is limited to a laboratory testing its own samples for pollutants listed on its permit or license, pretreatment samples, and samples from other wastewater treatment plants for up to 60 days of analysis per year.b. A day of analysis is defined as analyzing one or more samples for one or more parameters, all with the same sampling date. When analyzing multiple samples for one or more parameters spanning two or more sampling dates, the count of the different sampling dates will define the days of analysis.3. This rule does not address the management of waste streams or the use of hazardous or toxic substances. Laboratories should consult with the DEP regarding any such rules that may apply to their facility or operations.C. Authority 1. 22 MRS Ch. 157-A authorizes the director of the Maine CDC to establish a State accreditation program for laboratories that generate data pursuant to specific statutory requirements for programs of the DHHS and the DEP. This rule for Maine Comprehensive and Limited Environmental Laboratory Accreditation is hereby promulgated to implement portions of 22 MRS Ch. 157-A.2. The director of the Maine CDC is responsible for implementation of this accreditation rule. The director will designate an accreditation officer to manage the accreditation program.10-144 C.M.R. ch. 263, § 1