§ 8-2-206 - Certification -- Criteria and procedure.
8-2-206. Certification -- Criteria and procedure.
(a) (1) (A) All consulting laboratories performing analyses for which results are to be submitted to the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality shall obtain a laboratory certification under this subchapter.
(B) The department, in its sole discretion, may refuse to accept results of analyses performed by a consulting laboratory that does not hold a certification pursuant to the program for the reason that the laboratory is not certified.
(2) Certification for laboratories other than consulting laboratories shall not be mandatory.
(b) Applications for certification shall be made in the form and manner established by the department.
(c) Upon receipt of an application for certification, the department shall evaluate and act upon the application in accordance with the following procedures and criteria:
(1) (A) The laboratory must successfully complete an evaluation.
(B) The department shall establish evaluation criteria on proper analytical, quality assurance, recordkeeping, and reporting methods and procedures and facilities, equipment, and personnel requirements; and
(2) (A) The laboratory must submit to the department acceptable results from its analysis of performance audit samples for the specific parameters selected for certification.
(B) The department shall make available to the applicant laboratory performance audit samples for the selected parameters.
(C) In accordance with procedures required by the department, the laboratory shall return the analyzed results to the department, and the department shall determine if the laboratory has achieved acceptable results in the analysis of each sample.
(d) Upon completion of the laboratory evaluation and the review of the audit sample results, the department shall notify the laboratory of its determination to award or deny certification.
(e) (1) If the adequacy of the laboratory's capability and its adequacy have been sufficiently established to the satisfaction of the department, a certificate will be issued to the laboratory for the evaluated categories of parameters.
(2) If certification is denied, the department shall set forth, in writing, the reasons for denial.