S.P. 263 - L.D. 758
An Act to Allow the State's Laboratory Certification Program to be Consistent with National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program Standards
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §565, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 499, §2 and affected by §26, is amended to read:
2. Director; duties. The Director of the Bureau of Health shall appoint a Director of the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory, subject to the Civil Service Law and in this chapter known as the "laboratory director." The laboratory director or a designated chief of laboratory operations shall administer the laboratory to safeguard the public health and environment.
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §566, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 499, §2 and affected by §26, is amended to read:
§566. Record of tests for water samples
A person requesting a water sample test must indicate the source of the water sample. A state agency laboratory that tests any public water supply system for drinking water program compliance mandates shall forward a copy of the test results to the department.
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §567, as amended by PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §59, is further amended to read:
§567. Certification or accreditation program
The laboratory director Director of the Bureau of Health shall establish a laboratory certification or accreditation program to ensure that all generated data of laboratories subject to the program is of known and appropriate quality of precision and accuracy when utilized for departmental programs and programs administered by the Department of Environmental Protection. The Director of the Bureau of Health shall designate a laboratory certification officer to administer this program.
1. Acceptable data. Except as provided in this subsection, 6 months after the adoption of rules specified in subsection 2, certification or accreditation is required of any commercial, industrial, municipal, state or federal laboratory that analyzes water, soil, air, solid or hazardous waste, or radiological samples for the use of programs of the department or the Department of Environmental Protection, except as provided under chapter 411, the Maine Medical Laboratory Act; Title 26, chapter 7, subchapter III-A, Substance Abuse Testing; and Title 29-A, section 2524, administration of tests to determine blood-alcohol level or drug concentration. A laboratory operated by a waste discharge facility licensed pursuant to Title 38, section 413 may analyze waste discharges for total suspended solids, settleable solids, biological or biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, pH, chlorine residual, fecal coliform, E. coli, conductivity, color, temperature and dissolved oxygen without being certified under this section.
A laboratory operated by a waste discharge facility licensed pursuant to Title 38, section 413 may analyze waste discharges for total suspended solids, settleable solids, biological or biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, pH, chlorine residual, fecal coliform, E. coli, conductivity, color, temperature and dissolved oxygen without being certified under this section. The exception provided under this paragraph applies to a laboratory testing its own samples for pollutants listed in its permit or license; pretreatment samples; and samples from other wastewater treatment plants for up to 60 days per year. The time period provided in this paragraph, which is a maximum period for each treatment plant for which analysis is provided, may be extended by memorandum of agreement between the Department of Environmental Protection and the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory.
2. Certification or accreditation program requirements. The department and the Department of Environmental Protection shall establish by rule program requirements, standards and criteria for the evaluation and certification or accreditation of laboratories.
3. Certificate issued. A laboratory must be issued a certificate when the laboratory director certification officer determines that the laboratory has the capability to analyze samples with known and appropriate quality of precision and accuracy and is in compliance with other certification or accreditation requirements. Certificates are effective for one year 2 years from date of issuance provided the laboratory continues to be in compliance with certification or accreditation requirements.
4. Certification or accreditation fees. A certification or accreditation fee schedule based on the cost of certifying or accrediting laboratories must be established by rule. Certification or accreditation fees are payable upon application for certification or accreditation and must be deposited in the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory Special Revenue Account.
Sec. 4. 22 MRSA §568, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 499, §2 and affected by §26, is amended to read:
§568. Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory Special Revenue Account
The Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory Special Revenue Account is established as a dedicated account for the operation of the laboratory's analytical and certification programs and may be known in this chapter as the "account." Funds deposited to the account include, but are not limited to, appropriations made to the account, funds transferred to the account from within the department and revenues received from analytical services and the certification or accreditation of laboratories.
Effective September 18, 1999, unless otherwise indicated.
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