Chemical Plant Security Act Approved in Senate Committee - August 5, 2002 Vol. 3 No. 16

August 5, 2002 Vol. 3 No. 16:

Published: 08/05/2002

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Chemical Plant Security Act Approved in Senate Committee

On July 25 the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee unanimously approved S. 1602, a substitute version of the bill originally offered by Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) in October 2001, that would require each chemical plant to address its vulnerability to a terrorist attack. Under the bill, plants must submit plans to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showing how they will address their vulnerabilities. As this article points out, chemical plants have many hazards that could be removed to make them safer in the case of an accident or a terrorist attack. This could mean substituting safer chemicals or storing smaller quantities of hazardous chemicals on site. This August 5 Washington Post article points out that there continues to be concern for security at chemical plants and reports that Bush administration officials are pushing for measures very similar to those in the Corzine legislation.

The substitute bill passed out of committee was modified from the original bill. The substitute makes it more clear what specific regulations the EPA must develop, and strikes a provision from the original bill that held a facility liable for an accidental or criminal release of a hazardous chemical if an investigation found a problem at the facility, according to BNA, a Washington trade publication. Corzine told reporters that he held his ground on the bill, and thinks they will have to come back to a discussion about transportation facilities.

The unanimous passage of this bill provides it with increased momentum as debates of homeland security continue and the September 11th anniversary approaches. There has been talk that the Chemical Security Act may be offered as an amendment to the Senate’s bill, the National Homeland Security and Combating Terrorism Act of 2002 (S. 2452), which would create a cabinet level Department of Homeland Security.