The Governor and his Office of Homeland Security (OHS), led by director OHS Matthew Bettenhausen, have been heavily involved in pushing Congress and DHS for California's fair share of this funding for port security, considering California ports handle nearly half the nation's containerized goods.
"I applaud the federal government's action to more than double the funding for port security in California. We must continue our efforts to upgrade the state's security infrastructure and ultimately protect the lives and property of Californians. Federal officials clearly understand the unique risks facing our state and recognize the significant work that has been done in California so far," said Governor Schwarzenegger.
California's share of the Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) for fiscal year 2008 (FY '08) increased to almost $65 million, up dramatically from $32 million in 2007. The state's share is about one-sixth of the total national allocation of $388 million dollars.
Funding from the Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP) for California also saw a significant increase. California will receive more than $41.5 million dollars in FY '08, up $6 million from $31.5 million in FY '07. In addition, transit agencies in San Diego and Sacramento will be eligible for a portion of $38 million in available grant funding.
The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also announced grant guidance for several other programs. Of note is the addition of the Riverside standard metropolitan statistical area (including the cities of Riverside, San Bernardino and Ontario) to the list of urban areas eligible for Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) funds. $781 million will be divided among the nation's urban areas under this program. Tier One cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco will compete for a portion of $430 million, while Tier Two cities (53 total, now including the Riverside area) will compete for a share of about $352 million.
The Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay areas are also eligible for additional funding this fiscal year (FY'08) under the Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant program (RCPG).
"This additional program will certainly advance our mission and ability to deter, prevent, prepare for, respond to, and recover from any incident of terrorism, natural, or other man-made disasters," said Matthew Bettenhausen, director of OHS.
Specifically, the port areas of Los Angeles-Long Beach, San Francisco, and San Diego will receive $64,822,000 million combined for port security improvements.
- Los Angeles-Long Beach: $36,390,481
- Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, Stockton): $25,533,655
- San Diego: $2,898,611
In mass transit grants California systems in the Bay Area and Los Angeles-Orange County received the following allocations:
- Bay Area $28,259,722
- Greater Los Angeles / Orange County Urban Areas $13,333,679
California has used such grant funding in the past for increasing the number of Urban Search and Rescue Teams, Swift Water Rescue Teams, enhancing and protecting critical infrastructure such as the Trans Bay tube and Disaster Medical Assistance Teams that were of vital importance and assistance in last year's wildfires. The Governor's recent initiative with Telephone Emergency Notification Systems (TENS) for 13 California counties without such systems is another example.
Since its creation in 2003, OHS has administered over $1.6 billion in homeland security grants. All of California's 58 counties have received homeland security funds to purchase equipment, provide training and develop strategies and plans to both prevent acts of terrorism and respond to emergencies.
For more information on grant guidance and programs go to our Web site at www.homeland.ca.gov and www.dhs.gov.
