The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs on July 28 unanimously approved legislation to extend the current chemical facility security program for three years instead of adopting a House-passed bill (HR 2868) that would create a new chemical security program for water utilities.
In adopting an amendment from ranking Republican Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, substituting for HR 2868 language offered by committee chair Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., the panel moved the measure to the Senate floor, where Lieberman may try again to extend coverage to water systems.
The action was followed later that day with an oversight hearing by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the issue of chemical security at drinking water and wastewater treatment utilities. Last week, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, chair of the Superfund, Toxics, and Environmental Health Subcommittee, introduced legislation (S. 3598) that largely mirrors H.R. 2868.
Although the hearing was on chemical security at drinking water and wastewater plants, it was geared toward building a case for the Lautenberg bill and the concept of “inherently safer technology” (IST).
While it is unclear how the Lautenberg bill will fit in with Senate process on chemical security legislation this year, a likely scenario is for the current chemical security program to be continued as is for another year via a rider on the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill.
