This section contains information on U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regulations affecting grain-handling, feed manufacturing, grain processing and grain export elevator operations.
DHS thus far has issued two major regulations pertinent to the industry:
• Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism (CFAT) Standards: These regulations, which were finalized on June 8, 2007, apply to grain handling, feed manufacturing, grain processors and farm supply retailers that “possess or come into possession” of DHS “chemicals of interest” listed in Appendix A at quantities that exceed specified threshold trigger levels. Congress authorized DHS to regulate the security of “high-risk” chemical facilities when enacting the agency's appropriations bill for fiscal year 2007. In that law, Congress directed that DHS implement such regulations within six months.
Facilities handling such chemicals at levels exceeding the threshold trigger levels will be required to register with DHS and complete a web-based screening tool (dubbed “Top Screen”). The “Top Screen” assessment tool will be evaluated by DHS to determine whether the facility represents a “high-risk” chemical facility that should be subject to additional performance-based regulations, including a requirement to conduct a vulnerability assessment and implement additional performance-based security measures. DHS by the end of August 2007 is scheduled to finalize Appendix A, which contains the specific list of “chemicals of interest,” as well as the specific threshold trigger levels for each substance.
Once the final version of Appendix A is published in the Federal Register , DHS will provide 60 days for affected facilities to register with DHS and complete the “Top Screen” process. The result of the “Top Screen” process will determine if the facility is excluded from the regulations, or is placed in a preliminary tier of risk for further evaluation by DHS. Within 60 days after the “Top Screen” process is completed, DHS is to notify affected facilities as to whether they are a “high-risk” chemical facility, as well as their respective risk category. Four risk categories will be established – ranging from Tier 1 (highest risk) to Tier 4 (lowest risk), with the level of security risk-based performance standards escalating based upon the category. Affected facilities subsequently will be required to conduct a security vulnerability analysis that assesses security measures currently in place that mitigate or reduce the likelihood of a successful attach on an asset of the facility. Affected facilities then will be required to develop a site security plan that contains specific security measures the facility has implemented or will implement to meet the applicable risk-based performance standards.
DHS already has notified companies believed to have Tier 1 (highest risk) chemical facilities to begin the risk-assessment process. During fiscal year 2008, which begins Oct. 1, 2007 , DHS is scheduled to require an estimated 100 to 150 other “high-risk” facilities to complete the Top Screen process and develop the required security vulnerability analysis and site security plan. The remaining affected facilities – expected top total between 50,000 and 60,000 – that “possess or come into possession” of chemicals at or above the threshold trigger quantities will begin the “Top Screen” process during the second phase of implementation, according to DHS.
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• Transportation and Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Final Regulations: These regulations apply to port employees, longshoremen, mariners, truckers and other employees who require unescorted access to secure areas at ports and vessels, including such persons at grain elevators operating at U.S. ports and other Maritime Transportation Safety Act-regulated areas. A TWIC is a tamper-resistant “smart card” containing the worker's biometric (fingerprint template) information that allow for a positive link between the individual and the card itself. DHS's Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Coast Guard implemented TWIC under the authority of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, which required such identification cards for all personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas of MTSA-regulated facilities and vessels and all mariners holding Coast Guard-issued credentials or qualification documents. In addition, the schedule for implementing TWIC was established by Congress in the SAFE Port Act of 2006.
“Secure areas” at a facility, port or vessel are classified as those areas over which the owner/operator or Captain of the Port has implemented security measures for access control in accordance with a U.S. Coast Guard-approved security plan. “Secure areas” do not include employee- or public-access areas. Employee-access areas are defined as spaces within the secure area that are open only to employees, and do not require TWIC cards. Meanwhile, public-access areas are defined as spaces within a facility that are open to all persons and provide pedestrian access through the facility from public thoroughfares to the vessel.
TWIC card enrollment is to be phased in, starting in Fall 2007, over a 15-month period, based upon such factors as the risk, volume, type of imported and exported cargo, volume of passenger vessel traffic and local population size. Scheduled to be first is the Port of Wilmington, Del., which participated in a prototype pilot program. DHS is to post the TWIC compliance dates for each Captain of the Port zone in the Federal Register . The U.S. Coast Guard will provide 90-days' prior notice concerning the compliance date at each zone. Affected facility owners and operators are responsible for notifying affected employees about the enrollment process and compliance dates. All credentialed U.S. merchant mariners are required to obtain a TWIC card by Sept. 25, 2008 .
DHS estimates that 750,000 persons eventually will be required to obtain TWIC cards, including Coast Guard-credentialed merchant mariners, facility employees, port facility employees, longshoremen, truck drivers and others requiring unescorted access to secure areas of the facility, port or vessel. Once the enforcement date occurs at a given Captain of the Port Sector, owners and operators will be required to visually inspect the TWIC card for each worker granted unescorted access to secure areas of a facility or vessel. The U.S. Coast Guard also will conduct checks using handheld TWIC card readers to conform the identity of TWIC card holders during regular inspections and spot checks. Importantly, owners and operators will not be required to purchase, install or maintain costly TWIC card readers until technology and logistical improvements occur; DHS is to issue a second rulemaking on TWIC card reader implementation at a later date.
The DHS-established fee for obtaining TWIC cards is $137.25 for affected employees requiring unescorted access to secure areas of affected facilities. For applicants who have completed a prior comparable threat assessment, the card fee is $105.25. The card is valid for five years. DHS expects later in 2007 to establish the fee for replacing lost or damaged TWIC cards; it initially projected a $36 fee but later proposed and requested public comment on a $60 fee for replacement/lost TWIC cards.
DHS says that the initial implementation of TWIC cards will be confined to maritime transportation facilities and ports, which include rail workers and truck drivers who require unescorted access to secure areas of MTSA-regulated facilities, as well as vessel personnel. But the agency indicates that once implementation in the maritime sector is complete, it will evaluate whether to expand the use of TWIC cards in other modes of transportation at non-MTSA-regulated port/waterway facilities.
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