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                                  ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 644

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State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1987 Regular Session

By House Committee on Environmental Affairs (originally sponsored by Representatives Rust, Allen, May, Hine, Unsoeld, Valle and Rasmussen; by request of Puget Sound Water Quality Authority)

Read first time 3/6/87 and passed to Committee on Rules.

AN ACT Relating to laboratory certification by the department of ecology; and adding new sections to chapter 43.21A RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 43.21A RCW to read as follows:

          The director of ecology may certify environmental laboratories which conduct tests or prepare data for submittal to the department.  Fees for certification may be charged by the department to cover the department's costs.  Such certification may consider:

          (1) Evaluating protocols and procedures;

          (2) Determining the accuracy and reliability of test results, including internal quality assurance and quality control procedures and proficiency at analyzing test samples supplied by the department;

          (3)  Certifying laboratories based on prior certification by another state whose certification requirements are deemed satisfactory by the director; and

          (4) Such other factors as the director considers appropriate.

          The director of ecology may require that any person submitting laboratory data or test results to the department use laboratories certified by the department or laboratories which participate in quality assurance programs administered by the federal environmental protection agency.

          Persons receiving a federal permit for wastewater discharge who operate a lab solely for their own use and who require certification for only conventional pollutants shall not be charged an annual certification fee in excess of four thousand dollars.  Conventional pollutants as used in this subsection means those conventional pollutants regulated under the federal clean water act (33 U.S.C. Sec. 1314).

          Fees and lab quality control requirements for persons receiving state or federal wastewater discharge permits shall not be implemented before September 30, 1988.  The department shall not duplicate any laboratory quality control requirements imposed by the United States environmental protection agency.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 43.21A RCW to read as follows:

          Laboratories which participate in quality assurance programs administered by the federal environmental protection agency shall be exempt from certification and fee requirements for the specific methods and tests which are the subject of such quality assurance programs.