The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently published its final rule on Chemical Facility Anti-terrorism Standards, including the revised list of 325 "Chemicals of Interest" (COIs) and their "Screening Threshold Quantities" (STQs). Publication of "Appendix A" to the rule in the Federal Register on November 20, 2007, which details the COIs covered by the rule and their STQs, triggered a sixty day reporting period for covered "possessors" of COIs.

Under DHS's rule, any facility that manufactures, uses, stores or distributes a COI in amounts above a specified STQ or may later come into possession of these quantities will be required to submit a "Top-Screen" questionnaire to DHS within 60 days of publication of Appendix A in the Federal Register.

Based on the November 20, 2007 publication date, the submittal deadline for Top-Screen questionnaires will be on January 18, 2007 (because the 60-day deadline falls on Saturday January 19, 2007). The Top-Screen questionnaire can be accessed via the DHS website under the heading "Chemical Security Assessment Tool" (CSAT). A link to this page is included at the end of this update.

The final rule is very broad and is intended to regulate facilities both within and outside the chemical sector. For example, facilities in the manufacturing, research, agriculture, and food production sectors will also likely be impacted by this rule and required to submit a Top-Screen questionnaire. DHS will use the questionnaire to prioritize which facilities are "high risk" and which facilities need to prepare a Security Vulnerability Assessment and Site Security Plan. Facilities not deemed to pose a high risk will likely never be required to do anything further than submit the Top-Screen Questionnaire to DHS.

If your company possesses or otherwise handles chemicals in a manner described above, we recommend that you immediately review the regulations to assess whether you need to start the Top-Screen process to ensure it is completed by the January 18, 2007 deadline. Additional information is listed on the DHS website, and the Bricker & Eckler attorneys are knowledgeable and ready to assist in any way as you work to comply with this new regulation.

Resources Available on the Chemical Security Rule

Background information on the applicability of the Rule and Appendix A

The Top-Screen questionnaire

The Top-Screen Users Manual

To file a Top-Screen report, a company must first register on the Homeland Security website

Top-Screen registration instructions