Washington, D.C. – On the day before Congress appoints conferees to the Bioterrorism Bill, Congressman John D. Dingell, Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, D-Mich., joined all Democratic members from the Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Material in expressing serious concern about the level of vulnerability of the Nation’s public water systems to terrorist attack or other intentional acts and the consequences for the safety and health of communities served by these water systems.

"A successful terrorist attack on a public water system could result in thousands of needless deaths and wide spread panic throughout the Nation," Dingell said. "We have the ability to protect one of our most widely used and reliable public resources. We should do so forthwith."

Approximately 2,000 public water systems in the country have notified the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as of November 2001 that they have more than 2,500 lbs. of gaseous chlorine on-site. These systems are located in 46 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Gaseous chlorine, if released into the atmosphere, can become a lethal cloud with the potential to injure or kill thousands of nearby residents. Experts from Sandia National Laboratories and the Black & Veitch Company, who train water system operators to conduct vulnerability assessments and have carefully examined the issue, are recommending that water systems substitute safer alternatives for gaseous chlorine. Many utilities including those in Wyandotte, Michigan, Greensboro, North Carolina, Passaic Valley, New Jersey, and Fairfax County, Virginia, have already taken the initiative and converted to the safer alternative of sodium hypochlorite.

Against the backdrop of this ongoing threat, Dingell and the other members inquired about EPA’s ability and record as the lead federal agency under Presidential Decision Directive 63 for security in the water utility sector to ensure that appropriate measures are taken at public water systems to correct significant vulnerabilities and minimize the consequences of a terrorist attack. Of particular concern to the members were remarks made by EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman in a speech to the Environmental Foundation of the States on December 7, 2001, in which she stated that EPA does "not have the statutory authority to require any security measures at any water facility."

To gain a greater understanding of EPA’s actions and authorities, the members posed a number of questions to Whitman, among them: 1) would the EPA support legislation granting the Agency additional authority to require the adoption of safer technologies or enhanced security measures?; and 2) has the EPA advised or made a formal recommendation to public water systems to replace gaseous chlorine with sodium hypochlorite or other safer alternatives such as ozonation or ultraviolet light and if not, why not?

Members joining Dingell in the request include Frank Pallone, Peter Deutsch, Sherrod Brown, Edolphus Towns, Bill Luther, Mike Doyle, Lois Capps, Tom Barrett, Jane Harman, Karen McCarthy, Henry Waxman, and Gene Green.