New plant safety rules cleared.(Legislation/Regulation)(Brief article)

Congress has approved new safety regulations to protect the nation's high-risk chemical plants and refineries.

Under the new rules, individual states would be allowed to set stricter security standards on petrochemical and refining facilities than required by the federal government.

However, the measure was part of a controversial $124 billion supplemental spending bill for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that President Bush has vowed to veto because it contains a timeline for bringing the troops home. The Senate passed the bill Thursday, a day after the House of Representatives voted to approve it.

Maurice McBride, associate general counsel for the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association (NPRA), said the members of his association are watching to see what happens after the presidential veto.

As written, it's unclear how many facilities would be impacted by the new rules, which only apply to plants not already covered by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA).

About 60% of NPRA's membership is subject to the US Coast Guard security regulations, McBride said.

The measure amends legislation passed last fall that allowed federal law to trump state regulations. So far only New Jersey seems to have tougher requirements for chemical plants, though the state's six refineries are already under the jurisdiction of the MTSA.

The new rules do open the door for other states to tighten their own regulations, though, McBride said.

The measure also eliminates a provision in the Chemical Terrorism Vulnerability Information Act that barred the public release of security-sensitive information. McBride said refiners are concerned that under the so-called "community right to know" provision that someone will post sensitive information on the Internet.