SUMMARY OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING Monthly Teleconference Meeting: 866-299-3188/9195415544# November 15, 2017; 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. EST The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board (ELAB or Board) teleconference was held on November 15, 2017. The agenda for this meeting is provided as Attachment A, a list of the participants is provided as Attachment B, and action items from the teleconference are included as Attachment C. The official certification of the minutes by the Chair or Vice-Chair is included as Attachment D. ROLL CALL/INTRODUCTION Dr. Mike Delaney, Vice-Chair of ELAB—in the absence of both Dr. Henry Leibovitz, Chair of ELAB, and Ms. Lara Phelps, Designated Federal Official (DFO) of ELAB—welcomed participants and guests to the teleconference. Ms. Kristen LeBaron called the roll of the Board members and guests. Dr. Delaney explained that he plans on retiring in July 2018 and has discussed this with Ms. Phelps, who indicated that he may be able to continue to serve on ELAB, but a new Chair may need to be elected if he is unable to assume the role after Dr. Leibovitz's term as Chair ends. APPROVAL OF PRIOR MINUTES Dr. Delaney asked for comments on the October meeting minutes; there were none. Dr. Mahesh Pujari moved to accept the October 2017 minutes; Ms. Sharon Mertens seconded the motion. The Board members voted unanimously, with one abstention, to approve the minutes. OPENING REMARKS AND UPDATES FROM THE DFO Ms. LeBaron explained that Ms. Phelps is continuing her efforts to improve the ELAB website. A draft response to the selected ion monitoring (SIM) minimum criteria letter is under review by the Forum on Environmental Measurements, and the Board should receive the response prior to the December ELAB meeting. The face-to-face meeting in January 2018 will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For those members attending the full Forum on Environmental Accreditation, registration is open; those attending only the ELAB meeting do not need to register for the Forum and should inform Ms. Phelps. Hotel information is available on The NELAC Institute (TNI) website (www.nelac- institute.org/forum/2018-winter). The TNI Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Expert Committee may hold another side-bar meeting, but that has not been confirmed. Ms. Phelps will be back in the office on Monday, November 20. In response to a question from Dr. Dallas Wait about the ELAB website updates, Ms. LeBaron, Ms. Mertens and Dr. Delaney explained that the work involves publishing all Board products since ELAB's inception in 1995, pairing Board products with the appropriate EPA response in an organized manner, and determining the length of time products can be displayed on the front page of the website before being archived. ELAB Meeting 1 November 15, 2017 ------- TASK GROUP UPDATES ON CURRENT TOPICS The Task Group leaders or their representatives provided updates about current Board topics. Drinking Water Certification Officer Training Course Ms. Sharon Mertens reported that the letter with ELAB's recommendations was sent to EPAwith no additional modifications. Cyanide Methodology Dr. Delaney explained that the Task Group had met with EPA staff—Mr. Dan Hautman, Ms. Judy Brisbin and Ms. Glynda Smith—and discussed each point of the Board's letter. The discussion brought forth the realization that some states may institute regulations that are stricter than the federal regulations, and any potential guidance from EPA may not work for every state. Dr. Delaney needs to decide the next steps for the group. In-Line and On-Line Monitoring Mr. Michael Flournoy contacted Mr. Lem Walker and Ms. Denise Shaw of EPA, who indicated that the Agency is revising Method 334.0 (Determination of Residual Chlorine in Drinking Water) to include a sensor. EPA would like ELAB to review and provide feedback about the revised method. This is the most logical next step for the Task Group, as the original charge was too broad. Dr. Delaney asked whether Mr. Walker's focus would be only on wastewater. Mr. Flournoy responded that he did not think this would be the case. Once ELAB receives the revised method to review, if this is the case, the Board can provide expanded input. Ms. Stacie Crandall (Hampton Roads Sanitation District [HRSD]) explained that her organization has been developing an on-line method for chlorine and met with Mr. Walker as part of a group in October. HRSD is preparing to develop standard operating procedures that address 40 CFR 136.7 quality control requirements that will be appropriate for use of on-line analysis. Method 334 currently is approved for drinking water, so the focus is on wastewater. HRSD is gathering data and may obtain feedback from manufacturers. Ms. Crandall is interested in being nominated for membership to ELAB. SIM Dr. Delaney noted that Ms. LeBaron had provided the update for this topic during the DFO remarks. WET Testing Although Dr. Leibovitz had stated that this group could move to inactive status, Ms. Mertens noted that it would be beneficial to keep it on the active list until after the potential sidebar meeting during the Forum on the Environmental Accreditation. Ms. Crandall explained that she had received and answered questions from the Chair of the TNI WET Expert Committee ELAB Meeting 2 November 15, 2017 ------- regarding parallels between the Discharge Monitoring Report-Quality Assurance (DMR-QA) for chemistry and WET chemistry. Dr. Pujari commented that many states question how to monitor National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) parameters and comply with NPDES permitting, noting that the DMR-QA parameters are very limited and take more time. He cited the example of California. Ms. Deb Waller responded that New Jersey applies the same approach, which Region 2 also approved. Ms. Crandall added that the only proficiency tests (PTs) for toxicity testing that are commercially available and meet the NELAP standards are within the DMR-QA. Ms. Waller noted that quick-response PTs are available. Ms. Mertens explained that the quick-response PTs normally are used as a corrective action in cases of DMR-QA failure, as required by different states. Ms. Waller added that as long as a laboratory has not used the PTs previously, they still serve as a blind PT. Acrolein and Acrylonitrile Preservation andpH Dr. Pujari explained that the Board had previously advised EPA regarding the analysis requirements and pH preservation for acrolein and acrylonitrile, but EPA did not incorporate the recommended changes in the final versions of the SW-846 and 40 CFR 136 updates. He asked whether the ELAB members wanted to follow up with another letter requesting that the Agency reconsider its stance. Dr. Delaney noted that EPA's response to the Method Update Rule (MUR) comments on this topic was that the data were not compelling. Dr. Pujari thought that the data ELAB submitted had been compelling, so he spoke to Mr. Adrian Hanley (EPA), who could not explain why EPA had not considered these data compelling. Dr. Pujari wondered whether ELAB had received a specific response, and Ms. Patty Carvajal explained that the Board had not received a personal response from EPA regarding ELAB's comments on the MUR. Dr. Delaney will ask Ms. Phelps to verify that the Board did not receive a specific response regarding this issue in addition to the public response to the MUR comments (e.g., those on Method 624). Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) Spectral Libraries Dr. Brian Buckley would like the Board to form a Task Group, noting that many people in the community have a passion for this topic. In response to a comment by Dr. Pujari about the evolution of platforms and the need for methods to evolve with them, Dr. Buckley explained that this topic goes well beyond a platform issue, especially as indicated by the discussion during the August face-to-face meeting about whether identification with a user-generated library would be acceptable to EPA, regardless of platform. The question became: What type of user-generated library is acceptable? If the Task Group focuses only on platforms, it will do a disservice to the environmental laboratory community. Dr. Buckley would like to focus on whether a set of minimum criteria can be developed to be used by those who wish to generate their own library and those who would like to continue to use the National Institute of Standards and Technology library and whether EPA would be amenable to accepting these criteria. Dr. Dallas Wait agreed with this approach, noting that EPA buy-in would be needed. ELAB Meeting 3 November 15, 2017 ------- Ms. Mertens asked whether this approach would be independent of methods, programs and so forth. Dr. Wait thought that fundamental criteria would need to be met. Dr. Buckley added that the criteria should not be matrix specific. The guidelines that he would like the Task Group to develop would transcend matrices, platforms and so forth. Mr. Flournoy agreed that the criteria should not be platform specific and should be kept simple. Dr. Buckley moved to establish a Task Group to develop recommendations on minimum criteria for user-generated spectral libraries, which Mr. Brad Meadows seconded. The Board approved the motion unanimously. Dr. Buckley will lead the Task Group, and Mr. Meadows and Drs. Pujari, Leibovitz and Kim Anderson will serve on the Task Group. Mr. Flournoy can suggest international experts, should the Task Group choose to include them. The first step for the Task Group will be to draft a letter to determine whether EPA is willing to entertain the development of criteria that would make user-generated libraries allowable for existing methods. The external experts can review the letter and then be consulted further when the Task Group begins to examine the criteria if EPA provides a positive response. NEW TOPICS/ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION After reading the minutes from the October meeting, which she had not been able to attend, Ms. Waller clarified that the issue she had introduced was not so much about handling drinking water issues more quickly—as the program has been successful in expediting issues—but rather about encouraging the drinking water program to adopt the most recent approved methods similar to the wastewater program and NELAP laboratory requirements. By the December meeting, Ms. Waller will draft a letter to EPA on this topic so that the Board can determine whether to send it to EPA. Following up on the discussion from the October Board meeting, Ms. Mertens would like the Board to establish a Task Group to explore the actions that EPA can take to deal with emerging contaminants. The Board decided to hold off forming a Task Group during the last meeting to ensure that Ms. Waller was present to determine that her drinking water issue was indeed separate from the emerging contaminants issue discussed during the October meeting. The discussion had focused on emerging compounds of concern that do not have a specific analytical methodology for regulation. EPA's process to address these may take several years; additionally, the Agency's resources are declining. Ms. Mertens moved to form a Task Group to explore recommendations on potential interim actions that EPA can take to deal with emerging contaminants prior to the rule-making process. Ms. Waller seconded the motion. The Board members approved the motion unanimously. Ms. Mertens will lead the Task Group, and Ms. Waller, Dr. Buckley, Dr. Delaney and Ms. Carvajal will serve on it. Dr. Delaney stated that he is concerned about the effects of climate change on the fate and transport of emerging contaminants (e.g., harmful algal blooms and their movement). Dr. Wait explained that the Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council has undertaken an extensive effort to develop six fact sheets about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (commonly known as PFAS). The fact sheets are well-researched consensus documents on the following ELAB Meeting 4 November 15, 2017 ------- topics: (1) naming conventions and physical and chemical properties; (2) regulations, guidance and advisories; (3) history and use; (4) environmental fate and transport; (5) site characterization tools, sampling techniques and laboratory analytical methods; and (6) remediation technologies and methods. Three of these fact sheets were released recently, and more information is available at pfas-l.itrcweb.org. WRAP-UP/SUMMARY OF ACTION ITEMS Ms. LeBaron reviewed the action items identified during the meeting, which are included as Attachment C. CLOSING REMARKS/ADJOURNMENT Dr. Wait moved to adjourn the meeting; Ms. Waller seconded the motion. The Board unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 2:21 p.m. ELAB Meeting 5 November 15, 2017 ------- Attachment A AGENDA ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY ADVISORY BOARD Monthly Teleconference Meeting: 866-299-3188/9195415544# November 15, 2017; 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. EST Call to Order/Roll Call/Introduction of Guests Delaney/LeBaron Approval of Prior Minutes Delaney Opening Remarks and Updates From the DFO LeBaron Updates on Current Topics Drinking Water Certification Officer Training Course: Mertens Cyanide Methodology: Delaney In-Line and On-Line Monitoring: Flournoy Selected Ion Monitoring: Delaney Whole Effluent Toxicity Testing: Delaney Acrolein and Acrylonitrile Preservation and pH: Pujari GC/MS Spectral Libraries: Buckley New Topics/Issues for Consideration Delaney Explore methods for EPA to handle drinking water issues more quickly than waiting for the Federal Register process Wrap-Up/Summary of Action Items Delaney/LeBaron Closing Remarks/Adjournment Delaney ELAB Meeting 6 November 15, 2017 ------- Attachment B PARTICIPANTS LIST Board Members Attendance Name Affiliation (Y/N) N Dr. Henry Leibovitz (Chair) Rhode Island State Health Laboratories Representing: Association of Public Health Laboratories Y Dr. Michael (Mike) Delaney (Vice-Chair) Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) Representing: MWRA N Ms. Lara Phelps (DFO) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Representing: EPA Y Dr. Kim Anderson Oregon State University Representing: Academia—Oregon State University Y Dr. Brian Buckley Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute Representing: Academia and Laboratory—Rutgers Y Ms. Patricia (Patty) Carvajal San Antonio River Authority Representing: Watershed/Restoration Y Mr. Michael Flournoy Eurofins Environment Testing USA Representing: American Council of Independent Laboratories N Dr. Deyuan (Kitty) Kong Chevron Energy Technology Company Representing: Chevron N Mr. Jeff Loewe NiSource, Inc. Representing: Industry—NiSource, Inc. Y Mr. Brad Meadows Babcock Laboratories, Inc. Representing: Commercial Laboratory—Babcock Laboratories, Inc. Y Ms. Sharon Mertens Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Representing: The NELAC Institute Y Dr. Mahesh Pujari City of Los Angeles Representing: National Association of Clean Water Agencies N Mr. Elan Rieser Con Edison Representing: Utility Water Act Group Y Dr. A. Dallas Wait Gradient Representing: Consumer Products Industry Y Ms. Debra (Deb) Waller New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Representing: State Government—NJDEP ELAB Meeting 7 November 15, 2017 ------- PARTICIPANTS LIST (CONT.) Contractors and Guests Attendance (Y/N) Name Affiliation Y Ms. Kristen LeBaron (Contractor) The Scientific Consulting Group, Inc. (SCG) Y Ms. Manisha Kumar (Guest) EPA/OSA Y Ms. Stacie Crandall (Guest) Hampton Roads Sanitation District Y Ms. Jeanette Hernandez (Guest) San Antonio River Authority ELAB Meeting 8 November 15, 2017 ------- Attachment C ACTION ITEMS 1. Ms. LeBaron will finalize the October meeting minutes and send them via email to Ms. Phelps. 2. Dr. Delaney will follow up with Ms. Phelps to confirm that the Board did not receive a specific response from EPA regarding the acrolein and acrylonitrile preservation issue and that the public MUR response is the only response. 3. ELAB will establish a Task Group to develop recommendations on minimum criteria for user-generated spectral libraries. The first step is to draft a letter to determine whether EPA is willing to entertain the development of such criteria. 4. By the December meeting, Ms. Waller will draft a letter to EPA encouraging the drinking water program to adopt the most recent approved methods similar to the wastewater program and NELAP laboratory requirements. 5. The Board will form a Task Group to explore recommendations on potential interim actions that EPA can take to deal with emerging contaminants prior to the rule-making process. ELAB Meeting 9 November 15, 2017 ------- Attachment D I hereby certify that this is the final version of the minutes for the Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board Meeting held on November 15, 2017. Signature, Chair Dr. Henry Leibovitz Print Name, Chair ELAB Meeting 10 November 15, 2017 ------- |