SF 162

1st Engrossment - 87th Legislature (2011 - 2012) Posted on 03/06/2012 01:48pm

A bill for an act
relating to health; changing provisions for certification of environmental
laboratories; amending Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 144.98, subdivisions
2a, 7, by adding subdivisions.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 144.98, subdivision 2a, is amended to read:

Subd. 2a.

Standards.

new text begin Notwithstanding the exemptions in subdivisions 8 and 9, new text end the
commissioner shall accredit laboratories according to the most current environmental
laboratory accreditation standards under subdivision 1 and as accepted by the accreditation
bodies recognized by the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program
(NELAP) of the NELAC Institute.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 144.98, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Initial accreditation and annual accreditation renewal.

(a) The
commissioner shall issue or renew accreditation after receipt of the completed application
and documentation required in this section, provided the laboratory maintains compliance
with the standards specified in subdivision 2a new text begin , notwithstanding any exemptions under
subdivisions 8 and 9 new text end , and attests to the compliance on the application form.

(b) The commissioner shall prorate the fees in subdivision 3 for laboratories
applying for accreditation after December 31. The fees are prorated on a quarterly basis
beginning with the quarter in which the commissioner receives the completed application
from the laboratory.

(c) Applications for renewal of accreditation must be received by November 1 and
no earlier than October 1 of each year. The commissioner shall send annual renewal
notices to laboratories 90 days before expiration. Failure to receive a renewal notice does
not exempt laboratories from meeting the annual November 1 renewal date.

(d) The commissioner shall issue all accreditations for the calendar year for which
the application is made, and the accreditation shall expire on December 31 of that year.

(e) The accreditation of any laboratory that fails to submit a renewal application
and fees to the commissioner expires automatically on December 31 without notice or
further proceeding. Any person who operates a laboratory as accredited after expiration of
accreditation or without having submitted an application and paid the fees is in violation
of the provisions of this section and is subject to enforcement action under sections
144.989 to 144.993, the Health Enforcement Consolidation Act. A laboratory with expired
accreditation may reapply under subdivision 6.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 144.98, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 8. new text end

new text begin Exemption from national standards for quality control and personnel
requirements. new text end

new text begin Effective January 1, 2012, a laboratory that analyzes samples for
compliance with a permit issued under section 115.03, subdivision 5, may request
exemption from the personnel requirements and specific quality control provisions for
microbiology and chemistry stated in the national standards as incorporated by reference
in subdivision 2a. The commissioner shall grant the exemption if the laboratory:
new text end

new text begin (1) complies with the methodology and quality control requirements, where
available, in the most recent, approved edition of the Standard Methods for the
Examination of Water and Wastewater as published by the Water Environment Federation;
and
new text end

new text begin (2) supplies the name of the person meeting the requirements in section 115.73, or
the personnel requirements in the national standard pursuant to subdivision 2a.
new text end

new text begin A laboratory applying for this exemption shall not also apply for simultaneous
accreditation under the national standard.
new text end

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2010, section 144.98, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 9. new text end

new text begin Exemption from national standards for proficiency testing frequency.
new text end

new text begin (a) Effective January 1, 2012, a laboratory applying for or requesting accreditation under
the exemption in subdivision 8 must obtain an acceptable proficiency test result for each
of the laboratory's accredited or requested fields of testing. The laboratory must analyze
proficiency samples selected from one of two annual proficiency testing studies scheduled
by the commissioner.
new text end

new text begin (b) If a laboratory fails to successfully complete the first scheduled proficiency
study, the laboratory shall:
new text end

new text begin (1) obtain and analyze a supplemental test sample within 15 days of receiving the
test report for the initial failed attempt; and
new text end

new text begin (2) participate in the second annual study as scheduled by the commissioner.
new text end

new text begin (c) If a laboratory does not submit results or fails two consecutive proficiency
samples, the commissioner will revoke the laboratory's accreditation for the affected
fields of testing.
new text end

new text begin (d) The commissioner may require a laboratory to analyze additional proficiency
testing samples beyond what is required in this subdivision if information available to
the commissioner indicates that the laboratory's analysis for the field of testing does not
meet the requirements for accreditation.
new text end