N.Y. Public Health Law § 1125: Water supply emergency plans

§ 1125. Water supply emergency plans. 1. Definitions. As used in this

title:

(a) "Water supply emergency plan" shall mean a plan reviewed and

approved by the commissioner and filed with the department. The plan

shall follow a form which shall be specified by the department and which

shall include, but not be limited to, those items enumerated in this

section, and shall address those actions to be taken by a water supplier

to anticipate emergencies and respond responsibly to emergency

situations. The department shall maintain a list of all water suppliers

required to submit a water supply emergency plan pursuant to this

section.

(b) "Water supplier" shall mean any person who owns or operates a

community water system that supplies drinking water to more than three

thousand three hundred people.

2. All water suppliers shall prepare a water supply emergency plan;

provided, however, if more than one water supplier is responsible for

the same system, such plan shall be submitted jointly by such two or

more water suppliers. The plan shall identify and outline the steps

necessary to ensure that potable water is available during a water

supply emergency. The water supply emergency plan shall include, but not

be limited to, the following:

(a) establishment of criteria and procedures to determine critical

water levels or safe yield of system,

(b) identification of existing and future sources of water under

normal conditions and emergency conditions,

(c) system capacity and ability to meet peak demand and fire flows

concurrently,

(d) storage capacities,

(e) current condition of present interconnections and identification

of additional interconnections to meet a water supply emergency,

(f) specific action plan to be followed during a water supply

emergency including a phased implementation of the plan,

(g) general water conservation programs and water use reduction

strategies for water supply emergencies,

(h) prioritization of water users,

(i) identification and availability of emergency equipment needed

during a water supply emergency,

(j) public notification program coordinated with the phased

implementation schedule, and

(k) a vulnerability analysis assessment, including an analysis of

vulnerability to terrorist attack and cyber attack, which shall be made

after consultation with local and state law enforcement agencies.

3. All water suppliers shall, prior to the final submission of the

water supply emergency plan, publish a notice in a newspaper of general

circulation in the area served by the community water system stating

that the proposed water emergency plan is available for review and

comment; provided, however, a water supplier shall exempt from public

disclosure for public review and comment any information it determines

to pose a security risk to operation of the water supply system. Such

notice shall be printed at least once in each of two successive weeks

and the water supplier shall accept public comment for at least fourteen

days following the date of the first publication. The water supplier

shall submit all public comments with the water emergency plan to the

department.

4. Water supply emergency plans shall be submitted to the commissioner

on or before December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety. All water

suppliers who have previously submitted emergency water supply plans

which were approved by the commissioner prior to the effective date of

this title are exempt from the provisions of this subdivision. The

commissioner shall retain a copy of each water supply emergency plan.

5. Every water supplier shall review, and if necessary, revise its

water supply emergency plan and report its findings to the commissioner

by December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-five. Any water

supplier whose water supply emergency plan does not include an analysis

of vulnerability to terrorist attack and cyber attack, shall initiate

such an analysis by June first, two thousand seventeen, and shall revise

its emergency plan and report its findings to the commissioner by

January first, two thousand eighteen. Every water supplier shall keep

its water supply emergency plan up to date, shall provide updated

communication and notification information to the commissioner by

December thirty-first of every year, and shall submit its water supply

emergency plan to the commissioner for review at least once every five

years and within thirty days after major water facility infrastructure

changes have been made. The commissioner shall make available for

review, following established security protocols, a copy of each

vulnerability analysis assessment from a water supplier to the

superintendent of state police, commissioner of the division of homeland

security and emergency services, and chief technology officer.

6. (a) The commissioner or a county health department may provide

guidance and assistance to community water systems on conducting

vulnerability assessments, preparing water supply emergency plans and

addressing threats from terrorist attacks, including cyber attacks,

designed to disrupt the provision of safe drinking water or

significantly affect the public health, or significantly affect the

safety or supply of drinking water provided to communities or

individuals.

(b) A community water system, that is not a water supplier, may elect

to complete a water supply emergency plan. Such community water system

may elect to submit the plan to the commissioner for approval. In such a

case, the commissioner shall subject the plan to such approval process

as described in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section.

7. The commissioner, in his discretion, may provide an opportunity for

public hearing for persons served by a community water system.

8. The commissioner shall make such rules and regulations which may be

necessary to effectuate the purposes of this title.

9. The commissioner, superintendent of state police, commissioner of

the division of homeland security and emergency services, and chief

technology officer shall keep confidential: (a) all vulnerability

analysis assessments and all information derived therefrom; and (b) all

information determined by a water supplier to pose a security risk to

the operation of a water supply system. Such assessments and information

shall be exempt from disclosure under article six of the public officers

law. A person who, without authorization, discloses any such assessment

or information to another person who has not been authorized to receive

such assessment or information is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.