THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release August 1, 2013

EXECUTIVE ORDER

- - - - - - -

IMPROVING CHEMICAL FACIL I TY SAFETY AND SECURITY

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it
is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1

. Purpose

. Chemicals, and the facilities where they are manufacture d , store d , distribute d , and use d , are essential to today ' s economy. Past and recent tragedies have reminded us, however, that the handling and storage of chemicals
are not without risk. The Federal Government has developed and implemented numerous programs aimed at reducing the safety
risks and security risks associated with hazardous chemicals

. However

, additional measures can be taken by executive departments and agencies (agencies) with regulator y authority

to further improve chemical facility safety and security in coordination with owners and operators

.

Sec

. 2

. Establishment of the Chemical Facility Safety and Security Working Group

. (a) There is established a Chemical Facility Safety and Security W orking Group (Working Group)

co

- chaired by the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

, and the Secretary of Labor or their designated representatives at the Assistant Secretary level or high er. In addition, the

W orking G roup shall consist of the head of each of the following agencies or their designated representatives at the Assistant Secretary level or higher:

(i) the Department of Justice ;

(ii) the Department of Agriculture ; an d

(iii) the Department of Transportation

.

(b) In carrying out its responsibilities under this order,
the Working Group shall consult with representatives from:

(i) the Council on Environmental Quality;

(ii) the National Security Staff;

(iii) the Domestic Policy Council;

(iv) the Office of Science and Technology Policy;

(v) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ;

(vi) the White House Office of Cabinet Affairs; and2

(vii) such other agencies and offices as the

P resident may designate.

(c) The Working Group shall meet no less than quarterly to discuss the status of efforts to implement this order. The Working Group is encouraged to invite other affected agencies, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, to a ttend these meetings as appropriate. Additionally, the Working Group shall provide, within 270 days of the date of this order, a status report to the President through the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Assistant to the President fo r Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

Sec

. 3

. Improving Operational Coordination with State

, Local , and Tribal Partners

. (a) Within 135 days of the date
of this order, t he W orking G roup shall develop a plan to support and further enable efforts by S tate regulators, S tate

, local

, and tribal emergency responders, chemical facility owners and operators, and local and tribal communities to work together to improve chemical facility safety and security. In developing this plan, the Working Group shall :

(i) i dentify ways to improve coordination among the Federal Government, first responders

, and S tate

, local, and t ribal entities ;

(ii) take into account the capabilities,
limitations

, and needs of the first responder community ;

(iii) i dentify ways to ensure that S tate h omeland

s ecurity a dvisors, State Emergency Response Commissions (SERCs), Tribal Emergency Response Commissions (TERCs), Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs), Tribal Emergency Planning Committees (TEPCs), S tate regu lators, and first responders have ready access to key information in a
useable format , including by thoroughly reviewing categories of chemicals for which information is provided to first responders and the manner in which it is made available, so as to pr event, prepare for, and respond to chemical incidents ;

(iv) i dentify areas, in collaboration with S tate

, local , and tribal government s and private sector partners, where joint collaborative programs can be developed or enhanced , including by better int egrating existing authorities, jurisdictional responsibilities

, and regulatory programs in order to achieve a more comprehensive engagement on chemical risk management ;

(v) i dentify opportunities and mechanisms to improve response procedures and to enh ance information sharing and collaborative planning between chemical facility owners and operators

, TEPCs, LEPCs

, and first responders ;3

(vi) w orking with the National Response Team (NRT) and Regional Response Teams (RRT s ), identify means for Federal technical assistance to support developing, implementing, exercising, and revising State, local

, and tribal emergency contingency plans, including improved training ; and

(vii) e xamine opportunities to improve public access
to information abo ut chemical facility risks consistent with national security needs and appropriate protection of co nfidential business
information.

( b) Within 90 days of the date of this order , the Attorney General, through the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco

, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), shall assess the feasibility of sharing data related to the storage of explosive materials with

SERCs , TEPCs, and LEPCs.

(c) Within 90 days of the date of this order , the Secretary of Homeland Security shall assess the fe asibility of sharing Chemical Facility Anti

- Terrorism Standards (CFATS) data
with SERCs , TEPCs, and LEPCs on a categorical basis.

Sec

. 4

. Enhanced Federal Coordination . In order to enhance Federal coordination regarding chemical facility safety
and sec urity:

(a) Within 45 days of the date of this order , the W orking

G roup shall deploy a pilot program, involving the EPA

, Department of Labor, Department of Homeland Security

, and any other appropriate agency

, to validate best practices and to test innovative methods for Federal interagency collaboration regarding chemical facility safety and security. The pilot

program shall operate in at least one region and shall integrate regional Federal

, S tate

, local, an d t ribal assets, where appropriate. The pilot program shall include innovative and effective methods of collecting, storing

, and using facility information, stakeholder outreach, inspection planning, and, as appropriate, joint inspection ef forts. The Wor king Group
shall take into account the results of the pilot program in developing integrated standard operating procedures pursuant

to subs ection (b) of this section.

(b) Within 270 days of the date of this order , the

W orking G roup shall create compre hensive and integrated

standard operating procedures for a unified Federal approach
for identifying and responding to risks in chemical facilities ( including during pre

- inspect ion, inspection execution,
post

- inspection, and post

- accident investigation acti vities )

, incident reporting and response procedures, enforcement, and collection, storage, and use of facility information. This
effort shall reflect best practices and shall include agency

- to

agency referrals and joint inspection procedures where possibl e and appropriate, as well as consultation with the Federal
Emergency Management Agency on post

- accident response
activities.4

( c ) Within 90 days of the date of this order , the W orking

G roup shall consult with the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) and determine what, if any, changes are required to existing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and processes between EPA and CSB, ATF and CSB, and the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration a nd CSB for timely and full disclosure of
information. To the extent appropriate, the Working Group may develop a single model MOU with CSB in lieu of existing
agreements.

Sec

. 5

. Enhanced Information Collection and Sharing

. In
order to enhance information collection by and sharing across agencies to support more informed decisionmaking, streamline reporting requirements, and reduce duplicative efforts:

(a) Within 90 days of the date of this order

, the Working Group shall develop a n analysis, including recommendations, on the potential to improve information collection by and sharing between agencies to help identify chemical facilities which may not have provided all required information or may be non

compliant with F ederal require ments to ensure chemical facility safety . This analysis should consider ongoing data

- sharing efforts, other f ederally collected information, and chemical facility reporting among agencies (including information shared
with S tate

, local , and tribal governments)

.

(b) Within 180 days of the date of this order

, the Working Group shall produce a proposal for a coordinated , flexible data

sharing process which can be utilized to track data submitted to agencies for f ederally regulated chemical facilities, including locations, chemicals, regulated entities, previous infractions

, and other relevant information . The proposal shall allow for the sharing of information with and by State

, local , and tribal entities where possible, consistent with section 3 of this order, and shall address computer

- based and non

- computer

- based means for improving the process in the short

- term , if they
exist

.

(c) Within 180 days of the date of this order

, the Working
Group shall identify and recommend possible changes to streamline and otherwise improve data collection to meet the
needs of the public and Federal, S tate

, local , and tribal agencies (including those charged with protecting workers and the public), consistent w ith the Paperwork Reduction Act and other relevant authorities, including opportunities to lessen the reporting burden on regulated industries. To the extent feasible, e fforts sh all minimize the duplicative collection of information while ensuring that pe rtinent information is shared with all key entities.

Sec

. 6

. Policy, Regulation

, and Standards Modernization

. (a) In order to enhance safety and security in chemical facilities by modernizing key policies, regulations, and
standards , the Working Group shall :

( i ) w ithin 90 days of the date of this order

, develop options for improved chemical facility safety and security that identifies improvements to existing risk management practices through agency programs, private sector initiatives, Government guidance, outreach, standards

, and regulations ;5

( ii ) within 90 days of developing the options
described in subsection (a) (i) of this section, engage key stakeholders to discuss the options and other

means to improve chemical risk management that may be
available ; and

( iii ) w ithin 90 days of completing the outreach and
consultation effort described in sub section (a) ( ii ) of
this section , develop a plan for implementing practical and effective improvements to chemical risk management identified pu rsuant to sub section s (a) (i) and (ii) of this section.

( b ) Within 90 days of the date of this order , the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Labor, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall develop a list of potential regulatory and legislative proposals to improve the safe and secure storage, handling, and sale of ammonium nitrate and identify ways in which ammonium nitrate safety and security can
be enhanced u nder existing authorities

.

( c ) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Administrator of EPA and the Secretary of Labor shall review the chemical hazards covered by the Risk Management Program (RMP) and the Process Safety Management Standard (PSM) and determine if the RMP or PSM can and should be expanded to address additional regulated substances and types of hazards. In addition, the EPA and the Department of Labor shall develop a plan, including a timeline and resource requirements, to expand,
i mplement, and enforce the RMP and PSM in a manner that addresses the additional regulated substances and types of
hazards.

(d) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall identify a list of chemicals, including poi sons and reactive substances, that
should be considered for addition to the CFATS Chemicals of
Interest list

.

(e) Within 90 days of the date of this order , the Secretary of Labor shall:

(i) identify any changes that need to be made in the retail and commercial grade exemptions in the PSM

S tandard; and

(ii) issue a Request for Information designed to identify issues related to modernization of the PSM Standard and related standards necessary to me et the goal of preventing major chemical accidents.

Sec

. 7

. Identification of Best Practices . The W orking

G roup shall convene stakeholders, including chemical producers, chemical storage companies, agricultural supply companies, S tate and local regulat ors, chemical critical infrastructure owners and operators, first responders, labor organizations representing affected workers, environmental and community

groups, and consensus standards organizations, in order to identify and share successes to date and best practices to reduce safety risks and security risks in the production and6

storage of potentially harmful chemicals, including through the
use of safer altern atives, adoption of best practices, and potential public

- private partnerships.

Sec

. 8

. General Provisions

. (a) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law, including international trade obligations, and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or
otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to a department, agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of OMB relating to budgetary, adm inistrative, or legislative proposals.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entitie s, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

BARACK OBAMA

THE WHITE HOUSE, August 1, 2013.

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