[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 208 (Monday, October 27, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63719-63720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25596]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
[Docket No. DHS-2006-0073]
National Protection and Programs Directorate; Notice of
Availability of Risk-Based Performance Standards Guidance for the
Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards
AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is accepting
comments on the draft ``Risk-Based Performance Standards'' Guidance
associated with the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards.
DATES: Comments must be received by November 26, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be identified by docket number DHS-2006-0073
and may be submitted by one of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Mail: Dennis Deziel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
National Protection and Programs Directorate, Office of Infrastructure
Protection, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division, Mail Stop
8100, Washington, DC 20528.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Deziel, Office of
Infrastructure Protection, Mail Stop 8100, Washington, DC 20528,
telephone number (703) 235-5263.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Public Participation
DHS invites interested persons to contribute suggestions and
comments on the draft document entitled ``Risk-Based Performance
Standards Guidance'' (RBPS Guidance) by submitting written data, views,
or arguments. Comments that will provide the most assistance to DHS
will explain the reason for any recommended changes to the RBPS
Guidance and include data, information, or authority that supports such
recommended changes. DHS requests that commenters identify the proposed
changes by page and line number, and/or by Figure or Table number. The
RBPS Guidance can be viewed or downloaded at http://www.dhs.gov/chemicalsecurity and http://www.regulations.gov.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name
and docket number for this action. All comments received will be posted
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided. You may submit your comments and material by one
of the methods specified in the ADDRESSES section above. Please submit
your comments and any supporting material by only one means to avoid
the receipt and review of duplicate submissions. If you submit comments
by mail, your submission should be an unbound document and no larger
than 8.5 by 11 inches to enable copying and electronic document
management.
Docket: The RBPS Guidance and any comments received can be viewed
at http://www.regulations.gov by searching the docket number referenced
above.
II. Background
In Section 550 of the Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2007
(Pub. L. 109-295) (Section 550), Congress gave DHS regulatory authority
over security at high-risk chemical facilities. Section 550 instructed
DHS to require all high-risk chemical facilities to complete Security
Vulnerability Assessments (SVAs), develop Site Security Plans (SSPs),
and implement protective measures necessary to meet DHS-defined risk-
based performance standards.
Pursuant to its congressional mandate, DHS promulgated the Chemical
Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), 6 CFR Part 27, the interim
final regulations setting forth the requirements that high risk (i.e.,
``covered'') chemical facilities must meet to comply with the Act. See
72 FR 17688 (Apr. 9, 2007). Among other things, CFATS establishes
eighteen Risk-Based Performance Standards (RBPSs), which identify the
areas for which DHS will examine a high-risk facility's security
posture; they include perimeter security, access control, personnel
surety, and cyber security.
To meet the RBPSs, covered facilities may choose whatever security
programs or processes they deem appropriate, so long as DHS determines
that those measures achieve the requisite level of performance in each
applicable area. The programs and processes a high-risk facility
ultimately chooses to implement to meet these standards must be
described in the facility's SSP or, if the facility chooses, in an
Alternative Security Program (ASP) that meets the requirements of
Section 550 and CFATS. It is through a review of the SSP (or ASP),
combined with an on-site inspection, that DHS will determine whether or
not a high-risk facility has met the requisite levels of performance
established by the RBPSs, given the facility's individual
circumstances.
As required by 6 CFR 27.230(a), DHS has developed the RBPS Guidance
to assist high-risk chemical facilities in selecting and implementing
appropriate protective measures and practices to meet the applicable
RBPSs. The draft RBPS Guidance describes the general level of
performance that facilities in each of the risk-based tiers created by
CFATS should strive to achieve under each RBPS. It also seeks to help
facilities comply with CFATS by describing in greater detail the
eighteen RBPSs enumerated in CFATS, and by providing examples of
various security measures and practices that facilities could consider
to achieve the desired level of performance for each RBPS at each tier.
The draft RBPS Guidance reflects DHS's current views on certain
aspects of the RBPSs and does not have the force or effect of law. The
specific security measures and practices discussed in this document are
neither mandatory nor necessarily the ``preferred solution'' for
complying with the RBPSs. Rather, they are examples of measures and
practices that a high risk facility may choose to consider as part of
its overall strategy to address the RBPSs. High-risk facility owners/
operators have the option to choose and implement other measures to
meet the RBPSs based on the facility's circumstances, including its
tier level, security issues and risks, physical and operating
environments, and other appropriate factors, so long as DHS determines
that the suite of measures
[[Page 63720]]
implemented achieves the levels of performance established by the
RBPSs.
DHS seeks comment on the draft RBPS Guidance document, which is
available online at http://www.dhs.gov/chemicalsecurity and http://www.regulations.gov. Based on the comments received, DHS may make
appropriate revisions to the RBPS Guidance. In that event, DHS will
make available a revised RBPS Guidance at http://www.dhs.gov/chemicalsecurity and http://www.regulations.gov.
Robert B. Stephan,
Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, Department of
Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. E8-25596 Filed 10-24-08; 8:45 am]
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