Clean Water Advocacy - Newsroom - AMSA in the News
Wastewaster Plants, Chemical, Nuclear Sites
Focus of Bills to Be Marked Up in Senate
Three bills focused on enhancing security at wastewater
treatment plants and at chemical and nuclear facilities will be marked up May 14
by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
The Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act of 2003 (S. 1039) and the Nuclear
Infrastructure Security Act of 2003 (S. 1043) were introduced May 12 by Sen.
James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who chairs the committee.
The bills will be marked up along with the Chemical Facilities Security Act of
2003 (S. 994), which would require "high-priority" facilities to conduct
vulnerability assessments and to develop emergency response plans to address any
vulnerabilities. The bill was introduced by Inhofe on May 5 (86 DEN A-9, 5/5/03
).
The wastewater treatment plant bill is nearly identical to the version passed by
the House May 7, which would provide $200 million to help facilities conduct
vulnerability assessments and make security upgrades, with another $15 million
targeted at plants serving populations of 20,000 or fewer. It also includes $5
million in grants over five years for nonprofit groups seeking to improve
methodologies and tools for doing vulnerability assessments (89 DEN A-1, 5/8/03
).
"A critical element of this committee's jurisdiction is homeland security,"
Inhofe said in statement. "In addition to chemical security legislation
introduced last week, these bills are an important part of the broad, concerted
effort to bolster the nation's defenses against terrorism. They represent
significant steps in addressing the various security needs at nuclear and
wastewater treatment facilities."
Wastewater Association Supports Bill
The Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies, the trade association for
large publicly owned treatment works, said in a May 13 letter to Inhofe that it
supported S. 1039.
"Stagnant and declining city and county budgets are unable to fund all of the
needed security-related expenditures of first-responders like police, fire, and
rescue plus the required enhancements to critical infrastructure at POTWs," Ken
Kirk, AMSA executive director, said in the letter. "Quick passage of S. 1039
will provided much-needed funds for security upgrades in American communities."
The bill to boost security at nuclear facilities would require the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, in coordination with the secretary of homeland security,
to assess the security, preparedness, and response for designated nuclear
facilities, including a determination of the responsibility either of federal,
state, or local authorities to deal with a variety of threats.
The bill would set hiring and training standards for guards and would enhance
Department of Homeland Security efforts to provide for a comprehensive and
integrated plan for critical infrastructure protection, among other things.