United States   Office of Environmental                                                                                                               
                                                             Environmental Protection                                    Information                                                               EPA/600/B-07/001  
                                                             Agency                                                      Washington, DC 20460                                                       April 2007 
                                                            Guidance for Preparing                                                                                                                                                 
                                                            Standard Operating 
                                                            Procedures (SOPs)  
                                              
                                                             EPA QA/G-6 
                               
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
                         
                        EPA QA/G-6                                                                   ii                                                April 2007 
                         
                                                                                          FOREWORD 
                                                                                                       
                         
                                    The U.S. Environmental Protection (EPA) Agency has developed an Agency-wide 
                        program of quality assurance for environmental data.  EPA’s Quality System requires 
                        documentation of both management and technical activities.  This guidance document, Guidance 
                        for Preparing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) provides a standard working tool that can 
                        be used to document routine quality system management and technical activities.  It replaces 
                        EPA’s March 2001’s Guidance for Preparing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) 
                        EPA/240/B-01-004 with minimal revisions in text and new examples of both technical and 
                        administrative SOPs. 
                         
                                    This document is one of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Quality System 
                        Series documents.  These documents describe the EPA policies and procedures for planning, 
                        implementing, and assessing the effectiveness of the Quality System.  As required by EPA 
                        Manual 5360 A1 (May 2000), 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. Environmental Protection Agency 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
                         
                                    Copies of EPA Quality System Series documents may be obtained from the Quality Staff 
                        directly or by downloading them from the Quality Staff Home Page: www.epa.gov/quality  
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                        EPA QA/G-6                                                                   iii                                               April 2007 
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                         
                        EPA QA/G-6                                                                   iv                                                April 2007