• Water utilities are especially sensitive to maintaining the public's health, as well as its trust and confidence in a safe and reliable supply of water.  We are on the front line for defending critical water facilities here in the homeland, and we are acutely aware of this responsibility.   

• The proposed Department of Homeland Security must provide a vital link between the Federal government and the Water Sector.   

• Having a Cabinet-level agency with the authority to coordinate and consolidate the Federal government's vast resources will better protect consumers from bioterrorism and life-threatening disruption of water services. 

• AMWA is developing the first-ever Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or Water ISAC, which will provide water systems with alerts of potential terrorism and other security-related services and information. 

• It is imperative that information gathered by law enforcement and intelligence agencies be shared with the Water Sector, via the Water ISAC.  

• Sensitive information, either voluntarily shared by water systems or required by the government, and information developed by the government to assist water systems in deterring threats and protecting their systems, must be protected from disclosure.  Non-disclosure requirements and an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act are solutions, but there are others.  

• The new department should have the responsibility for the water system vulnerability assessment program, but the government should not be required to collect the assessments.  Instead, utilities could be subject to audits to ensure compliance.   

• We believe that DHS should be specifically authorized to conduct research into methodologies and technologies to detect, prevent and respond to acts of terrorism.

Introduction 

Chairman Greenwood, Ranking Member Deutsch and members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to testify.  My name is John Sullivan.  I am the Chief Engineer of the Boston Water and Sewer Commission.  I am also the President of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, or AMWA, on whose behalf I am testifying today.   

AMWA is an organization of the nation's largest publicly owned drinking water agencies, collectively serving more than 110 million people across the country.  In 1998, AMWA was designated the Water Sector's liaison to the Federal government on critical infrastructure protection.  In this role, AMWA has served as a coordinator of security activities across the Water Sector, which includes both drinking water and wastewater systems, the vast majority of which are publicly owned.  We provide a single point of contact for the government to both gather important information about the Water Sector and communicate data from the government back to water systems across the United States.   

Water utilities are especially sensitive to maintaining the public's health, as well as its trust and confidence in a safe and reliable supply of water.  We operate both in small towns and in the nation's largest cities and have a significant responsibility to the communities we serve.  We are on the front line for defending critical water facilities here in the homeland, and we are acutely aware of this responsibility.   

Given these leadership responsibilities, we recognize the importance of engaging in a new and somewhat unique partnership with the Federal government.  We are in the midst of a War on Terrorism and must view this partnership in new and creative ways to adapt to the evolving risk environment. 

The Department of Homeland Security   

The proposed Department of Homeland Security must provide a vital link between the Federal government and the Water Sector.   Like other critical infrastructures, the Water Sector is dependent on the continuous supply of timely information on threats, warnings and other security risks to fulfill our responsibilities to the nation. 

There are a number of key areas within the enabling legislation that should be strengthened to ensure that the new department relates directly to the Water Sector.  Four key provisions include: 

·        Critical infrastructure protection.

·        Intelligence and information sharing.

·        Vulnerability assessments.

·        Science and technology development. 

Critical Infrastructure Protection 

Governor Ridge said here two weeks ago that DHS would focus the resources of the Federal government on critical infrastructure protection.  He also recommended that Congress provide the new department with the responsibility for the Water Sector's vulnerability assessment program - a proposal that we support.   

AMWA, in its security role, has been working with a number of Federal entities, such as the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Department of Commerce's Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (CIAO).  We have also been working with the Office of Homeland Security to develop of a national physical infrastructure protection plan and, we will be working with that office to develop a report on cyber security needs.  We have also engaged the Department of Interior, the Department of Energy, the National Laboratories and the Department of Defense in discussions related to security.  Having a Cabinet-level agency with the authority to coordinate and consolidate the Federal government's vast resources will better protect consumers from bioterrorism and life-threatening disruption of water services. 

Intelligence and Information Sharing 

AMWA has undertaken a leadership role in organizing and coordinating the flow of information and cooperation across the Water Sector and with the government.  AMWA is developing the first-ever Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center, or Water ISAC, which will provide water systems with alerts of potential terrorism and other security-related services and information.  The Water ISAC is being developed to incorporate multiple pathways for communicating.  It is essential that these pathways run both ways - local to Federal and Federal to local.   

Title II (Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection) of the President's proposal directly relates to the Water Sector's need for credible and timely intelligence, and it is particularly relevant to the security of water systems and the effectiveness of the Water ISAC.  The ISAC, which AMWA is developing in close cooperation with NIPC and EPA, will provide the nation's drinking water and wastewater utilities with a secure forum for gathering, analyzing and sharing security-related information.  In addition, the Water ISAC will: 

·        Serve as a single point-of-contact for the Water Sector;

·        Feed incident and trend information to the Federal government;

·        Facilitate the assessments of water systems' vulnerabilities (required under the bioterrorism bill);

·        Analyze threats and risks unique to the Water Sector; and

·        Serve as a delivery vehicle for water security research, as authorized under the bioterrorism bill. 

Although the ISAC is not yet functional, the Water Sector has developed an informal process for distributing threat information to utilities and, in collaboration with NIPC, an interim mechanism to collect utility security incident information in order to analyze trends and imminent or ongoing threats.  

Regardless of which Federal agencies oversee critical infrastructure protection, it is imperative that information gathered by law enforcement and intelligence agencies be shared with the Water Sector, via the Water ISAC.  This data is necessary not only to prevent or reduce damages from a potential attack, but also to better understand the types of disruptions that could occur, to analyze trends and to build protections into the design of our systems. 

Furthermore, as part of the partnership between the government and the Water Sector, AMWA is hopeful that the highest possible protection for security, risk and other information will be assured.   AMWA is taking on responsibility for complex critical infrastructure responsibilities.  We are focused on nothing less than promotion of the public's trust and confidence in the communities where we operate.  Sensitive information that is either voluntarily shared by utilities, required by the government or is produced by the government must not fall into the hands of those who wish to harm the nation.  Likewise, sensitive information developed by the government to assist water systems in deterring threats and protecting their systems must also be protected.  Non-disclosure requirements and an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act are solutions, but there are others.  We look forward to engaging in a dialogue on this important topic, because it is essential that we avoid educating the enemy. 

Vulnerability Assessments 

Within the mission of the proposed department is the comprehensive assessment of the vulnerabilities of America's critical infrastructures, including water systems.  Two weeks ago, Governor Ridge asked Congress to give the new department the responsibility for the water system assessments program - a proposal that we strongly support.  If DHS is going to be the primary assessor of critical infrastructure vulnerabilities, then to separate water systems from the other sectors would undermine DHS's goal to coordinate, consolidate and streamline homeland security.  This is particularly relevant given the interdependencies among the various sectors, such as the reliance on electricity supplies to treat and distribute water and the need for a reliable water supply by hospitals and industry. 

In the context of DHS legislation, we also urge the subcommittee to revisit other provisions in the bioterrorism statute relating to the assessments.  Assessing vulnerabilities is the first step in securing a water system, and many water utilities have already completed their assessments.  The drinking water community does not object to being required to conduct vulnerability assessments.  In fact, in mid-2000 - more than a year before the September 11 attacks - the Water Sector began development of the vulnerability assessment methodology that Boston Water and Sewer and other large systems have since used.  But under the bioterrorism law, EPA is required to collect hardcopies of these vulnerability assessments - more than 8,000 of them.  In spite of non-disclosure provisions, the Water Sector is concerned that these extremely sensitive documents could wind up, intentionally or inadvertently, in the hands of malicious people.  To avoid this, we recommend that the government not be required to collect the assessments.  Instead, utilities could be subject to audits to ensure compliance.   

Science and Technology Development 

Under Title III (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Countermeasures), DHS would help fill in the gaps in research with a national scientific research and development program.  We believe that DHS should be specifically authorized to conduct research into methodologies and technologies to detect, prevent and respond to acts of terrorism against drinking water systems.  The need for new, sophisticated science and technologies in water security is inarguable.  Congress and the President recognized this need in the recently enacted bioterrorism law, which not only directed EPA to initiate a research program, but also authorized EPA to disseminate research results via the Water ISAC.   

We also encourage the inclusion of cyber terrorism prevention and response in DHS's research program.  Water utilities increasingly rely on information systems to control many aspects of water treatment and distribution.  It is essential that resources be invested now to design information systems with fewer vulnerabilities, rather than spend limited resources patching up those systems after installation. 

This research must be funded, and the Water Sector has requested the $15 million that Congress has authorized in the bioterrorism bill, to initiate this all-important research program.   

Conclusion 

Thank you for holding this important hearing and for inviting us to testify.  We would be happy to work with you on changes to the DHS legislation that would further focus efforts to protect the nation's water supply from terrorist attack - whether domestic or international.  We anticipate a close, mutually beneficial relationship with the Department of Homeland Security, and we look forward to further discussions with Congress.