ISCD Publishes 1 New FAQ and Updates 6 FAQ Responses – 9-2-20

Today CISA’s Infrastructure Security Compliance Division (ISCD) published one new frequently asked question (FAQ) and updated responses to six existing FAQ’s on the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Knowledge Center. The updates are generally not substantive changes in policy or guidance, but rather issued to increase their ease of use.

New FAQ

The newly published FAQ is:

FAQ #1666 Does a covered chemical facility have an obligation to notify the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) if the facility is closing?

NOTE: The links provided for all FAQs in this post were copied from the CFATS Knowledge Center but may not work when followed from your machine. This is an artifact of that web site. If the links do not take you to the referenced FAQ you will have to use the ‘Advanced Search’ function on the page to link to the FAQ or download the ‘All FAQs’ document at the bottom of the ‘Advanced Search’ page.

The short answer is found in the first paragraph of the response:

“A covered chemical facility that has closed must report the closure to CISA so that the facility record may be archived. Notification is accomplished by submitting a revised Top-Screen and sending a signed letter to CISA notifying CISA of the facility’s closure.”

This ‘must report’ answer is based upon the requirement in 6 CFR 27.210(d) to report ‘material modifications’ to a facility’s operations or site within 60 days.

Not mentioned in the FAQ response is the necessity of informing ISCD (if you do not do it in your letter submission, they will certainly ask) about the disposition of the remaining DHS chemicals of interest at the site. It is unlikely that ISCD will relieve a facility owner of the responsibility of maintaining the site security plan operations while COI remains on site.

Updated FAQ

The following FAQ responses were revised today:

FAQ #1724 How do National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Alerts and Bulletins affect a CFATS Facility’s RBPS 13 compliance responsibilities?

FAQ #1738 What is the difference between the Expedited Approval Program (EAP) and the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program?

FAQ #1739 What is the difference between the Risk Based Performance Standards (RBPS) Guidance document and the DHS Guidance for the Expedited Approval Program (EAP)?

FAQ #1758 I am the owner/operator of a farm that possesses anhydrous ammonia (AA) at or above the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) screening threshold quantity (STQ) for commercial sale and distribution to facilities that then use my business’s product for treatment of crops. Is my facility eligible to claim the CFATS agricultural production facility Top-Screen extension?

FAQ #1759 I am the owner/operator of a farm that possesses anhydrous ammonia (AA) at or above the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) screening threshold quantity (STQ) of 10,000 lb for use as a refrigerant in a cold storage facility for fresh produce (fruits, vegetables, etc.). Is my facility eligible to claim the CFATS agricultural production facility Top-Screen extension?

FAQ #1769 My facility must perform background checks in accordance with the Risk-Based Performance Standard (RBPS) 12 “Personnel Surety” on affected individuals. Who is an affected individual?

The following changes were made in the referenced FAQs:

• #1724 – Corrected grammatical error is question,

• #1738 – Added reference to “Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Act of 2014 (CFATS Act)”,

• #1739 – Added links to referenced documents,

• #1758 – Added linked reference to Federal Register Notice,

• #1759 – Added linked reference to Federal Register Notice, and

• #1769 – Changed URL to link to CFR reference.