Office of the Science Advisor

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Norman Birchfield, Ph.D.

Acting Senior Environmental Technology Officer

Plans and Progress on Advancing 

Environmental Technologies
2

NACEPT Environmental Technology 

Subcommittee Reports

• EPA Technology Programs and Intra-Agency 

Coordination (May 2006)

• EPA Technology Programs: Engaging the Marketplace 

(May 2007)

• EPA and the Venture Capital Community: Building 

Bridges to Commercialize Technology (April 2008)
3

Progress: 

Environmental Technology Initiative

• New effort in the Office of the Science Advisor (OSA)

–Senior Environmental Technology Officer (SETO)

–Environmental Technology Council (ETC)

• Created largely in response to NACEPT 

recommendations
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Office of the Science Advisor

• Cooperates with other 

OSA groups

–Council on Regulatory 

Environmental 

Modeling 

–EPA Group on Earth 

Observation

–Forum on 

Environmental 

Measurement

Progress: 

Environmental Technology Initiative
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Progress:

EPA-Venture Capital Community Summit

• EPA senior career managers and VC community leaders

• Discussion topics included

–Improving communication with VC community

–Technology prizes as incentives

–Grand challenges confronting EPA

–Financial assistance programs

–Inter-Agency coordination

–Further FACA advice

• Regional meetings with VC companies

• Report and interviews – www.epa.gov/ncer/venturecapital
6

Progress:

Senior Environmental Technology Officer

• Focal point for environmental technology in EPA

• Intra- and inter-agency and Coordination 

• Respond to inquiries

• Seek opportunities

• Chairs Environmental Technology Council 

- Permanent SETO hiring process underway
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Refresher

Environmental Technology Council (ETC)

• Originally established in 2004

• Reinvigorated in 2007 following NACEPT advice and 

Administrator’s directive

• Goals 

–improve results of regulatory, enforcement voluntary programs

–facilitate innovative technological solutions to environmental 

problems 

• Cross-Agency representation

–Network of technology contacts

• Action Teams

–Specific problems with tech solutions
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ETC Action Teams

• Remote Sensing of Pollutants 

• Recovering the Value of Waste for Environmental and Energy 

Sustainability 

• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations Pollution Prevention 

• Arsenic MCL Compliance for Small Drinking Water Systems 

• Technologies Promoting the Sustainable Use of Contaminated 

Sediments and the Beneficial Reuse of Waste-Related Materials 

• Lead Paint Remediation in Dwellings 

• Continuous Fine Particulate Monitoring 

• Improved Pesticide Application Equipment to Reduce Spray Drift 

• Rapid Detection of Microbial Contamination of Water: Application of 

Molecular Technologies to Source and Potable Water Monitoring 

• Urban Runoff 

• Monitoring technology support teams – To be determined
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Plans: 

ETC Activities for 2009

• Revise ETC charter

–Define SETO as the chair

–Propose RETAN as ETC members

• Reassess ETC Action Team Approach

–Review performance of action teams

–Identify barriers to action team progress

–Propose ways to improve action team approach
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Plans: 

ETC Activities for 2009

• Environmental Technology Opportunity Portal

–www.epa.gov/etop

–Redesign and update

• Inventory and report EPA’s Climate Change 

Technology activities 

–Develop report of activities

–Collection of information on activities underway
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• Continue EPA's engagement with the private sector, 

including venture capital (VC), in commercialization of 

environmental technology. 

–Establish a roadmap/framework/policy in working with 

VC community 

–Identifying challenges for VC and tech community

–Improve interaction with DOE, particularly in the areas 

of public-private partnership 

–Explore the need for standing technology FACA group

Plans: 

ETC Activities for 2009
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Plans: 

ETC Activities for 2009

• Environmental Monitoring Technology Support

– Selection of projects complete

– Funding and initiation of projects imminent 
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Thank you.