Establish regulations to secure chemical plants

House passed bill to regulate chemical plants

Updated: Monday, December 21st, 2009 | By Robert Farley

On Nov. 6, 2009, the House passed the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 by a vote of 230 to 193. Among other things, the bill establishes regulations of security practices at chemical, wastewater and drinking water facilities. It authorizes the secretary of Homeland Security to designate any chemical substance as a substance of concern and sets the threshold quantity for each such substance based on the risks that could result from a terrorist incident. It also includes a number of other provisions that would satisfy the details of President Obama's campaign promise.

In addition, the bill would also make permanent the DHS' Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards for chemical facilities, wastewater treatment plants and drinking water systems.

The bill has the support of both Obama and the Department of Homeland Security, but has been opposed by a number of Republicans who say the bill would impose burdensome regulations on many small businesses, costing some up to hundreds of thousands of dollars to switch to "inherently safer" technologies that some claim are not always proven to be safer.
 
In the meantime, the existing Chemical Facilities Anti-Terrorism Standards Act, which allows the Department of Homeland Security to regulate the security measures at high-risk chemical facilities, was extended to 2010.

The ball is now in the Senate's court. We move this one to In the Works.

Sources: Library of Congress, H.R. 2868, To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to enhance security and protect against acts of terrorism against chemical facilities GOP.gov (the Web site of Republicans in Congress), The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009 New York Times, "Opinion: You Don’t Want to Be Downwind," Nov. 9, 2009