Federal Advisory Committee on Detection and Quantitation Approaches and Uses in Clean Water Programs- A Synopsis of the Process from a Wastewater Laboratory Perspective

On March 12, 2003 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published a document in the Federal Register that proposed revisions to the regulations for the definition and procedure for EPA's method detection limit (MDL). Also, the document proposed to add to those regulations a definition of minimum level of quantitation (ML) and a procedure for development. In November of 2004, EPA withdrew the proposal due to a significant amount of unfavorable comments. EPA committed to work with stakeholders to evaluate one or more approaches submitted during the comment period.As a result, The Federal Advisory Committee on Detection and Quantitation (FACDQ) was chartered in May 2005. The Committee's objective was to provide advice and recommendations on approaches for the development of detection and quantitation procedures and uses of the procedures in Clean Water Act programs. The committee was formed based on the participation of several stakeholders: Public Utilities, States, Industry, Environmental Laboratories, Environmentalists, and USEPA. The FACDQ completed its work in December of 2007.This paper will provide a summary of the process through the perspective of a Public Utilities stakeholder. It will attempt to relay the rationale for key consensus recommendations provided to USEPA through the submittal of the FACDQ's Final Report. Also, it will summarize the available data, resources, and constraints that guided the development of the recommendations and the potential impact of those recommendations for wastewater laboratories.