ACC Looks Forward To Working With Senate After House Approves Chemical Security Legislation

Recently, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the "Chemical and Water Security Act of 2009." ACC's President and CEO, Cal Dooley, released the following statement:

"The legislation approved by the House today is an important step toward building upon the ongoing success of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) by making them permanent.

"While ACC is unable to endorse the bill due primarily to concerns over the potential impact of the authority granted to DHS to mandate the implementation of IST, we appreciate the efforts by both the House Energy & Commerce and Homeland Security Committee to seek our input to improve the legislation. Specifically, we were encouraged by changes that ensure proper protections for sensitive information and a civil lawsuit provision that bolsters oversight while still protecting private companies from frivolous lawsuits.

"We look forward to working with Senate in the same spirit to pass legislation that takes an aggressive but smart approach to regulating chemical security and ensures DHS has the resources to help us protect our facilities, our employees, the communities in which we operate, and the vital products we supply everyday to the nation."

Since 2001, ACC members have led the way on chemical security before there was any government direction, investing more than $8B on facility security enhancements under ACC's Responsible Care Security Code, which has become the gold standard for the industry and a model for regulatory programs.

SOURCE: U.S. House of Representatives