CHEMICAL SECURITYSenate Fails to Reauthorize Chemical Facility Security Program
Chemical industry groups are warning that thousands of chemical facilities across the United States could face increased risk of terrorist attacks after the Senate last week adjourned for its summer recess without approving pending House legislation reauthorizing the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism (CFATS) program.
Chemical industry groups are warning that thousands of chemical facilities across the United States could face increased risk of terrorist attacks after the Senate last week adjourned for its summer recess without approving pending House legislation reauthorizing the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism (CFATS) program, the DHS chemical facility security program, for two years.
Pandora Reportwrites:
The U.S. Senate last week did not pass legislation to reauthorize the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism (CFATS) program before its July 27, 2023 expiration date. According to Industrial Cyber, “The bill was to extend the authorization of the program of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until July 27, 2025. The failure of the Senate to reauthorize the CFATS program has significant implications for chemical facility security measures, potentially putting these facilities at risk.”
“Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, blocked the H.R. 4470 bill in the Senate that would re-authorize the U.S. program to address terrorism and site security, allowing it to expire at the end of Thursday…Paul feared that the bill was being rushed through the Senate. He said there were no hearings about CFATS or whether it was effective. “We tend to re-authorize things without ever examining whether they work, what works and what doesn’t work.” He conditioned his support for the re-authorization bill on an amendment that would create what he called a duplicative scoring system for every future proposal brought before legislators. The system would determine how many programs in the bill are duplicated by ones that already exist in the government.”
CISA, which oversees CFATS, explains the program on its site, stating:
Under CFATS, a chemical facility is any establishment or individual that possesses or plans to possess any of the more than 300 chemicals of interest (COI) in Appendix A at or above the listed screening threshold quantity (STQ) and concentration. These facilities must report their chemicals to CISA via an online survey, known as a Top-Screen. CISA uses the Top-Screen information a facility submits to determine if the facility is considered high-risk and must develop a security plan. Learn more on the CFATS process webpage.
The CFATS regulation applies to facilities across many industries – chemical manufacturing, storage and distribution, energy and utilities, agriculture and food, explosives, mining, electronics, plastics, colleges and universities, laboratories, paint and coatings, and healthcare and pharmaceuticals, among others.
Chemical security is not a temporary issue. As threats evolve, CISA is committed to working with stakeholders to protect the nation’s highest-risk chemical infrastructure.
CISA said in a statement about the expiration,
As of July 28, 2023, Congress has allowed the statutory authority for the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program (6 CFR Part 27) to expire.
Therefore, CISA cannot enforce compliance with the CFATS regulations at this time. This means that CISA will not require facilities to report their chemicals of interest or submit any information in CSAT, perform inspections, or provide CFATS compliance assistance, amongst other activities. CISA can no longer require facilities to implement their CFATS Site Security Plan or CFATS Alternative Security Program.
CISA encourages facilities to maintain security measures. CISA’s voluntary ChemLock resources are available on the ChemLock webpages.
