The Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA) recently held its 5th Annual Washington Fly-In in D.C. At the day and a half event, members heard from Congressional speakers, networked with fellow SOCMA members, and had the opportunity to directly voice their concerns on Capitol Hill. Over 30 SOCMA members met with approximately 60 Congressional offices, educating members of Congress and their staff about the batch, custom, and specialty chemical manufacturing industry.

Last week, the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (NMSAC) announced that it will be holding a partially closed public meeting on May 15-16, 2012 in Washington, D.C. The Committee will meet in closed session on Tuesday, May 15 from 9 am to 11:30 am and in open session from 1 pm to 5 pm. On Wednesday, May 16, the Committee will meet from 9 am to 12 pm.

Day 1’s agenda will include a discussion of the following topics:

The American Chemistry Council will be hosting its ChemSecure security event in Houston, Texas on June 11-13, 2012.

Through both general and breakout sessions, ChemSecure will cover a variety of topics including the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS), cyber security risk assessments, global supply chain security, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) chemical industry outreach.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently issued a report on U.S. pipeline safety and security. The report suggests that Congress should assess how the various elements of U.S. pipeline safety and security fit together in the nation’s overall strategy to protect transportation infrastructure.

The application deadline for FY2012 funding under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) is approaching.

Applying for FY2012 PSGP funding is a two step process: first, applicants must complete and submit Standard Form 424 to grants.gov to determine eligibility. The deadline to submit Form 424 is April 27, 2012. Once FEMA confirms that the applicant is eligible, the applicant can proceed to step two, which involves submitting a full application. The submission deadline for the full application is May 4, 2012. Application forms and instructions are available at www.grants.gov.

The case of Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, the Saudi college student arrested last year in Texas on suspicion of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, is set for trial on April 30. Employees at both the chemical supply company where Aldawsari attempted to purchase Phenol and at the shipping company asked to deliver the chemical identified the transaction as suspicious. The employees tipped off the FBI, thwarting Aldawsari’s plans to build bombs to blow up critical infrastructure. 

At a recent hearing on the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program held in the House Committee on Homeland Security, Tim Scott, Chief Security Officer of Dow Chemical testified on behalf of the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

As part of its mission to secure our nation’s borders, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Custom and Border Protection (CBP) must quickly and accurately monitor and inspect thousands of sea cargo containers entering U.S. ports each day.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently published its Annual Summary of Enforcement Actions for 2011.

By law, TSA has the authority to impose fines of up to $10,000 per violation of any surface transportation requirement included in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This includes, among others, the Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) Hazardous Materials Transportation (HM-232) program, TSA’s Rail Security program, and Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC™) requirements.

Two weeks ago, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently published a Final Report on its Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC™) Reader Pilot Program.