2011 Chemical Sector Security Summit Registration

Today the folks at DHS Office of Infrastructure Protection update the web site for the 2011 Chemical Sector Security Summit (2011 CSSS). Actually, it was updated from a web page to a web site. Two main changes were made to the site; a registration page was added to the site as was an outline of the preliminary agenda. If readers had taken advantage of the sign-up link on top of the landing page, they would have received an email this morning informing them of the change on the web site.

2011 CSSS Page

The landing page has been completely re-worked with only the 2011 CSSS Poster remaining on the page. It provides some overview information on the registration, a link to the Hilton Baltimore, and some additional information on the pre- and post-summit programs that have been added this year.

If you have any questions about the usefulness of the information that will be presented, just look under ‘Related Resources’ in the box on the right side of the page to find links to some of the presentations from the 2008, 2009 and 2019 Summits.

The Pre-Summit Demonstrations on July 5th provide attendees with exposure to three different on-line tools of use to the chemical security community. They are:

● Web-Based Chemical Security Awareness Training;

● Voluntary Chemical Assessment Tool Demonstration; and

● Navigating the Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) Help Desk and Web Site

The Post-Summit Workshops on July 8th will provide training on areas of particular interest to the chemical security community. The three workshops are:

● Chemical Sector Explosive Threat Awareness Training;

● Tabletop Exercise Workshop; and

● Control Systems Security Workshop

Registration for any of these extra-Summit presentations may be done on the CSSS Registration page.

Registration

Two major changes to the registration process this year. First DHS has farmed out the responsibility for the registration process to CVent; they have the expertise, might as well let them do that job and free up DHS folks for regulatory work. The second is that this year DHS is limiting registration to two people from “each organization, company, and agency” instead of the three people allowed last year.

Again DHS is trying to ensure that the widest possible audience is allowed to attend. I hope that this year they consider adding an on-line component providing the vast bulk of the chemical security community a chance to have complete access to the presentations. DHS will undoubtedly provide copies of the slide presentations after the Summit is over, but the slides do not contain all of the information provided in the live presentations.

Preliminary Agenda

I’m not going to waste your time with a listing of the complete preliminary agenda, just go to the web site if you’re interested in perusing the entire agenda. I would like to highlight some areas that I think make this Summit worth attending. They include:

● Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) and Ammonium Nitrate (AN) Update

● Potential Threat Actors’ Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures

● Inspections Process Lessons Learned (available in each ‘breakout’ period on July 6th)

● Update on Chemical Security in the Agriculture and Food Chain

● Personnel Surety Panel

Networking

As with any show like this it is the opportunity to meet others in the chemical security community that is probably the most valuable part of the CSSS. The chance to talk to chemical security professionals from other facilities provides a learning opportunity about what has worked and not worked for other facilities. A very smart man once told me that a smart man learns from his own mistakes, but a brilliant man learns from the mistakes of others.

One Nit to Pick: The date on the bottom of these pages would tend to make one think that this change took place on Monday. These web pages were updated after 8:00 am EDT today.