CBP Requests Comments on High-Energy Cargo X-Ray Systems

U.S. Customs and Border Protection requests comments on a draft Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for High Energy X-Ray Inspection Systems (HEXRIS) at sea and land ports of entry, which analyzes the potential environmental impacts due to the use of HEXRIS.

Comments are due by June 24, 2010.

HEXRIS to Assist in Meeting 100% Scanning of Containers Entering U.S.

To assist in meeting CBP’s mission requirements of securing U.S. borders while simultaneously facilitating legitimate trade and travel, HEXRIS units are proposed to be deployed and operated at both sea and land ports of entry across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

HEXRIS will also assist in fulfilling the requirement for the 100% scanning of containers entering the U.S. as directed in the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006.¹ The purpose of deploying and operating HEXRIS is to perform non-intrusive inspections of high-density cargo containers for the detection of contraband such as illicit drugs, currency, guns, and weapons of mass destruction.

HEXRIS Capable of Penetrating Dense Cargo Loads

CBP notes that HEXRIS fills a unique niche in the types of inspection tools used by CBP at the nation’s ports of entry as it is capable of penetrating dense cargo loads that cannot otherwise be examined with other technologies such as gamma imaging systems or low-energy X-ray systems.

No Significant Environmental Impact by HEXRIS if Best Practices, Mitigation Used

The conclusion of the analysis in CBP’s draft PEA is that the proposed deployment and operation of HEXRIS units will result in no significant impacts to the human environment, as defined in National Environmental Policy Act, as long as best management practices and mitigation measures are implemented.

CBP will evaluate substantive comments to determine whether further environmental impact review is needed in order to complete the final PEA. Should CBP determine that the implementation of the proposed action would not have a significant impact on the environment, it will prepare a Finding of No Significant Impact.

Should it determine that significant environmental impacts exist due to the action, CBP will prepare a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.

¹The SAFE Port Act requires that pilot projects be established at three ports to test the feasibility of scanning 100% of U.S.-bound containers at foreign ports. To fulfill this requirement and determine the overall feasibility and efficacy of 100% scanning, in December 2007, DHS, the State Department, and DOE jointly announced the formation of the Secure Freight Initiative (SFI) pilot program.

In August 2007, two months before the SFI pilot began operations, the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 (9/11 Act) was enacted, which requires, among other things, that by July 2012, 100% of all U.S.-bound cargo containers be scanned before being placed on a vessel at a foreign port, with possible extensions for ports at which certain conditions exist. While foreign ports are not required to participate, the 9/11 Act scanning requirement provides that cargo containers loaded on a vessel in a foreign port that have not been scanned are not to be allowed into the U.S. This replaced a similar provision in the SAFE Port Act that called for 100% scanning but did not have a deadline for full implementation of the scanning requirement.

(See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/04/09 news, 09120410, for BP summary of Secretary Napolitano’s testimony that DHS would not meet the 100% scanning mandate for maritime cargo by 2012, with link to GAO report on this requirement.)

CBP contact -- Antoinette DiVittorio (202) 344-3131