Reporting a Potential Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Violation

Chemical security is a shared responsibility among chemical facility owners, operators, and employees; the communities that surround these facilities; and federal, state, and local government officials. Any individual may report a potential CFATS violation to the Department. Chemical facilities of interest are prohibited by law from retaliating against an employee for reporting a potential CFATS violation.

All chemical facilities that are finally determined to be high-risk must have security measures in place to reduce the risks associated with chemicals of interest listed in Appendix A. Potential CFATS violations may include, but are not limited to:

• Failure to submit a Top-Screen (NOTE: Per the notice published in the Federal Register on July 20, 2016, DHS has temporarily suspended the requirement to submit a Chemical Security Assessment Tool (CSAT) Top-Screen and Security Vulnerability Assessment as the Department improves the tiering methodology process);
• Knowing submission of false information;
• Failure to implement Site Security Plan (SSP) security measures; and/or
• Failure to maintain records.

How to report a CFATS violation

To submit a report to the Department regarding a potential CFATS violation, contact the CFATS Chemical Facility Security Tip Line, 877-394-4347 (877-FYI 4 DHS), or email CFATSTips@hq.dhs.gov. Individuals may also report violations via mail at:

Director, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division
Office of Infrastructure Protection
Department of Homeland Security
Mail Stop 0610
245 Murray Lane
Washington, D.C. 20528

If possible, please include the facility name, address or location, facility contact information, and specific security concern in the report. The Department will review and consider the information provided, and take action, as appropriate.

If a security incident may already have occurred, call the National Infrastructure Coordinating Center: 202-282-9201. If this is a security emergency or terrorist incident, call 911 or contact your local FBI field office.

The Department encourages anyone reporting a potential violation to identify himself or herself when making a report. This will allow DHS to acknowledge receipt of the information and facilitates the review of the violation. The Department is committed to protecting whistleblower confidentiality; the identity of an individual who reports a violation will be kept confidential unless disclosure is unavoidable or is compelled by a court order. In these instances, the Department will attempt to contact the whistleblower to inform him or her of the communication.

DHS will accept violations reported anonymously; however, in such instances, the Department will be unable to provide acknowledgement of receipt of the information. Additionally, such reports can pose challenges as DHS cannot contact an anonymous reporter to obtain additional information. For anonymous reports, please provide a detailed description of the nature of the potential violation, including, where possible, names and dates.