&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.
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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
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