8/10/2019 Requirements the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 _ Legislation & Directives _ US EPA

1/2

11/5/2014 Requirements the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 | Legislation & Directives | US EPA

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/lawsregs/bioterrorismact.cfm

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/lawsregs/bioterrorismact

Water: Legislation & DirectivesYou are here: Water Water Infrastructure Water Security Legislation & Directives Requirements of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and

Response Act of 2002 (Bioterrorism Act)

Requirements of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness andResponse Act of 2002 (Bioterrorism Act)

The Bioterrorism Act requires community drinking water systems serving populations of more than 3,300 persons to conduct assessments of their vulnerabilities to terrorist

attack or other intentional acts and to defend aga inst adversarial actions that might substantially disrupt the ability of a system to provide a safe and reliable supply of

drinking water. The requirements of the Act assign EPA and water utilities responsibilities to enhance water sector security and to develop response measures for potential

threats to the nation's water supplies and systems, as outlined be low.

Bioterrorism Act PDF ( 105 pp, 105 K)

Requirements for Community Drinking Water Systems

The Bioterrorism Act requires every community water system serving more than 3,300 persons to do the following:

Conduct a vulnerability assessment;

Certify and submit a copy of the vulnerability assessment to the EPA Administrator;

Prepare or revise an emergency response plan based on the results of the vulnerability assessment;

Certify to the EPA Administrator, within 6 months of completing the assessment, that an emergency response plan has been completed or updated.

Requirements of the Bioterrorism Act

The following sources provide add itional information on complying wi th the requirements of the Bioterrorism Act:

7 Easy Steps to Submitting your Emergency Response Plan (ERP) Certification PDF ( 1 p, 23 K)- Describes how to complete a certification, maintain your records,

and express mail it in order to ensure compliance with the Bioterrorism Act.

Instructions to Assist Community Water Systems in Complying with Bioterrorism Act PDF ( 23 pp, 244 K)- Contains in formation on actions required of community

water systems to comply with the Act, deadlines based on system size, instructions for submitting required materials to EPA, and contact information. The

Addendum to the Instructions PDF ( 6 pp, 126 K)provides important clarifications, corrections, and additions.

Vulnerability Assessment Certification PDF ( 2 pp, 147 K)- Interactive form that can be filled out electronically and printed. Submit this form to EPA to certify

completion of a vulnerability assessment.

Certification of Completion of an Emergency Response Plan PDF ( 2 pp, 111 K)- Interactive form that can be filled out electronically and printed. Submit this form toEPA to certify completion of an emergency response plan.

The Tools & Technical Assistance page provides further tools and resources for completing these assessments. The Emergency/Incident Planning page provides more

information on developing and completing emergency response plans.

The Bioterrorism Act sets the following due dates for certifying and submitting vulnerabil ity assessments and for certifying emergency response plans:

Systems serving population of: Certify and submit vulnerability assessment by: Certify emergency response plan:

100,000 or greater March 31, 2003 Six months following completion* of vulnerability

assessment50,000-99,999 December 31, 2003

3,301-49,999 June 30, 2004

* EPA interprets "completion" to mean the date on which the vulnerability assessment and certification were sent to EPA. Community water systems that fail to comply

with their respective vulnerability assessment submission requirements 6 months after the deadline date may be liable for failing to comply with both the vulnerability

assessment submission requirements andthe emergency response plan certification requirements of the Bioterrorism Act.

Responsibilities of EPA Under the Bioterrorism Act

In terms of water security, the Bioterrorism Act requires EPA to:

Protect the vulnerability assessments submitted by drinking water systems, as well as any information in them, while in EPA's possession;

Provide information on po tential adversarial actions that could threaten the nation's water supply systems, as well as strategies and responses that utilities should

consider while conducting their assessments;

Conduct research studies in areas relevant to water security.

EPA's Information Protection Protocol

http://www.epa.gov/http://www.epa.gov/http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/emerplan/index.cfmhttp://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/techtools/index.cfmhttp://www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/util-inst-app4.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/util-inst-app1.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/util-inst-final-add.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/util-inst.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/seven_easy_steps.pdfhttp://www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/security_act.pdfhttp://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/lawsregs/http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/http://water.epa.gov/

8/10/2019 Requirements the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 _ Legislation & Directives _ US EPA

2/2

11/5/2014 Requirements the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 | Legislation & Directives | US EPA

http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/lawsregs/bioterrorismact.cfm

Last updated on Monday, March 12, 2012

Before receiving water utilities' vulnerability assessments, EPA is required to implement a protocol to protect these assessments from unauthorized disclosure. Through

coordination with federal law enforcement and intelligence officials, EPA has completed an information protection protocol that outlines measures to be taken to ensure

information security. The protocol includes restrictions on persons who are allowed access to the assessments, actions those persons must take to ensure the security of the

information, and security provisions regarding storage and handling of these documents. The security measures implemented include the following:

An EPA Information Security Manager with "Top Secret" clearance wil l oversee the protection of information, manage protocol implementation, and conduct routine

security checks.

Only persons designated by the Assistant Administrator for Water will have access to the vulnerability assessments and information derived from them (except as

specified under sections 1433(a)(6) and (7) of the Safe Drinking Water Act); all designees must have "Secret" clearance.

Potential designees must undergo security training and receive refresher training annua lly, and designees must sign an access agreement summarizing their

responsibilities and liab ilities if information related to the vulnerability assessment is knowingly or recklessly disclosed.

Access will be withdrawn from a designee upon termination o f employment or change in work duties or status, and the designee w ill be requested to sign a

confidentiality agreement before access is terminated.

All vulne rabil ity assessments will be housed in a secure location at EPA headquarters and locked to restrict access when not in use.

A secure room will be installed for review and processing of the documents.

Documents will be covered and labeled as sensitive; a document tracking system will render the documents traceable at all times; and copying, faxing, and loaning

of the assessments will be prohibited except as authorized by the Director of the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water.

Baseline Threat Information for Community Water Systems

EPA has developed a threat information document, "Baseline Threat Information for Vulnerability Assessments of Community Water Systems," as required under the Safe

Drinking Water Act and the Bioterrorism Act. The document is available to drinking water systems serving populations of more than 3,300 persons. It outlines threats,

methodologies, strategies, and responses for water utilities to consider when conducting vulnerability assessments.

Eligible water systems should contact their regional EPA water program office to receive a copy of the document. Community drinking water systems that serve more than

3,300 people a re eligible to receive a copy of the document by following the steps outlined in the directions for ordering PDF ( 1 p, 16 K)document.

EPA Research Studies

The Bioterrorism Act requires EPA to conduct the following research:

Studies regarding prevention and detection o f, and actions in response to, intentional introduction of contaminants to community water systems and source water

Research into the methods by which terrorists could affect the supply of drinking water or threaten water system infrastructure and physical security

Research into ways to p rovide alternative supplies o f safe drinking water in the event of destruction, impairment, or contamination of pub lic water systems.

More information on current research studies is provided on the Security Enhancements, Research and Technology and Information Sharing pages.

For More Information

A full version of the Protocol to Secure Vulnerability Assessments Submitted by Community Water Systems to EPA PDF ( 27 pp, 282 K)is availab le. Further questions should

be directed to the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 o r submitted by email (hotline-sdwa@epa.gov).

The Public Heal th Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act PDF ( 105 pp, 316 K)(see Title IV) is available in its full form.

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/security_act.pdfmailto:hotline-sdwa@epa.govhttp://www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/info_protect_11-30-02.pdfhttp://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/infosharing.cfmhttp://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/secres/index.cfmhttp://www.epa.gov/safewater/watersecurity/pubs/threat_ordering_instructions.pdfhttp://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/wsepacontacts.cfm