The National Association of Chemical Distributors (NACD) is voicing its concern about an anti-terrorism bill NACD believes would detract from chemical company compliance efforts, is counter-productive, and would undermine security at facilities all around the country, according to information from the association.
NACD said it is joining 31 other organizations in endorsing the letter sent to members of the House Homeland Security and Energy and Commerce Committees expressing concerns about the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Act.
NACD said the legislation would extend and modify the authority of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to regulate security practices at chemical facilities. “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began enforcement of landmark new chemical security standards last month," the letter stated. "Companies in thousands of communities are just beginning to comply with these significant new requirements while continuing to provide essential products and services for our daily lives. Our industries and DHS are investing time, training and other resources to adapt to comprehensive security standards....Making extensive changes now is also premature. While we would support straightforward legislation to remove the sunset date and make the chemical security regulations permanent, we strongly urge Congress to refrain from overhauling the program at least until it has been given a fair chance to be implemented and evaluated.”