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''Security policy in an era of budgetary constraint'' - Speech by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the announcal conference of the Security and Defence Agenda in Brussels…And there they will only amplify some of the most serious security threats that we have already had to deal with in recent years – such as energy security, water security, food security, piracy, violent extremism and terrorism… Read more…
- EPA Proposes Updating Drinking Water Rule to Better Protect Public Health - WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to revise a national primary drinking water regulation to achieve greater public health protection against waterborne pathogens in the distribution systems of public water systems. Waterborne pathogens can cause a variety of illnesses with symptoms such as acute abdominal discomfort or in more extreme cases, kidney failure, hepatitis or chronic concerns. Read more…
- DHS Announces New Standards for Private Sector Preparedness - On Wednesday, June 16, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the adoption of the final standards for the Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification (PS-Prep) Program. Further information on the PS-Prep program is available here.
- USEPA says four regulated contaminants need revised policies: The four regulated contaminants identified by the second Six-Year Review process include acrylamide, epichlorohydrin, tetrachloroethylene, and trichloroethylene, as the present policy was determined not sufficient. Read more...
- A New Approach to Protecting Drinking Water and Public Health: Lisa Jackson announced the US EPA is developing a broad new set of strategies to enhance public health protection from contaminants in drinking water. EPA will focus on four principles that will provide greater protection of drinking water: address contaminants as a group, encourage new technology development, use the authority of multiple statutes to help protect drinking water, and partner with states to share data and monitoring. Read more…
- AWWA: Local Decisions Critical to Water Security (9 March 2010): The American Water Works Association (AWWA) advised the U.S. Congress that any new chemical security legislation should reflect the need for local water experts to make key treatment decisions and protect sensitive information from non-essential personnel. “It does not make sense (and could cause harm) to legislate outcomes which prohibit the use of particular chemicals, including chlorine gas… As everyday guardians of public health and safety, water and wastewater professionals share Congress’s desire for smart chemical security policy,” said AWWA Deputy Executive Director Tom Curtis. “Water utilities are committed to measures that reduce risks from terrorism and natural disasters. We are equally committed to protecting drinking water from the risk of contamination.” Read more…
- Interior Launches WaterSMART Initiative: Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed a Secretarial order establishing a new water strategy for the United States. “The federal government’s existing water policies and programs simply aren’t built for 21st century pressures on water supplies,” Salazar said. “Population growth. …Environmental needs. Aging infrastructure. Risks to drinking water supplies. Those are just some of the challenges.” Read more…
- Water Infrastructure Research to be funded by EPA: Stemming from EPA’s Sustainable Water Infrastructure Initiative, the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF) will receive $10 million in EPA funds to evaluate new technologies that will help utilities cope with aging and failing water systems. Research efforts will focus key areas such as system rehabilitation for water conveyance systems, innovative technologies and advanced design and engineering concepts for water infrastructure. Read more...
- House panel moves security bills: Two bills that will increase government oversight of security at water and wastewater facilities were passed by a House subcommittee Oct. 14. The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Environment approved the Drinking Water System Security Act (HR3258), which requires USEPA to implement chemical security antiterrorism standards for community water systems; and the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act (HR2868), which requires the Department of Homeland Security to implement such standards for wastewater facilities. Both bills contain a provision allowing government to require chemical facilities, including water and wastewater facilities, to use what a regulator perceives as being a safer chemical or process, known as inherently safer technology (IST.). Read more...
- USEPA rule protects aircraft drinking water quality: The US Environmental Protection Agency has adopted a new rule establishing multiple-barrier protection requirements to ensure the safety of aircraft water supplies. USEPA said the rule tailors current drinking water regulations to fit the unique characteristics of aircraft water systems through coliform sampling, best management practices, corrective action, public notification, monitoring and operator training. Read more...
- New tool for watershed protection planning: A new land-use modeling tool being developed by associate professor of Natural Resources Conservation Timothy Randhir and doctoral candidate Deborah Shriver could help Western Massachusetts communities plan new buildings, streets and other improvements while protecting drinking water quality, loss of biodiversity and damaged wildlife habitat. In recent publications, Randhir and Shriver report that they are using data on such inputs as sediment load, high priority habitat, stream flow, drainage patterns, soil types and vegetation cover, for example, to create a Watershed Impairment Index that links quantified data with a prioritization process and runs different scenarios for different options. Read more...
- Drinking Water System Security Act of 2009 supports the largest drinking water utilities and environmental and labor groups in the nation. This bill would require EPA to establish risk-based performance standards for community water systems serving more than 3,300 people and certain other public water systems with security risks. "This important legislation will better help us protect and secure our nation from potential acts of terrorism against our nation's drinking water facilities," said Chairman Waxman. "We must protect workers and neighbors of drinking water facilities and ensure a safe and reliable drinking water supply. We are introducing this bill with the support of the largest water utilities as well as environmental and labor groups. This broad coalition shows that this bill provides a common-sense approach to securing America's drinking water." Read more...
- New bill added to chemical security stewpot: Covered water systems with dangerous chemicals in amounts higher than federal thresholds would be required to assess whether they can switch to safer chemicals or processes. The Energy-Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and Environment had scheduled, but then postponed, a hearing into HR3258 as well as the broader Chemical Facility Antiterrorism Act of 2009 (HR2868), which has already been approved and also sent to the Energy-Commerce Committee by the House Committee on Homeland Security. Read more...
- EPA has released their third list of drinking water contaminants that are known or anticipated to oocur in public water systems and may require regulation. Read more...
- Security Standards: The American Society of Civil Engineers’ Environmental and Water Resources Institute announced a public comment period on two professional standards: "Guidelines for the Physical Security of Water Utilities (PDF)" and "Guidelines for the Physical Security of Wastewater/Stormwater Utilities (PDF)." The public comment period will run from Oct. 15 through Nov. 30. The guidelines were developed by ASCE and AWWA with input from the USEPA and the Water Environment Federatrion. Read more...
- EPA publishes case study on water security, preparedness: EPA has published the Seattle-King County, Washington Community Case Study Report - Security and Preparedness Practices: A Collaborative Approach to Water Sector Resiliency, which is intended to encourage and enhance security related practices at drinking water and wastewater utilities across the country and raise awareness of water preparedness issues among local and state emergency management agencies, elected leaders, and leaders of other critical infrastructure sectors. Read more…
- HSPD-7 designated the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the Federal lead for the Water Sector’s critical infrastructure protection activities: All EPA activities related to water security are carried out in consultation with DHS and the EPA’s Water Sector partners. Read more…
- The water sector has developed the Features of an Active and Effective Protective Program: To assist owners and operators of drinking water and wastewater utilities (water sector) in preventing, detecting, responding to, and recovering from adverse effects of all hazards, including terrorist attacks and natural disasters.The Features originated as an outcome of a National Drinking Water Advisory Council workgroup in 2005 and have been updated to refl ect the goals
and objectives of the Sector Specific Plan for Water published in May 2007. Read more…
- Two House committees are drafting legislation on chemical facility security for introduction: This would significantly affect drinking water utilities. The current law that established a federal security program for facilities manufacturing, using or storing potentially hazardous chemicals, including chlorine gas, expires at the end of September. Read more…
- US, Canada to update Great Lakes water agreement: The United States and Canada say they will update a key agreement to protect the Great Lakes from invasive species, climate change and other established and emerging threats to the world's biggest surface freshwater system. Read more…
- Commissioners at odds over reclaimed water issue: If it ends up poisoning our groundwater we have a serious problem, and we can't fix it. There's no way to go back; the genie is out of the bottle," he said. ... read more…
- Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist threats: drinking water and wastewater utilities are taking action to ensure continuity of operations and fast response when disaster strikes. Water/Wastewater Agency Response Networks are being formed in states across the U.S., enabling public and private utilities to share personnel, resources, and equipment during emergencies.read more...
- More than 150,000 people in Colorado drank from water supplies last year that violated public health standards. Nearly all these problems occurred in small communities and water districts, which have been struggling with new federal rules and aging distribution systems...read more...
- Israel to compensate Jordan for Polluted River Water with the Sea of Galilee: As if the regional water scarcity wasn't bad enough already, Israel will soon begin compensation Jordan with freshwater after oil waste and sewage contaminated the shared Yarmouk River water supply...read more...
- "Health Ministry given failing grade on ensuring drinking water safety"...read more...
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