Legislative Approaches to Chemical Facility Security (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised July 12, 2006 |
| Report Number |
RL33043 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Dana A. Shea, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
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Summary:
Federal officials, policy analysts, and homeland security experts express concern about the
current
state of chemical facility security. Some security experts fear these facilities are at risk of a
potentially catastrophic terrorist attack. The Department of Homeland Security identifies chemical
facilities as one of the highest priority critical infrastructure sectors. Current chemical plant or
chemical facility security efforts include a mixture of local, state, and federal laws, industry trade
association requirements, voluntary actions, and federal outreach programs.
Many in the public and private sector call for federal legislation to address chemical facility
security. Still, disagreement exists over whether legislation is the best approach to securing chemical
facilities, and, if legislation is deemed necessary, what approaches best meet the security need. Many
questions face policymakers. Is the current voluntary approach sufficient or should security
measures be required? If the latter, is chemical facility security regulation a federal role, or should
such regulation be developed at the state level? To what extent is additional security required at
chemical facilities? Should the government provide financial assistance for chemical facility
security or should chemical facilities bear security costs?
Critical issues surrounding chemical facility security legislation include determining which
chemical facilities should be protected by analyzing and prioritizing chemical facility security risks;
identifying which chemical facilities pose the most risk; and establishing what activities could
enhance facility security to an acceptable level. Mechanisms for assessing security risk might
include weighing the known or theoretical terrorist threat faced by a particular facility, the chemical
hazards held at a facility, the quantities and location of those chemicals relative to the surrounding
population, or the facility's industrial classification. Some security regulation exists for some
chemical facilities under other legislation, such as the
Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) ( P.L. 107-295 ), the Safe Drinking Water Act
(SDWA), as amended by the Bioterrorism Preparedness Act ( P.L. 107-188 ), and select state laws.
Potential chemical facility security enhancements might be achieved through a range of policy
approaches: providing security grants to high risk facilities; mandating site vulnerability assessments;
compelling vulnerability remediation; establishing federal security standards; or requiring the
consideration or use of specific technologies. In some cases, proposed legislation complements
existing law, while overrides it in others.
In the 109th Congress, legislation exists in both chambers. In the Senate, S. 2145
and S. 2486 have been introduced. In the House, H.R. 1562 ,
H.R. 2237 , H.R. 4999 , a companion bill to S. 2145, and
H.R. 5695 have been introduced. The details of each bill's security requirements vary.
This report will discuss current chemical facility security efforts, issues in defining chemical
facilities, policy challenges in developing chemical facility security legislation, and the various
policy approaches. This report will be updated as circumstances warrant.
