Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
AMSA CITES POTW USE OF ASSESSMENT TOOL TO BOOST SECURITY FUNDING
Date: January 26, 2004 -
The Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) is citing publicly
owned treatment works' (POTWs) growing efforts to use its software tool to
conduct vulnerability assessments in hopes it will boost support for legislation
that provides funding for facilities that conduct such assessments, AMSA
officials say.
The legislation, which would authorize $235 million in grant money to POTWs to
fund development of vulnerability assessments and implementation of any needed
security enhancements, passed the House last year but still is pending in the
Senate.
AMSA officials say that so far, more than 5,000 POTWs nationwide have requested
the vulnerability self-assessment tool (VSAT) software, which help facilities
identify security weaknesses in their systems. AMSA recently received a $400,000
grant from EPA to expand the VSAT. The grant money will be used to expand the
program to include guidelines for developing emergency response plans (ERPs),
the AMSA official says.
The AMSA source says the group's work on the VSAT could prove to Congress the
need for passing the funding measure. "We've said, "Hey, we're doing this on our
own, so federal funds should be available to help implement vulnerability
assessments and remediation activities," the AMSA official says.
The issue of the need for POTWs to complete vulnerability assessments has
received increased attention in Congress over the past year, as lawmakers
consider whether POTWs should be required to perform the assessments and how
much funding should be available to fund them.
In the Senate, environment committee chairman James Inhofe (R-OK) has pushed a
bill that would give money to POTWs to help pay for vulnerability assessments
security enhancements to their systems. A competing bill, introduced by Sen.
James Jeffords (I-VT), was quashed in committee, but would have required
vulnerability assessments for wastewater treatment plans serving more than
25,000 people, whether or not the POTWs wanted federal funding.
AMSA lobbied for passage of the Inhofe version bill because the group has said
POTWs should be eligible for federal funding to conduct vulnerability
assessments, but should not be required by law to perform the assessments. The
AMSA source says the group's work on the VSAT should prove to Congress that AMSA
already is working on vulnerability assessments, and therefore a federal mandate
is not necessary.
POTW officials say the tool helps facilities determine what changes they need to
make to enhance security. "It's an extremely valuable tool," says a spokesman
from a Cleveland POTW that serves more than 1 million people. "We're of the
opinion that you should do these [vulnerability assessments] whether or not you
are required by law."
AMSA began developing the VSAT software in 2002 as a way to help POTWs complete
vulnerability assessments for wastewater. Since then, AMSA has added a separate
program to aid drinking water utilities in completing their assessments, the
AMSA official says.
The VSAT sets up a protocol for water systems to follow when developing
vulnerability assessments. First, it asks water system officials to identify
assets they want to protect, such as customers, employees, documents, computer
technology and the water plant itself. Next, the system includes a library of
potential threats, such as a bomb, explosion or employee assault, and provides a
list of countermeasures the system could use to protect against the threats.
The VSAT then assigns a "risk rating" to determine how well the current system
could handle potential threats and aids the system in evaluating potential
improvements. The software also includes a methodology to help POTWs
periodically review their vulnerability assessments, and soon will include
instructions on how to prepare and use ERPs in cases of real threats.