ASDWA and EPA Successfully Partner on a State Agency Collaboration Fact Sheet

ASDWA and EPA are pleased to announce the availability of a new document – Bridging the Gap:  Coordination between State Primacy Agencies and State Emergency Management Agencies.

This eight-page fact sheet focuses on collaborative opportunities between public water and emergency management agencies when an incident escalates to the need for state involvement. It contains information on the respective agencies’ roles before and during an incident and the value each can bring to the other’s table, tips on coordination and requesting federal assistance, and numerous examples of state collaboration that has improved water sector preparedness and response.  It also contains a checklist of the types of discussion points that state primacy agency staff may wish to raise when talking with their emergency management agency counterparts. The greater level of coordination promoted by this document will ensure that the most effective and efficient response is provided, that public health is protected, and that affected communities can return to normal as quickly as possible.

State drinking water program staff are encouraged to download a copy of this document and use it to begin collaborative conversations with your emergency management agency counterparts: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/emerplan/
upload/epa817f12006.pdf.  You may also view this and other security related materials from the EPA Water Security Division website at:  http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/watersecurity/emerplan/index.cfm.