Responding to recent catastrophic chemical facility incidents in the United States, President Obama issued Executive Order (EO) 13650 “Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security” on August 1, 2013.  The focus of the EO is to reduce risks associated with hazardous chemical incidents to owners and operators, workers, and communities by enhancing the safety and security of chemical facilities.  A Federal Interagency Working Group led by the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for the Office of Infrastructure Protection (DHS); Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA); and the Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, in coordination with the Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees chemical facility safety and security. Through the analysis of the current operating environment, existing regulatory programs and stakeholder feedback, a consolidated Federal Action Plan was created to address five elements:

• Strengthening community planning and preparedness;
• Enhancing Federal operational coordination;
• Improving data management;
• Modernizing policies and regulations; and
• Incorporating stakeholder feedback and developing best practices.

A report to the President, published May 2014, summarizes the Working Group's progress, focusing on actions to date, findings and lessons learned, challenges, and short and long-term priority actions. The report, entitled Actions to Improve Chemical Facility Safety and Security – A Shared Commitment, includes with an aggressive Action Plan focused on changing the national landscape of chemical facility safety and security.  Periodically, the Working Group issues Fact Sheets to update the groups progress.

If you have any questions or comments regarding Executive Order 13650 please email EO.chemical@hq.dhs.gov

Status Reports

NEW Status Report Fact Sheet 2015
Status Report Fact Sheet 2014
Executive Order Progress Update: February 2014
Executive Order Progress Update: December 2013

Resource Materials

Public comments and additional materials are available in the public docket for Section 6 of the Executive Order. To access the docket, you can go to www.regulations.gov and perform a search for OSHA-2013-0026.

Executive Order

• Executive Order 13650: Improving Chemical Facility Safety and Security
• EPA's Webpage on Executive Order 13650
• Comments and related documents on the Executive Order Listening Sessions
• Comments on the Executive Order 13650, Section 6(a) – Solicitation of Public Input on Options for Policy, Regulation, and Standards Modernization