B--Collection and Analysis of Surface and Groundwater Samples

Scope of Work For McMillan Island Collection and Analysis of Surface and Groundwater Samples Scope of Work for the Collection of Surface and Groundwater Samples for the McMillan Dredging Project 1. GENERAL The St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers (Corps) requires the services of a Contractor to collect groundwater and surface samples for metals, pesticides, PCB's, and some other basic parameters at a dredged material placement site near Guttenberg, Iowa. The project will be completed in 3 phases. Phase 1 involves the collection of pre-project samples (back ground water and groundwater samples), phase 2 involves the collection of project samples (samples collected while material is being placed in the placement site), and phase 3 involves the collection of post project samples (after material placement is completed). The sample collection network will consist of 1 residential well and 2 surface water sites. The project location is in Clayton County near Guttenberg, Iowa. At each site the contractor shall be responsible for the collection and analysis of water and ground water samples as described in this scope of work and the attached sampling protocol. The contractor shall also conduct in situ monitoring of water level, temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and turbidity at each site. The project will begin in fall 2014 and phase 2 of the project will be complete by late 2015. Phase 3 may extend into the spring 2016 to complete the post project data collection. 2. OBJECTIVE The monitoring objective is to characterize the groundwater in the surrounding residential wells and surface water conditions before, during and after project operations, monitor the range of impact of the dredging operation using specific conductance as a tracer, and ensure that residential well water quality meets State and Federal water quality criteria after the project is completed. Analytical methods were selected on the basis of ability to detect potential contaminants at low levels. The low level data is required to determine the effects of the project. Data collected will be used to assess the effects of this and future dredged material placement on the surrounding groundwater and surface water quality. 3. LOCATION OF THE WELLS The project location is just upstream of the confluence of Buck Creek and the Mississippi River near Guttenberg, Iowa. 1 residential well will be sampled. The proposed residential well to be sampled is subject to landowner approval. The Contractor is responsible for contacting the landowner prior to each sampling event so the landowner knows when and who will be on their property. Access to individual monitoring well and/or residential tap water source shall be agreed upon fully with the landowners and all tenants. All residential wells will be sampled from an exterior spigot that is not connected to a water treatment system (i.e. water softener). The names and addresses of the residents or a contact that is able to provide access to the residential wells will be provided to the contractor. 4. COLLECTION OF, AND NUMBER OF SAMPLES Ground water and surface water samples will be collected by the contractor. Sampling is anticipated to begin in fall 2014. Sampling is anticipated to consist of pre-project, project and post project sample rounds. The anticipated sample collection schedule will be according to Tables 1 and 2. The contractor will provide all suitable sample containers, equipment and technicians to collect the samples. The contractor will provide all equipment and technicians to collect the samples (including filters). All sampling equipment shall be cleaned with an Alconox/water mixture and rinsed with distilled-deionized water before each new well is sampled. Sampling will be accomplished following the attached sampling protocol. Any deviations from the protocol must be identified and approved by the Corps prior to contract award. The pH, specific conductance, temperature, DO, and turbidity will be recorded for each well. Sampling will be conducted after 20-30 minutes of purging and the in situ parameters have stabilized according to the attached monitoring protocol. Sampling rates shall not exceed 0.5 gallons per minute. Also for the residential well: a. Unfiltered (whole water) samples will be collected and analyzed. b. Residential samples will be obtained from outdoor taps. Water shall be run long enough to ensure that quote mark old quote mark water residing in the system (pipes, well, storage tank) is completely purged prior to sampling. Stabilization of in situ parameters is required. c. Pumping volumes and times for residential wells must be recorded. d. Inspect taps to ensure there is no aerator attached. e. Samples will be obtained directly from the tap or connected flow cell for residential wells. Care will be taken to collect samples with minimal disturbance to the sample (minimal turbulence and aeration, low discharge rate). Surface water samples will be obtained from the Mississippi River just upstream of the dredging activity and the ponding area in the placement area. The Mississippi River sample obtained upstream of the placement site shall be representative of the water to be utilized as dredge material carriage water before mixing with the sediments. A boat ride will be provided to the contractor, if not, the samples may be taken from a point accessible by foot. Ponding area samples shall be collected from the overflow weir if one exists. In situ measurements of DO, pH, specific conductance, and water temperature will be obtained during sample collection. Standard sampling and laboratory protocol is required for the surface water samples. 5. REQUIREMENTS - Parameters, Methods, and Detection Limits The Contractor shall provide chain of custody sheets to be filled out by the sample collection teams and laboratory personnel. At a minimum, the custody sheets shall indicate project name, sample location, field observations, type of sampler used, field id number, date and time of sample, sample depth, sampling team, lab number, date received by the lab, date analyzed by the lab, and the parameters to be analyzed with their measurement units. 6. QUALITY ASSURANCE/CONTROL PROTOCOL General Any laboratory performing analytical work must be state certified (Minnesota certification or reciprocity with the Minnesota certification program) for the parameters to be analyzed. Potential Contractors may be subject to a Corps laboratory audit if one has not been completed in the last 2 years. Potential Contractors that would do any of the analytical work will be required to have a comprehensive quality assurance/quality control program, including documentation following the procedures of American Public Health Association (2013). Normal chain of custody and other quality control procedures will be followed by the Contractor. These procedures are outlined in the sampling protocol. The contractor will conduct standard quality control procedures and report all quality control measures with the analytical results. The Corps of Engineers requires that a single parameter or group of parameters for all of the samples will be analyzed by the Contractor in a single analytical session. The quality assurance program and any analysis associated with it are considered part of the normal procedures and is not an extra cost of the contract. Project Specific - Sample Collection The Contractor shall provide a quality assurance/quality control protocol for sample collection similar to that provided in the Sampling Protocol. It shall describe sampling procedures and sampling equipment including the sample containers. The protocol shall also describe well purging procedures which will be done for each sampling event. Project Specific - Analytical Work The Contractor's quality assurance plan must include, as a minimum, the following elements: a. SAMPLE HANDLING, CUSTODY, PRESERVATION, AND HOLDING TME - The lab shall immediately notify the Government representative of any problems concerning the sample handling, preservation, or holding times for any of the samples received. The Government representative will then make a determination to continue/discontinue analysis of the parameter and sample in question. Any samples not previously arranged for in the schedule or by the Government representative shall be coordinated with the Government representative to determine a course of action. b. CALIBRATION - USACE requires reported analytes to be bracketed by an established calibration curve. Any analytes reported below the established calibration curve and above the minimum detection limit listed in Table 2 is required to be flagged as estimated. To avoid qualifications based on this requirement, the laboratory shall be required to analyze an additional low level standard at or near the minimum required detection limit or project PQL. Low level calibration points above the minimum required detection limits listed in Table 2 must be approved by the Government representative prior to contract award. In addition, target analytes detected above the upper calibration standard shall be diluted and run again. If for some reason this is not possible the original value shall be reported as estimated. Problems concerning achieving the PQL shall be immediately reported to the Corps representative. c. PRECISION - Replicate Samples - The Contractor shall conduct replicate analyses on each parameter for a minimum of 10% of the water samples analyzed. The contractor will compute the relative percent difference (RPD) using equation 1 and report it with the data. If sufficient replicates are taken from a particular matrix (minimum of 8) precision may be estimated as the relative standard deviation (RSD) or Coefficient of variation (CV). Samples selected for replicate analysis will be distributed equally among the different types of samples encountered. Equation 1 RPD = [(|X1-X2|)/((X1+X2)/2)]*100 d. REAGENT OR METHOD BLANKS - The Contractor shall run a minimum of one reagent blank every time samples are analyzed. The reagent blank is to be interspersed with the regular samples; it is not to be analyzed separately. Data for each reagent blank will be reported along with other quality control data for any given analysis. e. SPIKED SAMPLES - For each parameter possible, at least one sample will be spiked with a known concentration and analyzed during normal analytical procedure. Percent recovery will than be computed and reported with the rest of the data. f. BLIND SAMPLES - The contractor may be required to analyze a blind sample for each parameter using normal analytical procedures and shall report the results for evaluation. Blind samples will constitute less than 10% of the total sample analysis. g. UNINTERRUPTED PARAMETER ANALYSIS - The Corps requires that a single parameter or set of parameters for a group of samples be analyzed by the Contractor during the same analytical session. All analyses for parameters in samples, reagent blanks, and blind samples will be conducted during the same analytical session. To clarify: once the instrument or procedure is set and running for a given parameter or set of parameters, all samples and their associated controls will be run. The instrument or procedure will not be stopped, except for an emergency, until all analyses for that parameter are completed on all samples. If the analytical sequence is interrupted or delayed, upon resumption all blanks, spiked samples, and the remaining unknowns will be run. h. SAMPLE STORAGE - The Contractor must state the maximum storage time that will occur between sample collection and analysis. i. PERFORMANCE CRITERIA - The Corps expects the following performance for QA/QC. Replicate samples using the relative percent difference (RPD) Plus/minus 10% for values greater than 5 X detection limit (DL) Plus/Minus DL for values less than 5 X DL Method Blanks The concentration of all target analytes in the blank shall be below the method detection limit (MDL) or less than 5% of the measured concentration in the sample. If the blank does not meet the acceptance criteria, the source of contamination shall be investigated and appropriate corrective action taken and documented. Investigation includes an evaluation of the data to determine the effect and extent of the contamination on the sample results. Corrective actions may include reanalysis of the blank and/or repreparation of the blank and all associated samples at no expense to the Government. Sample results shall not be corrected for blank contamination. Spiked Samples Acceptable accuracy on spiked sample analyses is +/- 2 standard deviations of the mean value. If more than 5% of the of spiked sample analyses exceed +/- 2 standard deviations of the mean value, the Corps may request that quality control be checked or may order another laboratory inspection. In addition, if spiked sample analyses exceed +/- 3 standard deviations, the data for the particular set of samples will be rejected by the Corps. The Contractor will be required to identify and correct the analytical problem and rerun the analysis, including sample digestion, at the Contractor's expense. The Corps expects the coefficient of variation on replicate analyses to be less than 10% for most parameters. Blind Samples Blind sample results will be compared to the certified known value. If the contractor's performance is unsatisfactory, the Corps will not accept the analytical data until the contractor demonstrates acceptable performance. Acceptable performance on blind samples follows the limits stated for drinking water analysis in the SDWA. The cost of these QA/QC procedures will be included in the per samples bid price (the replicate, spike, and blank samples will not be a separate payment item). 7. PRODUCTS The Contractor will provide a final written report (Sampling and Analysis report) including the analytical results, specific description of analytical methods, description of field and laboratory quality control and quality assurance measures, description of any unusual observations about the tests, and any other relevant information. The Contractor shall also provide the analytical results and notes on unusual observations on a CD using an EXCEL or EXCEL compatible spreadsheet. The Contractor shall retain any remaining samples until the products have been accepted by the Corps in case additional analyses are requested. Minimum data reporting elements include the following: a. field sample identification number, b. laboratory sample number, c. date of sample(s) collection, d. date of sample(s) extraction/digestion/analysis, e. batch number(s), f. dilution factors, g. analysis parameter(s), h. analytical method, i. parameter value or result, j. concentration units, k. reporting and minimum detection limits, l. all data qualifiers assigned and any special problems associated with an analysis, m. sample description including preservation, n. final chain of custody sheets, o. and all supporting QA/QC data.** ** QA/QC data shall include calibration data including initial calibration curve data and continuing calibration verification data including standards and blanks and acceptance ranges. All method blanks, laboratory control samples, duplicates, spikes, and other method specific QC samples which may have been run, even on samples other than this project, which were run. Data must clearly indicate which batch data refers to it. 8. COMPLETION AND DELIVERY The Contractor shall complete the analyses and deliver the results for each sampling trip to the Corps of Engineers within 30 working days after the samples are collected by the Contractor on-site. The results of in situ measurements made at the wells (pH, water temperature, water level, specific conductance) shall be provided by mail or fax to Mr. Jim Noren of the Corps of Engineers within 3 days of sample collection. Mailing address, fax, and phone number for Mr. Noren are as follows: Corps of Engineers - St. Paul District 180 East 5th Street E. Ste 700 St. Paul, MN. 55101-1638 Attn: Jim Noren Fax +1 (555) 000-0000 Phone +1 (555) 000-0000 The final (Sampling and Analysis) report will be delivered to the above address 50 days after the final post project sample has been collected.