[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 208 (Monday, October 27, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63719-63720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25596]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2006-0073]


National Protection and Programs Directorate; Notice of 
Availability of Risk-Based Performance Standards Guidance for the 
Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards

AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is accepting 
comments on the draft ``Risk-Based Performance Standards'' Guidance 
associated with the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards.

DATES: Comments must be received by November 26, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be identified by docket number DHS-2006-0073 
and may be submitted by one of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Mail: Dennis Deziel, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 
National Protection and Programs Directorate, Office of Infrastructure 
Protection, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division, Mail Stop 
8100, Washington, DC 20528.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dennis Deziel, Office of 
Infrastructure Protection, Mail Stop 8100, Washington, DC 20528, 
telephone number (703) 235-5263.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation

    DHS invites interested persons to contribute suggestions and 
comments on the draft document entitled ``Risk-Based Performance 
Standards Guidance'' (RBPS Guidance) by submitting written data, views, 
or arguments. Comments that will provide the most assistance to DHS 
will explain the reason for any recommended changes to the RBPS 
Guidance and include data, information, or authority that supports such 
recommended changes. DHS requests that commenters identify the proposed 
changes by page and line number, and/or by Figure or Table number. The 
RBPS Guidance can be viewed or downloaded at http://www.dhs.gov/chemicalsecurity and http://www.regulations.gov.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
and docket number for this action. All comments received will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. You may submit your comments and material by one 
of the methods specified in the ADDRESSES section above. Please submit 
your comments and any supporting material by only one means to avoid 
the receipt and review of duplicate submissions. If you submit comments 
by mail, your submission should be an unbound document and no larger 
than 8.5 by 11 inches to enable copying and electronic document 
management.
    Docket: The RBPS Guidance and any comments received can be viewed 
at http://www.regulations.gov by searching the docket number referenced 
above.

II. Background

    In Section 550 of the Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2007 
(Pub. L. 109-295) (Section 550), Congress gave DHS regulatory authority 
over security at high-risk chemical facilities. Section 550 instructed 
DHS to require all high-risk chemical facilities to complete Security 
Vulnerability Assessments (SVAs), develop Site Security Plans (SSPs), 
and implement protective measures necessary to meet DHS-defined risk-
based performance standards.
    Pursuant to its congressional mandate, DHS promulgated the Chemical 
Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), 6 CFR Part 27, the interim 
final regulations setting forth the requirements that high risk (i.e., 
``covered'') chemical facilities must meet to comply with the Act. See 
72 FR 17688 (Apr. 9, 2007). Among other things, CFATS establishes 
eighteen Risk-Based Performance Standards (RBPSs), which identify the 
areas for which DHS will examine a high-risk facility's security 
posture; they include perimeter security, access control, personnel 
surety, and cyber security.
    To meet the RBPSs, covered facilities may choose whatever security 
programs or processes they deem appropriate, so long as DHS determines 
that those measures achieve the requisite level of performance in each 
applicable area. The programs and processes a high-risk facility 
ultimately chooses to implement to meet these standards must be 
described in the facility's SSP or, if the facility chooses, in an 
Alternative Security Program (ASP) that meets the requirements of 
Section 550 and CFATS. It is through a review of the SSP (or ASP), 
combined with an on-site inspection, that DHS will determine whether or 
not a high-risk facility has met the requisite levels of performance 
established by the RBPSs, given the facility's individual 
circumstances.
    As required by 6 CFR 27.230(a), DHS has developed the RBPS Guidance 
to assist high-risk chemical facilities in selecting and implementing 
appropriate protective measures and practices to meet the applicable 
RBPSs. The draft RBPS Guidance describes the general level of 
performance that facilities in each of the risk-based tiers created by 
CFATS should strive to achieve under each RBPS. It also seeks to help 
facilities comply with CFATS by describing in greater detail the 
eighteen RBPSs enumerated in CFATS, and by providing examples of 
various security measures and practices that facilities could consider 
to achieve the desired level of performance for each RBPS at each tier.
    The draft RBPS Guidance reflects DHS's current views on certain 
aspects of the RBPSs and does not have the force or effect of law. The 
specific security measures and practices discussed in this document are 
neither mandatory nor necessarily the ``preferred solution'' for 
complying with the RBPSs. Rather, they are examples of measures and 
practices that a high risk facility may choose to consider as part of 
its overall strategy to address the RBPSs. High-risk facility owners/
operators have the option to choose and implement other measures to 
meet the RBPSs based on the facility's circumstances, including its 
tier level, security issues and risks, physical and operating 
environments, and other appropriate factors, so long as DHS determines 
that the suite of measures

[[Page 63720]]

implemented achieves the levels of performance established by the 
RBPSs.
    DHS seeks comment on the draft RBPS Guidance document, which is 
available online at http://www.dhs.gov/chemicalsecurity and http://www.regulations.gov. Based on the comments received, DHS may make 
appropriate revisions to the RBPS Guidance. In that event, DHS will 
make available a revised RBPS Guidance at http://www.dhs.gov/chemicalsecurity and http://www.regulations.gov.

Robert B. Stephan,
Assistant Secretary for Infrastructure Protection, Department of 
Homeland Security.
 [FR Doc. E8-25596 Filed 10-24-08; 8:45 am]
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