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Features of an Active and Effective Protective Program

The water sector has developed the Features of an Active and Effective Protective Program to assist owners and operators of drinking water and wastewater utilities (water sector) in preventing, detecting, responding to, and recovering from adverse effects of all hazards, including terrorist attacks and natural disasters. The term "Protective Program" is used to describe activities that enhance resiliency and promote continuity of service, regardless of the type of hazard that a utility might face. EPA has provided a link to this document at: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/lawsregs/bioterrorismact.cfm.

The document identifies 10 features, including examples of what utility-specific efforts might include and a list of resources. The features are flexible enough to apply to all utilities, regardless of size, and are consistent with a philosophy of continuous improvement. The features include:

  • Encourage awareness and integration of protective measures into daily operations.
  • Annually identify protective priorities and needed resources, supporting those priorities with utility-specific measures and self-assessment.
  • Employ protocols for detection of contamination while recognizing limitations in current methods.
  • Assess risks and periodically review and update vulnerability assessments to reflect changes in potential threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences.
  • Establish physical and procedural controls to restrict access only to authorized individuals and to detect unauthorized physical and cyber intrusions.
  • Incorporate protective program considerations into procurement, repair, maintenance, and replacement of physical infrastructure.
  • Prepare emergency response, recovery, and business continuity plans; test and review plans; regularly update plans.
  • Establish reliable partnerships with first responders, managers of critical interdependent infrastructure, other utilities, and response organizations.
  • Develop and implement strategies for regular, on-going communication about protective programs with employees, customers, and the general public.
  • Monitor incidents and available threat-level information; escalate procedures in response to relevant threats and incidents.

If you have questions regarding emergency preparedness, please contact Paul Niman at 617-556-1166 or paul.niman@state.ma.us.