More Concerns Raised Over Plant Security Program

Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, says new concerns have been raised about the Department of Homeland Security’s management of the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program. After a highly critical internal review of the chemical plant security program surfaced (C&EN, Jan. 9, page 6), Grassley says an unidentified whistle-blower contacted his office with details of mismanagement that “go far beyond what has previously been reported.” According to Grassley, the whistle-blower alleges that the DHS office that oversees CFATS assigned employees to nonexistent field offices, allowing employees to work from home while claiming on paper to be located in “phantom CFATS field offices.” As a result, Grassley says, employees often lived in low-locality-pay areas while claiming duty stations in high-locality-pay areas, thus receiving higher pay. Allegations also include routine procurement by CFATS personnel of tactical and field equipment for which the program had no use. DHS officials have not responded to the new charges.