August 1, 2013, the President issued Executive Order 13650 – Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security – to improve the safety and security of chemical facilities and reduce the risks of hazardous chemicals to facility workers and operators, communities and responders. The U.S. Coast Guard has been working with the Department of Homeland Security, and other agency partners, to meet the requirements of this order and improve chemical facility safety and security across the nation. While this effort has not resulted in any changes to Coast Guard requirements, we learned much from our fellow agencies and from the many members of the public who contributed during the public comment sessions.

The working group of contributing agencies recently published a full report to the President on the progress to date, findings, lessons learned, challenges and long term priority action for this effort. The report is entitled Actions to Improve Chemical Facility Safety and Security – A Shared Commitment .

The status report is a milestone – not an endpoint, and we will continue to work with industry and government partners to share our best practices and contribute to improvements to chemical facility safety and security.

The United States Coast Guard has been addressing the risks associated with chemicals, explosives and other hazardous materials on waterfront facilities since Commodore Ellsworth Bertholf , the first head of the modern Coast Guard, appointed the Captain Godfrey Carden as the first Captain of the Port, in New York, to address safety and security issues on the waterfront during World War I. Working with experts in industry and transportation, we enforce strong standards to prevent accidents and secure facilities from intentional harm. Our preparedness systems are equally strong, and when incidents do occur, Coast Guard personnel work with industry, federal, state and local agencies on response efforts needed to protect the public and the environment.

This blog is not a replacement or substitute for the formal posting of regulations and updates or existing processes for receiving formal feedback of the same. Links provided on this blog will direct the reader to official source documents, such as the Federal Register, Homeport and the Code of Federal Regulations. These documents remain the official source for regulatory information published by the Coast Guard.