The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a July 23rd Notification of Audit titled:
Addressing Cybersecurity Risks to Community Water Systems under the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (“Notification”)
See Project No. OA-FY21-0240.
The Notification is transmitted from Michael D. Davis, OIG Director, Environmental Investment and Infrastructure Directorate, to Radhika Fox, EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Water.
The America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 (“AWIA”) was a Congressional enactment whose objective included:
- Improving drinking water and water quality
- Deepening infrastructure investments
- Enhancing public health and quality of life
- Increasing jobs
- Bolstering the economy
It included significant changes to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Key EPA activities involved:
- Drinking Water State Revolving Fund
- Community Water System Risk Resilience Assistant Assessments
- Amendments to the Emergency Planning and Community-Right-To-Know Act
- Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Grant Programs
- Asset Management and Capacity Development Strategies
The Notification states that OIG plans to audit the cybersecurity requirements under the AWIA. The audit is being undertaken in response to:
. . . recent cybersecurity incidents at U.S. drinking water systems, such as the February 2021 cyberattack on the Oldsnar, Florida, water treatment plant that dangerously increased the level of sodium hydroxide.
Objectives of the audit are stated to include:
- Assess the adequacy of the cybersecurity baseline information that the EPA developed to meet the requirements of Section 2013 of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, as well as determine how community water systems used this information.
- Assess the adequacy of EPA oversight to ensure that community water systems comply with Section 2013 of the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.
A copy of the Notification can be downloaded here.
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