The Obama Administration issued a new executive order on chemical facility security last week that aims to improve coordination between all levels of government while reviewing the adequacy of existing regulations.
According to a White House summary, Executive Order 13650 was issued partly in response to April’s deadly fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas and a series of other recent chemical facility accidents. The order does not create any new rules or regulations, but establishes a Chemical Facility Safety and Security Working Group to consider a range of options to improve federal, state and local information sharing on chemical security. The working group, to be co-chaired by the Environmental Protection Agency, DHS and the Labor Department, will also work with stakeholders to recommend improvements to existing chemical regulations and, within 9 months, recommend a “unified Federal approach for identifying and responding to risks in chemical facilities.”
The executive order does not specifically reference water and wastewater systems, but ensuing task force recommendations could impact these facilities. EPA and the Labor Department, for example, are given a 90-day deadline to determine whether the Risk Management Program should be expanded to cover “additional regulated substances and types of hazards.”
Another section of the order requires the working group to convene stakeholders (including critical infrastructure representatives, state regulators and “environmental and community groups”) to identify options to reduce risks in the production and storage of hazardous chemicals, including through “the use of safer alternatives.” The executive order does not set a timeframe for this meeting nor formally place any resulting suggestions on a path toward implementation, but organizations promoting “inherently safer technology” (IST) will likely use this opportunity to continue their push for broad IST mandates at water systems and other facilities.