fact SHEET
www.epa.gov
BUILDING A SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR SOUND ENVIRO.
Environmental Technology Verification Program
www.epa.gov/etv
What Is ETV?
The EPA Environmental Technology Verification Program (ETV) develops test protocols
and verifies the performance of innovative technologies that have the potential to
improve protection of human health and the environment. ETV was created in 1995
to help accelerate the entrance of new environmental technologies into domestic and
international markets. For the past 18 years, ETV has operated as a public-private
partnership through cooperative agreements between EPA and private non-profit testing
and evaluation organizations. ETV will conclude operations at the end of 2013.
ETV's Goal
The goal of ETV has been to provide credible
performance data for commercial-ready
environmental technologies to speed their
implementation for the benefit of stakeholders
such as purchasers, permitters, vendors,
financiers and the public.
ETV Accomplishments: 18 Years (1995-2013)
Verified Technologies and
Testing Protocols
ETV has verified the performance of nearly 500 environmental
technologies, including:
• 179 technologies for air, water and soil or surface monitoring
• 70 air pollution control technologies
• 52 drinking water treatment technologies
• 32 greenhouse gas reduction or mitigation technologies
• 37 ground and surface water quality protection technologies
• 27 pollution prevention technologies.
ETV also has developed nearly 100 generic testing protocols to promote
uniform, controlled testing for classes or categories of technologies.
Following September 11, 2001, ETV quickly responded to the need
for technology performance information by homeland security officials
and emergency first responders. From 2001 to 2004, ETV verified
the performance of 69 monitoring and treatment technologies for safe
buildings and water security applications.
Beginning in 2005, ETV began conducting Environmental and
Sustainable Technology Evaluations (ESTE)—these projects helped ETV
respond directly to EPA's need for credible performance information
on technologies with potential to address high-priority Agency
challenges. ETV has verified the performance of 12 technologies
through ESTE projects, including microbial-resistant green
building materials, test kits for lead in paint, biomass co-fired
boiler fuel products and grouting materials for water infrastructure
rehabilitation.
In 2013, an additional 20 or so technologies are in process of
being verified, including baghouse filtration products for control of
fine particulate matter emissions; ultraviolet, ozone and alternative
inactivation, disinfection and oxidation technologies for drinking
water treatment; advanced energy and green building or energy
efficiency technologies; black carbon monitors; leak detection
devices for blended fuel underground storage tanks and others.
Vendors and Collaborators
Key benefits of ETV have included facilitating technology
acceptance and permitting at the state and local levels, providing
credible data to purchasers and leveling the playing field among
vendors through standardized tests and objective reporting.
More than 80 percent of ETV vendors surveyed during the program's
pilot period (1995-2000) rated their overall experience with ETV
as positive, more than 90 percent said that they would recommend
ETV to others and 75 percent indicated that they would submit
another technology for ETV verification. To date, around 80 vendors
have had multiple products verified by the ETV Program.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory
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ETV stakeholders represent the
interests of end-users of verification
information and have volunteered their
time to assist in developing protocols,
prioritizing technologies to be verified,
reviewing documents and designing
and implementing outreach activities
to the customer groups they represent.
Cumulatively, ETV has had the support
of more than 1,200 stakeholders in
numerous stakeholder groups and
technical panels.
ETV has served a broad group of
customers, including state regulators,
EPA program offices and regions,
municipalities, vendors, trade
organizations and others. Support
from collaborators, combined with
their technical input, has helped
raise the quality and relevance of ETV
information. ETV collaborators have used
ETV information to support technology
decisions and regulatory development.
ETV collaborators, including vendors,
private-sector entities and federal, state
and local government agencies, have cost-
shared with ETV to complete protocols
and verifications. In fiscal year 2012,
ETV received $1.4 million cash and
in-kind support—approximately 95.3%
of total program funding—from outside
organizations, including EPA program
and regional offices. Since 1996, ETV
vendors have contributed more than $8.1
million (cash) and other organizations have
contributed more than $23 million (cash)
to verification. ETV has received more
than $5.7 million in in-kind support from
vendors and others over the life of the
program.
International
Participation
The U.S. ETV Program is one of the most
comprehensive environmental technology
verification programs in the world and has
been used as a model by international
organizations interested in establishing
similar verification programs. From 2007
to 2010, the U.S. program participated
as a founding member of the International
Working Group on Environmental
Technology Verification (IWG-ETV). The
goal of the IWG-ETV has been to develop
an international approach to verification
that will allow mutual recognition—"Verify
Once, Accept Everywhere." Canada, as
a member of the IWG-ETV, submitted a
"The timely, accurate data obtained from this (ETV) testing has helped guide
NYSERDA's program and has been valuable in program metrics assessment. In
addition, with the performance data developed under this program, technology buyers,
financiers and permitting authorities in the United States and abroad will be better
equipped to make informed decisions regarding environmental technology purchase
and use."
James Foster, Project Manager for
Transportation and Power Systems Research,
New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA) (2O1O)
request to the International Standards
Organization (ISO) to develop a protocol for
environmental technology verification as
an internationally accepted standard. ISO
has agreed to move ahead to develop this
ETV protocol. EPA plans to participate in
the ISO process to ensure the knowledge
gained from the U.S. program is captured
in the international standard.
To Learn More
about ETV
Visit ETV's Web Site, www.epa.gov/etv.
Verification reports and statements,
protocols and test plans and other
program resources are available on the
ETV Web Site.
The U.S. ETV Program has verified the
performance of 60 technologies developed
by 45 vendors from outside the United
States and has participated in several
bi- and tri-lateral joint verifications under
international ETV efforts with other
countries.
Recognition
and Outreach
ETV has received national recognition,
including commendations from
the National Advisory Council for
Environmental Policy and Technology
and EPA's independent Science Advisory
Board. Program scientists, staff and teams
have received four EPA Bronze Medals for
Commendable Service over the past 10
years for support of verification activities.
ETV's web site currently receives an
average of 49,000 hits and 9,700 new
user sessions per month. In 2012, the
site received over 537,000 hits and
116,000 new user sessions. At its peak
in 2006, the site received over 3 million
hits annually. International interest in the web
site has remained constant—approximately 25
percent of new user sessions on the web site
are from entities outside the United States.
Outcomes and Impacts
ETV has had a wide array of positive impacts
on public health and the environment.
Notable program outcomes include:
pollutant reductions from actual or projected
applications of the technology, projected
reductions in the cases of illnesses and
disease due to pollutant reductions, economic
benefits from pollutant reductions, renewable
resource use and generation, health and
environmental outcomes due to actual or
projected applications of the technology,
reductions in the frequency and length of site-
specific pilot testing and pilot testing costs
and use in regulation development, guidance
documents and permit applications.
In 2006 and 2010, ETV published three
volumes of an outcomes case study report,
Environmental Technology Verification (ETV)
Program Case Studies: Demonstrating
Program Outcomes. The three booklets, which
contain 17 case studies and one update,
document the positive impacts ETV has had on
public health and the environment.
Some examples of ETV outcomes include:
• U.S. states have used ETV-verified
performance information in drinking
water regulations and guidance. In 2010,
NSF International, in cooperation with
the Association of State Drinking Water
Administrators, conducted a survey of
state drinking water agencies: 35 states
reported that they recognize ETV reports for
drinking water treatment systems, mostly
through policy, and 31 states responded
that they would allow for reduced pilot
testing of drinking water treatment systems
for products with acceptable ETV reports.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory
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• At least ten states—North Carolina,
Florida, Idaho, Pennsylvania,
Washington, Minnesota, Oregon,
Montana, Virginia and Maryland—
currently use ETV protocols in the
evaluation of alternative technologies
for wastewater treatment.
• The South Coast Air Quality
Management District's Rule 1156,
Further Reductions of Particulate
Emissions from Cement Manufacturing
Facilities (adopted November 4, 2005;
amended March 6, 2009) states, "In
lieu of annual testing, any operator who
elects to use all (ETV) verified filtration
products in its baghouses shall
conduct a compliance test every five
years." Rule 1155, Particulate Matter
Control Devices (adopted December
4, 2009) requires the installation and
use of ETV-verified filtration products
by baghouse facility operators to meet
particulate matter emission standards
if established emission limits are
exceeded by the facility.
"It can't be emphasized enough that ETV ignited our company and its growth
and continues to be used by us every day in the expansion of our company^
So\ in ajvery unique way, you can never put a fixed value on ETV, because, J
it has become a cornerstone of our company's existence, and it allows i^ to
increase in value every day."
pesticide risk assessment and labeling
requirements. OPP intends to use
verified drift-reduction technologies
in its pesticide risk assessments and
registration decisions. The ETV ESTE
spray drift project is discussed in the
draft pesticide registration notice
for spray drift entitled "Pesticide
Registration Notice 2008-X Draft:
Pesticide Drift Labeling."
• NSF has established the Public
Drinking Water Equipment Certification
Program to help streamline testing
required by state permitting processes
and offer water technology companies
opportunities for marketing innovative
systems. The certification program
includes validation testing based
on ETV protocols. NSF has also
established a customized testing
program for new and emerging
technologies to complement other
government and private research
programs. The program utilizes
independent experts in a stakeholder
ETV Verification
Centers
Advanced Monitoring Systems Center
Douglas Grosse, EPA
(513) 569-7415
erosse.douelas@epa.eov
Claude Smith, President, International Wastewater Systems (2O1O)
Amy Dindal, Battelle
(561) 422-0113
dindala@battelle.org
Air Pollution Control Technology Center
Mike Kosusko, EPA
(919) 541-2734
kosusko.mike@epa.gov
Jason Hill, RTI International
(919) 541-7443
jhill@rti.org
Drinking Water Systems Center
Jeff Adams, EPA
(513) 569-7835
adams.jeff@epa.gov
Bruce Bartley, NSF International
(734) 769-5148
bartley@nsf.org
Greenhouse Gas Technology Center
Mike Kosusko, EPA
(919)541-2734
kosusko.mike@epa.gov
Tim Hansen, Southern Research Institute
(919)282-1052
Hansen@southernresearch.org
Water Quality Protection Center
Ray Frederick, EPA
(732)321-6627
frederick.ray@epa.gov
Tom Stevens, NSF International
(734) 769-5347
stevenst@nsf.org
• The EPA Office of Pollution Prevention
and Toxics' Lead Renovation, Repair,
and Painting Program requires
ETV testing or equivalent approved
testing for recognition of lead paint
test kits. ETV is referenced in Lead;
Renovation, Repair, and Painting
Program; Final Rule (40 CFR Part
745), which includes a lead test kit
recognition program. The recognition
program references ETV as the testing
organization that will be used to
evaluate the test kits.
• The EPA Office of Pesticide Programs
(OPP) is using ETV and its pesticide
spray drift research to develop
feedback process similar to that used
under ETV.
• ETV evaluation of leak detection
technologies will help the EPA Office of
Underground Storage Tanks and state
agencies determine which technologies
will effectively detect releases from
underground storage tanks containing
biofuel blends.
To learn more about ETV, visit www.
epa.gov/etv. Verification reports and
statements, protocols and test plans and
other program resources are available on
the ETV Web Site.
ETV Program Staff
Teresa Harten, Program Director, EPA
(513)569-7565
harten.teresa@epa.gov
Abby Waits, EPA
(513) 569-7884
waits.abby@epa.gov
Julius Enriquez, EPA
(513) 569-7285
enriquez.julius@epa.gov
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory
Recycled/Recyclable
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EPA/600/F-08/012
October 2008 (revised June 2013)
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