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by James W. Conrad, Jr. and Ben Zingman
In this country, the private sector owns and operates the vast majority of our nation's infrastructure, and that's certainly true with respect to chemicals. So the idea that the federal government can own and operate all the security for all this infrastructure is simply misguided. What we do has to be done in partnership with the people who actually have direct control over the assets and who employ the people who work at these facilities.
Secretary Michael Chertoff
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
The National Chemical Security Forum
March 21, 2006
The road to passage for chemical security legislation has been bumpy and uncertain. But today, more than four-and-a-half years after 9/11, legislation now before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs reflects the growing awareness that infrastructure security, especially in the chemical sector, requires a newfound public-private partnership. The Senate bill, co-sponsored by Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), chair of the committee, and Joe Lieberman (D-CT), the ranking member, is a sign of the widespread acceptance of this idea.
Members of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), who account for roughly 85 percent of chemical productive capacity in the U.S, strongly support passage of risk-based federal legislation, and we are working with the Committee to make sure the final bill helps protect the men and women who make essential chemical products, as well as the communities in which they operate.
What is Chemical Facility Security?
ACC members define security in terms of the actions, equipment, technologies, training, systems and procedures that enable detection and defense against physical or cyber attacks. Our most pressing priority is to protect our employees, communities, facilities, processes, customers and products from acts of terror.
Shaped partly by the experience of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which interrupted chemical production in the crucial Gulf of Mexico region, there is a growing awareness and appreciation in Washington, D.C. that the chemical industry is a critical part of the nation's economic infrastructure, and thus must be supported and protected.
Chemistry is essential to the U.S. economy. Chemistry is a $550 billion enterprise that supports 5.8 million jobs, in the industry and related industries. In fact, some 96 percent of all manufactured goods are directly touched by chemistry. Americans have a vested stake in this industry's success and survivability.
Why ACC Supports Federal Chemical Security Legislation
Yet, why would the chemical sector seek additional government oversight and regulation?
By one government measure, there are approximately 15,000 chemical facilities in the U.S. Only 7% manufacture chemicals. The remaining 93% primarily use or store them. Farm chemical facilities make up the largest percentage of these facilities, most of which are involved in water and wastewater treatment, irrigation and refrigerated warehousing and storage.
Presently, only drinking water treatment facilities and those on navigable waterways are covered by federal security legislation. This leaves the vast majority of chemical facilities without federal security standards.
ACC and a growing number of legislators believe the nation needs new federal authority to impose and enforce clear, risk-based security standards for all chemical facilities. A state-by-state patchwork is neither effective nor efficient, and may result in reduced security in the long run by diverting crucial human, financial and technical resources to meet redundant or contradictory requirements. With an industry so pivotal to the nation, a national approach is required.
Where Does ACC's Responsible Care® Security Code Fit?
Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, ACC developed and implemented a mandatory, comprehensive security management system, the Responsible Care® Security Code, which covers facilities, data and information systems and the entire value chain (e.g., suppliers, carriers). ACC members verify compliance and implementation of the Responsible Care® Security Code and its thirteen management practices to the organization.
The Code requires each company to implement a risk-based security management system for people, property, products, processes, information and information systems throughout the chemical industry value chain to identify, assess and address vulnerabilities; prevent or mitigate incidents; enhance training and response capabilities; and maintain and improve relationships with public and private entities with important security roles.
Under the Code, ACC member companies already have:
- Prioritized their sites based on various risk factors as identified in the Code
- Assessed vulnerabilities, using rigorous methodologies developed or approved by Sandia National Labs or the Center for Chemical Process Safety, a program of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- Implemented security enhancements commensurate with risks, taking into account inherently safer approaches, engineering and administrative controls, and other security, detection, prevention and mitigation measures
- Verified the implementation of physical security measures, using third parties that are credible with the local community, such as first responders or law enforcement officials
At the core of Responsible Care® is the crucial understanding that security is not a solitary effort for ACC member companies; it requires cooperation with government organizations, as well as with private sector partners, such as rail, truck and maritime companies that transport products and materials.
Lessons Learned From Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Chemical companies that operate in the Gulf region have developed some of the nation's most thoughtful and well-rehearsed emergency plans covering shut down, evacuation of personnel, removal of vehicles and other equipment, and protection of products, feed stocks and facilities. The plans also cover the safe restart of facilities and the return to operations, often considered the most risky aspect of storm response and recovery.
In 2005, there were no significant chemical releases from any of ACC members' facilities, nor was any emergency ride-out crew member seriously injured as a result of the hurricanes.
The companies did more than batten down their hatches. True to the Responsible Care® Security Code's “Management of Change” management practice, facilities became vital community resources, providing temporary housing and meals for employees, their families and even the broader community. One company loaned its helicopter to the Red Cross; another was the only source of emergency power and communications in its hometown. Many provided vinyl sheeting, PVC pipe and more for temporary shelters, as well as showers and sanitation services for emergency workers. This response is evidence of not only Code implementation, but also of ACC members' strong commitment to the communities where they have facilities and employees.
With local power grids and communications systems (including cell phones) inoperable, many ACC member facilities mobilized their emergency communications systems to link local officials, state agencies, the federal government and allied industries such as oil and gas and transportation.
In the wake of the storms, the chemical sector was increasingly seen as an essential national resource, a strategic asset that deserves attention and protection. The chemical facilities and their surrounding communities realized that getting through the storms required a partnership, and the same cooperation is essential for security. We are going to have to work together to keep this industry functioning in the face of diverse natural and man-made threats.
The Public Private Partnership To Promote Security
Speaking in Washington, DC in March, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff stressed how the public and private sectors must work together to increase chemical security. Rather than dictate “very specific ways in which security has to be achieved,” the federal role should take advantage of the “strength of the industry - its adaptability, its initiative and its ingenuity - by laying out a series of performance standards,” he said.
“In other words, we want to say to the industry, look, here's where we need to go. Now there are a lot of different roads to get there, and you can choose the road that best fits your particular type of chemical and your particular type of operation. We're not going to micromanage that. What we do insist though is that you get to the place you need to be and we need to make sure that we then have the tools to verify that you've in fact reached the destination.”
For security, this is a crucial paradigm. Government sets and enforces clear performance standards across the entire chemical sector. Companies meet those standards, and their compliance is independently verified. The result is enhanced security.
MTSA - The Partnership In Action
The most widely recognized example of the public-private security partnership is the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA). DHS's Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, Robert Stephan, explained in Congressional testimony last year that under MTSA, all 238 chemical sites that fall within the nation's port system are required to “assess their vulnerabilities using an accepted methodology; determine gaps; plan and implement measures to close those gaps; and audit results. These sites also are required to develop and implement a detailed security plan, which are audited by the United States Coast Guard and the owner-operator.”
This risk-based approach is exactly what the Responsible Care® Security Code requires. That's why the Coast Guard accepts compliance with the Code by ACC members - verified by Coast Guard inspection - as an alternative form of compliance with the MTSA.
Similarly, ACC hopes chemical facility security legislation also will acknowledge and credit companies that implement the Responsible Care® Security Code. Companies that have already invested in this rigorous security program should not be penalized for doing the right thing in the absence of federal legislation.
What Lies Ahead?
Almost half a decade after 9/11, Congress is poised to act on chemical facility security legislation. ACC has been, and will remain, an eager partner in the legislative process and the eventual efforts to set and enforce standards. The public private partnership is crucial for chemical facility security, and chemical facility security is essential for America.
James W. Conrad, Jr. is Assistant General Counsel and Ben Zingman is a Communications Counselor for the American Chemistry Council (ACC), which represents the leading companies engaged in the business of chemistry.
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