Provided by the Water Environment Federation,
Alexandria, VA

House Hearing Examines Existing Threats to Water Infrastructure
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), there are currently no substantive threats to the nation's water supply. Ronald L. Dick, FBI Director of the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center told the House of Representatives Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee that while the nation's water and wastewater systems are "interdependent and vulnerable", currently "there are no credible threats to any water distribution network." A second witness, Jeffrey J. Danneels of Sandia National Laboratories which performs infrastructure security research, agreed. "Contamination of large-volume water supplies such as reservoirs is considered difficult because significant dilution is highly unlikely." However both witnesses stated they are not dismissing the possibility of water contamination. Dick stated, "The FBI considers all threats to attack the water supply as serious", and Danneels added "the most vulnerable point in our water infrastructure may be at water distribution systems, after the water has been treated." Later in the hearing, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) representative John P. Sullivan called on Congress to provide $100 million to water supply systems to conduct vulnerability assessments and $55 million more to enhance the emergency response plans for water systems. For more detailed information go to http://www.house.gov/transportation/ (JKS)

Senate Environment Committee Leaders Ask For $5 Billion to Upgrade Water and Wastewater Infrastructure
Chairman Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and ranking member Bob Smith (R-NH) of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee are calling for increased funding for water infrastructure as part of an economic stimulus package to be introduced this year. In an October 9 letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), Jeffords and Smith recommended between "$1 and $5 billion in Federal matching grants to states and municipalities for the purpose of upgrading" the nation's "clean water and drinking water infrastructure." While cautioning against long-term budget deficits, Jeffords and Smith wrote "appropriate infrastructure investment can translate into a direct investment in our people, our communities and our future as a nation." Senate and House leaders, at the request of President Bush, are currently drafting legislation to stimulate an economy that has gone from stagnant prior to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, to an economy that many believe is now in a recession. (JKS)

EPA Administrator Whitman Announces Water Protection Task Force
EPA Administrator Whitman announced the establishment of a water protection task force at the Agency on October 5. The task force will be charged with helping federal, state and local partners expand their tools to safeguard the nation's drinking water supply from terrorist attack. On the day it was announced, the task force sent guidance to water systems on improving security. Plans for the task force include revising a draft 1998 infrastructure plan, identifying potential gaps in infrastructure protection and preparedness, and consulting with the utility industry and the states and tribes to determine additional steps that can be taken to increase the security of our nation's drinking water supplies. Within the next two weeks, the task force will report their progress on these steps.

"The threat of public harm from an attack on our nation's water supply is small. Our goal here is to ensure that drinking water utilities in every community have access to the best scientific information and technical expertise they need, and to know what immediate steps to take and to whom to turn for help," said Whitman.

EPA already has a notification system in place to quickly share information among drinking water providers, the law enforcement community, and emergency response officials. This system, developed through a public/private partnership with the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) and the FBI, alerts authorities and water system officials to threats, potential vulnerabilities and incidents. EPA has given AMWA a $600,000 grant to continue to improve this notification system with a secure web-based "virtual center". In addition, EPA, along with the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and the AWWA Research Foundation, will provide training for management and employees on in-depth tools to help water systems assess vulnerabilities in their systems, determine actions that need to be taken to guard against an attack, and enhance emergency response plans. (SRT)

EPA Releases Nutrient Criteria Guidance for Coastal Waters
On October 10, EPA announced the availability of the Nutrient Criteria Technical Guidance Manual: Estuarine and Coastal Marine Waters, the third of four water body-type technical guidance documents to be released by the Agency on nutrient criteria (66 FR 51665). The document provides State and Tribal water quality managers with guidance on how to develop numeric nutrient criteria for estuaries and coastal marine waters but does not contain site-specific numeric nutrient criteria for any water body. EPA has already completed guidance documents for developing nutrient criteria in lakes and reservoirs and in rivers and streams. A guidance document on wetlands is still in progress. The technical guidance documents are part of EPA's National Strategy for the Development of Regional Nutrient Criteria established in 1998 as a result of the Clean Water Action Plan. Copies of the guidance document will be available on the web at http://www.epa.gov/OST/standards/nutrient.html (SRT)

Railroads Temporarily Halt Shipments of Chlorine
The railroad industry imposed a 72-hour moratorium on tank car shipments of potentially and imminently hazardous (PIH) materials, including chlorine, to locations such as water and wastewater treatment plants on Sunday, October 7 at 2:00 pm EDT. Chuck Dettmann, Executive VP, Safety & Operations for the American Association of Railroads stated that "because of heightened national security concerns due to the Sunday attack on Afghanistan, this temporary action was being taken as a precautionary measure." He indicated that any wastewater agency with an immediate need for chlorine would have permitted special shipments of chlorine made to their sites. The railroads resumed normal tank car shipments of PIH materials including chlorine on Wednesday October 10. (SJH)

EPA Water Chief To Speak At WEFTEC 2001
G. Tracy Mehan, EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, will speak at WEFTEC 2001, the WEF's annual conference, October 13 - 17, in Atlanta, GA. Mehan will briefly address Opening General Session attendees on Monday October 15 about water security issues and then present a series of EPA awards to individuals representing local government wastewater treatment agencies. For more information on WEFTEC 2001 go to http://www.wef.org/

"Based upon available intelligence and investigative information, there are no specific threats to major waterways or distribution networks at this time." Ronald L. Dick, Director of the FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center, during an October 10, 2001 House Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee hearing on the possibility of terrorist attacks on the nation's water and wastewater infrastructure.

This Week in Washington is provided by the Water Environment Federation, Alexandria, VA. To receive This Week in Washington by e-mail, contact Lisa Scott, (703) 684-2400 ext. 7741, lscott@wef.org. For more information on this week's stories, please contact the WEF Government Affairs staff member whose initials appear at the end of the item in which you are interested. TSW - Tim Williams (703) 684-2437, twilliams@wef.org; JKS - Jim Sullivan, (703) 684-2436, jsullivan@wef.org; SRT - Sharon Thomas, (703) 684-2423, sthomas@wef.org; SJH - Sam Hadeed (703) 684-2418, mailto:shadeed@wef.org. This Week in Washington is available on-line at http://www.wef.org/GovtAffairs.