SOCMA Frequently Asked Questions on CFATS and Appendix A

Transcription

1 Facility Coverage/Exemptions Q: Research and development labs will from time to time have chemicals on site which exceed an STQ. Some chemicals will be used and never be used again. Other chemicals currently in use are expected to be eliminated in the short term. How does DHS wish to handle reporting of these chemicals? A: The lab needs to report the chemicals, although you may be able to get an extension if necessary. Q: Would four plants owned and operated by four different companies but located within one external fence line be considered co located even if there is no tenant/landlord relationship? A: It is up to the companies to decide how to determine co location. In cases where companies only share a fenceline, DHS would recommend each company completing a separate Top Screen. Q: If a pipeline goes under your facility do you have to count the material in the pipeline towards your COI thresholds? A: If the pipeline simply crosses your site and you do not "drink" from it, then none of the COIs are the pipeline should be counted toward any STQ. However, if the pipeline is connected to any process or storage units on your site and you draw any material from it, then you have to count toward any applicable STQ the amount of any COI that is contained at any given instant in the portion of the pipeline that is located within your site. Chemicals of Interest/Appendix A Q: We are a ChemStewards Tier II Facility do we still have to do this registration? A: Yes, you do need to do the registration. The ChemStewards and DHS tiers are not one in the same. It s just an unfortunate coincidence that DHS decided to use the same terminology, which is why ChemStewards has switched to Fundamentals (Tier 1), Enhanced Performance (Tier 2), or Excellence (Tier 3). By regulation, you will need to complete the DHS Top Screen for each facility if you possess any chemicals listed in Appendix A. Once you complete the top screen, DHS will send a notice to each of your sites indicating whether the site is in or out of CFATS, and if it is in, provisionally assigning it to a Tier. If DHS tells you that your sites are Tier 3 or Tier 4, you can then use part of your ChemStewards obligations to meet DHS s needs. Q: Appendix A refers to above a specified quantity of the certain chemicals in appendix A. We do not possess any chemicals above the specified quantity. Are we required to fill out the Top Screen?

2 A: Just to be clear, there are 2 scenarios: 1) The first is threshold based: If you have any chemicals on Appendix A at or above the thresholds stated, you must fill out the Top Screen. If you have any chemicals on Appendix A but they do not exceed any applicable threshold, you do not have to fill it out. 2) Regardless of whether a site has an Appendix A chemical onsite, DHS has the authority to designate the site as high risk if it meets the regulatory definition of that term. Q: We have several items on Appendix A that we are not at the threshold quantity now, but have been in the past, or could be in the future, depending on whether we get orders for certain products. How should that be handled? If we get an order for a project that uses something new for us, that is on Appendix A, how do you handle that? A: If you do not currently have the chemical at the threshold quantity, you are not required to fill out the Top Screen (though you may do so if you expect that you will). If, in the future, you have a chemical at the threshold quantity on site, you will need to complete the Top Screen within 60 days. Please look carefully at the Appendix A rule regarding when you have to count quantities of a chemical that you have on site. Q: I previously submitted Top Screen back in July. DHS will apparently make adjustments to my Top Screen to take into account the new threshold values. The thresholds for some of the chemicals I submitted have changed from "any amount" to numerical values. Since no numerical information of my inventory was included in the Top Screen, how will DHS know whether I am above or below these new thresholds? A: If your inventory is below the STQ that has been now added, you need to contact Marybeth Kelliher at DHS and let DHS know that your facility should no longer be considered a covered facility. Otherwise, if you are over the STQ and are covered, I don t think DHS cares how much in quantity a facility has over the STQ. The facility with inventory over the STQ is covered, whether they are 1 pound over the STQ or 1 million pounds over the STQ. Q: We have a few facilities that are no longer required to complete Top Screen, but have been registered under the initial chemical listing. Is there any thing these sites have to do to show they are no longer legislated? A: No.

3 Q: A facility is supposed to count a chemical toward the Sabotage/contamination security issue if it ships the chemical ( (d)). Does that apply only to shippers or should a receiving company count this chemical? A: Yes, this applies only to shippers. Receiving companies do not need to count this chemical. Q: Regarding the ACG and APA designations in the Sabotage section of the Appendix A table. Appendix A references these as a commercial grade and a placarded amount ; but how much is that? A: To define A Placarded Amount, DHS has referenced the DOT s regulation 49 CFR for identifying hazardous chemicals; section references two tables for placards; table 1 is a hazardous material of any quantity and table 2 is a hazardous material 1001 pounds or more. A Commercial Grade is defined more generally as any quality or concentration of a chemical of interest that is offered for commercial sale. DHS staff have indicated, however, that they intend it to include any technical or industrial grades that are transported intra company, even if they are not offered for commercial sale. DHS intent in the sabotage/contamination listings is to address concerns about materials that might be transported offsite, or intercepted by terrorists during transportation, and then mixed with water to produce poisonous gases. If your facility ships a placarded amount of a commercial grade of one of these chemicals, you should file a Top Screen for that facility. Mission/Economically Critical Q: In looking at the CSAT Top Screen questions, there is one concerning mission critical production. It asks for the total value of products shipped from the facility. Is this just for Appendix A chemicals in the critical infrastructure sectors or exactly which products are they referring? A: In the mission critical section, DHS is looking for the total production value of any chemical (not just the ones on the Appendix A) that the facility provides 20% of the domestic production to any of the critical infrastructure sectors. Please provide DHS with your best estimates. Q: On the portion of the Top Screen concerning the economically critical production, it asks a similar question for sectors other than critical infrastructure sectors. It asks, "Does this facility account for 35% or more of the domestic production of any one chemical other than critical infrastructure sectors." Is this just for Appendix A chemicals or all products produced?

4 A: In the economically critical section, DHS is looking for any chemical (not just the Appendix A chemicals) that the facility provides 35% of the domestic production to any sector that is not a critical infrastructure sector. DHS is looking for answers to these questions for informative purposes only and will not tier anyone based on the responses. Mixture Rule/STQ Q: (b) (1) indicates that when calculating whether a facility possesses an amount that meets the STQ for release chemicals of interest, the facility shall only include release chemicals of interest: i) In a vessel, underground storage facility or stored in a magazine ii) In transportation containers used for storage not incident to transportation iii) Present as process intermediates, by products or materials produced incidental to production of a product iv) In natural gas or liquefied natural gas stored in peak shaving facilities v) In gasoline, diesel, kerosene or jet fuel Except for (iii) I think this is pretty clear. The question on (iii) revolves around how to calculate the quantity. For instance if we had a process that generated H2S but the H2S was immediately scrubbed and reacted to a material not on the list, how would we calculate the amount of H2S for the purposes of calculating the release chemical of interest? A: DHS has been clear that transitory byproducts, intermediates, etc. are subject to Appendix A. The facility will need to use the best possible method in calculating the total amount of chemical of interest that is produced as a by product and apply the appropriate mixture rule. In your case, hydrogen sulfide is a release toxic, a mixture with 1% H2S would require a total amount of the mixture to 1,000,000 lbs (1% times 1,000,000 equals 10,000 lbs H2S) to reach the STQ of 10,000 lbs. Q: Three release toxic COIs contain a concentration in their definitions. (These are: "Ammonia (conc. 20% or greater)," "Hydrochloric acid (conc. 37% or greater),"and "Hydrofluoric acid (conc. 50% or greater).") What exactly do you count in these cases to see if you exceed an STQ? A: If you have one of these substances in a solution that is less than the concentration specified in the definition, you do not count anything, no matter how much of it you have. Take, for example, hydrofluoric acid, which has a 1,000 lb STQ. If you have 10,000 lbs of 40% hydrofluoric acid, you do not count anything because your solution is below the 50% concentration, even though you have 4,000 lbs of hydrofluoric acid on a 100% basis. On the other hand, if you have a solution that is at or above the specified concentration, you count the entire amount of the solution, not just the amount of the COI on a

5 100% basis. So, if you have 10,000 lbs of hydrofluoric acid at 60% concentration, you count 10,000 lbs toward the STQ, not 6,000 lbs. RMP Comp Q: The instructions for TopScreen indicate that RMP Comp must be used to calculate the distance of concern for release toxic chemicals. The instructions also indicate that passive mitigation systems (e.g., secondary containment) should not be used. We have determined that RMP Comp does not work for solutions released and subsequently evaporated to atmosphere. The use of RMP Comp yields a false high distance of concern in these types of situations. Can a model other than RMP Comp be used to calculate distance of concern? A: No, DHS is aware that RMP Comp is imperfect. A number of mechanisms to correct for it have been determined and DHS is not planning to allow substitutes at this time. TopScreen Process Q: When reviewing our inventories to see what chemicals we have and would cause us to register, do we consider only the past 60 days or do we also consider chemicals that we have had or may have onsite within the past/future 12 months. A: Only consider chemicals on your site within the 60 day period. Q: We have a facility that submitted a TopScreen and was not contacted with a preliminary tier. I would expect them to be exempt. Should they have received a letter? If so and they have not who should I call? A: Contact the DHS Helpdesk at csat@dhs.gov or Tiering Q: If a site has a question about their tiering who should they contact? A: The CFATS rules (6 CFR Part 27) provide several ways for a facility initially determined to be high risk to question that determination or its preliminary risk based tiering assignment. Section (c) allows any high risk facility to request a consultation or seek technical assistance from the DHS CFATS Coordinating Official on any relevant matter under CFATS. Similarly, Sec (d) allows a high risk facility that has modified the facility, its processes or quantities of materials it possesses, and that believes those modifications could affect its obligations under CFATS, to request a consultation under Sec (c). Consultations or technical discussions under Sec can be relatively informal, but should be requested in writing by letter addressed to:

6 Dennis Deziel, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division, MS 8100, Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC In addition, under Sec (b) of the CFATS rules, a high risk facility that has materially altered its operations may file a Request for Redetermination with the Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection (ASIP) and may request a meeting regarding that request. Sec (b) requires the Assistant Secretary to notify the facility of the results of the Redetermination request within 45 days of the request or within 45 days of the meeting. Requests for Redetermination should be sent in writing to: Mr. Robert Stephan, Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, Department of Homeland Security. Please mail or send the request c/o Dennis Deziel, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division, MS 8100, Dept. of Homeland Security, Washington, DC It will assist DHS in processing requests for consultation with the Coordinating Official and Requests for Redetermination by the ASIP if such requests include the facility ID number assigned to the facility by the Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT). Such requests, especially Requests for Redetermination, should also include any relevant factual information that you believe would explain or support the request. If any Chemical terrorism Vulnerability Information (CVI), such as a change to the chemicals of interest (COIs) possessed by your facility, is included with your request, please ensure that the written request is marked, packaged and sent in accordance with the CFATS regulations for protection of CVI (see 6 CFR ). A copy of the CFATS regulation, including the CVI requirements at 6 CFR , is available at Please note that requests for consultation or technical assistance under Sec (c) or (d) and Requests for Redetermination under Sec (b) do not stay or extend any deadlines under the rules (e.g., Security Vulnerability Assessment deadline) applicable to your facility. If you wish to request an extension of any applicable deadline, you should submit such a request in writing, with any supporting explanation or justification, to: Mr. Robert Stephan, Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, Department of Homeland Security. Please send the request c/o Dennis Deziel, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division, MS 8100, Dept. of Homeland Security, Washington, DC Q: Is a site s tiering level CVI? A: Whether a site is subject to CFATs is not CVI, but the site s tiering level is CVI. SVA/SSP Q: Will extensions to SVA deadlines be granted? A: Yes Contact the DHS Helpdesk at csat@dhs.gov or Q: How will each SSP be determined?

7 A: By DHS HQ staff, and with input from inspectors. Q: How frequently does a site have to do background checks? A: That is up to company discretion at the moment, but should be addressed in the site s SSP. Transportation Issues Q: Will FRA route analysis take into account dwell time? A: Currently they are factoring in the regulatory maximum dwell time of 48 hours; however, they are looking into reducing this time. Q: Who is responsible for knowing list of sensitive materials being shipped? A: The shipper or the generator and the motor carrier. CFATS Inspections Q: How long will DHS inspectors be onsite? A: Ideally less than 5 days if more than that they will send more inspectors. Q: How many inspectors will be sent to each site? A: That will depend on the size of the site. Q: Who do inspectors want to see besides security officers? A: Plant manager, first responders, finance officers, decision makers. Q: Will the same inspectors look at multiple sites of the same company or will it be a different group of inspectors? A: It could be either. Q: Will the inspector s findings be in writing and shared with site for clarification? A: Yes, but no documentation will be left behind but during the out brief they will try to answer questions.