EPA‛s Environmental Technology

Verifi cation Program

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 verifi cation and 

reporting of technology performance. In October 1995, the Environmental Technology Verifi cation 

(ETV) Program was established by EPA. The ETV Program develops testing protocols and verifi es 

the performance of innovative technologies that have the potential to improve protection of human 

health and the environment.

The goal of ETV is to provide credible performance data for commercial-ready environmental 

technologies to speed their implementation for the benefi t of vendors, purchasers, permitters, 

and the public.

 

• Provides objective, credible performance data to purchasers

• Facilitates technology acceptance and permitting at the state/local level

• Reduces risk for fi nancial investors

• Levels the playing fi eld among competitors through standardized tests and objective reporting

• Facilitates export of environmental products

The ETV Program operates as a public-private partnership through cooperative agreements between 

EPA and private nonprofi t testing and evaluation organizations. These ETV verifi cation organizations 

work with EPA technology experts to create effi cient and quality-assured testing procedures that 

verify the performance of innovative technologies. ETV now operates fi ve 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 verifi cations. 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 verifi ed under 

contract with verifi cation organizations.

Since its inception in 1995, ETV has verifi ed 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 verifi ed by ETV. During 2002 - 2005, ETV conducted verifi cation of 

monitoring and treatment technologies relevant for the Nation’s homeland security.

EPA‛s Environmental Technology

Verifi cation Program

 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

 Defi nitions

 Does Evaluate and 

Verify

ver.i.fy: to establish or prove 

the truth of the performance of a 

technology under specifi c, 

predetermined criteria or 

protocols and adequate dataquality assurance procedures

synonym: confi rm, 

corroborate, substantiate, 

validate

eval.u.ate: to carefully examine 

and judge the effi cacy of a 

technology; to submit 

technologies for testing under 

conditions of observation and 

analysis

synonym: measure, 

estimate, classify, test

 Does Not Certify

cer.ti.fy: to guarantee a 

technology as meeting a 

standard or performance criteria 

into the future

synonym: ensure, warrant, 

guarantee

What is ?

What is the Goal of ?

How does Operate?

 Accomplishments and Impact

What are the Benefi ts of the Program?
Visit the ETV Web Site and Subscribe to the ETVoice Listserv 

at: 

http://www.epa.gov/etv

Visit the ETV Web Site and Subscribe to the ETVoice Listserv

at:

http://www.epa.gov/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, 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 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 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 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 Program? 

With over 1 million hits per year, the ETV Web site, at www.epa.gov/etv, provides users with up-todate 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. 

Program

Contacts 

ETV Program Director

Teresa Harten, 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

 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