Secure Dedicated Funding to Protect Wastewater Facilities

• Each year, wastewater facilities use more than one billion pounds of chlorine to treat our nation’s water systems. A powerful chemical that can burn the eyes and skin, chlorine gas is fatal in high concentrations. A major incident, accidental or deliberate, at one of our nation’s nearly 16,000 wastewater facilities could kill or seriously injure thousands of Americans.
• After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Congress passed the “Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002,” legislation requiring wastewater treatment facilities and water utilities serving more than 3,300 people, to conduct vulnerability assessments to determine gaps in security.
• In 2006, the Government Accountability Office found that while 74% of the largest wastewater facilities had conducted, or intended to conduct vulnerability assessments, nearly all these facilities lacked the resources to make necessary security improvements.
• The Security Industry Association (SIA) believes Congress should build upon this law by passing legislation to establish a dedicated source of funding for wastewater security. Without such a federal commitment, our nation’s drinking water supply and the health of thousands of Americans is threatened.
• In 2002, the House of Representatives and Senate passed competing versions of legislation authorizing between $50-200 million in grants for states, local governments, and public and privately owned utilities to make physical security enhancements at wastewater systems. Unfortunately, Congress did not approve these bills or similar legislative efforts over the next several years.
• n August 2007, Sens. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and David Vitter (D-LA) introduced S. 1968, the “Water Security Act.” This bill would provide $245 million in EPA grants for wastewater treatment facilities to make security enhancements between Fiscal Years 2007-2011.
• Upon introduction of S.1968 Sen. Inhofe noted, “The legislation builds on proposals that have passed the Committee on Environment and Public Works in each of the past two Congresses. The legislation enhances and strengthens security at water and wastewater treatment facilities by providing local governments with the tools they need to make security decisions. My legislation takes a comprehensive look at these facilities and entrusts the local governments who operate them to make security decisions based on the needs of their communities and their individual circumstances.”
• Public water systems and water treatment facilities eligible for grant dollars under the proposal include those that have completed vulnerability assessments, in accordance with previously established law.
• The bill also imposes a 50 percent minimum match requirement on grant recipients. Eligible security solutions include access control systems; security cameras; installation and re-keying of doors and locks; smoke detection systems; security lighting; intrusion prevention devices; and network security equipment.

For More Information, contact
Don Erickson
SIA’s Director of Government Relations
703-647-8484 or derickson@siaonline.org