&EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA's Environmental Verification Prograi ET^Centers ETV Advanced Monitoring Systems Center - Battelle ETV Air Pollution Control Technology Center - RTI International ETV Greenhouse Gas Technology Center - Southern Research Institute ETV Drinking Water Systems Center - NSF International ETV Water Quality Protection Center - NSF International ETV Building Decontamination Technology Center - Battelle ETV P2 Coatings and Coating Equipment (pilot) - Concurrent Technologies Corporation ET/ Definitions ETv Does Evaluate and Verify ver.i.fy: to establish or prove the truth of the performance of a technology under specific, predetermined criteria or protocols and adequate data quality assurance procedures synonym: confirm, corroborate, substantiate, validate eval.u.ate: to carefully examine and judge the efficacy of a technology; to submit technologies for testing under conditions of observation and analysis synonym: measure, estimate, classify, test What is ETV*? Does Not Certify cer.ti.fy: to guarantee a technology as meeting a standard or performance criteria into the future synonym: ensure, warrant, guarantee Throughout its history, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has evaluated technologies to determine their effectiveness in monitoring, preventing, controlling, and cleaning up pollution. Since the early 1990s, however, numerous government and private groups have determined that the lack of an organized and ongoing program to produce independent, credible performance data is a major impediment to the development and use of innovative environmental technology. Such data are needed by technology buyers and permitters, both in the United States and abroad, to make informed technology decisions. To overcome this impediment, EPA established a program to accelerate the implementation of environmental technology through objective verification and reporting of technology performance. In October 1995, the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program was established by EPA. The ETV Program develops testing protocols and verifies the performance of innovative technologies that have the potential to improve protection of human health and the environment. Recently, ETV began verification of monitoring and treatment technologies relevant for homeland security. What is the Goal of ETY*? The goal of ETV is to provide credible performance data for commercial-ready environmental technologies to speed their implementation for the benefit of vendors, purchasers, permitters, and the public. How does ETV Operate? The ETV Program operates as a public-private partnership through agreements between EPA and private testing and evaluation organizations. These ETV verification organizations work with EPA technology experts to create efficient and fully quality-assured testing procedures that verify the performance of innovative technologies. ETV now operates six centers and one pilot program which, in total, cover a broad range of environmental technology categories. Related ETV efforts provide homeland security protocols and verifications. Vendors and others in the private sector, as well as federal, state and local government agencies, cost-share with EPA in order to complete priority ETV protocols and verifications. ETV Accomplishments and Impact Since its inception in 1995, ETV has verified more than 250 environmental technologies and developed more than 75 protocols for technology testing. A survey of participating vendors completed in2001 showed overwhelming supportforthe ETVProgram and its results. Responses indicated that 73 percent of the vendors were using ETV information in product marketing, and 92 percent of those surveyed responded that they would recommend ETV to other vendors. To date, more than 40 vendors have had multiple products verified by ETV. Numerous EPA program offices and state programs are being supported in their decision- making by ETV technology testing results. These include technologies related to mercury, particulates, NOx and SOx, emissions control and monitoring, stormwater control and treatment, infrastructure rehabilitation, control of runoff and energy recovery from combined animal feeding operations, distributed energy generation for greenhouse gas reduction, pathogens and arsenic treatment in drinking water systems, and lead in dust monitoring. An example of how ETV supports state drinking water programs is provided by a 2003 Association of State Drinking Water Administrators survey, which showed that 26 states are using ETV protocols in a variety of ways, including as methods for site-specific testing, as guidance to supplement state requirements, and in reduction or elimination of pilot testing. ------- Visit the ETV Web Site and Subscribe to http://www. epa.gov/etv How do the ETV Centers Operate? Stakeholder Guidance - The efforts of ETV centers are being guided by the expertise of stakeholder groups. These groups consist of representatives of verification customers for a particular technology sector: buyers and users of technology, developers and vendors, state and federal regulatory personnel, consulting engineers, environmental organizations, financiers, and underwriters. More than 800 individuals are active in ETV stakeholder groups. Their primary functions are to assist the centers in developing protocols for testing, prioritizing the types of technologies to be verified, reviewing important documents, and designing and implementing outreach activities to the verification customer groups they represent. Performance Verification Objectives and Reporting - ETV is a voluntary program that seeks to make objective performance information available to the environmental marketplace to help decision-making. ETV does not rank technologies, compare technology performance, label or list technologies as acceptable or unacceptable, seek to determine "best available technology," or approve or disapprove technologies. Verification activities are announced in relevant publications, and on the ETV Web site and ETV listserv. Test plans are prepared with developers and tests are conducted by independent third parties. Appropriate quality assurance procedures are incorporated into all aspects of the process and all reports are subjected to peer review. Verification statements of three to five pages, based on the performance data in the reports, are signed by EPA and the ETV verification organization, and are posted on the ETV Web site. What is the International Interest in Strong international interest in technology verification has bolstered ETV's impact abroad. ETV, with its co-sponsors - EPA Office of International Activities, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Asian Environmental Partnership - has conducted workshops and training on technology verification in India, Thailand, and Taiwan, and in the United States for Malaysia and the Philippines. A 2004 agreement with the Singapore Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering outlines plans to collaborate on protocols and testing of environmental technologies, starting with ballast water treatment technology. To date, over 30 technologies from international vendors have been verified by the ETV Program. More than 10 percent of the visits to the ETV Web site are from foreign nations, and ETV protocols are being used worldwide to verify technologies. What are the Benefits of the ETV Program? • Provides objective, credible performance data to purchasers 1 Facilitates technology acceptance and permitting at the state/local level 1 Reduces risk for financial investors 1 Levels the playing field among competitors through standardized tests and objective reporting 1 Facilitates export of environmental products Want to Know More About the ETV Program? With over 1 million hits per year, the ETV Web site, at www.epa.gov/etv, provides users with up-to-date information on the ETV Program. The site contains descriptions of each ETV center, as well as its protocols and test plans; a list of stakeholders; center fact sheets; other publications, announcements, and meeting summaries; ETV verification statements/reports; and links to the ETV verification organization and other related Web sites. The ETVoice listserv is designed to inform subscribers about the availability of new information on environmental technology testing procedures, upcoming testing events, the performance of individual ETV-verified technologies, verification meeting events, and general news related to the ETV Program. Subscribe to ETVoice on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/etv. ET^Program Contacts ETV Program Director Teresa Marten 513-569-7565 ETV Homeland Security Coordinator Eric Koglin 702-798-2332 ETV Coordination Staff Abby Waits 513-569-7884 Evelyn Hartzell 513-569-7728 Greg Engleman 513-569-7871 ET^Center Managers ETV Advanced Monitoring Systems Center Robert Fuerst, EPA, 919-541-2220 Karen Riggs, Battelle, 614-424-7379 ETV Air Pollution Control Technology Center Mike Kosusko, EPA, 919-541-2734 Andrew Trenholm, RTI, 919-316-3742 ETV Greenhouse Gas Technology Center David Kirchgessner, EPA, 919-541-4021 Stephen Piccot, SRI, 919-806-3456 ETV Drinking Water Systems Center Jeff Adams, EPA, 513-569-7835 Bruce Bartley, NSF, 734-769-5148 ETV Water Quality Protection Center Ray Frederick, EPA, 732-321-6627 Tom Stevens, NSF, 734-769-5347 ETV Building Decontamination Technology Center John Chang, EPA, 919-541-3747 ETV P2 Coatings and Coating Equipment (pilot) Michael Kosusko, EPA, 919-541-2734 Brian Schweitzer, CTC, 814-269-2772 Recycled/Recyclable Printed with vegetable-based ink on paper that contains a minimum of 50% post-consumer fiber content processed chlorine free. EPA/600/F-04/064 June 2004 ------- |