The survey included responses from 1,000 oil and gas companies. The following chart shows the percent of companies surveyed who reported to be in each of five readiness phases for their information technology systems, embedded control systems, and supply chain systems. To serve these purposes, EPA s Emergency Response Program has formed a Y2K Workgroup that includes regional personnel and members of the Environmental Response Team, the Technology Innovation Office, the Chemical Preparedness and Prevention Office, and the Office of Radiation and Indoor Air. To keep EPA informed of and involved in Y2K issues in the oil and gas industry, members of this workgroup coordinate with the regional EPA staff member responsible for outreach to the public regarding Y2K issues. In some cases, the workgroup member is the outreach coordinator.
Members attend public and private sector meetings and bring information back to the workgroup.
Y2K readiness pooling and sharing information among the Regions and organizations, reporting on section status, and developing guidance. The group is also working to build communications with local responders in anticipation of potential wide scale emergency activity. Currently, the workgroup s monthly conference calls are being coordinated by EPA Headquarters. Internally, each EPA region is addressing its information technology and facility systems with support from Headquarters. Similar to the oil and gas industry, EPA s Oil and Emergency Response Programs may be subject to external vulnerability.