Washington, D.C.-The Fertilizer Institute and the Agricultural Retailers Association joined some 32 other industry groups in sending a letter to Congress on March 2 urging it to reauthorize the current U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) regulations without substantial changes. Unless reauthorized by Congress, the current CFATS rules are set to expire on Sept. 30, 2009. When the CFATS regulations were first approved in 2007, ARA and TFI voiced strong opposition to an inherently safer technologies (IST) mandate, which would have required chemical companies to switch to safer chemicals if alternatives to more dangerous products were available. The chemical industry remains concerned that the IST mandate will be inserted into permanent CFATS regulations due to pressure from environmental groups and some lawmakers who believe the current rules don’t go far enough to ensure security. In the letter, ARA, TFI, and the other groups said an IST standard “is not measurable and would likely lead to confusion, loss of viable products, prohibitive legal liability, and business failures.” TFI said another proposed change would removal an exemption for facilities that are regulated under the Maritime Transportation Security Act. According to ARA, the House Homeland Security Committee is expected to vote on a chemical security bill by the end of May. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees have not indicated when they plan to act on similar legislation, but the issue remains a top priority for the committee, ARA said. The CFATS rules require all “high-risk” chemical facilities to complete a security vulnerability assessment, develop site security plans, and implement security measures at their facility to meet risk-based performance standards established and enforced by DHS.
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