The purpose of this part is to enhance the security of our Nation by furthering the mission of the Department as provided in 6 U.S.C. 111(b)(1) and by lowering the risk posed by certain chemical facilities.

As used in this part:

A Commercial Grade (ACG) shall refer to any quality or concentration of a chemical of interest offered for commercial sale that a facility uses, stores, manufactures, or ships.

A Placarded Amount (APA) shall refer to the screening threshold quantity (STQ) for a sabotage and contamination chemical of interest, as calculated in accordance with § 27.203(d).

Alternative Security Program or ASP shall mean a third-party or industry organization program, a local authority, State or Federal government program, or any element or aspect thereof, that the Executive Assistant Director has determined meets the requirements of this part and provides for an equivalent level of security to that established by this part.

Associate Director for Chemical Security shall mean the Associate Director for Chemical Security, Infrastructure Security Division, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, or any successors to that position within the Department, or designee.

Chemical Facility or facility shall mean any establishment that possesses or plans to possess, at any relevant point in time, a quantity of a chemical substance determined by the Secretary to be potentially dangerous or that meets other risk-related criteria identified by the Department. As used herein, the term chemical facility or facility shall also refer to the owner or operator of the chemical facility. Where multiple owners and/or operators function within a common infrastructure or within a single fenced area, the Executive Assistant Director may determine that such owners and/or operators constitute a single chemical facility or multiple chemical facilities depending on the circumstances.

Chemical of Interest shall refer to a chemical listed in appendix A to part 27.

Chemical Security Assessment Tool or CSAT shall mean a suite of applications through which the Department will collect and analyze key data from chemical facilities.

Chemical-terrorism Vulnerability Information (CVI) shall mean the information listed in § 27.400(b).

Coordinating Official shall mean the person (or designee(s)) selected by the Executive Assistant Director to ensure that the regulations are implemented in a uniform, impartial, and fair manner.

Covered Facility or Covered Chemical Facility shall mean a chemical facility determined by the Executive Assistant Director to present high levels of security risk, or a facility that the Executive Assistant Director has determined is presumptively high risk under § 27.200.

CUM 100g shall refer to the cumulative STQ of 100 grams for designated Chemical Weapons (CW), located in appendix A to part 27 as the entry for the STQ and Minimum Concentration of certain Theft-CW/CWP chemicals.

Department shall mean the Department of Homeland Security.

Director shall mean the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, or any successors to that position within the Department, or designee.

Executive Assistant Director shall mean the Executive Assistant Director for the Infrastructure Security Division, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, any successors to that position within the Department, or designee.

Office of the Chief Counsel shall mean the Office of the Chief Counsel of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, or any successors within the Department.

Operator shall mean a person who has responsibility for the daily operations of a facility or facilities subject to this part.

Owner shall mean the person or entity that owns any facility subject to this part.

Present high levels of security risk and high risk shall refer to a chemical facility that, in the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security, presents a high risk of significant adverse consequences for human life or health, national security, and/or critical economic assets if subjected to terrorist attack, compromise, infiltration, or exploitation.

Risk profiles shall mean criteria identified by the Executive Assistant Director for determining which chemical facilities will complete the Top-Screen or provide other risk assessment information.

Screening Threshold Quantity or STQ shall mean the quantity of a chemical of interest, upon which the facility's obligation to complete and submit the CSAT Top-Screen is based.

Secretary or Secretary of Homeland Security shall mean the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security or any person, officer, or entity within the Department to whom the Secretary's authority under 6 U.S.C. 621 et seq. is delegated.

Security Issue shall refer to the type of risks associated with a given chemical. For purposes of this part, there are four main security issues:

(1) Release (including toxic, flammable, and explosive);

(2) Theft and diversion (including chemical weapons and chemical weapons precursors, weapons of mass effect, and explosives and improvised explosive device precursors);

(3) Sabotage and contamination; and

(4) Critical to government mission and national economy.

Terrorist attack or terrorist incident shall mean any incident or attempt that constitutes terrorism or terrorist activity under 6 U.S.C. 101(16) or 18 U.S.C. 2331(5) or 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(3)(B)(iii), including any incident or attempt that involves or would involve sabotage of chemical facilities or theft, misappropriation, or misuse of a dangerous quantity of chemicals.

Tier shall mean the risk level associated with a covered chemical facility that is assigned to a facility by the Department. For purposes of this part, there are four risk-based tiers, ranging from highest risk at Tier 1 to lowest risk at Tier 4.

Top-Screen shall mean an initial screening process designed by the Executive Assistant Director through which chemical facilities provide information to the Department for use pursuant to § 27.200 of these regulations.

(a) This part applies to chemical facilities and to covered facilities as set out herein; and

(b) This part does not apply to a facility that is excluded as set forth in 6 U.S.C. 621(4):

(1) A facility regulated under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-295; 116 Stat. 2064);

(2) A public water system, as that term is defined in 42 U.S.C. 300f;

(3) A Treatment Works, as that term is defined in 33 U.S.C. 1292;

(4) A facility owned or operated by the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy; or

(5) A facility subject to regulation by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or by a State that has entered into an agreement with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under 42 U.S.C. 2021(b) to protect against unauthorized access of any material, activity, or structure licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Executive Assistant Director may implement this part in a phased manner, selecting certain chemical facilities for expedited initial processes under these regulations and identifying other chemical facilities or types or classes of chemical facilities for other phases of program implementation. The Executive Assistant Director has flexibility to designate particular chemical facilities for specific phases of program implementation based on potential risk or any other factor consistent with this part.

(a) The Executive Assistant Director will designate a Coordinating Official who will be responsible for ensuring that these regulations are implemented in a uniform, impartial, and fair manner.

(b) The Coordinating Official shall provide guidance to covered facilities regarding compliance with this part and shall, as necessary and to the extent that resources permit, be available to consult and to provide technical assistance to an owner or operator who seeks such consultation or assistance.

(c) In order to initiate consultations or seek technical assistance, a covered facility shall submit a written request for consultation or technical assistance to the Coordinating Official or contact the Department in any other manner specified in any subsequent guidance. Requests for consultation or technical guidance do not serve to toll any of the applicable timelines set forth in this part.

(d) If a covered facility modifies its facility, processes, or the types or quantities of materials that it possesses, and believes that such changes may impact the covered facility's obligations under this part, the covered facility may request a consultation with the Coordinating Official as specified in paragraph (c).

If a court finds any portion of this part to have been promulgated without proper authority, the remainder of this part will remain in full effect.