CFATS Enforcement Actions

A long time reader of this blog sent me a copy of an article from CQ Homeland Security, DHS Begins Chemical Security Enforcement, that is important to all members of the chemical security community. Unfortunately I don’t have a subscription and the reader did not provide a link to the article. It was dated yesterday so subscribers should be able to find the article. Any way, the article states that DHS has initiated enforcement action against 18 high-risk chemical facilities for failing to file site security plans. The compliance orders are the first step in an enforcement process that could result in large fines and potentially closed facilities. Obviously these 18 facilities are not identified in the article. The deadline that each of these facilities missed was the 120-day requirement to file their site security plans. According to the article the deadlines were before February 15th for each of these facilities. With those compliance dates these are likely Tier 1 or 2 facilities. DHS has been working hard to work cooperatively with industry to move forward with the implementation of the CFATS requirements. This move should signal to industry that DHS has only so much patience and is willing to use the compliance sanctions available to it to require implementation.