AWWA JAW56643

Continuing White House warnings that further terrorist attacks are all but certain have brought heightened attention to bioterrorism risks faced by thousands of American water suppliers and triggered actions by the water supply community, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and Congress to address the threat. Those actions include: training seminars in vulnerability assessment (VA) and developing security plans; enhanced coordination with federal, state and local law enforcement; physical security improvements; implementation of tougher policies; federal support for completing critical VAs and updating emergency response plans (ERPs) to reflect findings from such assessments; and, a broad-based bioterrorism bill (HR3448) passed by Congress that includes provisions that add new drinking water security and safety requirements to the Safe Drinking Water Act. Specifically, the new law requires USEPA to provide baseline information by August 1, 2002 on probable threats that should be addressed in VAs and to develop guidance for small systems on completing VAs and ERPs. The new law also extends USEPA's emergency powers authority to cover threatened or potential terrorist or other intentional attacks and increases fines and prison terms for tampering with water systems.