Air Quality Research: Quality Assurance
Contracted air quality projects must include a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) that will ensure products are of known and acceptable quality.
Quality Assurance/Quality Control Procedures
The proposal for grant activities (PGA) or work order (WO) for projects shall include a quality assurance project plan as a deliverable. The required QAPP elements and associated audit types, frequencies, and quality reports are further described in this section. A project may not begin technical activities until the QAPP is approved, unless the TCEQ project manager and the Air Quality Division’s quality assurance officer both specifically approve, beforehand, in writing. TCEQ may waive the requirement for a QAPP in a PGA or WO. If the performing party believes that a QAPP is necessary, the performing party must notify TCEQ.
The QAPP will establish appropriate quality control requirements for research activities according to the categories and project types shown below. The intended use of the data determines the required level of control quality. For example, the quality controls of a developmental research program are different from those of a regulatory compliance program because the purpose or intended use of the data is different. A contractor may request the QAPP category/type for the specified project type from the TCEQ project manager or AQD quality assurance officer. The four QA categories are:
QAPP Categories
- Category I — for projects involving areas such as enforcement activities, or litigation.
- Category II — for important, highly visible Agency projects involving areas such as supporting the development of environmental regulations or standards.
- Category III — for projects involving applied research or technology evaluations.
- Category IV — for projects involving basic research or preliminary data-gathering.
All QAPPs must follow EPA's Quality Assurance Project Plan Guidance . For categories I and II, QAPPs must meet the EPA Requirements for QA Project Plans (CIO 2105-S-02.1) and the requirements for the specific project types below. For categories III and IV, the QAPP structure must conform to the EPA Requirements for QA Project Plans (CIO 2105-S-02.1) while being consistent with the EPA National Risk Management Research Laboratory QAPP requirements for the project types listed below.
| QAPP Category | Type of Project | Required QAPP |
|---|---|---|
| I, II | Monitoring for NAAQS Compliance | EPA Requirements for QA Project Plans, CIO 2105-S-02.1 |
| I, II | Modeling for NAAQS Compliance | Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling, EPA QA/G-5M |
| I, II | Geospatial | Guidance for Geospatial Data Quality Assurance Project Plans, EPA QA/G-5G |
| III, IV | Measurement | National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) QAPP Requirements for Measurement Projects |
| III, IV | Data Evaluation or Use for Secondary Purpose | NRMRL QAPP Requirements for Secondary Data Projects |
| III, IV | Software Evaluation, Software Related Research, Software Maintenance, or Software Development | NRMRL QAPP Requirements for Software Development Projects |
| III, IV | Method Development | NRMRL QAPP Requirements for Method Development Projects |
| III, IV | Design, Construction, and Operation of Technology Projects | NRMRL QAPP Requirements for the Design, Construction, and Operation of Environmental Technology Projects |
| III, IV | Research Model Development or Application | NRMRL QAPP Requirements for Research Model Development and Application Projects |
| III, IV | Technology Assessment Projects | NRMRL QAPP Requirements for Technology Assessment Projects |
In addition, the QAPP must address technical systems audits, audits of data quality, and reports of QA findings in accordance with the requirements shown in the following table:
| QA Requirement | Category I * | Category II * | Category III * | Category IV * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical Systems Audits | Required for each project | Required for each project | Not required for the project | Not Required for the project |
| Audits of Data Quality** | Required (50% of the data sets) | Required (25% of the data sets) | Required (10% of the data sets) | Not required |
| Report of QA Findings | Required in draft and final report | Required in draft and final report | Required in final report | Required in final report |
* TCEQ may apply additional sets of requirements depending on the nature of the project.
** If problems are found, all data sets will be audited. This includes independent verification of every spreadsheet or automated calculation once and the percentage shown of manual calculations.