PUBLICATION

Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Advisory Opinion 2016-002

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CFATS Announcement

As of July 28, 2023, Congress has allowed the statutory authority for the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program (6 CFR Part 27) to expire.

Therefore, CISA cannot enforce compliance with the CFATS regulations at this time. This means that CISA will not require facilities to report their chemicals of interest or submit any information in CSAT, perform inspections, or provide CFATS compliance assistance, amongst other activities. CISA can no longer require facilities to implement their CFATS Site Security Plan or CFATS Alternative Security Program.

CISA encourages facilities to maintain security measures. CISA’s voluntary ChemLock resources are available on the ChemLock webpages.

If CFATS is reauthorized, CISA will follow up with facilities in the future. To reach us, please contact CFATS@hq.dhs.gov.

This is the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Advisory Opinion 2016-002: “A Commercial Grade” Interpretation.

Summary: Any facility that holds a chemical of interest (COI) listed in Appendix A at or above the specified screening threshold quantity (STQ) and concentration must report these COI to the Agency via a Top-Screen survey. A number of COI listed on Appendix A do not have associated specific, numerical minimum concentrations. In lieu of numerical concentrations, the COI are listed with the qualifier “ACG,” which stands for "A Commercial Grade." The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has received multiple inquiries from the stakeholder community requesting clarification of the term “A Commercial Grade.” This advisory opinion contains the Agency's interpretation of the term “A Commercial Grade” as used in CFATS.

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