This chapter describes requirements for accreditation and certification of environmental testing laboratories. Accreditation is voluntary; however, the commission may accept environmental testing laboratory data and analyses for use in commission decisions regarding any matter under the commission's jurisdiction relating to permits or other authorizations, compliance matters, enforcement actions, or corrective actions only if the data and analyses are prepared by an environmental testing laboratory accredited by the commission under this chapter, except as provided in §25.6 of this title (relating to Conditions Under Which the Commission May Accept Analytical Data). The agency's accreditation program will become effective thee years after the date notice is published in the Texas Register that the commission's laboratory accreditation program has met National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference standards. At that time all data and analyses referenced in §25.4(b) and (c) of this title (relating to Applicability) must be provided by accredited laboratories. In the interim all environmental testing laboratories that supply data for commission decisions relating to the Safe Drinking Water Act must be certified.

Source Note:The provisions of this §25.1 adopted to be effective September 12, 2002, 27 TexReg 8480.