Up-Flo® Filter Performance Verified by New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology (NJCAT)

Filtration Device Achieves Significant Milestone; Data Shared with Numerous Other Cities and States Influenced by ‘TARP' Environmental Regulation Program

PORTLAND, Maine - The New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology (NJCAT) has verified the stormwater treatment performance capabilities of the Up-Flo® Filter, an up-flow filtration device designed to capture trash and debris and filter fine particulate matter from stormwater runoff. The Up-Flo Filter is designed and supplied by Hydro International, a leading provider of environmentally sustainable products and innovative solutions that control and treat stormwater, wastewater and combined sewer overflows. This milestone extends Hydro International's portfolio of products verified by NJCAT. The company's Downstream Defender® stormwater separator was verified under the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) laboratory testing protocol in 2005.

NJCAT has verified that the Up-Flo Filter removes more than 80 percent Total Suspended Solids (TSS) using Hydro-Filter-Sand^TM (HFS^TM) media. Laboratory test protocols and equipment was designed to mimic real field installations by using the full-scale commercially available Up-Flo Filter having up to six filter modules housed in a 4-ft diameter structure. No other filter device verification has undergone testing that demonstrates filter performance based on multiple filter modules operating at peak filtration flow rates. Requiring only 20-inches of driving head above the filter, the verified loading rate of the Up-Flo Filter was an unprecedented 18.2 gpm/ft2 compared to conventional filters that typically operate around 2 gpm/ ft2. Pursuant to the verification under NJDEP laboratory protocols, the Up-Flo Filter will be undergoing additional performance verification under the TARP Tier II field testing protocol as the required next step in the stormwater technology review process.

NJCAT, a public-private partnership, oversees the lengthy, rigorous verification programs required to provide guidance on the use of newly available stormwater manufactured treatment devices. Government and private groups in the state of New Jersey and in many other states consider NJCAT's stamp of approval a critically important credential when determining which equipment to select for stormwater management projects.

NJCAT works closely with The Technology Acceptance and Reciprocity Partnership (TARP), formed by eight states to evaluate and share scientific data on technology performance of environmental protection solutions. By sharing data and standardizing testing methods, TARP aims to help agencies streamline approval processes and contractors make informed purchasing decisions. TARP member states are California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey. Other regions such as the metropolitan areas of Atlanta and Nashville also look to TARP guidelines for guidance.

"We're thrilled to receive this verification from NJCAT, which is respected for its stringent level of oversight in stormwater management," said David Mongeau, General Manager at Hydro International's U.S. Stormwater business."

The Up-Flo Filter is a high-rate stormwater filtration technology that removes trash, sediments, nutrients, metals and hydrocarbons from stormwater runoff and the industry's only fluidized bed up-flow filtration technology. Hydro International asserts that the Up-Flo Filter provides a higher level of treatment, a higher rate of filtration, longer life of filter media and a longer maintenance cycle than other filter systems.

The NJCAT verification follows the Up-Flo Filter's Pilot Use Level Designation earlier this year by the Washington Department of Ecology, also known for its rigorous performance verification standards.