Alaska DEC
Alaska environmental lab certification, drinking water and CS-LAP.
Which Alaska DEC program covers your lab, how drinking water certification and contaminated sites approval differ, how out-of-state labs qualify, and what auditors look for in your initial calibrations.
At a glance
How environmental lab certification works in Alaska.
Alaska is not a NELAP state. The Department of Environmental Conservation certifies drinking water labs under its own rule, and separately approves labs for contaminated sites work on the strength of their NELAP or DoD-ELAP accreditation.
State program (non-NELAP)
- Drinking water program
- Alaska Drinking Water Laboratory Certification Program, run by the Environmental Health Laboratory in DEC’s Division of Environmental Health
- Drinking water rule
- 18 AAC 80.1100 and 80.1105, with EPA’s Manual for the Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water, 5th edition, adopted by reference in 18 AAC 80.010
- Who needs drinking water certification
- Labs performing inorganic, organic, radioactive and microbiological contaminant analyses under the drinking water rules. Certification is granted for specific methods.
- Contaminated sites
- Contaminated Sites Laboratory Approval Program (CS-LAP) under 18 AAC 78.800. Site cleanup rules require analysis by a laboratory approved by the department (18 AAC 75.355).
- Basis for CS-LAP approval
- A valid NELAP or DoD-ELAP accreditation certificate for each method, analyte and matrix. Approval runs concurrently with that accreditation and is valid only while it remains current.
- Out-of-state labs, drinking water
- DEC may certify a lab holding current certification from another EPA-approved certifying agency (18 AAC 80.1100(d)). Reciprocity applicants submit an on-site audit or inspection report covering the methods requested.
- NELAP status
- Not a NELAP accreditation body as of October 2026. CS-LAP relies on accreditation issued by NELAP or DoD-ELAP accreditation bodies.
The accreditation cycle
The drinking water certification cycle.
The steps below summarize 18 AAC 80.1100, 18 AAC 80.1105 and DEC’s drinking water certification page. CS-LAP approval follows the term of each lab’s NELAP or DoD-ELAP accreditation instead.
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Certify by method
Apply for each method. Certification is full, interim or provisional, and full certification requires a passed onsite inspection.
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Proficiency testing
Successful analysis of water supply PT samples annually for each certified parameter and method, from an approved PT provider.
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Onsite audits
At least one passed onsite inspection in each three-year period, by DEC or, for reciprocity labs, a third party or another certifying agency.
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Annual renewal
The certification year runs July 1 to June 30. Renewal packets are due May 30, and certification is not valid after June 30 unless renewed.
Initial calibration
What auditors check in your initial calibrations.
Alaska’s drinking water rule adopts the EPA certification manual rather than writing a TNI module into the code, and CS-LAP approval rests on NELAP or DoD-ELAP accreditation. The calibration expectations come from those documents and from the methods you are certified for.
A range that brackets what you report
The lowest standard should sit at or below your reporting limit and the highest at or above the top concentration you report. Results outside the calibrated range need to be qualified.
Error at the low end, not r² alone
A correlation coefficient of 0.999 can still hide a low standard that back-calculates 30 percent off. Auditors look at relative error, especially at the lowest levels.
Records that rebuild the curve
Raw responses, the model and weighting used, any excluded points with the reason, and the verification that followed. An auditor should be able to reconstruct every initial calibration from the record.
The EPA certification manual, adopted by rule
18 AAC 80.010 adopts EPA’s Manual for the Certification of Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water, 5th edition, and onsite inspections under 18 AAC 80.1105 assess the laboratory’s work product and quality control systems. DEC’s program page also points labs to 40 CFR 136 Appendix B, Revision 2, for method detection limits.
Source: 18 AAC 80.010(b)(6), 18 AAC 80.1105, Alaska DEC Drinking Water Lab Certification
For contaminated sites work, CS-LAP states that method modifications should be discussed with and approved by the lab’s accrediting body, and that it allows a change the accrediting body allows. Your accreditation body’s calibration requirements carry over.
Self-check
Are your initial calibrations ready for an Alaska assessment?
Tick what your lab could show an auditor today. Nothing you select is saved or sent anywhere.
6Checks to work through
Select each item your lab could show an auditor today.
A self-assessment to help you prepare, not a compliance determination.
What changed
PFAS drinking water certification narrowed in 2025.
A DEC memo dated March 26, 2025 told Alaska certified drinking water labs that beginning July 1, 2025, only laboratories using EPA Method 537.1 Version 2 would be certified for that method. For state fiscal year 2026, DEC allowed PFAS drinking water certification only for 537.1 Version 2 or Method 533, and PT results had to specify one of those methods to count.
The memo asked labs to review their practices and SOPs so that every 537.1 Version 2 requirement is followed. For a PFAS lab, that review reaches the calibration record: the method version on the scope, the SOP and the PT report all have to agree.
Contaminated sites approval works on a different calendar. CS-LAP approval runs concurrently with each lab’s NELAP or DoD-ELAP certificate and is valid only while that certification remains current, and renewal applications are due at least 30 days before expiration.
How WLTR helps
Calibration evidence ready for an Alaska DEC audit.
WLTR independently reviews the calibration your instrument software produced. Your analyst still makes the final call. What changes is that the evidence is complete, consistent across analysts, and ready before the auditor asks for it.
- Each analyte reviewed one at a time in the instrument software.
- The model and weighting are whatever the batch was processed with.
- r² is the number most people look at, even though it does not measure error at the low end.
- QA signs off without an independent check on the curve.
- Every analyte and every candidate model side by side in the Calibration Intelligence dashboard.
- Diagnostics run automatically and the best fit curve is identified, with the reasons recorded.
- Relative error at every level, including the lowest standard, shown on one screen.
- A traceable record your QA manager can review, sign and hand to a DEC certification officer.
See how your own ICAL data looks when every analyte and model is laid out for review.
Questions
Alaska accreditation FAQs
Is Alaska a NELAP state?
No. Alaska DEC is not a NELAP accreditation body as of October 2026. Its Contaminated Sites Laboratory Approval Program does, however, require NELAP or DoD-ELAP accreditation as the basis for approval.
Who certifies drinking water labs in Alaska?
The Alaska Drinking Water Laboratory Certification Program, run by the Environmental Health Laboratory in DEC’s Division of Environmental Health, under 18 AAC 80.1100.
What does a lab need for contaminated sites work in Alaska?
Approval from DEC’s Contaminated Sites Laboratory Approval Program under 18 AAC 78.800. The lab submits a valid NELAP or DoD-ELAP accreditation certificate for each method, analyte and matrix, and both the lab and the method must be approved.
Can an out-of-state lab be certified for Alaska drinking water?
Yes. Under 18 AAC 80.1100(d), DEC may certify a lab holding current certification from another EPA-approved certifying agency. Reciprocity applicants submit an initial on-site audit or most recent on-site inspection report covering all drinking water methods requested, and onsite audits are required at least every three years.
Does Alaska have its own initial calibration rule?
Not as a separate rule in the drinking water chapter. 18 AAC 80.010 adopts EPA’s drinking water laboratory certification manual, so calibration expectations come from that manual and the methods you are certified for. For contaminated sites work, your NELAP or DoD-ELAP accreditation body’s requirements apply.
Sources
Primary sources for this page.
- Alaska DEC, Drinking Water Lab Certification (opens in a new tab)
- Alaska DEC, Contaminated Sites Lab Approval Program (opens in a new tab)
- Alaska DEC, PFAS Method 537.1 Version 2 memo, March 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- 18 AAC 80.010, requirements adopted by reference (Cornell LII copy) (opens in a new tab)
- 18 AAC 80.1100, laboratory certification (Cornell LII copy) (opens in a new tab)
- 18 AAC 80.1105, onsite inspections (Justia copy) (opens in a new tab)
- 18 AAC 78.800, laboratory approval (Cornell LII copy) (opens in a new tab)
- TNI, NELAP recognized accreditation bodies (opens in a new tab)
This page summarizes public program information to help labs prepare. Requirements change, and the agency’s current rules and guidance always take precedence. WLTR is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Spot something out of date? Tell us at admin@wltr.tech.
Before your next assessment
See your Alaska ICALs the way an auditor will.
Bring a recent initial calibration. We will walk you through every analyte and candidate model in the Calibration Intelligence dashboard, the best fit, and the record your QA manager would sign.
Request a demoHow the methodology works
Running environmental methods? See how WLTR works for environmental testing labs and water and wastewater utility labs.