1. Town of Amherst personnel will collect all samples. 2. The laboratory shall provide all sample containers, coolers, plastic bags for coliform bottles, labels, and any other required materials. 3. Courier services shall be provided for delivery of sample containers and pick-up of samples at no additional cost. Couriers shall always wear disposable gloves when handling sample bottles. Couriers shall follow any current Amherst DPW’s safety protocols regarding COVID-19. 4. The laboratory must be available to run repeat analyses on all positive bacteria samples (including on weekends and holidays). At least three repeat samples will be collected within 24 hours of learning of a positive sample. Drinking water bacteria samples are typically collected on Tuesdays so that if repeats are required, they can ideally be collected on Thursday and results can be obtained by Friday afternoon. Therefore, our preference is to be notified of a positive routine bacteria sample result on Wednesday whenever possible. 5. The laboratory must be capable of submitting applicable MADEP reports via eDEP, and submitting any other required MADEP and EPA report forms to the appropriate agency and the Town. 6. The laboratory must be Massachusetts-certified (or have a designated certified subcontract laboratory) to run all of the analyses for drinking water, ground water, surface water, waste water, soil, and sludge according to the appropriate methodology. 7. The laboratory must notify the Town before any lab analysis is subcontracted. The laboratory is still responsible for sending valid results to the regulators and the Town even when analyses are subcontracted. 8. The laboratory must submit written notification of any miscalculation or error in analytical reporting, and state the laboratories responsibility for such errors. 9. Temperatures of samples upon receipt at the laboratory must be recorded and reported. 10.The laboratory must keep copies of all reports according to record retention regulations, and keep all samples for at least thirty (30) days after sending the analytical results to the Town.
