STEPP

The National Center for Stormwater Testing and Evaluation for Products and Practices (STEPP)

STEPP IS NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS

STEPP IS NOW RECEIVING APPLICATION FOR VERIFICATION OF TRASH CAPTURE TECHNOLOGIES

The STEPP program has officially launched and is now taking applications for trash capture technologies. Please download the STEPP application document (see below) and email to Seth Brown, STEPP Director, at seth.brown@nationalstormwateralliance.org. See associated STEPP documents below as well:

Vision of STEPP

The vision of the Stormwater Testing and Evaluation for Products and Practices (STEPP) program is to provide national-level testing and verification program for both proprietary manufactured treatment devices (MTDs) as well as public domain practices, including green stormwater infrastructure.

By leading the development of performance testing procedures and standards, providing technical review and oversight of testing/evaluation performed using these standards, and developing and disseminating contextual information on the results of these evaluations to state regulators and local NPDES (MS4, etc.) permit holders, the STEPP program seeks to raise the level of performance for stormwater programs overall.

About the STEPP Program

OVERVIEW

The stormwater sector is dynamically working to meet increasing and evolving regulatory requirements to address both water quality and quantity issues as well as drive social and economic benefits. Further, shifting precipitation patterns are generating excessive demands on an already aging and ill-maintained infrastructure sector. The needs are significant in the sector and expected to expand in the future as urbanization continues to grow, climate change continues to increase demands on stormwater conveyance and treatment systems, and stormwater infrastructure becomes increasingly older. As needs and overall funding increases in the stormwater sector, the performance of stormwater infrastructure will become all the more significant

A national-level program to provide a robust, credible and objective performance evaluation of stormwater treatment and management infrastructure can help to ensure that investments made now and in the future are meeting the needs of the objective to provide clean water for the nation. Previous efforts to establish and sustain regional or multi-state testing and verification frameworks failed for a variety of factors, but the over-arching dynamic behind this is that these efforts occurred at a time when the stormwater sector was in relative infancy. Recent events suggest that stormwater is evolving and maturing, making this a potentially new and better time to re-think the possibility of a national testing and verification program in the stormwater sector.

HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

The Water Environment Federation (WEF) initiated STEPP in 2012 in response to the proposed demise of the U.S. EPA Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program. An ad hoc meeting on the need for a national testing/verification program in the stormwater sector occurred at WEFTEC 2012 drawing a significant level of participants and interest. Based upon this interest and the discussions at this meeting, WEF agreed to lead an investigation into the topic. A Steering Committee of interested parties with varying backgrounds worked to develop a feasibility analysis and report in 2014. The main results of this effort included the resolution that a national testing/verification program is feasible and that this type of program is needed. Subsequently, WEF received funding from EPA to develop a framework for the construct of this type of program, which is detailed in a 2016 report published by the Water Research Foundation (WRF). This document lays out the starting framework for the STEPP program.

While the initial efforts focused on due diligence, proposed program framework, and gathering support from industry and the public sector, the next phase in the development of this program focused on acceleration of program development. To bring the STEPP initiative to the next level, a strategic shift in leadership has occurred in 2020 that moves the STEPP initiative from WEF to the National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA) as the basis of NMSA’s Center of Excellence for Stormwater Testing and Evaluation for Products and Practices. This migration brings the initiative into closer alignment with eventual stormwater infrastructure end users – municipal governments and other MS4 permittees with stormwater programs. Since this transition occurred, the STEPP Leadership Group was formed and funding to accelerate the program to launch was successfully raised.

Fundamental Principles of STEPP

The STEPP program is based upon a number of fundamental principles that have been developed through thoughtful deliberation. These principles are that STEPP will:

Provide a framework to test/verify the performance of public domain as well as proprietary products and SCMs in the stormwater sector;
Leverage successful existing state testing and verification programs – the Washington TAPE and the New Jersey CAT/DEP, specifically;
Focus on performance verification for stormwater products and practices, but not certify performance;
Include stakeholders and input from a variety of backgrounds in the ongoing evolution of the program;
Work to gain the support of state regulators as well as municipal permit holders;
Provide a “café plan” approach, which includes options for both lab-testing and field-testing verification options; and
Work to reduce the time and costs associated with testing verification services as well as broadening the reaching of acceptance and utilization of STEPP verified data.

Role of STEPP in the Context of Verification and Certification

The terms “verification” and “certification” are used throughout this document, and they may seem interchangeable, but there are significant differences between these terms. The European Union Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program defines “verification” as, “the process of independently validating performance claims put forward by the owner of the technology”. This same entity defines “certification” as a process that, “confirms whether products meet specified standards normally established by independent organizations.”

The EU ETV definitions are applicable for the STEPP program as STEPP will coordinate the development of robust performance testing standards and provide a system to verify testing performed using these standards. However, STEPP will not certify products or practices, as this is left to states, jurisdictions and other entities who establish regulatory performance standards for regulated stormwater programs.

Outputs of verification services, in the form of Verification Letters, will clearly state what level of treatment to which the product of practice is verified. For instance, if a product or practice has been shown to effectively reduce 80% of TSS under specified flows and particle size distributions (PSDs), the Verification Letter will state that this technology is “STEPP Verified to 80% TSS Removal”. State or jurisdictions are free to utilize this verification information to interpret as they wish in the context of their own performance standards.

Proprietary Product and Public Domain Practices in STEPP

A fundamental principle of the STEPP program is that all stormwater infrastructure should be evaluated in a consistent, credible and robust manner to better understand the performance of stormwater control measures regardless of if they are proprietary in nature or a public-domain practice. Stemming from this principle, STEPP will provide testing and verification services to any and all SCMs. Currently, STEPP is limited to testing trash/debris capture technologies, which is a category of proprietary SCMs. Future and ongoing efforts will broaden the scope of STEPP to include additional proprietary products as well as public domain practices.

Technical Basis in ASTM

The STEPP program exclusively relies on ASTM standards as the technical basis for performance testing of SCMs. The basis for this reliance is due to the broad reach of acceptance of ASTM standards across the U.S. and beyond. Additionally, ASTM standards are used regularly by engineers and scientists in public works departments and within stormwater programs to enumerate methods for construction, assessments, and other technical activities led by stormwater professionals. ASTM E64 Committee on Stormwater Control Measures is the primary body within ASTM that is the technical bridge to STEPP, however other ASTM committees are pertinent in the context of STEPP, such as C27.70 Subcommittee on Precast Concrete Products for Stormwater Management and E60 Committee on Sustainability.

Moving Forward

STEPP is evolving through a multi-phase pathway and there has been significant progress made over the last 18 months. Highlights of this progress include:

Catalyzing the established E64, a new ASTM committee focused wholly on stormwater infrastructure.

Facilitating the completion of ASTM lab testing standard for trash capture technologies.

Making significant progress in developing ASTM lab testing standards for HDS and filters.

Engaging directly with all 50 states and multiple EPA offices to promote the STEPP program.

Illustrating the overwhelming support for STEPP from states and MS4s through sector survey.

Building upon the momentum gained, the STEPP program is moving forward to launch testing and verification services in 2024 with these services focused initially on trash capture technologies. ASTM lab testing standards to evaluate the performance of hydrodynamic separators and filter systems will be finalized. These standards will enable the expansion of STEPP verification services to support the evaluation of stormwater technologies targeting TSS removal in urban runoff. We will be continuing the development of field-testing standards within ASTM E64 as well as developing internal policies to facilitate verification services based upon field performance testing.

If you have any question, please contact Seth Brown, Executive Director of NMSA at seth.brown@nationalstormwateralliance.org

The National Municipal Stormwater Alliance (NMSA)

is a 501(c)(3) devoted to supporting Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) programs across the country. NMSA is the only national organization that is solely focused on the MS4 sector.

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