Below is a copy of a letter plus questions that I am sending to the City of Oklahoma City. I received their Y2k readiness disclosure today, and found it pretty deficient across the board. I developed the following in an attempt to get more information. I am posting it here as an example of analyzing a document and questions that should be asked. Note that even though my request was made earlier this week, the report they sent me was dated March 16, 1999.

Robert Waldrop

QUESTIONS ABOUT OKLAHOMA CITY'S Y2K READINESS

August 24, 1999

Kerry Wagnon, Director Department of Business and Communications Technology The City of Oklahoma City 100 North Walker, Suite 600 Oklahoma City, OK 73102

Dear Ms. Wagnon, Thank you for your prompt response to my request for a copy of the city's Y2k readiness disclosure. I wish I could say that I was reassured by the report you sent, but unfortunately, I am not. My concerns are not particularly related to your financial systems. I do not doubt the ability of Oklahoma City to get money from its citizens and to pay its bills, one way or another, even if people have to hand-write checks or actually carry currency and add up the tax bills with paper and pencil.

My primary concerns relate to water, sewer, garbage, and emergency response. The consequences of the failure of these essential services are grave and life-threatening to hundreds of thousands of people. The city manager's report of March 16, 1999 report does not provide adequate assurances that the City will be able to maintain these services.

Based on the content of your disclosures to date, I conclude:

1. If there is a catastrophic failure of the electric system, Oklahoma City would not be able to provide water delivery and its traffic light system would fail. No statement can be made about the city's sewage and garbage systems, as the disclosures provided do not address these areas of concern.

2. If telecommunications fail, your ability to provide emergency response would be seriously degraded. If Y2k happened today, your emergency response software would not operate correctly.

3. I am not able to determine from these disclosures if you have adequate contingency plans for the range of possible scenarios. As of this date, you have not completed your contingency planning process.

4. As of August 24, 1999, 129 days to the date transition, Oklahoma City government was not Y2k-ready, although you are working on it.

To make a better determination of the actual risk here in Oklahoma City, I have prepared the attached questions. If the City is pursuing an adequate Y2k readiness program, the answers should be available with a minimum amount of effort. As a citizen and a property and sales taxpayer of this city, I believe I have a right to this information. Since the best Y2k readiness process is one which is open and transparent, I am posting a copy of these questions to several internet forums, and they are posted on my website at http://www.justpeace.org/okcquestions.htm . I am also making these questions available to others in the voluntary sector here in Oklahoma City. I'm not trying to cause anybody any gratuitous trouble; these questions are reasonable, and if the city does have an adequate Y2k remediation program, the information requested should be readily available.

"The time to build the cellar is before the tornado hits." If we are expecting problems, common sense demands that proper preparations be made to mitigate the extent of the disaster. If the risks of January 2000 in Oklahoma City are minimal, then the information verifying this assessment should be made public.

Thank you for your assistance in helping to make this information accessible so that an adequate determination can be made of the actual risks to the public in the Year 2000 transition in Oklahoma City.

Sincerely, /sig/ Robert Waldrop Archbishop Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House 1524 NW 21st Oklahoma City, OK 73106

Enc: (1) Questions about Oklahoma City's Y2k readiness (2) Analysis of Y2k disclosure statements from OG&E and ONG

+++++++++++++++++ QUESTIONS REGARDING THE Y2K DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS OF THE CITY OF OKLAHOMA CITY Submitted August 25, 1999, by Robert Waldrop

The documents provided by the City dated August 23, 1999, that are the basis of these questions are:

Letter from Kerry R. Wagnon, Director, Department of Business and Communications Technology

Report of the City Manager to the Mayor and City Council, dated March 16, 1999

1. Water delivery

Your report says: "The City of Oklahoma City is fortunate to have an abundant water supply and three treatment plants that are involved in its delivery. Although two of the three plants utilize computerized systems to monitor and control certain processes, all three plants are capable of treating and delivering water to our customers even without the use of these systems. Additionally, the Water Department is currently replacing the process control systems at Draper and Hefner treatment plants. The only perceivable threat to water delivery is a catastrophic failure of the electric supply system."

a. Does the second sentence in this paragraph mean that the manual procedures have been tested and that the employees of those plants have been trained in the necessary manual procedures?

b. In the event of a "catastrophic failure of the electric supply system," how long until Oklahoma City would be "out of water" (i.e. when the average customer turns on the faucet, little or nothing comes out)?

c. How many emergency generators has Oklahoma City bought as backups to the supply of utility power? How long can the city water system operate with those generators?

d. If Oklahoma City has not bought any emergency generators, why not? If the City does not have emergency generators, what is the contingency plan for a "catastrophic failure of the electric supply system"? Which is to say, please explain how the city will deliver at least one gallon of potable water, per day, to the entire population of the city?

e. How many days/weeks/months of inventory of treatment chemicals will the city maintain going into the year 2000? How extensive is the current (August 1999) inventory?

2. Vendor assurances

a. The report says: "We have contacted the providers of these services and, based upon their responses, have a reasonably high expectation of uninterrupted service. Nevertheless, it is important to note that City systems are reliant upon these externally provided core services."

Regarding OG&E, have you received a Y2k assurance or disclosure other than the one page letter posted at the OG&E website as the company's sole Y2k disclosure that is being sent to all vendors/customers who request information? If so, I would appreciate receiving a copy of it. Attached is a review of the Y2k disclosure of OG&E which I have prepared. As you will note, their Y2k readiness is heavily qualified, and questions may be legitimately asked about OG&E's ability to deliver electricity in the year 2000. The possibility of a catastrophic failure of the electric supply system in January 2000 is real, not imaginary.

b. It is now the last week of August 1999. How many vendors has the city surveyed, and how many have responded? What percent is this of the total city vendors? Regarding critical materials for water/sewage treatment and fuel for emergency vehicles, has the City independently verified the Y2k readiness of those suppliers? If not, what contingency plans does the City have for a breakdown in the supply chain for these items?

3. Sewer system

a. Your report does not mention the sewer system. Why was this system omitted from the March 16, 1999 report of the City Manager?

b. What is the Y2k readiness status of the city's waste/sewage treatment system?

c. I am assuming that the city's sewage system is as dependent upon the continued supply of electricity as the water system. How many emergency backup generators has the city bought? How long could the sewer system operate on those emergency generators? If the city hasn't bought backup generators, why not? What contingency plans does the city have to keep the sewer system operating in the event of a "catastrophic failure of the electric system"?

d. Is any part of the city at risk of sewer backflows due to computer/embedded chip/software errors? If so, where do these risks exist?

e. What inventory of chemicals/materials necessary for sewage treatment will the city carry into January 2000? What is the current size of the inventory?

f. If the Oklahoma City sewer system begins discharging untreated sewage into streams or rivers, what risks does this pose for down-stream water systems and to the public health here in Oklahoma City?

g. If the city sewer system cannot be operated, what contingency plan does the city have for the safe and sanitary disposal of sewage?

4. Garbage disposal

Your report does not mention garbage disposal.

a. What is the Y2k readiness of the city's garbage collection and disposal system?

b. I assume that the garbage collection and disposal is dependent upon fuel. What fuel inventory will the city maintain going into January 2000? What is its current level?

c. If the city is not able to collect garbage, what is the contingency plan for garbage disposal?

5. Emergency Services

The report notes that emergency services are dependent upon telecommunications services.

a. If the phone system goes down, what is the backup contingency plan for citizens to contact the emergency services?

b. If deliveries from fuel vendors stop, how long until the city is out of fuel for its emergency vehicles?

c. Has the city determined that its emergency vehicles and facilities have no embedded chips or software problems that require remediation?

d. The report notes the dependence of traffic lights on the electrical system. What is the backup contingency plan for traffic direction in the event of a "catastrophic failure of the electric system"?

e. The first paragraph of the report on Public Safety Systems implies that your public safety applications were not compliant in March 1999. You "anticipate" delivery of new compliant versions within six months, which would be August or September (depending on when you start counting). Have the new releases been received, installed and tested? If not, when do you anticipate finishing this process?

f. The report says that your Mobile Data Terminal system "relies on a Motorola controller that has been identified as noncompliant" and that it will be replaced in the next nine months. Has this equipment been received, installed and tested? If not, when will this happen?

5. Miscellaneous

a. In June 1999, a computer error in a pipeline caused 250,000 gallons of gasoline to leak into a creek. In the subsequent explosion, three little kids were killed. What risk does Oklahoma City face of this kind of pipeline disaster?

b. This summer the Chemical Safety Board of the U.S. government sent a letter to all governors regarding the risk of haz-mat accidents caused by Y2k glitches. Was this letter passed on from the Governor's office to Oklahoma City? Has the City assessed its risk of large-scale haz-mat disasters? What residential areas of Oklahoma City are at risk of serious haz-mat disasters?

c. Has the city canceled vacations/leave time over the New Year's holiday?

-- robert waldrop (rmwj@soonernet.com), August 24, 1999

Answers

Robert,

Your letter is an inspiration to me. I will begin mine now.

Sincerely, Stan Faryna

-- Stan Faryna (info@giglobal.com), August 24, 1999.

Well, I'd hate to have to get this letter, and answer it honestly if my preparation were no further along than OK City's.

Robert, I recommend you get a copy of this to your local radio station, newspaper, and the Chief of the Fire Department.

Why fire, not police? The fire department will be most affected by no water pressure, will be required to actually respond if hazmat cleanup is required, and will usually be the actual "people" responding to disasters/problems/breaks or leaks. (The police, in all matters but criminal, are really only good for directing traffic. The problems are actually solved by people under the Fire Dept control - so he will be more inclined to respond than the y2k office.)

Good luck. Stan, same to you.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), August 25, 1999.

Robert, thanks for the suggestions. I've been compiling a list of locals to send it to, and I'll make sure I copy the fire chief.

-- robert waldrop (rmwj@soonernet.com), August 25, 1999.

Robert, thank you for all your hard work in so many areas. You are truly storing up your treasures in heaven.

I think these questions are extremely useful because of the level of detail. I wish some "journalists" (HEY, anyone out there?!?) would pick up these questions and get probing in their own communities.

I plan on sending a copy of your questions to the local reporter at my local newspaper who has been given the y2k beat. (and this is something we ALL ought to do, IMO, to give them a nudge.) One recent article said (more or less) water treatment plant says they are 'ready', but are still waiting to hear from vendors on the status of the embedded chips. I wish this particular reporter had thought to ask *further* questions along the lines of yours.

Remember, everyone, ALL failures are "LOCAL"! I'm afraid that's what Koskinen really means...

(p.s. an aside to Robert - the student y2k readiness design brochure projects are coming in and looking good, some copies will be in the mail to you within a couple weeks or so. The students are really rising to the occasion!)

-- mommacarestx (harringtondesignX@earthlink.net), August 25, 1999.