From Chemical Facility Security News, February 2014 CFATS Fact Sheet

My colleague Patrick Coyle, in today's Chemical Facility Security News (http://chemical-facility-security-news.blogspot.com/2014/02/cfats-fact-sheet-february-2014.html) has given us a link to the February 2014 CFATS Fact Sheet. This link is not yet available via the DHS CFATS website.

As of February 1, 2014:

More than 46,000 preliminary assessments were reviewed by DHS from facilities with chemicals of interest. 4,266 facilities are currently covered by CFATS. More than 3,000 facilities voluntarily removed, reduced, or modified their holdings of chemicals of interest. 1,389 visits to assist facilities with compliance. 1,053 Security Plans authorized. 744 Authorization Inspections conducted. 506 Security Plans approved following an on-site inspection.

The Fact Sheet can be found at http://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CFATS%20Update_February2014.pdf

Once again, thank you, Patrick. There is no better site to follow for CFATS information than Chemical Facility Security News.

OMB Announcement Concerning TWIC Reader NPRM from Chemical Facility Security News

My colleague Patrick Coyle at Chemical Facility Security News has once more proved how important it is to be a daily reader of his blog at http://chemical-facility-security-news.blogspot.com. He alerted us to the notice that OMB sent out yesterday (03/12/2013) that OMB has completed its mandatory 90-day review of the TWIC reader NPRM.  Below is information from the OMB announcement at reginfo.gov, http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201210&RIN=1625-AB21 Title: Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC); Card Reader Requirements  Abstract: The Coast Guard is establishing electronic card reader requirements for maritime facilities and vessels to be used in combination with TSA's Transportation Worker Identification Credential. Congress enacted several statutory requirements within the Security and Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006 to guide regulations pertaining to TWIC readers, including the need to evaluate TSA's final pilot program report as part of the TWIC reader rulemaking. During the rulemaking process, we will take into account the final pilot data and the various conditions in which TWIC readers may be employed. For example, we will consider the types of vessels and facilities that will use TWIC readers, locations of secure and restricted areas, operational constraints, and need for accessibility. Recordkeeping requirements, amendments to security plans, and the requirement for data exchanges (i.e., Canceled Card List) between TSA and vessel or facility owners/operators will also be addressed in this rulemaking.  Agency: Department of Homeland Security(DHS)  Priority: Other Significant  RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Proposed Rule Stage  Major: No  Unfunded Mandates: No  Overall Description of Deadline: The final rule is required 2 years after the commencement of the pilot program.

Statement of Need: The Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002 explicitly required the issuance of a biometric transportation security card to all U.S. merchant mariners and to workers requiring unescorted access to secure areas of MTSA-regulated facilities and vessels. On May 22, 2006, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to carry out this statute, proposing a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Program where TSA conducts security threat assessments and issues identification credentials, while the Coast Guard requires integration of the TWIC into the access control systems of vessels, facilities, and Outer Continental Shelf facilities. Based on comments received during the public comment period, TSA and the Coast Guard split the TWIC rule. The final TWIC rule, published in January of 2007, addressed the issuance of the TWIC and use of the TWIC as a visual identification credential at access control points. The ANPRM, published in March of 2009, proposed a risk-based approach to TWIC reader requirements and included proposals to classify MTSA-regulated vessels and facilities into one of three risk groups, based on specific factors related to TSI consequence, and apply TWIC reader requirements for vessels and facilities in conjunction with their relative risk-group placement. This rulemaking is necessary to comply with the SAFE Port Act and to complete the implementation of the TWIC Program in our ports. By requiring electronic card readers at vessels and facilities, the Coast Guard will further enhance port security and improve access control measures.

Summary of the Legal Basis: The statutory authorities for the Coast Guard to prescribe, change, revise, or amend these regulations are provided under 33 U.S.C. 1226, 1231; 46 U.S.C. chapter 701; 50 U.S.C. 191, 192; Executive Order 12656, 3 CFR 1988 Comp., p. 585; 33 CFR 1.05-1, 6.04-11, 6.14, 6.16, and 6.19; Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1.

Alternatives: The implementation of TWIC reader requirements is mandated by the SAFE Port Act. The Coast Guard is currently considering several regulatory alternatives regarding how to implement the TWIC reader requirements. These alternatives will be further explored in the NPRM.

Anticipated Costs and Benefits: The main cost drivers of this proposal are the acquisition and installation of TWIC readers and the maintenance of the affected entity's TWIC reader system. Costs, which we would distribute over a phased-in implementation period, consist predominantly of the costs to purchase, install, and integrate approved TWIC readers to their current physical access control system. Recurring annual costs will be driven by costs associated with canceled card list updates, opportunity cost associated with delays and replacement of TWICs that cannot be read, and maintenance of the affected entity's TWIC reader system. At this time, we are still developing our estimates for the impacts of this proposed rule. The benefits of the rulemaking include the enhancement of the security of vessel ports and other facilities by ensuring that only individuals who hold valid TWICs are granted unescorted access to secure areas at those locations. It will also implement the 2002 MTSA transportation security card requirements, thereby ensuring compliance with those statutes.

Risks: USCG used risk-based decision-making to develop this proposed rule.

Information About New Federal Register Function from Chemical Facility Security News

On Wednesday August 3 2011, my good friend Patrick Coyle published an extremely helpful piece of information in his blog Chemical Facility Security News (http://chemical-facility-security-news.blogspot.com/). At “ANSP at CFATS Knowledge Center” he alerted us to a new function in the Federal Register. In my barely-computer-literate-layperson’s terms, this is a searchable page in which the FR notices are listed as articles. For anyone who has ever done a search for a term such as TWIC in the FR, you know this can be a really frustrating experience. This new page allows a much better “tailoring” of the search. I tried a search for the very broad term “maritime security” and was pleased with how I could tinker to refine the results. You can get there at http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/

Below is an explanation from the Federal Register blog, which may make more sense to techno-savvy folks than my explanation:

“Building on the groundbreaking efforts of GPO’s bulk XML data feed, we’ve released an Application Programming Interface (API) for FederalRegister.gov, making it even easier for developers to build new ways of interacting with Federal Register data. You can easily fetch information about agencies, particular articles, or use any of our advanced search functionality to programmatically find the articles your users are interested in. More details can be found on the developers page.

In addition, to make things even easier, we’re maintaining an API client ruby gem for the Ruby developers; it can be found on GitHub and RubyGems.

The API is still a work in progress; we welcome your feedback about how we can make this tool more useful.”

What does this mean to the MTSA community?

1. The FR is the daily journal of the federal government. Most regulatory notices that will concern us are posted here. You don’t have to wait for the information to filter down from your owner/operator or your local Coast Guard; you can read it here first. Any improvements to the FR are good for the MTSA community.

2. We still need to check Homeport every day without fail. Some notices of great import to us are posted on Homeport and nowhere else! Log in, check the TWIC page, check the MTSA page, check your Sector page from Port Directory. When PAC 02-11 was posted, Coast Guard HQ really was not required to give anybody any notice other than posting the PAC on Homeport because we are all supposed to be checking this site frequently anyway! It only takes a minute or two, and new items are designated in red. If you have problems with Homeport access, take it to your Coast Guard rep. If you are having problems with the site in general, try accessing through Internet Explorer, which is the platform it was designed for. Don’t let your password lapse, and then have a situation in which an incident occurs, Homeport needs to be accessed and you can’t.

NMSAC meeting

My colleague Patrick Coyle has published an excellent report of the notice of the next National Maritime Security Advisory Committee meeting, January 19 and 20, 2011, in his blog Chemical Facility Security News at http://chemical-facility-security-news.blogspot.com/

The notice came out in today's (12/29) Federal Register.