Identifying Facilities as High-Risk and Regulating Site Security, the CFATS regulatory program uses a risk-assessment methodology to identify high-risk chemical facilities. DHS determines risk profiles by requiring facilities that possess specific quantities of chemicals of interest (COI) to complete a questionnaire, known as a Top-Screen, on their chemical holdings. Facilities determined to be high-risk must submit a Security Vulnerability Assessment (SVA) and Site Security Plan (SSP) or Alternative Security Program (ASP) to DHS for approval. The plan must include security measures that meet the risk-based performance standards established by DHS.
The Department performs an authorization inspection at the facility prior to granting a security plan approval. Once a facility’s plan is approved, DHS conducts regular compliance inspections to verify that a facility is implementing the agreed-upon security measures.
Current Statistics
To date, DHS has received nearly 80,000 Top-Screen submissions from nearly 40,000 unique facilities. Of these, the CFATS program currently covers 3,492
facilities.** These high-risk facilities are divided into four (4) tiers, with Tier 1 posing the highest security risk.
| Facility Activities | Since Inception of Program* |
At Currently Covered Facilities |
| Authorization Inspections | 2,975 | 2,374 |
| Approved Security Plans | 2,766 | 2,270 |
| Compliance Inspections | 2,807 | 2,106 |
Enhancing the Risk-Assessment Methodology
In 2016, DHS released an enhanced risk-assessment methodology and streamlined Top-Screen, SVA, and SSP surveys, known as Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) 2.0. The enhanced methodology responds to recommendations made by a peer review of the original methodology and incorporates legislative mandates from the CFATS Act of 2014.
Developed in coordination with industry and government partners and reviewed by a panel of external experts, the enhanced methodology has been independently verified and validated by Sandia National Laboratories. Enhancements to the methodology include the addition of physics-based models for chemicals that could be taken offsite and used in an attack; updates to the threat variable, which is informed by intelligence; and improvements to the population modeling used to assess facilities that have release security concerns.
All facilities with COI that meet the Department’s thresholds are submitting Top-Screens to be analyzed using the enhanced methodology. DHS began sending tiering determination letters to these facilities on April 4, 2017. Visit the DHS website at www.dhs.gov/cfats-tiering-methodology to view a presentation on tiering trends or more information.
Source: https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/cfats-fact-sheet-october-508.pdf