AMS and RAMS QA/QC Program
Ecosystems Branch AMS and RAMS Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Program.
The Ecosystems Branch (EB) Quality Assurance Coordinator is responsible for Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) oversight of the Ambient Monitoring Systems (AMS) and Random Ambient Monitoring Systems (RAMS) Program and serves as a coordinator for the Division of Water Resources (DWR) Water Sciences Section (WSS) field QAPP’s and SOP’s. The EB is not involved with the oversight of other DWR Sections, regional office, planning, or permitting documents or procedures, except in an advisory capacity upon request as time allows. Refer to other Sections and Program’s websites for their QA documents. QAPP’s, SOP’s, and other quality assurance documents. QAPP’s and SOP’s are developed according to Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), DWR and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) policies, standards, and guidance.
The EB QA/QC activities of the AMS and RAMS Program help to reduce the inconsistencies and errors that may occur in water quality monitoring programs. The QA/QC activities ensure the AMS and RAMS Program produce high quality data that can be used to make valid and sound decisions by North Carolina assessment programs.
The AMS and RAMS Program consists of two sampling regimes. The AMS is a long-term, judgmentally based regime and RAMS is a 2-year probabilistic based monitoring regime. The combination of the two sampling regimes allows water quality analysts, water quality planners, and others to make long-term trend evaluations from AMS data while also making statistical based decisions from RAMS data.
The main end products of the AMS and RAMS Program are quality-assured, scientifically defensible data for use by assessment programs within NC DEQ DWR, the EPA and public. The AMS and RAMS Program data is available through EPA’s and USGS’s Water Quality Portal (WQP) (Water Quality Data Home) and How’s My Waterway (HMW) website.
The AMS and RAMS Program data is utilized by North Carolina’s DEQ DWR assessment programs in DWR’s preparation of biennial Integrated Reports (Sections 303(d) and 305(b) of the Clean Water Act), NC Basin wide water resources management plans (NC General Statute, G.S. 143-215.8B, Basinwide Water Quality Management Plans), State of North Carolina Section 106 Monitoring Workplan/annual reports, the NC DWR WSS Monitoring Plans, and data requests from citizens, groups, and academia.
QA/QC Documents.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Quality Management Plan (QMP) documents DEQ’s policy and procedures to ensure that high quality environmental data and information is collected and reported.
From the 2025 NC DEQ QMP:
DEQ programs will employ a Quality Management System (QMS) for the generation and use of environmental data and information that is described in the Quality Management Plan (QMP). The QMS and QMP provide assurance that sufficient QA activities are conducted by the environmental programs to ensure that all environmental data and information generated and processed are scientifically valid; of adequate quality and quantity for the intended use; of known precision, accuracy and bias; of acceptable completeness, representativeness, comparability, and usability; and where appropriate, legally defensible to support decision making. The DEQ QMP and QMS are achieved by ensuring adequate and acceptable planning, implementation, and assessment procedures are utilized through all phases of projects/studies/tasks which require the generation of environmental data/information and/or the use of environmental technology.
DEQ has developed this QMP for data to achieve the following four goals:
- Provide departmental support and context for programmatic quality assurance activities.
- Create an avenue for interdivisional communication on quality assurance issues.
- Create a primary source of information for data quality assurance and the QMS at DEQ.
- Comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requirements.
This QMP documents DEQ’s policy and procedures to ensure that high quality environmental data and information is collected and reported. While the program-specific tools and components of the DEQ QMS are managed at the Division and program level, all the elements of the QMP and QMS are overseen and< approved by DEQ leadership.
Environmental data and information quality is the responsibility of all DEQ staff who are directly or indirectly involved in the collection, production, and use of data. Senior managers in each division will assure adequate resources, including personnel, travel funds, and extramural funds, are available to implement the DEQ QMS and attain the Department’s quality-related objectives. The Operations/Project Manager(s), Quality Assurance Manager, Division Directors, Executive Leadership, technical scientific staff, and other applicable DEQ staff are responsible for ensuring that the QMP is implemented and complied with during all DEQ operations, and DEQ maintains internal processes in accordance with this principle.
The AMS and RAMS Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) describes the design and implementation of the AMS and RAMS Program. The most recent version of the QAPP was approved by EPA in July 2017. The revised AMS and RAMS Program QAPP has been rewritten in accordance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Quality Assurance Project Plan Standard, April 3, 2024, CIO 2105-S-02.1 (Quality Program Directives | US EPA). The 2025 QAPP was signed by EPA on 1/13/2026. This QAPP replaces the 2017 QAPP. The 2025 QAPP is valid until 1/13/2031.
The AMS and RAMS Program QAPP is available upon request (randy.sloup@deq.nc.gov).
The standard operating procedures manual for the AMS and RAMS Program is called The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Resources, Water Sciences Section, Ecosystems Branch Ambient Monitoring System (AMS) and Random Ambient Monitoring System (RAMS) STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES MANUAL: Physical and Chemical Monitoring, Version 1.0, June 2024. This SOP and subsequent revisions establish a uniform process for the field collection, preservation, transport, and documentation of AMS and RAMS Program water quality samples that are analyzed by the NC Division of Water Resources, Water Sciences Section Central Chemistry Laboratory and Asheville Regional Laboratory.
The AMS and RAMS Program Standard Operating Procedures Manual is available upon request (randy.sloup@deq.nc.gov).
The AMS and RAMS Program environmental and QA/QC samples are analyzed by either the NC Division of Water Resources, Water Sciences Section Chemistry Central Laboratory in Raleigh, NC or the Asheville Regional Laboratory.
Refer to the DWR WSS Chemistry Laboratory and Quality Assurance websites for more information about WSS Chemical Laboratories and the WSS Chemistry Laboratory QA/QC program. The WSS Chemistry Laboratory QA/QC program is separate from the AMS and RAMS QA/QC Program.