evaluation of state and regional water quality monitoring councils september 9 th, 2003 advisory...
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Evaluation of State and Regional Water Quality Monitoring Councils
September 9th, 2003
Advisory Committee on Water InformationU.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Industrial Economics, Inc. (IEc)
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Objectives of Study
• EPA's Office of Water has identified improved monitoring as one of its top priorities
• Monitoring by State agencies is a critical to implementing the Clean Water Act – Can Councils make significant contributions
toward this effort ?
• Objective: Identify lessons learned to help current Councils and facilitate establishment of additional Councils
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EPA recommended elements of a state water monitoring &
assessment program:• Monitoring Program Strategy• Monitoring Objectives• Monitoring Design • Core and Supplemental Water Quality Indicators• Quality Assurance• Data Management• Data Analysis/Assessment • Reporting• Programmatic Evaluation• General Support and Infrastructure Planning
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MethodologyDefining the Study Set
Wisconsin Groundwater Coordinating Council
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FindingsCouncil Role
• General: Councils are forums for communication, collaboration, cooperation among monitoring entities
• Specific: Variation among councils– MD: Capacity building– WI: Non-regulatory programs (per statute)– VA: Does not set policy or usurp power from
state
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FindingsCouncil Structure
• Highly variable across study set; most Councils have stratified membership
VA, CO, MT: Egalitarian structure
• Widespread participation by State Agency staff
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FindingsCouncil Activities
• Councils support common objectives of increasing communication, collaboration, and cooperation through:– Regular meetings and conferences
• Issue-specific workgroups (e.g., post-fire monitoring, CO)
– Monitoring inventories– Minimum data elements or sampling protocols– Data storage and transmission protocols
• Monitoring network design
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FindingsSupport of EPA's Elements
• Focus state activities (not those of Councils); Councils should strive to support– Councils structured to meet state/regional
needs
• Councils can support states regarding EPA's Elements
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Council Successes• Increased communication and collaboration
– Facilitated information flow• Meetings, websites• Data swaps• Monitoring inventories
• Councils have made significant impacts, though difficult to quantify– Impacts often felt indirectly: Difficult to employ
quantitative performance measures• Successes will likely mount over long-term
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Lessons Learned
Councils yield significant benefits Councils vary in design and objectives Councils have difficulty keeping
momentum Building and keeping momentum is a
primary challenge Dedicated staff are invaluable Effective Councils have state support
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Wisconsin Groundwater Coordinating Council
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FindingsSupport of EPA's Elements
ELEMENT DESCRIPTIONCOUNCILSUPPORT
Monitoring Design Help to design a comprehensive monitoring program Core andSupplemental WaterQuality Indicators
Determine core and supplemental monitoring indicators
Quality Assurance Define procedures to ensure scientific validity Data Management Help to store/manage data electronically Reporting Support state in Federal report completion General Support andInfrastructure Needs
Forecast resource needs to fund planned Council activities ProgrammaticEvaluation
Conduct internal audits to identify areas for improvement High Medium Low