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Emergency / Incident Planning
About PDF Files
 Emergency response plans
describe the actions that a drinking water or wastewater utility would take in response to a major event, such as natural disasters or man-made emergencies. They should
address the issues raised by the utility's vulnerability assessment. The information given below is of vital importance to water
utilities, but it is also a valuable resource for other government and private sector entities, such as public health and law enforcement officials, emergency responders,
laboratories, and technical assistance providers. Guidance documents and planning tools to improve the quality and efficiency of measures taken to respond to
accidental or purposeful contamination incidents are described below.
Utilities are strongly encouraged to regularly review and update their vulnerability assessments and emergency response plans.
Under the Bioterrorism Act, drinking water systems must certify completion of emergency response plans within 6 months of certifying that
their vulnerability assessment is complete. The Bioterrorism Act sets the following due dates for certifying and submitting vulnerability assessments and for certifying ERPs:
| Systems serving population of: |
Certify and submit vulnerability assessment by: |
Certify emergency response plan: |
| 100,000 or greater |
March 31, 2003 |
Six months following the completion* of the vulnerability assessment |
| 50,000-99,999 |
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 and the emergency response plan certification requirements of the Bioterrorism
Act.
This table briefly summarizes the emergency response tools available. More detail about each tool is provided below.
-
The Wastewater Emergency Response Plan Guidance Document
 [2,450KB - 83 pp] has been published by the Water Environment Research Foundation
(WERF) . This tool assists wastewater systems in preparing their emergency response plans (ERPs). It is intended to help wastewater
systems to organize their planning efforts, and to provide a reference for the types of information and data that should be included in an emergency response plan. A
limited number of hard copies will be available from WERF on a first come first serve basis by calling 703-684-2470.
Response Protocol Toolbox
- Interim Final Response Protocol Toolbox: Planning for and Responding to Contamination Threats to Drinking Water Systems - These modules provide tools that are
designed to help the water sector to effectively and appropriately respond to intentional contamination threats and incidents. EPA produced the Toolbox, building on
the experience and expertise of several drinking water utilities, particularly the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Organized in modular format, the
Toolbox will be of value to drinking water utilities, laboratories, emergency responders, state drinking water programs, technical assistance providers and public health
and law enforcement officials. Users are encouraged to review the overview before using other Modules. Please note that the Toolbox contains guidance that may be
adopted voluntarily. The modules are also available in MS Word for those wishing to utilize the forms and text.
| MODULE |
DOWNLOADS |
| Overview (EPA-817-D-03-007) |
PDF [3,482KB - 17 pp] |
Word [463KB] |
| Water Utility Planning Guide - Module 1 (EPA-817-D-03-001) |
PDF [3,025KB - 46 pp] |
Word [1,182KB] |
| Contamination Threat Management Guide - Module 2 (EPA-817-D-03-002) |
PDF [3,737KB - 96 pp] |
Word [2,559KB] |
| Site Characterization and Sampling Guide - Module 3 (EPA-817-D-03-003) |
PDF [2,883 - 85 pp] |
Word [1,583KB] |
| Analytical Guide - Module 4 (EPA-817-D-03-004) |
PDF [4,966KB - 113 pp] |
Word [5,282KB] |
| Public Health Response Guide - Module 5 (EPA-817-D-03-005) |
PDF [2,261KB - 84 pp] |
Word [1,548KB] |
| Remediation and Recovery Guide - Module 6 (EPA-817-D-03-006) |
PDF [2,258KB - 112 pp] |
Word [1,279KB] |
Emergency Response Tools and Guidance Documents - Emergency Response Plan Guidance for Small and Medium
Community Water Systems [PDF - 415 KB - 45 pp] - Document published by EPA for use by community water systems serving a
population between 3,301 and 99,999 as they develop or revise emergency response plans. The document should be of considerable value to key authorities with
critical roles during emergency response or remediation actions resulting from a drinking water contamination threat or incident. This document is also available in MS Word for those wishing to utilize the forms and text. Printed
copies, in limited quantities, can be obtained from the National Service Center for Environmental Publications
(NSCEP)
- EPA Environmental Laboratory Compendium - Database of nationwide environmental
laboratories available to water utilities and to federal and state agencies. The database contains each laboratory's specific capabilities to analyze chemical and
biological analytes as well as chemical warfare, bioterrorism, and radiochemical agents. It was developed as a tool to quickly identify laboratories with capabilities to
support incident-specific response and recovery. The compendium is intended to assist water utilities and federal and state agencies in responding to contamination
threats, terrorist attacks, or natural disasters. To access the database, those interested must first register and receive a reply.
- PipelineNet - Software that monitors and projects
the fate and transport of contaminants potentially introduced into water distribution systems, particularly as related to use and application in an emergency response
situation. The Technical Support Working Group (TSGP), EPA, Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) developed the software, which can be used to
- Determine optimal placement of extraction and monitoring instruments.
- Help develop monitoring regimes for routine screening of distribution system water quality.
- Predict or track the fate and transport of contaminants in a system to effectively respond to a purposeful contamination incident, as well as accidental events such
as backflows or cross connections.
- Feasibility of Using the PipelineNet [PDF
- 463 KB - 50 pp] - Report that evaluates the feasibility of using the PipelineNet water distribution system model in different water utility settings. Prepared by the
American Water Works Association Research Foundation .
- Top Ten List for Small Ground Water Suppliers [PDF - 75 KB - 1 p] - List developed to assist small public water suppliers with security and emergency planning. Includes tips to help suppliers to
protect their facilities from tampering or contamination incidents and to prepare for potential emergencies. Developed by EPA Region 1.
- Large Water System Emergency Response Plan Outline: Guidance to Assist
Community Water Systems in Complying with the Bioterrorism Act [PDF - 79 KB - 12 pp] - Guidance developed to aid utilities in
preparing emergency response plans as required by the Bioterrorism Act. Provides guidance that is not a requirement of the federal government, and some sections
might not be applicable to every system. In addition, states might have requirements that supersede this outline.
- Instructions to Assist Community Water Systems in
Complying with the Bioterrorism Act [PDF - 244 KB - 23 pp] - Contains information on actions required of community water systems to
comply with the act, deadlines for submission of emergency response plans based on system size, instructions for submitting the required materials to EPA, and contact
information. The Addendum to the Instructions [PDF - 126
KB - 6 pp] provides clarifications, corrections, and additions.
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