Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
Clean Water Report
Copyright 2003 Gale Group Inc. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT 2003 Business
Publishers, Inc.
Monday, March 10, 2003
ISSN: 0009-8620; Volume 41; Issue 5
Wastewater plants to get assistance to make vulnerability assessments.
Wastewater plant operators would have access to $200 million to
conduct vulnerability assessments and undertake security enhancements if
a bill passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
Feb. 26 becomes law. Of course, the money would have to be appropriated
as well.
The bill, H.R. 866, the Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act of
2003, is similar to a measure the House passed last year, H.R. 5169.
Committee aides believe the latest measure should be available for a
floor vote in the near future.
As expected, the bill has the full support of wastewater plants.
"Absolutely. We support it very strongly," Adam Krantz, spokesman for
the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA), told CWR.
Making it especially enticing is a provision that provides funding to
make upgrades and provide training on new security tools. The measure
calls for $15 million for technical assistance to small wastewater
treatment plants and authorizes $5 million for the improvement of
vulnerability assessment methodologies.
Appropriators will need to weigh in on the bill. "We would like to get
funding right away," Krantz said, "if they could somehow grandfather it
in [to fiscal year 2003 spending]." Otherwise, plants would need to wait
until FY'04 for the funding.
Similar Bills, Same Differences
Getting in the way of the bill becoming law last year was a difference
between the House and Senate versions. And the same differences remain
this year, possibly creating a repeat situation.
The Senate's version of the bill this year is imbedded in a larger
homeland security bill, S. 6, which was introduced by Senate Minority
Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). Although the same amount of money is
authorized, the Senate's measure would allow EPA to review other ways
treatment plants could process the water. Also, the bill requires the
completed assessments to be warehoused at EPA to protect them from
wandering into the wrong hands.
Instead of requiring the reports be stored at EPA, the House version,
whose sponsors include committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) and
ranking member James Oberstar (D-Minn.), would allow the plants to keep
the assessments. "It is a local issue and the assessment needs to be
shared with local emergency response and management people," Krantz
said. Also, by remaining in utilities' hands, the reports would not be
subject to Freedom of Information Act inquiries.
In either case, EPA would certify the plans and ensure they are
completed, rather than requiring changes to emergency response plans.
Wastewater advocates would like to see Congress provide the same
commitment to their treatment plants as they did with drinking water
facilities. The bioterrorism bill last year authorized federal financial
assistance to conduct assessments and risk management plans.
Even before 9/11, many wastewater utilities have been conducting
assessments without Congress' assistance, Krantz said. Since then,
plants have more sharply increased their interest in enhancing their
security.
Contacts: Adam Krantz, AMSA, (202) 833-4651; Justin Harclerode,
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, (202) 226-8767.