Groups weigh in on DHS Personnel Surety program

Washington-The Fertilizer Institute (TFI), the Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA), and CropLife America submitted comments in May to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding a new security program that DHS has introduced as part of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). According to TFI, DHS’s Personnel Surety Program would apply to chemical facilities that are regulated under CFATS, including fertilizer manufacturers and agricultural retailers, and would require additional security information on chemical facility staff. TFI said the program could have far-reaching consequences for the agricultural community, and could even affect growers. In addition to concerns about implementation costs and DHS oversight of the program, TFI said the comments submitted by the three organizations suggest that the program “is redundant in its call for additional information on chemical facility staff that in most cases already hold federally issued credentials.” The organizations also raised concerns about how DHS would handle requirements for full-time and part-time employees who work for agricultural retailers during busy periods during the spring planting and fall harvest, and for growers who pick up products at their local retailers instead of having them delivered.