Given recent efforts by utilities to secure their systems by conducting vulnerability and risk assessments, preparing emergency responses to terrorism and complying with government mandates, the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) has released a guide to understanding and changing state disclosure laws.
"Protecting sensitive information that could be used by domestic or international terrorists to disrupt or destroy these systems is key to the safety of the nation's drinking water and wastewater systems," said Diane VanDe Hei, AMWA's executive director. In addition to representing the nation's largest publicly owned drinking water agencies, AMWA became the water sector's liaison to the federal government in 1998, and, since then, has worked closely with utilities, other water associations and federal agencies on security matters.
"State FOIA Laws: A Guide To Protecting Sensitive Water Security Information" explains state disclosure laws and offers models and strategies to change a law, where the current statute may be inadequate for protecting sensitive security information.
All states have enacted laws addressing disclosure of public information. Some specify exemptions within the body of the law, while others have enacted "Catch All" provisions exempting all other statutes. In other cases, court orders expressly exclude information from disclosure.
"As the guide explains, some states, such as Virginia and Iowa, have already strengthened their laws to protect sensitive information," VanDe Hei sai. "The guide should be useful in helping utilities in other states to persuade their state legislators and governors to do likewise."
To download a copy of the publication, visit www.amwa.net/isac.
