AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR VERIFICATION TESTING OF PACKAGE DRINKING WATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS NSF International (NSF) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program are pleased to announce the availability of federal funds for verification testing. The EPA entered into a cooperative agreement with NSF to develop, organize and pilot a program for the verification of package drinking water treatment system performance. NSF's and the EPA's goal is to offset seventy-five percent (75%) up to $75,000 of the cost of verification testing of product(s) (e.g., package plants or modular systems). Only the costs for the sample collection, on-site measurements and analysis, laboratory analysis of samples, preparation of verification reports and verification statements are eligible for reimbursement. At a minimum, to receive these funds: -- the equipment shall be commercially ready for testing, i.e., product research and development is completed and the product is commercially available, -- An NSF/EPA qualified field testing organization (FTO) shall submit an application that includes a Field Operations Document (FOD) on behalf of an equipment manufacturer that is acceptable to NSF and the EPA, and -- The testing shall be conducted by an FTO that NSF and the EPA has determined qualified to conduct testing under this project. The EPA's and NSF's goal is to test a wide variety of drinking water treatment technologies. As a result, the EPA and NSF hope to receive acceptable applications from multiple FTOs on behalf of many drinking water treatment equipment manufacturers. As the EPA's agreement with NSF contains a finite amount of funds to offset testing costs, funds will be provided for as many acceptable applications as the budget allows. An "acceptable application " is one prepared by an NSF/EPA qualified FTO and found to conform with the applicable project requirements, as determined by NSF and the EPA's evaluation. The application shall include the FOD, a description of the test site, and signed agreements between the FTO and NSF. The FOD shall conform with the applicable project protocol(s) and test plan(s), as determined by the EPA and NSF. A FTO that NSF and the EPA has determined as fully qualified is eligible to receive funds. A FTO that has a provisional or conditional status is not eligible to receive funds. All EPA funds for the offset of verification testing costs will be paid directly to the qualified FTO conducting the testing of a manufacturer's equipment. The manufacturer shall pay the qualified FTO for all remaining costs for testing and reports in accordance with the Terms and Conditions with NSF. Detailed information on the ETV pilot is available on the NSF web site (http://www.nsf.org/verification/verification.html) and the EPA web site (http://www.epa.gov/etv). The EPA web site also has information about the ETV program strategy and other pilots. For additional information about the process, limitations and conditions that apply to receive funds, contact Mr. Bruce Bartley by facsimile ((313) 769-0109) or E-mail (bartley@nsf.org) or Ms. Carol Becker by phone ((313) 769-5394) or E-mail (becker@nsf.org). WEB: Click here to view NSF's ETV web page., http://www.nsf.org/verification/verification.html. E-MAIL: Click here to contact the project engineer by e-mail., becker@nsf.org.

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