Wiley Handbook of Science and Technology for Homeland Security, 4 Volume Set

IMPLICATIONS OF REGULATION ON THE PROTECTION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES

REBECCA HAFFENDEN

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico

1 INTRODUCTION

In analyzing the security of a nation’s infrastructure facilities, the impact of the regulatory environment on an infrastructure or a facility must also be considered. Laws and regulations that control both the day-to-day operations and emergency response activities for any facility can originate from a variety of sources. Such regulations are promulgated on the basis of very specific legislation enacted in response to public needs, political forces, or particular events. These regulations, although well written and well thought out for their particular purpose, can have unintended impacts on the security of infrastructure facilities and on the interaction between infrastructures (i.e., interdependencies). Consequently, there should be a mandatory review process for proposed legislation and the corresponding regulations to determine if the legislation or regulation could impact security or emergency response requirements and policies at both the federal and state levels, if the regulation could unintentionally result in increasing the vulnerability of the affected facilities/industries or even if other interdependent facilities/industries will be impacted.

2 THE REGULATORY PROCESS

In the United States, the general regulatory process starts with the enactment of legislation granting authority to one or more federal agencies ...