ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING Monthly Teleconference: 202-991-0477/7939251#, April 17, 2019; 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET MEETING SUMMARY The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board (ELAB or Board) teleconference meeting was held on April 17, 2019. The agenda lor this meeting is provided as Attachment A, a list of meeting participants is provided as Attachment B, and action items are included as Attachment C. The official certification of the minutes by the Chair or Vice-Chair and the Designated Federal Officer is included as Attachment D. ROLL CALL/ INTRODUCTION Mr. Mike Flournoy called the meeting to order and called roll. APPROVAL OF THE PRIOR MINUTES Ms. Sharon Mertens suggested edits, Mr. Mike Flournoy motioned to approve the March 2019 meeting minutes, with the proposed edits, and the minutes were approved unanimously. OPENING REMARKS AND UPDATES FROM THE DFO During Dr. Tom O'FarrelFs absence, Mr. Greg Susanke served as the acting DFO. Mr. Susanke greeted the group, and informed ELAB that he would relay any questions and concerns to Dr. O'Farrell when he returns on Monday. TASK GROUP UPDATES ON CURRENT TOPICS User-Generated Mass Spectra/ Library Acceptance Criteria Dr. Brian Buckley recommended publishing an excerpt from the March 2019 ELAB meeting minutes and the response letter from EPA on the ELAB website or a secondary letter with ELAB's concerns with EPA's response. ELAB agreed to create a secondary letter which will include part of the March 2019 ELAB meeting minutes to state ELAB's concerns with EPA's response. Acrolein and Acrylonitrile Preservation Mr. Brad Meadows drafted a letter for AC1L members and has received feedback from the ESS that letter is approved for distribution. The ESS will further discuss the letter in an upcoming ------- meeting. Mr. Meadows confirmed Ms. Mertcns and Dr. Michael Delaney that the preservation method applies to acrolein or both acrolein and acrylonitrile. Ms. Mertcns read an excerpt from footnote 10. table 2. 136.3: "pH adjustment is not required if acrolein will not be measured. Samples for acrolein not needing pi I adjustment must be analyzed within 3 days of sampling." Mr. Meadows responded that the footnote docs not state whether acrylonitrile is stable at pH of 2. Not requiring a pi I adjustment creates a problem for labs testing for both parameters that desire to use a standard preservation of less than 2. Next. Mr. Meadows hosted a discussion about the role of ELAB and the ACIL in the study. He initially proposed forming a task group to design the study. Dr. Delaney inquired whether ACIL should be designing study, instead of ELAB. Ms. Waller asked if the ELAB charter authorizes ELAB to design studies. Ms. Waller and Ms. Mertens expressed the need for the study to be reviewed and need for clear leadership and EPA involvement throughout the process. There was a consensus that feedback is needed from Dr. O'Farrell regarding the role of ELAB. Mr. Meadows asked whether this feedback is needed before finalizing the letter. Ms. Mertens believes the feedback is necessary before any data is collected. Mr. Meadows clarified his question by stating that the intent of the letter is only to create of list of possible labs that would participate in the study. The next proposal was for ACIL to complete the study, and for ELAB to advise them to involve EPA in the design process. Ms. Mertens disagrees, stating ELAB should advise the EPA to sponsor a study, as advising the EPA is ELAB's responsibility. Dr. Delaney volunteered to work with ACIL and Adrian Hanley (EPA) to develop the study. Mr. Susanke agreed to ask Dr. O'Farrell what extent can ELAB be involved with the ACIL study. Lastly, the question of whether ACIL is willing to do the study was addressed. Mr. Meadows responded that ACIL has only agreed to allow ELAB to solicit labs to participants through the letter. They have not agreed to do the study, but neither were they asked. Mr. Meadows will discuss this issue at the ACIL ESS meeting. 600-Series Methods Dr. Delaney presented this topic on behalf of Dr. Henry Leibovitz (absent). Dr. Leibovitz e- mailed ELAB that the task group meeting was canceled, and that he planned to reschedule before the next board meeting. Dr. Delaney has been reviewing responses to comments and collecting input from those with issues with the current 600 series method. The concerns raised by Ms. Stacie Crandall are shared by many of those commenting on the method. Dr. Delaney has been tabulating responses that the EPA does not agree with and will present the results at the next task group meeting. OGWD W Guidance on Drinking Water MDLs Dr. Delaney, Ms. Mertens, and Ms. Waller drafted a letter on drinking water MDLs and shared it with ELAB. The letter discusses how the EPA distributed this guidance to regions and states but has not released the guidance publicly, which resulted in some confusion. The letter asks the EPA to be more transparent by releasing guidances publicly. Dr. Delaney proposed that everyone review the letter, and if there are no additional edits or comments, that everyone vote. Ms. Mertens suggested a vote by e-mail, because of the absences from the meeting, and everyone ------- was in favor. IDOC Requirements Dr. Delaney presented this topic on behalf of Dr. Francoise Chauvin. Dr. Chauvin distributed a letter to ELAB regarding imperfect IDOC data. Dr. Delaney proposed a vote by e-mail, if there are no questions or comments. Ms. Waller raised concerns about the letter referencing a 2016 policy that does not take effect until 2020. She asked if the letter should include references to the 2009 policy, if they are identical. Ms. Mertens stated there is no issue, and that the answer depends on the state. Dr. Delaney concluded the discussion, with everyone agreeing to vote by e- mail. Inactive Topics a) Whole Effluent Toxicity PT Standards Dr. Delaney contacted Greg Savitske via e-mail to schedule a meeting about PT samples. To date, there have been no replies, and Dr. Delaney will reach out again via telephone. Mr. Flournoy will move this topic to active once a meeting has been schedule. b) in-Line/On-Line Monitoring Mr. Flournoy will remove this from the inactive list, because there arc no further actions for ELAB to take. c) Addressing Emerging Contaminants There arc no updates on this topic. d) Drinking Water Program Adoption of Recently Approved Methods There are no updates on this topic. ELAB will send a "thank you" e-mail. NEW TOPICS/ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION Ms. Waller announced open registration for the summer "NEMC." Mr. Meadows announced a request from Scott Siders for ELAB to address the EPA Office of Groundwater and Drinking Water's position on method flexibility. There are concerns about the flexibility written into the method and how EPA officers arc enforcing it. Mr. Meadows will distribute the letter lo ELAB, so ELAB can decide at the next meeting if this is a topic ELAB will address. Mr. Flournoy believes PFAS might be new topic in the future. Ms. Mertens that she expected to bring Proficiency Test samples for PFAS to a future ELAB meeting. ------- WRAP-UP/SUMMARY OF ACTION ITEMS 1. Tom O'Farrell - Give guidance on the extent ELAB can be involved in a study by the AOL to address acrolein and acrylonitrile pI I preservation. 2. Mike Flournoy - Send final letter to EPA addressing OW guidance on Drinking Water MDLs to the Board for voting. 3. Mike Floumoy - Send final letter to EPA addressing I DOC requirements to the Board tor voting. 4. Brad Meadows - Forward email to Board from stakeholder regarding the confusion between States and EPA on drinking water method flexibility. ELAB may want to address this topic. CLOSING REMARKS/ADJOURNMENT The May 2019 ELAB Meeting will be held on May 15, 2019 at I pm Eastern. Mr. Floumoy moved to adjourn at 2:02 p.m., and it was passed. ------- Attachment A AGENDA Teleconference Numbers 202-991-0477 / 7939251# April 17, 2019 Webconference: epawebconferencing.acms.com/ofarrelll/ I. Call Meeting to Order Flournoy II. Introduction of Board Members/Roll Call Board III. Approval of Minutes for Previous Meetings Flournoy IV. Remarks and Updates from the DFO Susanke (Acting DFO) VI. Updates on Current Topics a. User-Generated Library Acceptance Criteria Buckley b. Acrolein and Acrylonitrile Preservation and pH Meadows c. 600-Series Methods Leibovitz d. OGWDW Guidance on Drinking Water MDLs Delaney e. IDOC requirements Chauvin f. Inactive topics awaiting feedback/input: ¦ Whole Effluent Toxicity proficiency study standards (is this back to active?) Delaney ¦ In-Line/On-Line Monitoring Flournoy ¦ Addressing Emerging Contaminants Mertens ¦ Drinking Water Program Adoption of Recent Approved Methods Waller VII. New Topics/Issues for Consideration Flournoy What does the Laboratory community want ELAB to work on? (Waller) VIII. Wrap-Up/Summary of Action Items Susanke/Flournoy IX. Closing Remarks/Adjourn Susanke/ Flournoy ------- Attachment B PARTICIPANTS LIST Board Members Attendance (Y/N) Name Affiliation Y Dr. Michael (Mike) Delancy Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) Representing: MWRA ; Y Mr. Michael Flournoy (Chair) Eurollns Environment Testing USA Representing: American Council of Independent Laboratories N Dr. Thomas O'Farrell (DFO) Greg Susanke acted as 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 N Dr. Francoise Chauvin NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection Representing: NYCDEP N Dr. Deyuan (Kitty) Kong Chevron Energy Technology Company ------- Representing: Chevron N Ms. Stacie Crandall Hampton Roads Sanitation District Representing: HSRD N Dr. Henry Leibovitz Rhode Island State Health Laboratories Representing: Association of Public Health Laboratories Y Mr. Brad Meadows (Vice Chair) Babcock Laboratories. Inc. Representing: Commercial Laboratory— Babcock Laboratories. Inc. Y Ms. Sharon Mertens Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Representing: The NELAC Institute N Mr. Richard Gossett PI IYSIS Labs Representing: PHYSIS Labs Y Mr. David Thai Environmental Standards Inc. Representing: Environmental Standards Inc. Y Dr. Jayesh Ghandi Metrohm USA Representing: Metrohm USA Y Ms. Debra (Deb) Waller New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Kepivsenunu: State ------- Government—NJDEP N Mr. Ray Frederici TestAmerica Representing: TestAmerica PARTICIPANTS LIST (CONT) Contractors and Guests Attendance (Y/N) Name Affiliation Y Mr. Greg Susanke EPA. Acting DFO Y Ms. Alexis Bryant EPA Y Mr. Penny Shamblin Hun ton, Andrews, Kurth ------- Attachment C Action Items 1. Tom O'Farrell - Give guidance on the extent ELAB can be involved in a study by the ACIL to address acrolein and acrylonitrile pH preservation. 2. Mike Flournoy - Send final letter to EPA addressing OW guidance on Drinking Water MDLs to the Board for voting. 3. Mike Flournoy - Send final letter to EPA addressing IDOC requirements to the Board for voting. 4. Brad Meadows - Forward email to Board from stakeholder regarding the confusion between States and EPA on drinking water method flexibility. ELAB may want to address this topic. ------- Attachment I) I hereby certify that this Is the final version of the mi miles for llie Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board Meeting held on April 17, 2019. Chair X , Cjufa Dr. Thomas OTarrell Desicmated Federal Officer ------- |