[...]... developed the Water Security Research and Technical Support Action Plan (Action Plan) , which identifies critical security issues for drinking water and wastewater, outlines research and technical support needs within these issues, and presents a prioritized list of research and technical support projects to address these needs The National Research Council (NRC) was tasked to review the EPA Water Security Research. .. Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine The National Research Council is the advisory arm of the National Academies 14 A Review of the EPA Water Security Action Plan Is the timing of the projects, as identified in the Action Plan appendix, realistic? If not, what adjustments are warranted and why? 4 Overall, what changes to the Action Plan are recommended... Decontamination, and Disposal Four broad research and technical support needs were described in the Action Plan to address the issue of containment, treatment, decontamination, and disposal of contaminants in a water system A few issues were overlooked in the identified needs of the Action Plan, such as the importance of training and input data for successful 8 A Review of the EPA Water Security Action Plan. .. (Bioterrorism Act, 2002) The EPA detailed its expanded security role in the Strategic Plan for Homeland Security (EPA, 2002) In order to plan for meeting the EPA s water security responsibilities, the Water Protection Task Force and the National Homeland Security Research Center recently collaborated to develop the Water Security Research and Technical Support Action Plan (Action Plan) (EPA, 2003) This... Panel on Water System Security Research was a review of the EPA Water Security Research and Technical Support Action Plan This report summarizes the findings of the first phase of this review and focuses specifically on the panel’s Statement of Task questions #1 and 4, listed in bold below: 1 Has the Action Plan completely and accurately identified important issues and needs in the water security arena?... agencies, water and wastewater utilities, and professional associations to ensure safe water supplies The EPA s primarily role in water security is to serve as a resource by advancing water security research and technology and providing technical support for utilities and local and state agencies The EPA held national- 11 12 A Review of the EPA Water Security Action Plan security- related responsibilities... implementation Although the Action Plan consists of a large array of drinking water and wastewater research and technical support needs and associated projects, the projects will not, in themselves, result 15 16 A Review of the EPA Water Security Action Plan in improved protection of the nation’s water and wastewater systems Improved protection will only result when the information and knowledge obtained... crucial if many of the countermeasures identified through the Action Plan efforts are to be implemented 22 A Review of the EPA Water Security Action Plan TIME LINES FOR INVESTMENTS The Action Plan serves as the basis for making funding decisions on water security research and technical support in the coming three years EPA staff in their presentations to the panel stressed that the Action Plan and the. .. create and manage databases that are accessible to all the water stakeholders that need them Consideration should be made as to how the databases will be accessed, who will be granted access (and with what security clearance), who will control and update the databases, and how the databases will be integrated with current systems The WaterISAC (Information Sharing and Analysis Center) is currently the. .. the Action Plan This should detail the resources needed to accomplish the research, clearly articulate the roles and responsibilities of other organizations and federal agencies, and include 24 A Review of the EPA Water Security Action Plan plans for disseminating the tools and research findings developed from the Action Plan • Attention needs to be paid to coordination and communication with other . appreciates the assistance of Jon Herrmann and Alan Hais, EPA Office of Research and Development and Hiba Shukairy and Grace Robiou, EPA Office of Water. Panel on Water System Security Research. The panel was organized as part of a broader NRC Review of EPA Homeland Security Efforts in the areas of water systems