Notice of Availability of Redacted Ammonium Nitrate Security Program Technical Assessments Report, 25495-25496 [2019-11493]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
• Office of the Secretary

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 106 (Monday, June 3, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 25495-25496]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11493]


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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 106 / Monday, June 3, 2019 / Proposed 
Rules

[[Page 25495]]



DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Office of the Secretary

6 CFR Part 31

[Docket No. DHS-2008-0076]
RIN 1670-AA00


Notice of Availability of Redacted Ammonium Nitrate Security 
Program Technical Assessments Report

AGENCY: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, DHS.

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of availability of supplemental 
information.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security is publishing this notice 
of availability in connection with the proposed rule entitled 
``Ammonium Nitrate Security Program'' that was published on August 3, 
2011. Through this notice, DHS is making available a redacted version 
of a final technical report developed by Sandia National Laboratories 
titled ``Ammonium Nitrate Security Program Technical Assessments.'' The 
report documents Sandia National Laboratories' technical research, 
testing, and findings related to the feasibility of weaponizing 
commercially available products containing ammonium nitrate. The 
redacted report has been added to the docket for the proposed rule. 
This notice solicits comments on the report and its application to the 
proposed definition of ammonium nitrate included as part of the 
Ammonium Nitrate Security Program rulemaking.

DATES: Comments are due by September 3, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by docket number and/or 
RIN number, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for sending comments.
     Mail: DHS/CISA/ISD/ISCD, ATTN: [DHS Docket No. DHS-2008-
0076/RIN 1670-AA00], 245 Murray Lane SW, Mail Stop 0610, Arlington, VA 
20528-0610.
    Instructions: All comments received for the public docket will be 
posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided.
    Do not submit comments that include trade secrets, confidential 
commercial or financial information, Chemical-terrorism Vulnerability 
Information (CVI), Protected Critical Infrastructure Information 
(PCII), or Sensitive Security Information (SSI) to the public 
regulatory docket. Please submit comments containing protected 
information separately from other comments on the technical report. 
Comments containing this type of information should be appropriately 
marked as containing such information and submitted by mail to the 
address provided above. DHS will not place comments containing 
protected information in the public docket and will handle them in 
accordance with applicable safeguards and restrictions on access. 
Additionally, DHS will hold them in a separate file to which the public 
does not have access, and place a note in the public docket that DHS 
has received such protected materials from the commenter. If DHS 
receives a request to examine or copy this information, DHS will treat 
it as any other request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 
U.S.C. 552, and the Department's FOIA regulation found in part 5 of 
Title 6 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
    For detailed information on the types of comments sought and the 
types of comments that would be most useful to DHS, see the ``Public 
Participation'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read the publicly available, 
redacted version of Sandia National Laboratories' final technical 
report or comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Craig Conklin, (703) 603-4805, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 563 of the Fiscal Year 2008 Department of Homeland Security 
Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 110-161, Division E (2007)), amended the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002, and directs DHS to ``regulate the sale 
and transfer of ammonium nitrate by an ammonium nitrate facility to 
prevent the misappropriation or use of ammonium nitrate in any act of 
terrorism.'' See 6 U.S.C. 488a(a). As part of this responsibility, DHS 
must consult with the heads of appropriate Federal departments and 
agencies and seek public comment in developing and implementing 
ammonium nitrate regulations, including establishing a threshold 
percentage for ammonium nitrate in a substance that will be subject to 
regulation. 6 U.S.C. 488a(b). The Department published an Advance 
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on October 29, 2008, seeking 
public comment on a Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Program, which 
was followed by a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Ammonium 
Nitrate Security Program for public comment on August 3, 2011. 73 FR 
64280 (October 29, 2008); 76 FR 46908 (August 3, 2011). Additionally, 
DHS held public meetings to seek public input on the proposed rule and 
questions raised in the NPRM. See 76 FR 62311 (October 7, 2011); 76 FR 
70366 (November 14, 2011).
    In the NPRM, 76 FR 46908 (August 3, 2011), the Department proposed 
a definition of ammonium nitrate that included a minimum weight of 25 
pounds, a minimum threshold of 30 percent ammonium nitrate by weight 
for mixtures, and an exemption for cold packs. The Department developed 
the proposed ammonium nitrate definition by considering the security 
benefits gained from regulating a particular transaction and the 
economic impact of regulating the transaction. The Department's 
proposal for the ammonium nitrate definition was informed by public 
comment received from the ANPRM; consultation with the Federal Bureau 
of Investigation's (FBI) Explosives Unit and a variety of other 
Federal, State, and private sector entities; and on a review of 
detonability studies available at the time the NPRM was published.
    After reviewing the public input received through the notice and 
comment process on the proposed definition of ammonium nitrate, DHS 
determined that it was appropriate to seek additional scientific data 
on the

[[Page 25496]]

feasibility of weaponizing commercially available products containing 
ammonium nitrate before establishing a threshold percentage and 
quantity of ammonium nitrate that would be subject to regulation. DHS 
entered into an interagency agreement with the Department of Energy 
(DOE) on July 12, 2012 to obtain the technical expertise of Sandia 
National Laboratories (SNL) and to perform testing and collect data on 
the feasibility of weaponizing commercially available products, 
chemicals, and mixtures containing ammonium nitrate. The Department 
initiated this activity to inform both the Ammonium Nitrate Security 
Program rulemaking and other DHS bombing prevention and chemical 
security initiatives.
    SNL performed a literature review to determine areas in need of 
technical assessments. SNL then designed technical assessments to 
determine the effects of total mass, physical form, and dilution on the 
detonability of ammonium nitrate mixtures using materials and under 
conditions realistic to terrorism bomb design or otherwise favorable to 
support detonation. SNL's technical assessments and results were 
reviewed on two occasions by a panel of subject matter experts, which 
included Federal employees from the Department of Homeland Security, 
the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the Department of 
State, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. SNL 
then produced a final technical report detailing the technical 
assessment test plans, performance, data, and a summary of the review 
and assessment of technical data performed by the panel.
    The SNL test results showed that formulations of ammonium nitrate 
and pre-fabricated ammonium nitrate mixtures with various fuels would 
detonate with one pound of ammonium nitrate, the lowest mass tested. 
The results also showed that a minimum concentration level of 15% 
ammonium nitrate diluted with dolomite in a mixture containing a fuel 
detonated and that dilutions of ammonium sulfate detonated at a 
concentration level of 25% ammonium nitrate. When presented with the 
results of the testing, the panel of subject matter experts concluded 
that mixtures containing one pound of ammonium nitrate were detonable 
on the test diagnostics and that a minimum detonable level of 10% 
ammonium nitrate by weight could be technically defended, providing a 
small margin of safety beyond the 15% level, which showed a weak 
detonation.
    The Department believes that release of SNL's final report will 
provide important information to those who manufacture, store, process, 
or engage in other transactions involving ammonium nitrate. The 
Department is releasing SNL's final report in a redacted format to 
protect information that could reasonably be expected to harm national 
security and/or endanger individuals' lives or physical safety because 
it could allow adversaries to develop effective, optimized improvised 
explosive devices (IEDs).

Public Participation

    As noted, the SNL technical report was developed to contribute to 
the Department's body of knowledge on the detonability of ammonium 
nitrate and to inform the rulemaking process. The Department is 
therefore adding the report to the public docket for the proposed rule 
and is requesting comment from the public on the report and its 
potential application to the proposed definition of ammonium nitrate. 
The Department is specifically requesting comment on the scientific 
methodology and test plans SNL employed, technical data generated by 
SNL and test results, and factors affecting detonability thresholds. 
The Department would also like comment on the appropriateness of the 
proposed ammonium nitrate definition in light of the newly available 
evidence in the report, such as whether the report supports changes to 
the proposed mixture and weight thresholds, and the potential economic 
impacts of any changes to the proposed definition.
    Comments that will provide the most assistance to the Department 
will refer to a specific section, appendix, figure, and/or table of the 
technical report, explain the reason for any comments, and include 
other information or authority that supports such comments.
    This Notice is issued under the authority of 6 U.S.C. 488a.

    Dated: May 28, 2019.
David Wulf,
Director, Infrastructure Security Compliance Division, Infrastructure 
Security Division, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, 
Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2019-11493 Filed 5-31-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-9P-P