Statement

ACC Committed to Working with Congress on Chemical Security Legislation

ARLINGTON, VA (October 21, 2009) — The House Energy and Commerce Committee today marked up HR 2868, the “Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act of 2009.”  ACC’s President and CEO, Cal Dooley, released the following statement:

“Thanks to constructive dialogue between ACC and this committee, we have seen some very positive and significant improvements to this legislation that will build upon the success of the Chemical Facility Ant-Terrorism Standards (CFATS). 

“Specifically, we believe improvements to the employee participation and training provision will ensure proper protections for sensitive information and modification of the civil lawsuit provision will bolster oversight while still protecting private companies from frivolous lawsuits.

“Unfortunately, we are still unable to find common ground with the committee on the right approach regarding the regulation of process changes and product substitutions.  While we appreciate the committee’s willingness to consider our input regarding this complex aspect of the legislation it remains the primary reason ACC is unable to endorse the bill.  Our members are concerned that providing government with authority to direct process changes or product substitutions could result in making critical products unavailable throughout our economy, with potentially significant impact on our companies and our customers.

“We commend Chairman Waxman, Chairman Markey and the committee as well as their staffs for inviting us and other stakeholders to the table to share our views, and feel confident there will be more opportunities to work together as this legislation make its way through Congress.

“To that end, ACC along with our members will continue to work with this committee and Congress to establish permanent chemical security regulations and ensure DHS has the resources to help us protect our facilities, our employees, the communities in which we operate, and the vital products we supply everyday to the nation.”

Since 2001, ACC members have led the way on chemical security before there was any government direction, investing more than $8 billion on facility security enhancements under ACC’s Responsible Care Security Code®, which has become the gold standard for the industry and a model for regulatory programs.

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