HS Regulatory Briefing

The Roberts Law Group is holding their 3rd Annual Homeland Security Regulatory Briefing in Houston, TX next month. This annual symposium looks at federal rules for CFATS, MTSA, Rail Hazmat, and HM 232. They bring together experts to look at how these regulations are being implemented and how that impacts compliance. Additionally, they will look at legislation that is currently being considered in Congress to update and extend these security regulations. Luncheon is sponsored by ADT Advanced Integration. There will be three separate panel discussions featuring experts from industry. They will be looking at:

• Current Issues in Security Compliance for the Chemical and Petrochemical Sector • The Operational and Functional Implications of Security Compliance for the Chemical and Petrochemical Sector • Implementing Security Enhancements at the Facility Level

This one-day meeting will run from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm CDT on May 26th, 2010. It will be held at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston, TX. You can find more information or register at the ChemicalSecurity.com web site. I haven’t been able to attend one of these briefings yet, but I did receive some positive feedback last year from a reader about the first one. As always, I would certainly like to hear from readers about their experience with these briefings. The subject matter and the panels look to be interesting. And for the Texas lawyers in the audience, the Texas Bar has approved 6 CLE Credits for attending this briefing; that alone would be worth the $95 fee.

Homeland Security Regulatory Briefing

A reader forwarded me some information on a meeting that will be held later this month to take a look at a wide variety of DHS issues that impact the chemical security community. The one-day conference is scheduled for May 28th in Houston, TX. It is sponsored by the Robert’s Law Group that apparently specializes in ‘Homeland Security Law’. They are scheduled to have updates on CSAT implementation and CFATS reauthorization efforts in Congress; both currently hot topics for the chemical community. What looks to be the most interesting to me is the panel discussion they will be holding on Site Security Plans and RBPS. These two topics are timely, but the interesting component is provided by the panel participants; security folks from Air Liquide, ConocoPhillips, BP and DuPont. It will be interesting to hear what large facility owners and multiple facility owners see in SSP and RBPS. Two local law enforcement types will be making presentations. Normally they would be of interest to local companies, but when the location is Houston, TX there will certainly be a information of interest beyond the local jurisdiction. An officer from the Harris County Sherriff’s Department will provide some insights into “Developing a Local Homeland Security Bureau” and a Coast Guard representative from one of the biggest chemical ports in the world will provide an update on TWIC compliance activities. The little brochure that I was sent mentions a presentation on TSA’s new Freight Rail Security rules, but doesn’t provide any information on who is making the presentation. It would be interesting to hear from the railroad’s perspective on this issue or a large shipper of RSSM, but we will have to see who does the presenting. According to the brochure this is the second time this conference has been held. Apparently I missed hearing about it last year. I would like to hear from anyone that went to the first one. I’m thinking about going to this one and would like to hear someone’s opinion on how well the last one was pulled off. You can make your reservation for this conference on the Robert’s Law Group web site.