TFI, ARA, and CropLife clarify SVA requirements

Washington-The Agribusiness Security Working Group (ASWG), which consists of The Fertilizer Institute, the Agricultural Retailers Association, and CropLife America, last week alerted members of some changes to the security vulnerability assessment (SVA) requirements under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). According to ASWG, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has indicated that only its own SVA “will provide complete assurance that all data requirements are met” for chemical facilities submitting security information to DHS. As a result, the working group is now recommending that members utilize only the DHS version of the SVA to achieve compliance with CFATS, and not an SVA that was developed earlier by ASWG and the Asmark Institute in Owensboro, Ky. The Asmark SVA for Agricultural Retailers received approval in 2003 by the Center for Chemical Process Safety, but that approval came before the development of CFATS in 2007. DHS developed its own SVA in conjunction with the CFATS requirements, and had reportedly accepted the Asmark SVA for Tier 4 facilities, the lower threat facilities in CFATS’ tiered structure. According to ASWG, however, the Asmark SVA will now likely provide only partial acceptance for Tier 4 facilities, and as a result the group is recommending that chemical facilities use the DHS SVA exclusively.