In 28 years of raising chickens, Virgil Shockley has had his share of worries, from bird disease to pollution. But nothing prepared him for the latest concern in the poultry industry: Farms could be deemed terrorist targets by the U.S. government.
“Out here?” Shockley exclaimed, gesturing across a rutted dirt road from his home on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, toward six long metal sheds filled with birds.
But nestled in the grass between his sheds are rows of large propane tanks, used to heat the chicken houses. They fall under regulations proposed by the Department of Homeland Security.
Shockley is part of an unlikely group of people who have been swept up in Homeland Security’s quest to protect the chemical industry from terrorist attacks.
The proposed regulations, drafted after years of debate, would require thousands of chemical-using businesses to fill out extensive questionnaires. Homeland Security would then require the highest-risk companies to draw up detailed security plans.
Industry groups and politicians are complaining that Homeland Security is casting too wide a net. They have bombarded the agency with concerns that the regulations could affect not only chemical giants but small dry cleaners, university labs, doctors’ offices and camper parks.
The controversy illustrates a dilemma for the government: how to strike the right balance between safety and the freedom to conduct one’s business.
Shockley said he understands Homeland Security’s desire to reduce any terrorism vulnerability. In addition to running his chicken farm, he sits on the local emergency planning committee.
“I appreciate the fact that they have a job to do,” he said. “Having said that, I don’t know who in the world thought this was a good idea.”
