The Water Environment Federation (WEF) is engaged in a survey effort to understand the needs of states and municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) communities regarding the testing and evaluation of proprietary products and public-domain practices in the stormwater sector.

This effort is linked to WEF’s initiative to create a national Stormwater Testing and Evaluation for Products and Practices (STEPP) program. The initiative is partially funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Science and Technology and includes support from the Association of Clean Water Administrators and Stormwater Equipment Manufacturers Association.

Though EPA has deferred the national stormwater rulemaking, it is expected that MS4 permits will continue to become more stringent and robust. With this in mind, municipalities and other regulated entities are in need of necessary tools to meet stormwater management requirements. With the recent demise of the EPA’s Environmental Technology Verification program, there is a vacuum of national leadership in the testing and evaluation of environmental technologies. In an attempt to meet the stormwater sector’s needs, WEF is developing recommendations for a national framework. A final report is scheduled for completion by October 2015.

As part of this initiative, WEF is conducting a 15-question survey targeted to those who lead or administer approved-product lists and programs related to stormwater management products and practices. There are two separate surveys, one to gauge the response of state regulators and another for MS4 communities. The survey should take between 10 and 15 minutes to complete. Survey responses are due by May 15. Click here to take the MS4 survey, or click here for the state survey.