U.S. Department of Homeland Security Grants Extension to Agriculture Facilities Required to Complete Chemical Security Assessment Tool Top-Screen

In November 2007, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a final list of regulated “chemicals of interest” over which it has regulatory authority. The DHS requires facilities in the United States that possess these chemicals at levels above certain screening thresholds to provide a Chemical Security Assessment Tool Top-Screen to the DHS. See 72 Federal Register 17688 and 72 Federal Register 65396. The DHS enacted this rule in order to enforce anti-terrorism standards designed to protect the general public from a chemical threat. When it published the list and screening thresholds, the DHS intended to limit the applicability to agricultural related users by devising another set of screening thresholds that would apply specifically to this sector. Since publishing the initial list and screening threshold levels, the DHS has received even more questions regarding applicability to the agricultural community and has not yet set another screening threshold applicable to the agricultural community. The DHS has also received authorization to regulate the sale and transfer of ammonium nitrate and is developing a rule for the registration of ammonium nitrate purchasers and requiring the maintenance of certain records. These rules are likely to affect the agricultural community and to have an impact on the screening thresholds set by the DHS.

Because of these issues, the DHS has granted an extension to certain sectors of the agricultural community for complying with the Top-Screen reporting requirement. The DHS initially set a deadline for complying with the Top-Screen reporting requirement of January 22, 2008; a new date has not yet been set. The extension applies to agricultural operations that would normally be required to submit a Top-Screen report to the DHS solely based on possession of any chemical at or above the screening threshold that is used in the preparation for treatment of or during application to crops, feed, land, livestock (including poultry) or other areas of an agricultural facility. This extension applies to facilities such as farms, ranches and rangeland (dairy, poultry and equine facilities), turfgrass growers, golf courses, nurseries, floricultural operations and private and public parks. The extension does not apply to chemical distribution facilities or commercial chemical application facilities. The extension also does not apply to agricultural facilities that would otherwise be required to submit a Top-Screen because they possess a chemical of interest at or above the applicable screening threshold quantity for use as a fuel (i.e. heating) at the facility.

If you have any questions regarding this extension of the application of the Top-Screen reporting obligations to your facility, please contact Terri Czajka or Jennifer Andres.

This publication is intended for general information purposes only and does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice.  The reader must consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader's specific circumstances.