The Collins-Lieberman bill, the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2005, will require chemical plants and other facilities storing large quantities of hazardous chemicals to develop vulnerability assessments, security plans, and emergency response plans, all of which would be sent to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for review and approval.

As previously reported in The Watcher, the Collins-Lieberman bill fails to include a requirement that safer technologies and procedures be implemented at facilities to reduce the threat of an accident or a terrorist attack. The bill does, however, include important public transparency and accountability requirements.

Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Barack Obama (D-IL), as previously reported, have introduced the only other chemical security bill currently before the Senate. The Lautenberg-Obama bill, The Chemical Security and Safety Act, includes strong requirements that facilities consider inherently safer technologies. The bill also establishes a key role for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in implementing chemical security requirements.

Some of the stronger provisions of the Lautenberg-Obama bill will likely be offered as amendments to the Collins-Lieberman bill. Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) reportedly will also offer several amendments aimed at weakening the public accountability provisions of the Collins-Lieberman bill, replacing the public reporting provisions with blanket secrecy for the entire chemical security program.