Anew report from EPA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), entitled EPA Can Better Address Risks to the Security of the Nation’s Drinking Water Through New Authorities, Plans, and Information, says the agency should develop additional measures to better address risks to drinking water. These measures should include development of a strategic plan, assessment of water security by gathering available data and incorporating measures into national guidance, and improvement of internal controls through the development of a program review strategy and a multi-year review plan.
The report also recommends that EPA seek additional authority from Congress to better manage the security of drinking water systems and their water supplies. With the added authority, the agency should develop and use a drinking water security baseline, conduct periodic reassessments, and develop and use annual and long-term outcome measures to gauge the program’s effectiveness in assisting drinking water systems to protect water against attacks and natural disasters, the OIG says.
Strategic planning and internal controls for the water security program should be strengthened to allow the agency to measure the program’s performance and progress in drinking water system preparedness, prevention, response, and recovery capabilities, the report adds. The OIG observes that EPA’s strategic planning is hampered by its limited authority over water security, the voluntary nature of its water security activities and concerns related to protecting information.
In response to the OIG report, EPA reportedly is pledging to include metrics to gauge the success of drinking water security activities in its annual National Program Manager guidance documents and to develop a comprehensive strategy for agency offices to support such activities. The agency stops short of pledging to publish a formal document, but says the Office of Water will meet annually with each office that provides tools, training and technical assistance to the water sector to assess program outcomes and priorities. EPA said it expects a work plan for such meetings to be ready by the third quarter of fiscal year 2014.
The OIG report is available at http://www.epa.gov/oig/reports/2013/20130821-13-P-0349.pdf.