EPA orders six Illinois water suppliers to comply with AWIA

The U.S. EPA announced that it has issued orders to six drinking water suppliers failing to meet EPA’s requirements for emergency response plans and risk assessments.

The orders affect water systems across five Illinois municipalities — Justice, Millstadt, Harrisburg, Brownstown, and Bridgeport — in addition to the University of Illinois in Champaign.

The requirements come from America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (AWIA). Under AWIA, any drinking water system which serves more than 3,300 people must develop or update a risk and resilience assessment and an emergency response plan.

The law also establishes deadlines for certifying completion to EPA. Nationwide, more than 95% of water systems have complied with the requirements under AWIA.

EPA is requiring the City of Harrisburg to certify its risk assessment and is requiring the other five suppliers to certify their emergency response plans.

EPA is ordering each system to submit a detailed compliance plan within 30 days for review and approval.

An emergency response plan describes strategies, resources, plans, and procedures that systems can use to prepare for and respond to an incident, natural or man-made, that threatens life, property, or the environment. Incidents can range from localized flooding or hacking of cybersecurity systems to large scale hurricanes, earthquakes, or terrorist attacks, among other examples. A risk and resilience assessment evaluates the vulnerabilities, threats, and consequences from potential hazards to drinking water systems.

EPA previously issued orders to drinking water systems in Caro and Worth Township, Michigan, and in Lansing, Maywood and Bellwood, Illinois. Bellwood submitted a compliance plan; the other four orders were terminated after the systems returned to compliance.