WASHINGTON — Seven agencies in the water and wastewater industry told the Senate Government Affairs Committee to make information about critical infrastructure protection exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
The committee is considering legislation for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and availability of information is one of the aspects of the package.
A 23 July letter was written by groups that claimed to serve drinking water to at least 80 percent of the US: the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, American Water Works Association, National Association of Water Companies, National Rural Water Association, Water Environment Federation, National Water Resources Association and the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies.
"The water sector has significant concerns about sharing sensitive information with agencies or departments that do not have the necessary tools to ensure that it would be protected," the letter said. "This is a risk that cannot be taken."
The FOIA, passed by Congress in 1966 and amended in 1974, creates procedures where any member of the public may obtain the records of the agencies of the federal government.
One of the responsibilities of DHS, the letter said, will be to analyze utility information to discover trends, conduct research, recommend security precautions and coordinate emergency responses.
"There must be, at a minimum, a FOIA exemption for voluntarily shared information related to critical infrastructure protection," the letter said.
Congress recognized this type of protection when it recently passed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Response Act of 2002, which the letter said included not only a FOIA exemption for drinking water vulnerability assessments, but fines, imprisonment and loss of federal employment for individuals who disclosed information contained in the assessments.
Every month in Water Technology Magazine, "Professor POU/POE" answers reader questions about point-of-use/point-of-entry water treatment.
If you have a question for the Professor (also known as David Bauman, Technical Editor), send an e-mail to rdipaolo@ntpmedia.com and we'll pass it along. With your question, please indicate your general location (region, state, province, etc.). Not all questions will be chosen for publication.
Write for WT
Water Technology welcomes and encourages editorial contributions from the world of residential water conditioning, bottled water delivery, and treatment for commercial or light industrial applications.
To place a classified ad online, e-mail your ad text to pharrington@ntpmedia.com or call Pat Harrington at 518-640-9173.
Bookstore
WaterTechBooks.com is an online bookseller for the water treatment industry. It has dozens of titles in stock, in a variety of categories. A simple e-commerce platform allows you to complete your transaction online and have your books shipped directly to your home or business.
Every month in 
