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ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION: A VEHICLE FOR INDEPENDENT, CREDIBLE PERFORMANCE RESULTS ON COMMERCIALLY READY TECHNOLOGIES
Citation:
Brna*, T G. AND J. R. Farmer. ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY VERIFICATION: A VEHICLE FOR INDEPENDENT, CREDIBLE PERFORMANCE RESULTS ON COMMERCIALLY READY TECHNOLOGIES. Presented at A&WMA 96th Annual Meeting and Exhibition, San Diego, CA, 22-26 June 2003.
Description:
The paper discusses the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) Program: its history, operations, past successes, and future plans. Begun in 1995 in response to President Clinton's "Bridge to a Sustainable Future" as a means to work with the private sector to establish a market-based verification process available to all environmental technologies, it completed its 5-year pilot period with 111 verifications of commercially ready technologies. These verifications followed development of 50 generic protocols and 70 test/quality assurance plans by 12 pilot programs functioning in diverse technology areas. The ETV Program is voluntary and uses independent, credible testing organizations to test the performance of commercially ready technologies. By the end of October 2002, the ETV Program was restructured into centers focusing on advanced monitoring; air pollution control; greenhouse gas; drinking water; water quality protection; and pollution prevention, recycling, and waste treatment technologies. Stakeholders (over 1225 in 18 groups for the centers) serve an important role in identifying and recommending technologies for verification as well as providing guidance to the centers. Operational features of the ETV centers and achievements of the Program are discussed with particular emphasis placed on the Air Pollution Control Technology Verification Center (APCTVC) whose activities focus on the control of particulate matter (including biological agents), nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and emissions from both mobile and stationary sources. Performance results of recent technologies tested and planned tests by the APCTVC are discussed.