What's happening
This bill updates procedures and requirements for water suppliers’ emergency plans, focusing on vulnerability assessments for terrorist and cyber attacks.
Why it matters
Expands oversight and coordination. The bill clarifies and strengthens the roles of the state commissioner and designees in reviewing water suppliers’ vulnerability assessments, ensuring expert input and up-to-date security guidance for water systems.
Mandates proactive planning. Water suppliers are explicitly required to include both terrorist and cyber attack scenarios in their emergency planning, closing gaps in previous requirements that may have overlooked cyber threats.
Enhances law enforcement collaboration. By requiring vulnerability analyses to be conducted in consultation with local and state law enforcement, the bill fosters better coordination and information sharing to anticipate and respond to security threats.
Improves accountability and regular review. The legislation sets stricter timelines for updating emergency plans, mandates annual updates of contact information, and requires formal five-year reviews, ensuring ongoing vigilance and adaptation to emerging risks.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Protect Water Supply Security
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Substituted by A377
- Ordered to third reading cal.22
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Strengthen Water Supply Protections
Signed by Governor · Sponsor Jeffrey Dinowitz
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1068
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 6, 2017
Introduced by Sen. KLEIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the executive law and the public health law, in relation to the protection of water supplies
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 711-b of the executive law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2016 amending the executive law and other laws relating to the protection of water supplies, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.7601 and A.10129, is amended to read as follows:
§ 711-b. Review of water supplier vulnerability analysis assessments. The commissioner, or his or her designee, shall review each vulnerability analysis assessment [from] prepared by a water supplier [transmitted to the division from the department of health] pursuant to section eleven hundred twenty-five of the public health law. The commissioner may issue recommendations or general guidance to the water supplier based on the assessment to enhance protections against a terrorist attack or cyber attack. Such recommendations and guidance shall be kept confidential and shall be exempt from disclosure under article six of the public officers law.
§ 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 1125 of the public health law, as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2016 amending the executive law and other laws relating to the protection of water supplies, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.7601 and A.10129, is amended to read as follows:
(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 situ-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07087-01-7
S. 1068 2
ations. The department shall maintain a list of all water suppliers required to [file] submit a water supply emergency plan pursuant to this section.
§ 3. Paragraph (k) of subdivision 2 of section 1125 of the public health law, as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2016 amending the executive law and other laws relating to the protection of water supplies, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.7601 and A.10129, is amended to read as follows.
(k) a vulnerability analysis assessment, including an analysis of vulnerability to terrorist attack[, including] and cyber attack, which shall be made after consultation with local and state law enforcement agencies.
§ 4. Subdivision 5 of section 1125 of the public health law, as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2016 amending the executive law and other laws relating to the protection of water supplies, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.7601 and A.10129, is amended to read as follows:
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[, including] 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 [seventeen] 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 [transmit] 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.
§ 5. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2016 amending the executive law and other laws relating to the protection of water supplies, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.7601 and A.10129, takes effect.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law and the public health law, in relation to the protection of water supplies
Purpose or general idea of bill
To enhance public safety by requiring drink water suppliers to submit a vulnerability assessment analysis relating to cyber terrorism
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 of the bill adds a new section 711-b to the Executive Law to require the Commissioner of Homeland Security & Emergency Management to review each vulnerability analysis assessment from a water supplier sent to the Division. The Commissioner can also issue recommendations or general guidance to water suppliers based on the Division's review of the assessments.
Section 2 of the bill amends section 1125 of the public health law related to water supply emergency plans, to require the Department of Health to maintain a list of all water suppliers required to file emergency plans pursuant to existing law.
Section 3 of the bill amends section 1125 of the public health law to include an analysis of cyber attack within the water supplier's vulnerability analysis assessment submitted to the Department of Health.
Section 4 of the bill amends section 1125 of the public health law to require water suppliers to revise their emergency plan by January 1, 2017 to include an analysis of risk of cyber attack. The Commissioner of Health must transmit a copy of each vulnerability analysis assessment to the Superintendent of State Police.
Section 5 of the bill amends section 1125 of the public health law to allow the Commissioner of Health or a county health department to provide guidance and support to community water systems on conducting vulnerability analysis assessments. Community water systems that are not already required to submit vulnerability analysis assessments would be given the option of submitting such an assessment
Section 6 of the bill amends section 15-0507 of the environmental conservation law to authorize the Commissioner of Environmental Conservation to promulgate regulations related to response and prevention of terrorism and cyber terrorism by dam owners.
Justification
In March of 2016, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against seven Iranian hackers who attempted to gain access to the Bowman Avenue Dam in Rye, New York in 2013, as well as banks, the Nasdaq, and New York Stock Exchange. One of the hackers attempted to gain access to the dam's supervisory control and data acquisition system related to water levels, water temperature, and water flow. With operators of dams and drinking water systems computerizing much of their system functions, the state of New York must remain vigilant in obtaining and sharing information related to cyber threats and terrorist attacks against critical infrastructure.
In 2002, legislation was passed requiring drinking water suppliers to submit every five years an analysis of vulnerability to a terrorist attack. This bill would update that chapter to require the analysis to also include vulnerability to a cyber attack. Further, the bill enhances information sharing within state government related to possible terrorist or cyber terror attack by requiring this vulnerability assessment to be shared with state police and the department of homeland security and emergency management.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
none to the state
Effective date
Immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.