www.epa.gov 

fact SHEET 

BUILDING A SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION FOR SOUND ENVIRONMENTAL DECISIONS 

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 Accomplishments: 18 Years (1995-2013) 

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. 

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 
	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

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 costshared 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) (2010) 

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 sitespecific 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 
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	 	 	 	

	 	

•	 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. 

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 

“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 a very unique way, you can never put a fixed value on ETV, because

it has become a cornerstone of our company’s existence, and it allows us to 

increase in value every day.” 

Claude Smith, President, International Wastewater Systems (2010) 

•	 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 Verification 

Centers 

Advanced Monitoring Systems Center 

Douglas Grosse, EPA 

(513) 569-7415 

grosse.douglas@epa.gov 

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 

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

Recycled/Recyclable

Printed with vegetable-based ink 

on paper that contains a minimum of 

50% post-consumer fiber content 

processed chlorine free 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA/600/F-08/012
 

Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory October 2008 (revised June 2013)