Section 16.02.13.140 - LABORATORY QUALITY ASSURANCE01.The QA Plan. Each laboratory certified or having reciprocity with the State of Idaho must have and adhere to a QA plan. Laboratories seeking certification will be required to submit such a plan for review as part of the application process.02.Required Items for the QA Plan. The EPA Manual for the Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water lists the items that must be included: a. Laboratory organization and responsibility;b. SOPs with dates of last revision;c. Laboratory sample receipt and handling procedure;d. Instrument calibration procedures;e. Analytical procedures;f. Data reduction, validation, reporting and verification;g. Type of quality control (QC) checks and frequency of use;h. List of schedules of internal and external system and data quality audits and inter laboratory comparisons;i. Preventive maintenance procedures and schedules;j. Corrective action contingencies; andk. Record-keeping procedures.03.Chain-of-Custody Procedures. Each laboratory must have a procedure in place in the event the submitter requires an evidence chain-of-custody.04.Maintenance of Records. Each laboratory must: a. Maintain a record keeping system that allows the history of the sample and associated data to be readily understood through documentation. This would include access to LIMS, both present and prior systems, all electronic data including backup, QC documents and all associated calculations, maintenance records including replacement history of instruments, submission forms, submission forms to subcontracting laboratories, final reports from subcontracting laboratories, and final reports generated by the certified laboratory.b. Retain all records for a minimum of five (5) years from generation of the last entry in the records.c. Notify public water system clients before disposing of records.d. Be aware of and adhere to specific record retention as required for specific analytes or disciplines.05.Proficiency Testing (PT). Proficiency test samples must be successfully analyzed annually per analyte per method for which the laboratory is certified. All PT samples must be obtained from an approved supplier, and must be analyzed in the same manner as routine samples by the primary analyst assigned to the specific analysis. If testing is rotated among a number of analysts the supervisor will be responsible for determining who completes the PT. Records must include the name of the analyst who completed the testing. The results of the PT must be sent directly from the supplier to the CO. The methods listed on the laboratory's certificate must be the methods used for PT samples.Idaho Admin. Code r. 16.02.13.140