Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling - EPA QA/G-5M - Foreword and Overview

Sep 12, 2026

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Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling (EPA QA/G-5M) explains how project managers and planners should document data type and quality requirements for environmental decisions. It provides advice for developing QA Project Plans for model development and application using information gathered from other sources. The guidance aligns EPA quality activities with the Agency’s Information Quality Guidelines, supports dissemination of quality technical and scientific information, and clarifies internal-use intent without legally binding obligations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatPDF

Pages121

Reading Time42 min

AccessFree to download

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 WHAT ARE EPA’S QUALITY-RELATED POLICIES REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING?

1.2 WHAT INFORMATION DOES THIS GUIDANCE PROVIDE?

1.3 WHY IS PLANNING FOR MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION IMPORTANT?

1.4 WHAT QUESTIONS DOES THIS GUIDANCE ADDRESS?

1.5 WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS DOCUMENT?

1.6 WHAT IS THE GRADED APPROACH TO QA PROJECT PLANS?

1.7 HOW DOES THIS GUIDANCE FIT IN THE EPA QUALITY SYSTEM?

1.8 HOW IS THIS DOCUMENT ORGANIZED?

CHAPTER 2. QA PROJECT PLAN PROCEDURES

2.1 GENERAL EPA POLICY ON QA PROJECT PLANS

2.2 QA PROJECT PLAN RESPONSIBILITIES

2.3 QA PROJECT PLAN ELEMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING

2.4 REVISIONS AND RELATED GUIDANCE

CHAPTER 3. THE MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION PROCESS: RELATIONSHIP TO QA PROJECT PLAN ELEMENTS

3.1 MODELING NEEDS AND REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS

3.2 MODEL DEVELOPMENT

3.3 MODEL APPLICATION

CHAPTER 4. ELEMENTS OF QUALITY ASSURANCE PROJECT PLANS FOR MODELING PROJECTS

4.1 GROUP A: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

United States Office of Environmental EPA/240/R-02/007 Environmental Protection Information December 2002 Agency Washington, DC 20460 Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling EPA QA/G-5M FOREWORD The U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) Agency has developed the Quality Assurance (QA) Project Plan as a tool for project managers and planners to document the type and quality of data and information needed for making environmental decisions. This document, Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling (EPAQA/G-5M), contains advice and recommendations on how to develop a QA Project Plan for projects involving the model development or application using data acquired from other sources. EPA works every day to produce quality information products. The information used in these products are based on Agency processes to produce quality data, such as the quality system described in this document. Therefore, implementation of the activities described in this document is consistent with EPA’s Information Quality Guidelines and promotes the dissemination of quality technical, scientific, and policy information and decisions. This document was designed for internal use and provides guidance to EPA program managers and planning teams. It does not impose legally binding requirements and may not apply to a particular situation based on the circumstances. EPA retains the discretion to adopt approaches on a case-by-case basis that differ from this guidance where appropriate. EPA may periodically revise this guidance without public notice. This document is one of the U.S. EPA Quality System Series documents. These documents describe the EPA policies and procedures for planning, implementing, and assessing the effectiveness of the Quality System. As described in EPA Manual 5360 A1 (EPA, 2000a), this document is valid for a period of up to five years from the official date of publication. After five years, this document will be reissued without change, revised, or withdrawn from the U.S. EPA Quality System Series documents. Questions regarding this document or other Quality System Series documents should be directed to the Quality Staff at: U. S. EPA Quality Staff (2811R) 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20460 Phone: (202) 564-6830 Fax: (202) 565-2441 E-mail: [quality@epa.gov](quality@epa.gov) Copies of EPA Quality System Series documents may be obtained from the Quality Staff directly or by downloading them from its Home Page: [www.epa.gov/quality](www.epa.gov/quality) Final i December 2002 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This guidance document benefitted greatly from comments from many reviewers with experience in environmental modeling and in quality assurance in both early internal reviews and review by the Council on Regulatory Environmental Modeling. The Models 2000 Quality Assurance and Peer Review Action Team at EPA was especially instrumental in developing the first working draft of this guidance. Final ii December 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................ 1 1.1 WHAT ARE EPA’S QUALITY-RELATED POLICIES REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING? .................................... 1 1.2 WHAT INFORMATION DOES THIS GUIDANCE PROVIDE? .............. 1 1.3 WHY IS PLANNING FOR MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION IMPORTANT? .................................................... 2 1.4 WHAT QUESTIONS DOES THIS GUIDANCE ADDRESS? ................ 3 1.5 WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM THIS DOCUMENT? ....................... 4 1.6 WHAT IS THE GRADED APPROACH TO QA PROJECT PLANS, AND HOW DO I DETERMINE WHAT QUALITY ASSURANCE AND QUALITY CONTROL ACTIVITIES ARE NEEDED FOR A SPECIFIC PROJECT? ........................................ 4 1.7 HOW DOES THIS GUIDANCE FIT IN THE EPA QUALITY SYSTEM? ...... 6 1.8 HOW IS THIS DOCUMENT ORGANIZED? ............................ 7 CHAPTER 2. QA PROJECT PLAN PROCEDURES .......................

FAQs

What is the purpose of the EPA QA Project Plan guidance for modeling?

It helps project managers and planners document the type and quality of data needed for environmental decisions, with recommendations for modeling projects.

Is the guidance legally binding for all situations?

No. It is intended for internal use, provides advice, and does not impose legally binding requirements; it may not apply to every situation.

How does the guidance relate to EPA’s quality system and information quality guidelines?

Implementation of the described activities is consistent with EPA’s Information Quality Guidelines and supports EPA’s quality system approach for planning, implementing, and assessing quality effectiveness.

Sep 12, 2026

Upload by Gloria