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U.S. EPA FUNDS CALIFORNIA TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS

Release Date: 5/12/1995
Contact Information: Arnold Robbins, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1486

   (San Francisco)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(U.S. EPA) today announced environmental technology funds
totaling more than $1.4 million to various California groups.
The U.S. EPA funds come from a $68 million Congressional
appropriation for President Clinton's Environmental Technology
Initiative (ETI) which seeks to improve environmental protection,
strengthen America's industrial base, and increase exports of
U.S. technologies and expertise.    

     EPA Administrator Carol M. Browner said, "These efforts will
protect health and the environment and create jobs at the same
time.  They will prevent and control pollution and reduce health
and environmental risks--cleaner, cheaper, smarter."

     Environmental technologies prevent pollution, control and
treat air and water pollution, clean-up contaminated soil and
groundwater, assess and monitor exposure levels, and manage
environmental information.

     "We are really pleased to present these environmental
technology funds", said John Wise, U.S. EPA's deputy regional
administrator.  "These funds will serve all Californians by
stimulating the economy, creating jobs, and encouraging the
development of better technological solutions to environmental
problems."  

     A grant of $1 million will provide U.S. EPA support to an
important effort already launched in California--a waste
technology verification program.  The program, which Cal/EPA
launched last year, assists developers of new technologies by
giving them an independent evaluation of their technology's cost
and performance in the field.  The potential buyers then have
clear, unbiased information on which to base a purchasing
decision.  State and regional regulatory officials also will use
the verification data to certify the use of new technologies that
can lower the cost of contaminated site clean-ups.

       
     The grant will expand the program to include partners such
as McClellan Air Force Base, U.S. EPA, and several private
companies.  The partnership allows a process in which a joint
federal-state program will independently evaluate and verify the
effectiveness of specific technologies.  The independent
evaluation is expected to help speed statewide marketing of the
new technology, enhancing product sales and job creation. This
pilot could be expanded nationwide and indeed several states are
examining their role in approving the use of verified
technologies.

     The California Trade and Commerce Agency and ten partners
will receive $470,000 to develop an environmental technology
marketplace known as the Environmental-technology Leveraging
Network eXchange or E-LYNX.  The purpose of E-LYNX is to link
technology developers with those who can help them get their
technologies to market: from basic business know-how, to locating
testing sites, to signing up their first customers.  Most
importantly, it will help technology users find the best of what
the market has to offer.  

     E-LYNX will rapidly expand the marketplace for new
technologies that offer "better, faster, cheaper" environmental
solutions, while increasing sales and jobs for environmental
technology companies.  Industry analysts point out that in 1992,
California environmental technology sales totalled more than $17-
billion.  Both state and export markets for many products are
expected to double in the next five to ten years.      

     The California Trade and Commerce Agency's ten partners
include Pacific Gas & Electric, Cal/EPA, California Environmental
Technology Center, California Environmental Business Council,
Hoopa Valley Tribe, Small Business Administration, U.S.
Department of Energy, Regional Technology Alliance, the Rural
Community Assistance Corporation, and the Community Environmental
Council.  The E-LYNX network will become a model organization
that could be replicated in other parts of the country.

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