2002年末的几项重大发展为美国水务公司提供了一个强化的联邦框架，用于评估和解决恐怖袭击的脆弱性，更新应急响应计划，以及在这些不确定时期的确定性措施。其中最主要的，也是本文的重点，是立法设立新的国土安全部，由美国环境保护局（USEPA）实施一项协议，以确保为3300多人服务的社区供水系统必须提交的脆弱性评估（VAs）书面副本的安全（以及提交说明），以及相关工具、培训和技术的进一步开发。

Several major developments in late 2002 provided U.S. water utilities with a strengthened federal framework for assessing and addressing vulnerabilities to terrorist attacks and updating emergency response plans as well as a measure of certainty in these uncertain times. Chief among them, and the focus of this article, are enactment of legislation creating the new Homeland Security department, implementation by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) of a protocol for ensuring the security of written copies of the vulnerability assessments (VAs) that community water systems serving more than 3,300 people must submit (along with submission instructions), and further development of related tools, training, and technologies.