Site Security Plan (SSP)

Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program currently covers approximately 4,500 facilities across all 50 states. Any facility that comes into possession of any listed Chemical of Interest (COI) on the CFATS Appendix A: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chemicals of Interest List at or above the applicable Screening Threshold Quantity (STQ) after November 20, 2007, must complete and submit a Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) Top-Screen.

After reviewing the Top-Screen, DHS determines which facilities are considered preliminarily high risk. Those facilities deemed a preliminarily high risk facility by DHS following review of the Top-Screen questionnaire will be required by DHS to conduct and submit a Security Vulnerability Assessment (SVA). The facilities still considered high risk after a review of their SVA are provided a final tier and required to complete a Site Security Plan (SSP) which needs to be tailored to its specific tier level, security issues, risks, and circumstances, as determined by DHS’s review of its SVA.

Once the SSP is submitted to the DHS, the DHS will the facility before accepting the SSP. Additionally, the DHS inspects high-risk chemical facilities at regular intervals, with higher tiered facilities being inspected first and more frequently. The DHS may also inspect a high risk facility at any time based on new information or security concerns.

Violations of CFATS regulation can be very costly and can interfere with the business. DHS can assess civil penalties of $25,000 per day or require the facility to cease operations.

Joshi Environmental can assess your compliance with DHS/CFATS regulations and update your SSP, if needed.