Washington, D.C.-Industry officials attended an Aug. 28 meeting in Washington, D.C., to discuss at length the U.S. Coast Guard (USGC) Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) program proposal, which will become law by the end of 2006. The TWIC program, which is mandated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act, would require all individuals with unescorted access to secure areas of American ports and Coast Guard regulated facilities to undergo a security threat assessment to determine whether or not they pose a security risk. Following the threat assessment, the TWIC, which would contain biometric information such as a fingerprint, would be issued to individuals desiring unescorted access. According to the Agricultural Retailers Association, topics at the Aug. 28 meeting included those issues that will affect retailers and distributors, such as the cost of implementation, escorted facility access for those workers without a TWIC card, and whether the USCG will accept a pre-existing government approved background check. “The spirit of the proposed law is to increase port security by limiting access to sensitive areas ?Çô a worthy goal,” ARA’s Jim Thrift told Green Markets. Thrift noted that industries that have major facilities at large ports are mostly positive about TWIC, as it will standardize all port regulations across the nation. TWIC requirements state that unauthorized personnel entering a secured area will need a facility escort, but ARA has voiced concerns that most agricultural facilities, due to their small size, do not have extra personnel for escort services. ARA has asked the USCG to accept electronic surveillance in some cases, in place of an escort, Thrift said. “Exact costs for TWIC are unknown, but it is expected that total charges for TWIC cards, background checks, facility escorts and security training for TWIC employees will be substantial,” he noted. ARA said it will continue to help retailers implement security programs like the TWIC “in a way that does not disrupt normal business practices.” The Fertilizer Institute has also weighed in on the TWIC requirements. In a July letter to the Department of Transportation, TFI President Ford West asked that the TWIC modify its definitions of “secure areas” and “escort,” as well as its enrollment process, to avoid putting a financial burden on TWIC applicants and owners/operators, and on small fertilizer businesses (GM Aug. 14, p. 1).
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