As part of its efforts to support environmental technology innovation clusters, U.S. EPA hosted a Water Technology Innovation Cluster Leaders Meeting on March 24-26, 2014, in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The meeting was an opportunity for cluster leaders from across the nation to meet, discuss and share best practices for cluster development.

The meeting featured a full-day forum on testing and validation of water technologies on Tuesday, March 25, including discussions on how to set up test beds, finance testing programs and share testing resources.

The meeting sessions and accompanying presentations are listed below. A full summary report is available here.

Sessions

• Overview of Testing Issues Related to Water Technology Commercialization - Teresa Harten, EPA
• Panel Discussion: National and State Testing Programs
  • EPA Watersense - Veronica Blette, EPA
  • Michigan Water Technology Testing Program - Gil Pezza, Michigan Economic Development Corporation
  • NSF International Certification - C. Bruce Bartley, NSF International
  • Washington State's Technology Assessment Protocol - Ecology (TAPE) Emerging Technologies Program - Kurt Marx, Center for Urban Waters at University of Washington - Tacoma
  • Leaders Innovation Forum for Technology (LIFT) - Jeff Moeller, Water Environment Research Foundation
  • New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology (NJCAT) - Richard Magee, NJCAT
• Panel Discussion: Operating and Maintaining a Technology Testing Center
  • Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center - George Heufelder, Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment
  • International Center for Water Technology and Center for Irrigation Technology - David Zoldoske, International Center for Water Technology, Fresno State University
• State Permitting Perspective - Jeff Davidson, Ohio EPA Southwest District Office
• ​Imagine H2O: Experience in Permitting and Testing - Scott Bryan, Imagine H2O
• Discussion on Financing of Testing Facilities and Technologies - Paul O'Callaghan, BlueTech Research
• Panel Discussion: Experiences of Businesses in the Testing, Approval and Permitting Process
  • U.S. EPA Drinking Water Methods Alternate Test Procedures (ATP) - Peter Gallant, ENDETEC/Veolia
  • Innovative Septic System Technology Testing and State Permitting - Jim Bell, Bio‐Microbics, Inc.
  • WaterSense Labeled Irrigation Technology Testing - Brent Mecham, Irrigation Association
  • Stormwater Technology Testing and State/Local Permitting - Robert Adair, Convergent Water Technologies
  • Biosolids Class A/B Designation through EPA Pathogen Equivalency Committee Process - Fred Mussari, BCR Environmental
• Ontario, Canada: Perspective and Approach to Water Technology Testing - Brian Mergelas, WaterTAP