Notice of Public Meeting

These comments are submitted on behalf of the American Water Works Association. AWWA encourages the FEMA Review Council to implement recommendations developed by the Water Sector Coordinating Council that would establish a unified water sector mission. This would serve to align decision making with normal day-to-day interactions, relationships and statutory authorities, and improve communication and coordination at the federal, state and local level. This request is based on the water sector's observations during multiple events going back to Hurricane Katrina and challenges experienced due to the structural inefficiencies in how the federal family is organized under the National Response Framework to support the water sector (drinking water and wastewater). Much has improved on an ad-hoc basis, but the underlying protocol needs to be changed to ensure consistency at all levels. These recommendations support the objectives in EO 14180.