The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted unanimously on July 28 to amend the Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2868), which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2009. The House bill was replaced with a substitute amendment offered by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) that will reauthorize the existing Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program until Oct. 4, 2013, and without an inherently safer technologies (IST) provision.
Many industry trade groups had voiced strong opposition to the IST language in the House bill. The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) and the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) last week issued statements in support of the Senate measure.
“The fertilizer industry is strongly committed to security measures that prevent fertilizers from being used for any purpose for which they are not intended,” said TFI President Ford B. West. “However, we have not been able to support provisions, such as IST, which will unnecessarily jeopardize the availability of widely used, lower-cost sources of essential plant nutrient products, and as such we’re pleased with the outcome of the Senate Homeland Security Committee’s consideration and amendment of H.R. 2868.”
In addition to eliminating IST and reauthorizing the current CFATS program, Sen. Collins’ substitute amendment will reportedly establish voluntary programs through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that will facilitate training courses to improve partnerships between the private sector and state and local communities under CFATS, and provide chemical facilities the opportunity to receive recommendations from DHS to aid in their compliance under the CFATS program.
Collins’ substitute amendment will also create an inventory of chemical facility security best practices and will establish an advisory board to advise DHS on the implementation of the CFATS program and the new voluntary measures that have been introduced.
“Overall, TFI is satisfied with the passage of Sen. Collins’ substitute amendment, and we look forward to continuing to engage with lawmakers and DHS in crafting regulations to ensure the safety and security of our industry’s facilities and products,” said West.
Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) expressed his support for IST and other provisions of H.R. 2868, but agreed to postpone consideration of those elements.
NACD President Chris Jahn also expressed support for the Senate vote. “The three-year extension would provide more regulatory certainty to the facilities now working hard to implement their site security plans,” Jahn said. “Unlike the version of H.R. 2868 passed by the House of Representatives late last year that imposes inherently-safer technology mandates and other significant changes to the current program, the HSGAC bill would promote increased security by allowing the current CFATS program to continue to be implemented without disruption. NACD will urge the full Senate as well as the House to adopt the chemical security legislation as passed by the HSGAC Committee today. This is common sense, bipartisan legislation that will truly enhance security.”