PREPARED REMARKS OF THE HONORABLE JAMES L. OBERSTAR FROM IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 2868, THE “CHEMICAL AND WATER SECURITY ACT OF 2009”
Madam Chairwoman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2868, the “Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009”.
At the outset, let me also thank the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, and the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for their efforts on this legislation and their willingness to include the text of the “Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act of 2009” as title III of the bill under consideration today.
In June of 2009, I joined with the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment, Eddie Bernice Johnson, in introducing H.R. 2883, the “Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act of 2009”, to address the security needs of wastewater treatment facilities under the auspices of the Clean Water Act. That legislation, as amended, is incorporated as title III of H.R. 2868.
Enactment of the “Wastewater Treatment Works Security Act”, in concert with the underlying language produced by the Committees on Homeland Security and Energy and Commerce, will preserve the historical relationship between wastewater utility operators and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in meeting both the security measures called for in this legislation, as well as the goals and purposes of the Clean Water Act.
Madam Chairwoman, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the identification and protection of critical infrastructure, including the nation’s system of wastewater infrastructure, has become a national priority. EPA has worked with state and local governments to enhance wastewater security since 2001, and the majority of wastewater treatment works have conducted vulnerability assessments and implemented emergency response planning procedures.
However, wastewater treatment works have undertaken these activities, with guidance from EPA, on a voluntary basis, as nothing in current law requires wastewater treatment works to carry out specific security measures. H.R. 2868 closes this significant security gap and enacts mandatory security standards applicable to treatment works. EPA will establish security regulations and oversee their implementation to appropriately balance water quality and security goals.
Our nation’s wastewater treatment capacity consists of approximately 16,000 publicly owned wastewater treatment plants, 100,000 major pumping stations, 600,000 miles of sanitary sewers and another 200,000 miles of storm sewers, with a total value of more than $2 trillion. Taken together, the sanitary and storm sewers form an extensive network that runs near or beneath key buildings and roads, the heart of business and financial districts, and the downtown areas of major cities, and is contiguous to many communication and transportation networks.
Publicly owned treatment works also serve more than 200 million people, or about 70 percent of the nation’s total population, as well as approximately 27,000 commercial or industrial facilities, that rely on the treatment works to treat their wastewater. Significant damage to the nation's wastewater facilities or collection systems could result in loss of life, catastrophic environmental damage to rivers, lakes, and wetlands, contamination of drinking water supplies, long-term public health impacts, destruction of fish and shellfish production, and disruption to commerce, the economy, and our nation's normal way of life.
In the same light, certain wastewater treatment works throughout the United States utilize chemicals in their disinfectant processes, such as gaseous chlorine, that may pose a threat to public health or the environment if improperly released into the surrounding environment. While proper storage of and security for such chemicals on-site may reduce the potential risk of improper release, similar security-related issues in the shipment and use of potentially harmful chemicals must also be considered in relation to the overall security of the wastewater treatment works.
The “Wastewater Treatment Security Works Act” ensures that all large- and medium-sized wastewater treatment facilities – those that treat at least 2.5 million gallons of sewage per day – perform a nationally-consistent, threshold security assessment, and take proactive steps to reduce their overall vulnerability. For those facilities that possess sufficient quantities of potentially-dangerous chemicals, this legislation requires an assessment of whether “inherently safer technologies” can be implemented to reduce the overall risk posed by the facility, while enabling the facility to continue meeting its water quality obligations under the Clean Water Act.
Finally, this legislation authorizes $1 billion over five years in grants to publicly owned treatment works to carry out vulnerability assessments, site security and emergency response plans, and to implement measures to improve the overall security of the wastewater treatment facilities, as well as provide emergency response training to first responders and firefighters who may be called upon in the event of a terrorist act.
This legislation has been endorsed by the nation’s leading wastewater utility organizations, including the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, the California Association of Sanitation Agencies, and the American Public Works Association.
Madam Chairwoman, I support passage of this legislation, and reserve the balance of my time.
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