ALEXANDRIA, VA, April 14, 2006 -- In 2006, the Water Environment Federation, through a cooperative agreement with EPA, will provide seven 3-day workshops at no-cost in various locations across the U.S. on security and emergency response planning. As a follow-up to the workshops, WEF will provide no-cost web-casts to all attendees as a "refresher" course and an opportunity to ask follow-up questions.
Publicly owned water treatment (POTWs) operations treating 2.5 mgd or greater are invited to attend and will be eligible for travel reimbursement. Other interested parties may attend on a space available basis, but will not eligible for travel reimbursement. While not required to submit their Vulnerability Assessment (VA) or Emergency Response Plan (ERP) to the EPA, publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) managers and operators are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity to receive no-cost, hands-on training on this important topic. Even if you have participated in a WEF security training in the past, this new program will be of benefit to you as it is equally relevant in preparing for, and responding to, man-made threats or natural disasters.
The 3-day WEF POTW training will consist of one day of vulnerability assessment training and two days of emergency response training, including table top exercises. The vulnerability self-assessment tool (VSAT™) will continue to be the primary focus of the training, however, other tools, including the EPA Emergency Response Plan (ERP) CD on table top exercises, will be integrated into the training. In addition, WEF will structure the training to present the 14 features of an active and effective security program developed by the National Drinking Water Advisory Council.
Workshop and Webcast Schedule:
• Introductory Webcast -- April 18
• Denver, CO Workshop - June 27-29
• Minneapolis, MN Workshop - July 11-13
• San Francisco, CA Workshop - August 1-3
• Follow-Up Webcast - September 12
• Providence, RI Workshop - September 19-21
• Dallas, TX Workshop -- October 17-19
• Kansas City, MO Workshop - November 8-10
• Atlanta, GA Workshop - November 28-30
• Follow-Up Webcast -- December 12
For more details on the WEF 2006 Wastewater Security Training Program, including online registration, click here.
Founded in 1928, the Water Environment Federation (www.wef.org) is a not-for-profit technical and educational organization with members from varied disciplines who work toward the WEF vision of preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. The WEF network includes water quality professionals from 76 Member Associations in 30 countries.
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Also see: "Stockholm Junior Water Prize Online Journal to debut in Fall 2006"
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