Saxum field guide

DMR monthly QA checklist: evidence, calculations and NetDMR handoff

NetDMR records the submitted values, but the permittee must control how those values were derived. A monthly QA packet should connect each reportable value to the permit, source evidence and calculation used.

Use this as an operational checklist, not a substitute for authoritative instructions or qualified professional advice. Confirm the current requirement and your organization’s responsibility before relying on any step.

1. Lock the permit map

List each outfall, parameter, monitoring location, frequency, limit, unit and reporting basis from the customer-approved permit interpretation.

2. Inventory the month’s evidence

Collect laboratory reports, chain-of-custody references, field logs, flow records, operational notes and declared no-discharge facts.

3. Normalize units and qualifiers

Check that units, detection-limit treatment, qualifiers and date/time conventions are consistent before calculating reportable values.

4. Reperform calculations

Recalculate averages, maxima, totals or other permit-defined values from the source population. Keep the workpaper visible.

5. Surface potential exceedances

Compare the calculated draft to the mapped limits and escalate unusual results instead of concealing them.

6. Explain missing or unusual data

Document missed samples, rejected laboratory results, no-discharge claims and any code or note selected for the draft.

7. Prepare the authorized handoff

The signatory receives the draft, evidence index, unresolved items and a concise representation of assumptions before certification.

Release test

Before the artifact is released, ask four questions: Can every material value be traced to a source? Are unresolved facts still visible? Was the exact release candidate rechecked? Does the final claim stay inside the evidence?

Questions teams ask

Primary references

Need the controlled packet, not only the checklist?

Saxum organizes the month’s sample and laboratory records into a permit-mapped control packet, surfaces potential exceedances and inconsistencies, and prepares a reviewed draft for the authorized signatory.

View DMR Control →