Large Drinking Water Utilities
Awarded Water Security Grants

As many in the water utility community know, the U.S. EPA received a supplemental appropriation from Congress to improve the safety and security of the Nation's water supply in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. The $89 million is intended to reduce the vulnerability of water utilities to terrorist attacks and to enhance their security and ability to respond to emergency situations.

Overview

EPA's goal is to help make drinking water and wastewater systems in the U.S. as safe as possible as soon as possible. To that end, EPA will fund the following:

• EPA is awarding water security grants as part of $53 million for large drinking water systems. Ultimately, over 400 grants will be awarded to assist utilities with security planning. These systems provide drinking water to nearly half of Americans served by public water systems. The grants support Vulnerability Assessments, remediation planning and/or emergency plan development.
  
  Note: grants to large publicly-owned systems will be accepted until August 9, 2002. EPA is accepting grant applications from large privately-owned community water utilities, until August 30, 2002.

• EPA is working with the States, tribes, and utility organizations to determine the best ways to meet small and medium drinking water and wastewater system needs. EPA will use a significant portion of the FY'02 funds to provide training, development and distribution of tools, and technical assistance.

• EPA is supporting state water security coordination activities, coordination and training activities for first responders (law enforcement, public health, Utilities and all levels of government), investigation of security-related treatment and detection tools.

Large Privately-Owned Community Drinking Water Grant Program

Who is eligible?

EPA will issue grant awards to privately-owned community drinking (potable) water utilities that regularly serve populations over 100,000. This program is non-competitive, and all eligible Utilities that submit completed grant applications, as specified in the Request for Applications (RFA), will receive awards. Utilities that submit applications early in the process may receive grant awards sooner. The RFA may be accessed at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/security/rfa_private_grants.pdf (PDF, 135KB).

How may the funds be used?

The value of each grant will not exceed $115,000. The grant monies may be used to develop a Vulnerability Assessment (V/A), Emergency Response/operating Plan (ERP), security enhancement plans and designs, or a combination of these efforts. Utilities may use grant funds for in-house or contractor support, assuming demonstration of qualifications. Acceptable qualifications include proof of training in performing V/As or technical qualifications to carry out all of the elements of a satisfactory V/A as defined in the RFA. An example of suitable training is that offered by Sandia National Laboratory or companies trained by Sandia and licensed by them.

Under what circumstances can I be reimbursed for training in performing Vulnerability Assessments?

At the present time, if your Utility receives a grant for performing a Vulnerability Assessment and related work under this program, you can expend a reasonable amount of grant funding to receive Vulnerability Assessment training. Your training must comply with the elements of a satisfactory Vulnerability Assessment as described in the Request for Applications. (The grant program does not reimburse consultants' and contractors' costs for this training.) Reimbursement for this training is only available to large privately-owned community water utilities performing work under these grants, at the present time. Other training support programs may be made available to medium and small Utilities at a later date.

May I request reimbursement of costs previously incurred?

To a limited extent - EPA's grant regulations allow coverage of costs only within 90 days prior to the grant award date. Allowable pre-award costs are for development of a V/A by qualified in-house staff or contractors, or for training on V/As, ERPs or remediation planning and/or emergency plan development. If the grant is not approved, the Government is not responsible for those pre-award costs incurred. Recognizing that some Utilities have already begun Vulnerability Assessment work, EPA broadened the grant scope to include more security-related activities.

When must the Vulnerability Assessment be completed?

Completion of the V/A is required within 6 months of grant award or by March 31, 2003, whichever is earlier -- note that this is different from the publicly-owned utilities due to the wording in the new law (Public Law 107-188). The ERP must be completed within 6 months after the V/A or by September 30, 2003. Other activities under the grant should be completed by December 31, 2003. If the Utility is able to complete the project plan under budget, the grant may be amended to cover additional security planning activities within the project scope.

What are the requirements for a Vulnerability Assessment?

A Vulnerability Assessment is a systematic analysis used to develop a security protection plan for water supply, treatment, and distribution systems. It identifies a system's vulnerabilities and provides a prioritized plan for security upgrades, modifications of operational procedures, and/or policy changes to mitigate identified risks to critical assets. The V/A also provides a basis for comparing the cost of protection against the risks posed. The Sandia National Laboratory V/A methodology serves as a model for the recommended approach, but is not required.

What is the definition of an Emergency Response Plan (ERP)?

An ERP is a guide for water Utilities upon which actions and decisions can be based to govern the immediate response to an emergency. The intent of the ERP is to identify certain responsibilities delegated to various teams and employees, present details of the notification procedures, and describe alternate measures and response actions. The ERP is not intended to be inclusive for each situation or problem that arises and should be updated periodically for continued relevance and viability. It must also comply with applicable state and local ordinances and requirements.

Will physical improvements or construction be covered?

Funds awarded under this program may not be used for physical improvements. States may allow Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) monies to be used for physical improvements at Publicly-Owned Wastewater Treatment Works (POTWs), and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds (DWSRF) to be used by Public Water Systems. These funds may be used for a range of purposes, as described at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwsrf/security-fs.pdf (PDF, 78KB).

What other resources are available?

For more information, contact the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or send an e-mail to Water.Protection@epa.gov.