ILTA to Continue to Push for Long-Term Reauthorization, Fuel Fix in CFATS

ILTA will continue to push this fall for a long-term reauthorization of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), a critical program aimed at preventing the theft, diversion, sabotage or deliberate release of chemicals. ILTA will maintain its focus on a specific fuels issue.

CFATS is up for reauthorization, and Congress must act before April 2020 or the program will expire. As a result, Congressional action is likely in coming months.

ILTA is helping to lead the CFATS Coalition, an industry coalition working to keep the legislation focused on terrorism and prevent expansion into other areas, such as safety and environmental regulation, in which DHS has no expertise and that other agencies regulate.

ILTA seeks to include language in the reauthorization bill that would harmonize the written regulations with the current DHS policy for the treatment of gasoline, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and other flammable mixtures under CFATS. In the original regulations, DHS improperly included these fuels commonly stored in aboveground liquid terminals as high risk.

In 2009, ILTA challenged DHS on this exception. Faced with overwhelming scientific evidence, DHS has not required facilities that possess only gasoline, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel to file a ‘top-screen’ report in nearly a decade. Therefore, in practice, DHS recognizes the lower risk associated with gasoline and other fuel blends relative to other materials listed as Chemicals of Interest (COI). However, DHS has not wanted to undertake the lengthy notice and comment rulemaking that would be necessary to change the regulations. As a result, only action by Congress can ensure that gasoline and other flammable mixtures continue to receive appropriate treatment in CFATS enforcement under this and all future administrations.