&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
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 P2 Coatings and Coating
Equipment (pilot) - Concurrent
Technologies Corporation
ESTE Environmental and
Sustainable Technology
Evaluations
ET Definitions
ET 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
ET Does Not Certify
cer.ti.fy: to guarantee a
technology as meeting a
standard or performance criteria
into the future
synonym: ensure, warrant,
guarantee
EPA's Environmental
Verification Prograrr
What is ETV?
T
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.
fETV.
What is the Goal o
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.
What are the Benefits of the ETY Program?
' Provides objective, credible performance data to purchasers
• Facilitates technology acceptance and permitting at the state/local level
• Reduces risk for financial investors
• Levels the playing field among competitors through standardized tests and objective reporting
• Facilitates export of environmental products
How does ETV Operate?
The ETV Program operates as a public-private partnership through cooperative agreements between
EPA and private nonprofit testing and evaluation organizations. These ETV verification organizations
work with EPA technology experts to create efficient and quality-assured testing procedures that
verify the performance of innovative technologies. ETV now operates five centers and one pilot
program which, cover a broad range of environmental technology categories. Vendors and others
in the private sector, as well as federal, state and local government agencies, cost-share with EPA to
complete priority ETV protocols and verifications. In 2005 a new element of ETV is being initiated
called "Environmental and Sustainable Technology Evaluations" (ESTE), in which the most important
technology categories for meeting Agency mandatory and voluntary program needs are verified under
contract with verification organizations.
V Accomplishments and Impact
Since its inception in 1995, ETV has verified more than 300 environmental technologies and developed
more than 80 protocols for technology testing. A survey of participating vendors completed in 2001
showed overwhelming support for the ETV Program 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 45 vendors
have had multiple products verified by ETV. During 2002 - 2005, ETV conducted verification of
monitoring and treatment technologies relevant for the Nation's homeland security.
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http ://www. epa.gov/e
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, pathogen and arsenic treatment in drinking water systems,
and lead in dust monitoring. ETV's support of state drinking water programs has been documented
by a 2003 Association of State Drinking Water Administrators survey, which showed that 27 states
are using ETV protocols in a variety of ways, including methods for site-specific testing, guidance to
supplement state requirements, and reduction or elimination of pilot testing.
How do the ETV Centers and ETV-ESTE Operate?
Stakeholder Guidance - The efforts of ETV centers are 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, and designing
and implementing outreach activities to the customer groups they represent. In ETV-ESTE, although
EPA chooses priority technologies for verification, stakeholder groups are critical to developing
balanced test plans, reviewing reports and helping to disseminate results.
Performance Verification Objectives and Reporting - ETV is a voluntary program that makes
objective performance information available to help decision-making. ETV does not rank
technologies, label or list technologies as acceptable or unacceptable, 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 verification organization, and are posted on the ETV Web site.
What is the International Interest inITV ?
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 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. In 2005, ETV will
host the Environmental Technology Verification International Forum in which representatives from
verification programs operating or planned in Canada, Korea, Japan, Singapore and the European
Union will discuss the potential for collaborating internationally on verification.
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; fact sheets; other publications, and meeting
summaries; and ETV verification statements/reports. The ETVoice listserv informs subscribers about
the availability of new information on technology testing procedures, upcoming testing events, the
performance of 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, EPA
513-569-7565
ETV Coordination Staff
Abby Waits, EPA
513-569-7884
Evelyn Hartzell, EPA
513-569-7728
Joan Flannery, NCOA
513-569-7638
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
Tim Hansen, 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 P2 Coatings and Coating
Equipment (pilot)
Mike 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-05/013
June 2005
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