For more information about the NSFC, call (800) 624-8301 or (304) 293-4191 and request a free information packet.

Water systems prepare to comply with new law

by Ann Murray: NETCSC Contributing Writer

It has been nearly a year since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, but the effects of that day are still rippling through water systems all across the country. Although many systems have already taken steps to increase security, new federal legislation mandates that community water systems serving more than 3,300 people perform vulnerability assessments. This new law will affect water systems throughout the country as well as the trainers and technical assistance providers who work with them.

In May, the U.S. Congress passed the “Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002.” In June, the President signed the bill into law, thus amending the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The new law requires each community water system serving a population of more than 3,300 people to conduct an assessment of the system’s vulnerability to a terrorist or other intentional act, submit a copy of the assessment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and prepare or revise an emergency response plan.

The act directs EPA to provide guidance and support to water systems and authorizes appropriations to carry out the new requirements. The act also increases penalties under the SDWA for tampering with drinking water systems.

Now, communities with more than 3,300 people but fewer than 50,000 people will have to certify in writing to EPA that their drinking water systems have completed a vulnerability assessment and submit the assessment to EPA by June 30, 2004. Additionally, an emergency response plan must be completed by the systems within six months after completion of the vulnerability assessment.

Systems serving 50,000 to 100,000 people must certify and submit assessments to EPA by December 31, 2003, while systems serving more than 100,000 must do so by March 31, 2003. These larger utilities must also complete emergency response plans within six months of their vulnerability assessments.

Under the new law, communities with fewer than 3,300 people are not required to perform vulnerability assessments. However, the law states that EPA shall provide guidance to these smaller community water systems on how to conduct assessments, prepare emergency response plans, and address threats from terrorist attacks or other intentional disruptive actions.

EPA has already been working to help drinking water and wastewater systems with vulnerability assessments and emergency response plans. In the past two years, the agency has worked with other federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration, to identify threats to drinking water and wastewater systems as well as methods to deter, detect, or mitigate these threats. These elements have been cornerstones of EPA’s water security strategy and—until the recent passage of the new water security law—have been promoted on a voluntary basis.

According to the EPA Water Protection Task Force, the agency is currently working with states to provide technical assistance and guidance on accomplishing vulnerability assessments and emergency response plans for small systems that serve fewer than 3,300 people. The new law also authorizes funding for this task. Prior to awarding funds, EPA will work with states to develop a process for determining priorities for the use of funds and the order in which facilities shall receive funding.

Providing help with vulnerability assessments to the numerous small and rural water systems in the nation is a challenging task. Andy Bielanski, small systems expert with the EPA Water Protection Task Force, says that’s why from the beginning “EPA has looked to partner with states, agencies, technical assistance organizations, and other water professionals to provide the necessary assistance. EPA will utilize the existing framework of assistance providers at the national, state, and local levels to accomplish its security goals.”

Visit NETCSC's online security training calendar

For the latest information about security-related training events for drinking water and wastewater systems personnel, visit the National Environmental Training Center for Small Communities' (NETCSC) Web site at www.netc.wvu.edu. To access the online security calendar, click on the red "Security information" graphic on NETCSC's homepage.

To submit information about a training event for the calendar, contact Craig Mains, NETCSC training specialist, at cmains@mail.wvu.edu. Please include a description of the training event, location, date, registration fees, and contact information (including a Web address, if available).

Wastewater vulnerability assessment tool now available

Although wastewater utilities are not yet required by law to perform vulnerability assessments, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Water Protection Task Force encourages utilities to conduct assessments. To that end, EPA has provided funding to the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) to develop a Vulnerability Security Assessment Tool (VSAT) for wastewater systems.

The VSAT software is a comprehensive and easy-to-use tool for wastewater utility professionals seeking to assess their utility’s vulnerabilities, develop priorities based on cost and feasibility of remediation, and determine potential solutions for the prioritized vulnerabilities.

According to Curt Baranowski, a member of EPA’s Water Protection Task Force, any size wastewater system can use VSAT. “VSAT is an intuitive tool that can easily be tailored to the security parameters of small, medium, or large operations,” says Baranowski.

The VSAT software is an adjunct to AMSA’s Asset Based Vulnerability Checklist for Wastewater Utilities, a publication designed to help utility personnel identify and evaluate a range of vulnerabilities that could put their assets (physical plant, employees, knowledge base, information technology, and customers) in jeopardy. (The checklist may be downloaded from AMSA’s Web site at www.amsa-cleanwater.org/pubs/2002avcheck.pdf or
purchased in hard copy form from ASMA.)

VSAT is available free of charge to all public wastewater utilities. Visit AMSA’s Web site at www.amsa-cleanwater.org/about/about.cfm to request a copy of the VSAT software. For technical assistance regarding the software, visit www.VSATusers.net or call (888) 340-8830.

EPA Region 1 offers waste-water security workshops

To address wastewater treatment plant vulnerabilities, the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) is collaborating with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 and the New England Water Environment Association (NEWEA) to conduct a series of security training workshops for wastewater infrastructure across New England.

The workshops will help prepare wastewater utilities for water infrastructure security risks by delivering critical information to wastewater treatment plant operators and municipal officials. Issues such as how to mitigate security threats and and how to react in the event of a crisis will be covered. The sessions will offer the perspective of the host state's regulatory agency, national planing tools, and an example vulnerability assessment of a treatment plant in the state.

Eight wastewater security workshops planned for New England began in June. Remaining workshops include: