STATEMENT -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Elvin Montero
609.392.4214 (o)
CCNJ Statement on the Governor's new mandate on chemical plant security
November 29, 2005 (Trenton, NJ) -- The business of chemistry in New Jersey has been at the forefront of chemical plant security and safety. The industry didn't wait for legislation or an executive order to secure our plants and ensure the well-being of our workers and our communities. Chemical plant security is too important an issue for anyone to play politics with, but for reasons not clear to us, it seems the cooperative approach between the State and our sector is being abandoned. The prescriptive order seems to penalize early, responsible actors while adding requirements that have little to do with security.
The Chemical Sector (Plant Security) Best Practices, which after appropriate state review were approved by Governor James McGreevey on September 18, 2003, were agreed to and implemented by members of the Chemistry Council of New Jersey. Our collaborative work on the Best Practices with the Attorney General's Office, the Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force (DSPTF), the NJ Office of Counter Terrorism, the DSPTF's Industrial Advisory Committee, and various state agencies, including the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, demonstrates our willingness to do what is necessary to protect the public and our critical infrastructure. In fact, our work has resulted in employee training programs, and a signed-but-never-executed Memorandum of Agreement with the state that would have required our members to go beyond any existing regulatory requirements.
The business of chemistry in New Jersey has spent well over $100 million in added security measures, and nationwide more than $2 billion has been invested since 9/11. Protecting our facilities is an ongoing process that involves site assessments, the hardening of facilities, the implementation of multiple layers of protection to secure the complex chemical processes and continuous evaluation of security measures already in place.
This industry continues to invest heavily in state-of-the-art technology, safety protocols, and security enhancements at our plants without waiting for any government direction to provide the essential products we all count on in a safe, environmentally sound and secure manner.
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The Chemistry Council of New Jersey (CCNJ), founded in 1955, is the premier trade and advocacy organization representing the interests of about 100 New Jersey manufacturers in the business of chemistry. Our membership consists of large and small companies that are part of New Jersey’s chemical, pharmaceutical, consumer products, petroleum, flavor & fragrances and precious metals industries. The CCNJ is committed to a better quality of life through science.
