[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69433-69434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27681]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Docket No. DHS-2013-0075]


Executive Order 13650 Improving Chemical Facility Safety and 
Security Listening Sessions

AGENCY: National Protection and Programs Directorate, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of public listening sessions.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in coordination 
with the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA), is announcing a series of public listening sessions and 
webinars to solicit comments and suggestions from stakeholders on 
issues pertaining to Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security 
(Executive Order [EO] 13650).

DATES: The public listening sessions will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 
4:30 p.m. on the following dates: November 19, 2013, and December 11, 
2013. Online webinars will be hosted November 25, 2013, and December 
16, 2013. Additional listening sessions may be scheduled in December 
2013 and January 2014. We will notify the public of the date(s), 
time(s), location(s), and other details of any such session(s) as soon 
as we have information available. Previous public listening sessions 
were held November 5, 2013 and November 15, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The public listening sessions will be held at the following 
locations:
     November 19, 2013, Illinois Emergency Management Agency, 
2200 Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62703; and
     December 11, 2013, Valencia Criminal Justice Institute, 
8600 Valencia College Lane, Auditorium-150, Orlando, FL 32825.
    Note: Previous public listening sessions were held:
     November 5, 2013, College of the Mainland, 1200 Amburn 
Road, Texas City, TX 77591, Learning Resource Center, Room 131; and
     November 15, 2013, GSA's ROB Auditorium, 301 7th Street 
SW., (7th and D Streets), Washington, DC 20407.
    Submit written comments to the DHS Docket Office, Docket No. DHS-
2013-0075, Technical Data Center, Room N-2625, U.S. Department of 
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210. Comments will 
also be accepted by email at: [email protected]. All comments 
should be identified with Docket No. DHS-2013-0075.
    Registration to Attend and/or to Participate: If you wish to attend 
any public listening session and/or a Webinar and/or make an oral 
comment/presentation at both the in-person and Webinar listening 
sessions, you must register at www.GovEvents.com. When registering, you 
must indicate that you wish to make a comment/presentation and indicate 
the related EO topic. Registration for those wishing to make comments 
will be on a first come, first served basis provided a cross-section of 
stakeholders are represented by the speakers. Comments are requested 
not to exceed five minutes. Actual schedule for the presentations will 
depend on the number of requests. There is no fee to register for the 
public listening sessions or Webinars. Same-day registration at a 
listening session is permitted but only on a space-available basis, 
beginning at 8:00 a.m. We will do our best to accommodate all persons 
who wish to make a comment/presentation at a listening session or 
webinar. The EO Working Group encourages persons and groups having 
similar interests to consolidate their information for presentation 
through a single representative. Each participant will be notified 
prior to the listening session or webinar of the approximate time that 
the participant's comment/presentation is scheduled to begin. 
Registration for the in-person listening sessions and webinars can be 
found at www.GovEvents.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information please email: 
[email protected]. Individuals with access and functional needs 
wishing to attend the sessions and/or webinar and requiring 
accommodations should contact Kathryn Willcutts at 
[email protected] as soon as possible.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On August 1, 2013, President Obama issued EO 13650 to improve 
chemical facility safety and security. The Working Group charged with 
implementing the EO is co-chaired by DHS, DOL, and EPA, and includes 
participation from the Departments of Justice, Agriculture, and 
Transportation.
    Obtaining stakeholder input is critical to the success of the EO. 
To that end, the EO Working Group is scheduling public listening 
sessions around the country, as well as several Webinars. Attendees 
will have an opportunity to provide input EO related on topics such as: 
Improving operational coordination with Federal, state, tribal, and 
local partners; enhanced information

[[Page 69434]]

collection and sharing; modernizing regulations, guidance, and 
policies; and identifying best practices in chemical facility safety 
and security. In particular, the EO Working Group is interested in 
hearing from the following stakeholders: Chemical producers, chemical 
storage companies, agricultural supply companies, state and local 
regulators, chemical critical infrastructure owners and operators, 
first responders, labor organizations representing affected workers, 
environmental and community groups, and consensus standards 
organizations. Input from these public listening sessions will be used 
to inform the EO Working Groups' efforts to improve chemical regulation 
and better protect the nation. Basic information on the EO can be found 
at: http://www.dhs.gov/topic/chemical-security.

II. Scope of Public Listening Sessions

    The Working Group is interested in obtaining information from the 
public on key issues impacting the EO. In particular, the EO Working 
Group seeks comments on the following:
     Improving operational coordination with state, tribal, and 
local partners;
     Enhanced information collection and sharing;
     Modernizing regulations, guidance, and policies; and
     Identifying best practices in chemical facility safety and 
security.

III. Request for Comments

    Regardless of attendance at the public listening sessions and 
Webinars, interested persons may submit comments to the DHS Docket 
Office, Docket No. DHS-2013-0075, Technical Data Center, Room N-2625, 
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20210. Comments will also be accepted by email at: 
[email protected] or through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov.

IV. Notes

    Participants that do speak will be asked to provide their name, 
title, company and stakeholder segment (i.e. chemical producers, 
chemical storage companies, agricultural supply companies, state and 
local regulators, chemical critical infrastructure owners and 
operators, first responders, labor organizations representing affected 
workers, environmental and community groups, and consensus standards 
organizations). Notes from the listening sessions will be posted at 
http://www.regulations.gov. The public listening sessions may also be 
recorded to support the note taking effort.

    Dated: November 13, 2013.
Caitlin Durkovich,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Infrastructure Protection.
[FR Doc. 2013-27681 Filed 11-18-13; 8:45 am]
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