ISCD Director Speaks on Preliminary Inspections

The acting director of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Infrastructure Security Compliance Division (ISCD) Dennis Deziel offered insight into DHS’s direction on preliminary inspections while speaking at the National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) Operations Seminar and Trade Show in Austin, Texas this week.

Deziel stated that officials plan to increase preliminary inspections of chemical facilities regulated by the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) to 30-40 facilities per month beginning in August. He stated that many of the Site Security Plans (SSPs) submitted thus far need more detail, and indicated that the Chemical Security Assessment Tool used to submit SSPs “is not perfect,” noting that “there hasn’t been a lot of guidance given to facilities.”

Speaking directly on the preliminary inspections Deziel offered the following:

“It’s almost like a real inspection. We’re there for up to a week. We walk through their draft site-security plan, get a sense of what is at the site, what they said in their plan, and making sure they add the detail they need to ... We’ve found [the preliminary inspections] are a pretty critical piece. People are now starting to understand exactly what the expectations are, which helps us get quality site-security plans.”

Chemical Sector Security Summit Summary – MTSA and CFATS Initiatives

The 2010 Chemical Sector Security Summit included a panel discussion entitled “Multi-Agency Harmonization on Chemical and HazMat Security Regulations.” As part of that discussion, U.S. Coast Guard representative James Bull presented “Harmonization of MTSA and CFATS Regulations,” noting that the Coast Guard has been working with DHS’s Infrastructure Security Compliance Division (ISCD) since 2007, and has been closely involved with the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) and Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Harmonization Working Group. The Coast Guard supports a coordinated DHS effort to ensure proper security for facilities and institutions handling hazardous materials, and the two agencies are working together toward a successful chemical facility regulatory regime.

The Coast Guard is conducting various site visits for comparative analysis and to distribute chemical facility lists to all Captain of the Port (COTP) zones. In this effort the Coast Guard hopes to expand CFATS awareness and exploit cross training opportunities. Although COTP zones must already adhere to MTSA and International Port Security Program (ISPS) obligations, the Coast Guard recognizes the need to engage with ISCD personnel and chemical inspectors.

Chemical Sector Security Summit Summary – Lessons Learned from Pre-Authorization Inspections (PAIs)

The Chemical Sector Security Summit included a breakout session entitled Inspections Process Lessons Learned, with speakers from both industry and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS noted that the primary lesson learned from the PAI process was that submitters need to provide more detail when completing their Site Security Plans (SSPs). Consistently, SSPs have been submitted with very little detail to explain a “Yes” or “No” answer. This is due in large part to the current design of the SSP tool. This lack of detail results in a facility not receiving proper credit for security items or processes currently in use by the site, and it ultimately leads to SSP disapproval.

The PAI is not an enforcement inspection, and DHS has enabled facilities to make changes to SSPs by unlocking the Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) and allowing sites to add additional information to the original submittal in order to update the SSP for resubmission after the PAI.

Chemical Sector Security Summit Summary- General DHS Updates

The 2010 Chemical Sector Security Summit took place in Baltimore, Maryland on July 7^th and 8^th. There were approximately 400 attendees, with half representing private and public corporations and the balance being from various governmental agencies. Topics included both general programmatic updates from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as well as more tailored presentations regarding chemical security.

The most current data presented by DHS indicate that they have received over 38,000 Top Screens and 6000 Security Vulnerability Assessment (SVA). Additionally, 4110 facilities have received a final tiering, with 887 facilities still awaiting final tiering notification. DHS anticipates completing all Final Tier 1 notifications by the end of the summer. The following is a breakdown of the facilities by tier designation:

Tier	Total Facilities with Final Tier	Total Facilities Awaiting Final Tier
1	226	4
2	531	40
3	1132	126
4	2221	717
Total	4110	887

With regard to physical visits, DHS has completed 47 Pre-Authorization Inspections (PAI), and is expected to increase PAIs to 30-40 per month. This increase in PAIs will be accomplished by adding 100 additional DHS Infrastructure Security Compliance Division (ISCD) staff to the existing 168 staff responsible for chemical security compliance.