Title
Resolution Expressing Support for H.R. 7922, to Establish a Water Risk and Resilience Organization to Develop Risk and Resilience Requirements for the Water Sector
Body
LEGISLATIVE INTENT/PURPOSE:
WHEREAS, the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority ("CFPUA") provides water and wastewater services to more than 220,000 customers residing within the City of Wilmington and greater New Hanover County; and,
WHEREAS, CFPUA owns, operates, and maintains an extensive water distribution and wastewater collection system that includes two drinking water treatment plants, two wastewater treatment plants, surface water and groundwater management facilities, elevated water tanks, pump stations, and several thousand miles of water and sewer lines; and,
WHEREAS, Water-dependent industries served by CFPUA account for approximately 37% of total economic output and 40% of total employment within New Hanover County, and a recent economic impact study indicated that each day of potential water service disruption would result in a total economic output loss of between $70.4 million and $93.2 million, depending on the length of the overall outage; and,
WHEREAS, to protect our community, CFPUA has implemented a highly robust cyber-security protocol, but CFPUA's response to this crisis is arguably the exception in the industry, not the norm; and,
WHEREAS, security guidance is currently dispersed across multiple agencies and organizations, including Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience ("CISA"), Occupational Health and Safety ("OHS"), the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), the Water Information Sharing and Analysis Center ("WaterISAC"), the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), and various industry associations; and,
WHEREAS, the absence of a unified framework or governing body tasked with establishing cybersecurity standards tailored to their unique needs leaves water utilities navigating a labyrinth of disparate recommendations and standards, without clear ...
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