The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today final awards totaling $445 million in grant programs that strengthen the ability of ports, transit, and intercity bus systems to prevent, protect against, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters and other emergencies. The awards are part of the fiscal year (FY) 2007 Infrastructure Protection Program (IPP), which has provided nearly $2 billion in grants to strengthen critical infrastructure facilities and transportation systems. “These grants will help to protect our nation’s critical infrastructure from threats and hazards that could cause major loss of life, economic impact, and disruption of services,” said Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson. “These risk-based investments will increase security for vital assets such as ports, mass transit systems, long-distance bus carriers, chemical facilities, and nuclear power plants.” Funding was directly allocated in January as part of the IPP to Tier I Transit grants, the Buffer Zone Protection Program and the Trucking Security Program. Today’s announcement outlines the final competitively-bid portions of these grants, which includes Port Security grants, Tier II Transit Security grants, and Intercity Bus Security grants. Final awards for the FY 2007 IPP include:
Port Security Grant Program (PSGP): $202 million (Tiers I – IV) The FY 2007 PSGP will provide a total of $202 million to 183 public and private entities to create sustainable, risk-based efforts to protect critical port infrastructure from terrorism. Eight of the highest risk port regions were placed in Tier I and were eligible to apply for a combined total of $120 million, or roughly 60 percent of total FY 2007 PSGP funding. Port areas in Tiers II, III and IV were eligible to compete for the additional 40 percent of available funds. Funding priorities included training, exercises, and other activities to mitigate the risk of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and to improve employee credentialing and access controls. In some cases, multiple port areas were grouped together to reflect geographic proximity, shared risk, and a common waterway.
Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP): $14.2 million (Tier II) and Ferry Security ($7.2 million) The FY 2007 TSGP will provide a total of $171 million to high-risk urban areas. $141 million was announced in January for the eight highest-risk Tier I urban areas; 24 Tier II urban areas will receive a total of $14.2 million; 17 ferry systems in 13 regions will receive a total of $7.2 million; and the National Passenger Railroad Corporation (Amtrak) will receive a total of $8.3 million. In order to provide local transit agencies greater flexibility in allocating TSGP funds, in FY 2007, DHS combined transit rail grants and transit bus grants to allow them to decide where they can better focus their resources.
Intercity Bus Security Grant Program (IBSGP): $11.6 million The FY 2007 IBSGP will provide a total of $11.6 million to owners and operators of fixed route intercity and charter bus companies servicing one or more defined Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) jurisdictions. Of this total, $8.2 million was allocated for Tier I to six recipients with the largest bus fleets and most extensive services to high-risk urban areas, and the remaining $3.5 million was allocated for eligible recipients in Tier II. Proposals from 33 Tier II companies were selected for award. DHS places a strong emphasis on preventing and detecting IEDs. Other funding priorities included: the protection of high-risk/high-consequence assets; use of visible, unpredictable deterrence; targeted antiterrorism training emergency preparedness drills and exercises; and public awareness and preparedness campaigns.
The following grant programs received direct allocation funding and were announced in January:
Transit Security Grant Program – Tier I: $141 million The eight highest-risk urban areas will receive $141 million to protect their mass transit systems. This represents roughly 90 percent of the total FY 2007 TSGP funding for intracity rail and bus systems. In January, DHS identified specific target investment levels for each of these eight areas. Each Tier I applicant must still submit a fully compliant application, which will undergo a preliminary review prior to final submission. Once completed, these grants will be awarded through cooperative agreements with the state, who in turn works with the transit system. Final Investment Justifications are due 90 days from the date the grant is awarded by DHS.
Buffer Zone Protection Program (BZPP): $48.5 million The FY 2007 Buffer Zone Protection Program (BZPP) will provide a total of $48.5 million and will be awarded to states through their State Administrative Agency. BZPP provides grant funding to build security and risk-management capabilities at the state and local level to secure pre-designated Tier I and Tier II critical infrastructure sites, including chemical facilities, financial institutions, nuclear and electric power plants, dams, stadiums, and other high-risk/high-consequence facilities.
Trucking Security Grant Program (TSP): $11.6 million The Highway Watch program is operated under a cooperative agreement with the American Trucking Associations. The TSP recruits and trains truckers and other highway professionals to identify and report security and safety situations on our nation’s roads. It also operates and maintains a Highway Information Sharing and Analysis Center located at the Transportation Security Operations Center in Herndon, Va.
In making grant determinations, the department considered the threat, vulnerability, and consequences of an attack on critical infrastructure as well as the effectiveness of proposed solutions. The IPP grants affirm Homeland Security’s commitment to risk-based funding and deepen the department’s commitment to assisting with regional planning and security coordination. The risk-based methodology for the IPP programs is consistent across the modes and is linked to the risk methodology used to determine eligibility for the core Homeland Security state and local grant programs. For the list of individual grants and further information on the Infrastructure Protection Program, please visit www.dhs.gov. # # #
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