On the water frontHomeland security legislation to affect water sector

What with growing populations, climate change, and other such trends, water is becoming a big issue. The water sector, part of any nation’s critical infrastructure, is increasingly touched by legislation aiming to tightneing national security. The most recent example is H.R. 1, a bill reflecting the agreement reached in a House-Senate conference committee last week on homeland security legislation. Both chambers of Congress voted to pass the bill and send it to President Bush for signature. The legislation is intended to enact additional anti-terror recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, and it contains several features of interest to the water sector:

* Directing DHS and the Department of transportation (DOT) to implement a rule regulating the rail shipment of hazardous materials such as gaseous chlorine by requiring rail carriers to transport hazardous shipments over routes believed to have the lowest security risk. The bill also requests a study of increased costs rail carriers must pay for additional insurance and security on hazardous shipments and how much of these costs are passed on.

* Reducing each state’s guaranteed allocation of 0.75 percent of State Homeland Security Grant Program funds to 0.35 percent by 2012. This is intended to direct more funds toward areas at greater risk of attack.

* Mandating the creation of a National Asset Database, which will serve as a prioritized list of the nation’s critical infrastructure. DHS will oversee the list, which will be annually reviewed by Congress. DHS must also report each year to Congress on the findings of agency-conducted sector-wide risk assessments.