Requirement to Report Changes in Contact Information; Emergency Preparedness Requirements

1. Sustained Compliance: What It Means to Public Water System Owners and Operators Anchorage, AK September 23-24, 2010 Requirement to Report Changes in Contact Information; Emergency Preparedness Requirements Leslie Shurtleff PWS Security SpecialistDrinking Water Program Dept. of Environmental Conservation Leslie.Shurtleff@alaska.gov

2. Outline • Requirement to report changes in contact information to the Program • Emergency Contact Lists & Communication Procedures • Proposed Emergency Preparedness Regulation

3. Report Changes in Contact Information • Reporting Requirement:18 AAC 80.355 (f)Within 30 days after a change in facility name, ownership, operator, address, or status, the owner or operator shall notify the department, in writing, of the change.

4. Report Changes in Contact Information • Required - report in writing a change in: • Owner(s) • Operator(s) • Address • Facility Name • Status Point of Contact Method of Contact Facility Information

5. Report Changes in Contact Information • Change in • Owner(s) • Operator(s) • Designated Operator in Charge? • Emergency Contact • Administrative Contact • Financial Contact • Legal Contact Point of Contact

6. Report Changes in Contact Information • Change in • Address • Phone Numbers • Fax Numbers • Email Address • Cell Phone Numbers Method of Contact

7. Report Changes in Contact Information • Common Slip-ups • Assumption • Inform a different DEC Program • Simply forget • Risk being in violation of the requirement

8. Report Changes in Contact Information • The little effort it takes to report changes in contact information could prevent major headaches…. • The Drinking Water Program (Program) must be able to reach system personnel quickly: • Compliance & Sampling issues • Emergency notifications • Changes in requirements

9. Does Your System Maintain a Current Contact List of its Own?

10. Establish Communication PathwaysIncrease Preparedness • Emergency Contact Lists • Names, Titles, Landline, Cell Phone, Email, Address, Pager • During an incident, normal communication channels may not be accessible! • 1) Internal – System personnel • Assign roles and responsibilities • Chain of Command, ER Lead • 2) External – Non-system personnel

11. Establish Communication PathwaysIncrease Preparedness • External Emergency Contact List • Critical Customers • Local Emergency Responders (Police, Fire, EMT, etc.) • Vendors for Replacement Equipment & Chemical Supplies • Alternate Water Suppliers • Power Utility, Gas/Oil Supplier • Drinking Water Program • Local Emergency Planning Committee • Local & State Public Health Dept. • Mutual Aid Partners

12. Establish Communication PathwaysIncrease Preparedness • Build rapport with entities on external communication list • Establish procedures for when and how to: • Request aid from external entities • Notify users, related agencies, and the media • Discuss the condition of water quality, water availability, and how to obtain water from the alternate source

13. ERP: 8 Core Universal Elements

14. Emergency Preparedness Requirements • Current Requirements • Bioterrorism Act of 2002 • One time requirement • No updates • Not pertain to new systems, or systems that grow to serve 3,300

15. Emergency Preparedness Requirements • New state regulation has been drafted, intended to enhance water system preparedness • Anticipated to be available for public comment in 2011

16. Emergency Preparedness Requirements • Objective of proposed regulation • Inspire PWS personnel to develop a plan, which will ensure the continuation of drinking water availability in the event the standard system source and/or treatment method is compromised

17. Emergency Preparedness Requirements • Development Of Regulation 1)Identify Preparedness Ideal Every system shall …. • Perform a Security Vulnerability Assessment (VA) • Develop an Emergency Response Plan (ERP)

18. Emergency Preparedness Requirements • Security Vulnerability Assessment • Characterizes the system • Considers likely threats • Evaluates system vulnerability to identified threats • Prioritizes risk reduction measures • Emergency Response Plan • Incorporates findings of VA • 8 core elements

19. ERP: 8 Core Universal Elements

20. Emergency Preparedness Requirements • Development Of Regulation 2) Would mandating the ideal achieve the objective? • Not necessarily….. • The process of planning is as important as, if not more important than, a plan • Must establish relationships with response partners

21. Emergency Preparedness Requirements • Development Of Regulation 3) Adopt a tiered approach • Systems serving a larger population (greater than 1,000) will perform a full ERP and VA • Systems serving a smaller population (less than a 1,000) will perform the “Priority Measures Plan”

22. Priority Measures Plan

23. Emergency Preparedness Requirements

24. Emergency Preparedness Requirements • Who is subject to the proposed regulation? • Community water systems (CWS) • Non-transient, non-community water systems (NTNCWS) • Transient non-community water systems (TNC) serving 1,000 persons or more only

25. Emergency Preparedness Requirements • What are the requirements?

26. Emergency Preparedness Requirements • What are the requirements? • TNC systems may elect to shut down in the event of an emergency, and therefore are not required to designate an alternate water supply or establish a backup power plan

27. Resources

28. Resources FREEWater ISAC Pro Trial Subscription -- $500 value

29. Summary • Requirement to report changes in contact information to the Program • Emergency Contact Lists & Communication Procedures • Proposed Emergency Preparedness Regulation