Interoperability News Clips July 21, 2006 – August 4, 2006
Table of Contents July 21 – August 4, 2006
Problems With DPS Communications System...... 2 Houses Passes Bill Aimed at Improving Emergency Radio Communications...... 3 Grants will boost interoperability policy ...... 4 House OKs first-responder emergency net...... 5 House passes emergency-communications bill ...... 7 Emergency Communications Bill Includes Amateur Radio as Interoperability Agent ...... 8 Statewide emergency radio system faces obstacles...... 10 Greene County Commissioners meet...... 14 U.S. Coast Guard Activates Rescue 21 System in Gulf States...... 16 Bush visits Lake...... 17 Unified St. Tammany Parish Meets with Governor...... 20 Our Cities Are Not Prepared for Disaster...... 22
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Problems With DPS Communications System July 21, 2006 KLTV By Karolyn Davis, Reporter URL: http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5182789&nav=menu117_3_3_5
This week's trial of the man who shot a DPS Trooper shined a light on a communication problem... actually two communication problems for local DPS officers.
"After they leave and you (Trooper Stone) are on your mic initially you calling for Tyler I've been shot help help. Where is that going?" says Matt Bingham, District Attorney of Smith County during trial.
"It goes back to the main communications system but honestly on that particular night because the radios are so poor and often we cannot transmit, on that particular night I actually did not have that with me," says Trooper Steven Stone during trial.
Trooper Stone, shot multiple times, lay in the ditch that night. He had to crawl back to his car to call for help. Who knows what may have happened if he hadn't been able to.
"Depending on where they might be working they can have interference or static as anything else which is why they have their car radio, of course, as the primary," says Trooper Jeanne Dark, DPS spokeswoman.
And there's another problem.
"Is DPS and the Smith County Sheriffs office and Tyler Police Department able to communicate via radio?" says Matt Bingham, District Attorney with Smith County during trial.
"No sir. Smith County Sheriffs Department and Tyler PD are both on different radio systems," says Trooper Steven Stone during trial.
The Sheriff's department and the Police Department are on the same radio system. They have been for more than 10 years.
"We are able to communicate now to 30 different city department, we can talk to the sheriff's department , TISD and TJC police," says Sergeant Darin Grissom, Communications with Tyler Police Department.
Even as agencies responded to help Trooper Stone, Smith County Sheriff's Department and Tyler Police could talk to one another but not with DPS via radio.
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"It would be helpful to have a channel that all of the agencies can communicate with each other," says Trooper Jeanne Dark, DPS spokeswoman.
"It would enhance our safety and the safety of our highway patrolmen to know what is going on instead of waiting on our dispatch to relay information to their dispatch to relay to them. It's all about safety," says Sergeant Darin Grissom, Communications with Tyler Police Department.
Trooper Dark says at this time DPS does not have plans to replace their hand held radios or have a system to be able to communicate with the sheriff and police departments.
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Houses Passes Bill Aimed at Improving Emergency Radio Communications Congressional Quarterly By Patrick Yoest URL: www.cq.com
The House overwhelmingly passed a bill Tuesday that would create an emergency communications office at the Homeland Security Department in an attempt to quicken efforts to improve radio interoperability for first-responders.
Passed by a 414-2 vote, the bill (HR 5852) would create an assistant secretary for emergency communications to head the new office.
The bill would give the department secretary power to deny the use of homeland security grants for interoperability efforts if state and local first-responders do not submit proper plans or do not meet voluntary equipment standards.
The bill targets the communication problems of first-responders, which hampered response efforts after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina.
During both of those disasters, police, fire and emergency medical units communicated on different radio frequencies.
Although the bill enjoyed bipartisan support Tuesday, some Democrats warned that Congress would eventually have to give state and local agencies more funds to purchase interoperable equipment. The bill authorizes no new funds for interoperability efforts at the department.
“All our efforts here today will be for naught if we do not provide funding for the development and deployment of a nationwide emergency communications system,” said
3 Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the Homeland Security Committee’s ranking Democrat.
‘A Lot of Frustration’ Dave Reichert, R-Wash., a former sheriff who sponsored the emergency communications bill, agrees that more funding is necessary. But he said that the Homeland Security Department already has $1.7 billion available for interoperability grants, and that the department has spent $2.1 billion in the past two years to develop interoperable communications.
“We can throw all the money we want at this, but until the states have comprehensive plans in place and equipment standards have been developed, we will not be able to solve this problem,” Reichert said.
A deficit reduction measure signed into law in February (PL 109-171) created an interoperability grant program with up to $1 billion raised from an analog spectrum auction. But the Commerce Department has the authority to dispense those funds, which Reichert’s emergency communications bill would not change.
A Reichert proposal to overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency (HR 5351) would shift the funds to the Homeland Security Department, but the Energy and Commerce Committee opposes that move, according to Reichert.
“A lot of frustration here, I believe, is that those monies should be brought together, so that the right hand knows what the left hand is doing,” Reichert said.
The emergency communications bill also would create regional emergency communications working groups, as well as a federal Emergency Communications Preparedness Center. The federal group would include the heads of the Homeland Security Department and four other federal agencies.
The Senate will mark up a bill (S 3721) Thursday that would enact a host of emergency response overhauls, including the creation of a new emergency communications office.
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Grants will boost interoperability policy July 25, 2006 United Press International URL: http://www.upi.com/SecurityTerrorism/view.php?StoryID=20060725-113833- 6585r
WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) -- Five states will get U.S. grants to improve their policy co-ordination on interoperable communications for first responders and other agencies.
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The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the SAFECOM program, the communications program of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement Tuesday that Alabama, Indiana, Minnesota, Montana and Washington would get $50,000 each "to support governors and other state and local policymakers in developing state-wide interoperability plans for wireless communications."
The planning projects funded by the grants are to be completed by July 2007.
Wireless interoperability allows different responder agencies and government jurisdictions to exchange information as needed, even when each is using different communications or computer systems.
Reviews of the response to Hurricane Katrina "highlighted the continued lack of communications interoperability at the state and local levels," said the statement. "In many cases, communications between response teams that include fire, police and other public safety agencies is impaired by incompatible communications equipment and/or systems."
The grants will fund a so-called policy academy in which statewide teams of officials will meet to thrash out issues which may be holding up the implementation of interoperability and get what the statement calls "customized technical assistance."
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House OKs first-responder emergency net July 26, 2006 NorthJersey.com By Brian Spadora URL: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyNCZmZ 2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Njk2Njc2MSZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTI=
The House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at making it easier for first responders to communicate during an emergency.
The legislation would improve "interoperability," or communications among different kinds of emergency services -- including police, fire and EMTs -- as well as across levels of government, from local to federal, supporters of the bill said.
The legislation was spurred in part by the Sept. 11 terror attacks, when the inability of responders to communicate led to greater loss of life, according to the Sept. 11 Commission.
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Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, who co-authored the legislation, said the government knew about communications problems faced by first responders well before Sept. 11.
"So we have known about the problems that exist, and many have explored the possible remedies that we should undertake," Pascrell said Tuesday during the debate on the House floor. "Yet many in Congress sit, after 9/11, after Hurricane Katrina, wondering why no real progress has been made. That changes today. The bottom line is this: (the legislation) will improve the capability of first responders to communicate during times of emergency."
"The 21st Century Emergency Coordination Act," which passed by a vote of 414-2, would:
Establish an Office of Emergency Communication within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Create regional working groups made up of public and private sector communications experts to asses needs in different geographical areas.
Require state and local governments to establish statewide interoperability communications plans before being able to use DHS grant funds for emergency communications. Funds could be used only for equipment that met those standards.
"The 30 largest cities in the U.S. don't have proper communications in times of emergencies," he said in a phone interview after the vote.
Before the legislation is enacted, it will have to be passed by the U.S. Senate.
That could happen in September, Pascrell said.
If the Senate passes the legislation, Congress would have to determine funding for each of the bill's initiatives when the DHS budget is decided, said Caley Gray, a spokesman for Pascrell.
Pascrell said adequate funding is critical, because communications equipment has been neglected in many areas. "We're dealing with a lot of antiquated equipment," he said. "We've got to get up to snuff."
Pascrell said Congress must also address public safety departments' needs for bandwidth, or range of broadcast frequencies. The Federal Communications Commission oversees bandwidth, the majority of which was sold to private television broadcasters.
6 Capt. James Hearney, commander of the Passaic County Sheriff's Department's special operations division, said bandwidth and equipment are both problems. His department uses 12-year-old radio equipment to manage the county's 911 emergency response program and its hazardous materials response team, he said.
"Would you drive a car that was over 10 years old in the public safety arena?" Hearney said in a phone interview Tuesday. "Would you use a laptop that was 10 years old?"
Hearney said there is not enough interoperability in the county. The Sheriff's Department can speak to each of the county's municipalities, he said, but a municipal radio system does not work when one user is outside of the municipality's borders. The county must speak to the state police on an antiquated system and has no way of communicating with federal authorities, he said.
Hearney said much has improved since Sept. 11, but not nearly enough.
He said he hoped the legislation approved Tuesday could be part of the solution.
"I'm not a big guy on federal oversight, but it's got to be done," he said. "It's going to be 2007. That's six years" since Sept. 11.
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House passes emergency-communications bill July 26, 2006 MRT By Donny Jackson URL: http://mrtmag.com/news/house_emergency_communications_072606/
The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would create a national interoperability office within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and mandates that equipment purchased with DHS grants comply with interoperability standards.
Originally part of a FEMA reform proposal that may not reach the House floor, public- safety interoperability components of the legislation with bipartisan support were included in this separate bill—HR 5852, the 21st Century Emergency Communications Act of 2006. Introduced just last week, the bill moved quickly through the legislative process and passed the House yesterday by a 414-2 vote.
“I am relieved that, even with the failure to reform FEMA, our nation’s first responders will receive the much-needed upgrade to their disaster-response communications they deserve to continue protecting our nation,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a prepared statement when the bill was introduced.
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If passed by the Senate, the legislation would establish an Office of Emergency Communications that would consolidate the interoperability efforts of DHS and the SAFECOM program. It also would mandate that DHS periodically assess emergency- communications needs and make recommendations.
The bill also includes language that ties DHS grant money to the interoperability effort, said Yucel Ors, legislative director for the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials.
“If [emergency-response entities] are going to use the money to buy systems that aren’t interoperable, they have to provide a good reason why,” he said ”If they don’t provide a good reason, they won’t be able to get the money … They’re trying to get the standards accepted by public safety.”
Ors noted that the bill does not include any authorization or appropriation for new funding for interoperability.
APCO supported the concept of a national emergency-communications office when the item was part of the FEMA legislation, Ors said.
“It’s a fast-moving bill, and there were some modifications made … and we’re still evaluating those changes,” he said. “But, at this time, we don’t see any overwhelming issues. It seems to be moving in the right direction.”
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Emergency Communications Bill Includes Amateur Radio as Interoperability Agent July 27, 2006 ARRLWeb URL: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2006/07/27/100/?nc=1
NEWINGTON, CT, Jul 27, 2006--A bill to enhance emergency communication at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) includes Amateur Radio operators as part of an overall effort to provide interoperability among responders. The 21st Century Emergency Communications Act of 2006 (HR 5852), an amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, passed the US House this week on a 414-2 vote and has gone to the Senate. Its sponsor, Rep David G. Reichert (R-WA) -- who chairs the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Science and Technology -- says his legislation is designed "to improve the ability of emergency responders to communicate with each other" -- interoperability.
"Until the events of September 11, 2001, many people in this nation believed and assumed that first responders from different disciplines and jurisdictions could actually
8 talk to each other," Reichert -- a former police officer -- told the House in support of his bill. "It wasn't happening. It is still not happening today. Unfortunately, that was not the case then, and, as demonstrated by the inadequate responses to Hurricane Katrina, that is not the case today."
Reichert told his colleagues that the inability of first responders to communicate with each another effectively led to the loss of many lives along the US Gulf Coast last year. "This is simply unacceptable," he said.
His measure also would require the DHS to strengthen its efforts to improve emergency communications. HR 5852 calls for Amateur Radio operators to be part of a "Regional Emergency Communications Coordination Working Group" (RECC Working Group) that would be attached to each regional Department of Homeland Security office. The RECC Working Groups would advise federal and state homeland security officials.
Membership in the RECC Working Groups would include state and local officials; law enforcement, first responders such as fire departments; 911 centers; hospitals; ambulance services; communications equipment vendors, telephone, wireless satellite, broadband and cable service providers; public utilities; broadcasters; emergency evacuation transit services; state emergency managers, homeland security directors or representatives of state administrative agencies; local emergency managers or homeland security directors, and "other emergency response providers or emergency support providers as deemed appropriate."
Federal government representatives to the RECC Working Groups would include representatives from the DHS "and other federal departments and agencies with responsibility for coordinating interoperable emergency communications" with state, local, and tribal governments.
According to the bill, the RECC Working Groups would function to assess the survivability, sustainability, and interoperability of local emergency communications systems to meet the goals of the National Emergency Communications Report. That report would be developed by the Assistant Secretary for Emergency Communications "to provide recommendations regarding how the United States can accelerate the deployment of interoperable emergency communications nationwide."
Among other things, the RECC Working Groups would report annually to the Assistant Secretary for Emergency Communications "on the status of its region in building robust and sustainable interoperable voice and data emergency communications networks and on the progress of the region in meeting the goals of the National Emergency Communications Report." The RECC Working Groups also would be tasked with ensuring a process to coordinate the establishment of "effective multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency emergency communications networks" that could be brought into play following acts of terrorism, natural disasters and other emergencies.
9 HR 5852 has been referred to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
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Statewide emergency radio system faces obstacles August 1, 2006 Tulsaworld.com By Omer Gillham URL: http://www.tulsaworld.com/NewsStory.asp?ID=060801_Ne_a1_state_0
Old-fashioned competition is hampering the efforts
Homeland Security officials are making progress in allowing first responders to talk to each other on the same frequency despite the fact the state is a competitive battleground for two communication companies. The Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security is overseeing a $28 million plan to extend an existing 800-megahertz system from one end of Oklahoma to the other. The plan is known as interoperability -- two-way radios that operate seamlessly to allow different agencies to communicate during disasters.
The plan is a cornerstone of the state's terrorist response and disaster plan. Since 2002, Oklahoma has been awarded about $120 million in federal grants for homeland security and disaster initiatives.
When switched on in the next few months, the expansion will improve communication across jurisdictions for fire, police and other emergency responders on the system, said Kerry Pettingill, Oklahoma's chief homeland security officer. Hospitals and emergency rooms are expected to be linked to the system.
"This is a good start on a system that can address a long-standing problem with interoperability among emergency workers responding to a variety of disasters," Pettingill said. "In the past, there have been significant radio problems that have hindered response time and coordination."
But efforts to establish a emergency communication channel to improve safety and response time are being hindered by old-fashioned competition. The state is part of a larger battleground between two communication companies offering different versions of an 800-MHz system.
Motorola Inc. and M/A-Com compete to supply radio service to Oklahoma cities and private utilities. The difference in radio systems creates compatibility problems between
10 the Motorola system used by Tulsa and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the M/A-Com system used by Oklahoma City, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Glenpool and Jenks.
"Every state is a battleground. It's no secret," said Chuck Shaughnessy, vice president of operations for M/A-Com.
M/A-Com just won a $2 billion contract to install an 800-MHz system and VHF system in New York, Shaughnessy said.
Motorola, meanwhile, leads M/A-Com in installing state systems, said Steve Gorecki, a company spokesman. Gorecki said Motorola has built 29 of 32 systems across the nation.
The incompatibility in Oklahoma drives a wedge into the state's efforts to create a seamless emergency channel. Police and fire departments in Oklahoma City and the Broken Arrow area will be mostly dead to the Motorola signal used by the Department of Public Safety and the Tulsa fire and police departments, officials said.
The Motorola system was established in Oklahoma in the early 1980s by the Department of Public Safety, said John Mayes, state account manger for Motorola Inc.
The key issue for those on the M/A-Com system is being able to talk to responders on the Motorola system or other systems responding to a major disaster in the M/A-Com zone.
Officials in Oklahoma City and Broken Arrow say a frequency patch and network switch allows them to hear the Motorola system or at least transfer information from it.
The Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and a massive tornado that hit the Oklahoma City area in 1999 exposed communication problems between first-responders converging on the scene, said Bob Ricks, Edmond police chief and former DPS commissioner.
The bombing killed 168 people, while an F-5 twister and a series of other tornadoes killed 44 people in Moore, Midwest City and Del City four years later.
Ricks recalls that following the bombing, rescuers were literally passing notes to each other with runners because of radio problems and the sheer magnitude of the disaster. Ricks said the communication problems affected rescue decisions for hours.
"We cannot say for sure that lives were lost, but I have great concern that lives could have been lost at Murrah," Ricks said. "I heard stories from officers hearing whimpering in the building before they evacuated due to a bomb scare. When they came back, some of the whimpering had stopped."
Four years later, the same communication challenges remained.
"With the tornado, we responded quicker than before, but we lacked interoperability again," Ricks said.
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Officials in Oklahoma City and Broken Arrow say a communication patch works now and will work in the future.
"You have to have coordination if there is one system or multiple systems for it to work effectively," said Kerry Wagnon, public safety program manager for Oklahoma City.
Stephen Bradley, deputy director of emergency management for Broken Arrow, said a frequency patch works best within the responder's jurisdiction.
"Setting up a frequency patch within the city is no big deal, but it becomes more complex if the emergency responder leaves the jurisdiction for an emergency call," Bradley said.
Kevin Shoemaker, communications infrastructure manager for the city of Tulsa, said problems could arise for Broken Arrow and other M/A-Com users during a major disaster.
"We have coordinated with Broken Arrow and can talk with them, but the problem can come in when there is a major disaster and the radio traffic picks up. Then you can have limited communication," Shoemaker said.
Meanwhile, Glenpool police have experienced problems with the city's M/A-Com system, said Glenpool detective Dennis Waller.
"We have been on the M/A-Com system for a while, and there have been some problems with (radio) coverage in certain areas," Waller said. "And the whole system went down during a (recent) storm. Police and fire basically lost all communication.
"It is a brand-new system, so I am sure it will have its problems, whereas Motorola has been around awhile and their problems are worked out," Waller said.
In 2001, Oklahoma City ended up with the M/A-Com system based on bids that included a Motorola bid, Wagnon said. He said the city saved millions of dollars with M/A-Com.
Oklahoma City is installing 20 Motorola radios and taking other measures to establish some level of compatibility with responders leaving or coming into Oklahoma City, Wagnon said.
"When you talk about incompatibility and OKC being out of the loop, you are talking about only a rare instance in which our fire department might be going to Tulsa or elsewhere. We can't take 99 percent of our communication needs and set them aside for the one exception that we might respond to outside our jurisdiction," Wagnon said.
Pettingill said Wagnon has assured him the M/A-Com system and switching plan will work with the Motorola system to address public safety and emergency needs.
12 "I continue to get assurances from Kerry (Wagnon) that there will be compatibility, but it will not be seamless," Pettingill said.
"I have not seen it demonstrated yet, but we are being assured it will be done. The good news is that everyone is working together to have the best system we can get."
Grass fires expose flaws
b ri Pettingill said a spate of grass fires earlier this summer exposed the weaknesses of radio communication among fire departments from different districts. Many departments use differing VHF and UHF signals.
Pettingill said the state has attempted for decades to create a statewide communication channel for first responders. Getting full state coverage would cost an estimated $80 million to $100 million for infrastructure alone.
A Senate bill that would have dedicated $56 million to the project died in committee this year.
While the VHF and UHF systems typically have a shorter range and lose their signal, the expanded state system would not, said Will Borden, 800-MHz project manager for the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security. By contrast, the Homeland Security-sponsored system will be powerful enough to span the state and compatible enough to connect those on the system, Borden said.
The system will create a communication channel running diagonally along the Interstate 44 corridor. When finished, it will stretch from Miami, Okla., to Lawton, covering 70 percent of the state's population within 70 miles on either side of the turnpike, Borden said.
The $28 million provides equipment for 30 transmitter sites, about half the sites needed to cover the state with an 800 MHz signal, Pettingill said.
Not all of the cities along the turnpike will receive radio units because of funding constraints. That means some cities and towns will have to purchase their own radio units to access the signal.
Coweta is one of the small towns receiving funds to outfit its police and fire department with 800-MHz equipment, said Lt. Donnie Krumsiek, operations commander of Coweta Police.
"You do not know how ecstatic we are to receive this kind of help," Krumsiek said. "That old VHF system was pretty bad. To actually be able to communicate with other communities and among ourselves will take some getting used to."
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Greene County Commissioners meet August 2, 2006 Daily Citizen By Andrew McCann URL: http://www.dailycitizen.com/articles/2006/08/02/news/xcomish.txt
Greene County Prosecutor David Powell told the Greene County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday morning at their regular meeting that Community Corrections has written confirmation that they'll be awarded money for a new facility.
At a July 20 Community Corrections board meeting, Powell announced the verbal go- ahead for the project. However, he was awaiting written confirmation before moving forward.
The prosecutor told the board of commissioners that Community Corrections programs will no longer have to be housed in temporary quarters. He said a Department of Corrections grant will help fund construction of a permanent facility near the jail and the Department of Child Services.
“Yesterday, (Monday) we got a letter that our current grant will be amended,” Powell said.
“We're not asking the council or county for any money.”
He explained that he and Community Corrections Executive Director Lynn Wininger wanted to keep the commissioners informed.
Wininger said a building committee has been hard at work for two-and-a-half years developing and revising a plan. She said the new facility will require eight full-time and two part-time employees.
Powell said it will be a 70-bed facility, with 50 beds for men and 20 for women. He said there also will be room for offices and classrooms.
Roger Axe asked the board of commissioners to adopt a resolution establishing the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as county policy. He said the federal government has adopted NIMS as a standard, and if counties don't adopt it, they will no longer be eligible for federal funds.
“We need to adopt a resolution, and we need to have it in place by September 30 of this year,” he told the board.
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Axe explained that NIMS addresses issues of unified command and interoperability that created problems during the disasters of 9/11/01. He went on to explain that, for example, different agencies, such as fire and police departments, didn't or couldn't communicate with each other during the disasters. In addition, he said fire hydrants near the New York disaster site weren't compatible with the hoses of fire departments from the suburbs that came to assist.
“NIMS is an outgrowth of what went wrong on 9/11,” Axe said. “The federal government is requiring any entity that wants to continue to receive federal funding to begin compliance by September 30, 2006. First line responders must be trained and participate in NIMS. NIMS has two major components, unified command and interoperability.”
According to Axe, unified command will provide a cohesive unit working together under one command structure. Interoperability will allow different agencies to communicate and their equipment to interface.
Commissioner Kathy Crouch made a motion to approve the resolution, and Commissioner Larry Hasler seconded it. The motion was approved.
Axe also asked the commissioners to consider an emergency energy plan, which he presented to them at the meeting.
“I think we stand a very, very good chance of some energy shortage in the future,” Axe said. “I think it's very important that we give some due consideration to energy usage.
“This (proposal) is not the end word on it. There's some other things, but at least we've got a start.”
In other business:
The board approved the purchase of a $100 used computer for the Circuit Court clerk's office.
The commissioners discussed with county attorney Marilyn Hartman who needs to meet to discuss courthouse security measures and when.
“Basically what this is for is to decide where it's coming from in the budget, to get it off the judges and to decide who's responsible for the move,” said Commissioner President Bart Beard.
Courthouse maintenance supervisor Gene Spinks explained to the commissioners that space will be needed to store extra supplies, such as paint and carpet, that will be used to repair damage when it occurs to the newly constructed and renovated courthouse and addition. He said no such space is available in the building and asked them to suggest alternatives.
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U.S. Coast Guard Activates Rescue 21 System in Gulf States August 2, 2006 EmeraldCoast.com URL: http://community.emeraldcoast.com/military/news/article.showarticle.db.php?a=5039
The U.S. Coast Guard has begun using a new command, control and communications system known as Rescue 21, for search and rescue, marine environmental protection and homeland security missions along the Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida coastlines.
Advanced direction-finding capability, a critical component of Rescue 21, allows Coast Guard watchstanders to more accurately locate the source of a distress call. That capability also allows the Coast Guard to locate the source of hoax calls. Rescue 21 also includes a network of towers to help reduce coverage gaps in coastal areas and ensure more calls get through to the Coast Guard.
"The system provides a revolutionary leap in enhanced command, control, and communications capabilities," said Capt. Dan Abel, Rescue 21 Project Manager. "Given our long and proud history of standing the watch, such leading edge technology will radically improve the efficiency of search and rescue operations and offers interoperability with other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, and with first responders across all rescue or homeland security missions in the coastal area," he said.
Proving its mettle following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, is the Disaster Recovery System (DRS), a critical component of Rescue 21. A fully autonomous, rapidly deployable emergency communications package, it provides voice and data connectivity if a man-made or natural disaster destroys the existing communications infrastructure. The DRS connects to the Coast Guard Data Network (CGDN+) via satellite communications. For six months, it reliably provided one-way communications with mariners, in the southeastern portion of the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast region. Currently, four of the deployable systems are staged in Huntsville, Ala. for quick deployment.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted eight to 10 hurricanes in the Atlantic for 2006; at least half of which are expected to be the strength of Category Three storms.
"Rescue 21 has been accepted at an especially critical time of year in the Gulf States," said Abel. "It provides vital technology to increase the capabilities of our Coast Guard
16 crews at a vital time when summer search and rescue pace increases and tropical storms or hurricanes put mariners and coastal residents at risk," he said.
A $730 million acquisition project and the second largest within the Coast Guard, Rescue 21 will replace the Coast Guard's aging National Distress and Response System, built during the 1970s. Once fully implemented, Rescue 21 will cover 95,000 miles of U.S. coastline and inland waterways.
By the Numbers
First life is saved using Rescue 21 system: November 2005 First Rescue 21 system commissioned Atlantic City, N.J., December 2005 Two Initial Operating Capacity regions; Atlantic City, N.J., and Eastern Shore, (Maryland, Delaware and Virginia) accepted Rescue 21 in 2005 First Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) region accepted Rescue 21 in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, May 19, 2006 Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., the second of four LRIP regions, accepted the system June 29, 2006 Nationwide rollout to about 40 additional regions is slated for completion by 2011.
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Bush visits Lake August 3, 2006 News-Herald.com By John Arthur Hutchinson URL: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17001405&BRD=1698&PAG=461&dept_ id=21849&rfi=6
President praises response, says help coming to those in need
President Bush praised local officials and first responders Wednesday at the Lake County Emergency Operations Center in Kirtland after a 40-minute briefing Wednesday on last week's flooding.
He also promised that individuals who suffered flood-related problems would be helped as much as possible.
Bush attended the briefing at the request of U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Concord Township, before attending a closed-press private fund-raiser in Kirtland Hills for Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell.
17 After the briefing, which was not open to the public, Bush spoke to the media outside the EOC for about five minutes. He did not take questions.
While making his remarks, the president stood flanked by Lake County Sheriff Daniel A. Dunlap, EOC director Larry Greene and Jesse Munoz, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's federal coordinating officer for the Ohio disaster.
"I have just been briefed by the Emergency Management teams of Lake County and the other counties affected by the recent flooding," Bush said. "Law enforcement was there, firefighters were there and our FEMA representative was there at the briefing."
The president said he was left with two impressions. "One, the local response was really good. The interoperability between various jurisdictions was superb," Bush said. "And as a result, a lot of people's lives were saved. And I want to congratulate you, Sheriff, and congratulate Larry for your good work in helping people."
Bush said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been working productively on the ground within Lake County.
"I signed a major disaster declaration for this part of the country, which means this - that individuals will be helped," Bush said.
"Individuals will be helped with rental assistance; individuals will be helped with temporary housing; individuals will be helped with grants to help rebuild their homes; and small businesses will be helped with low-interest loans. In other words, the first wave of help from the federal government as a result of these disasters is now available for people whose lives were affected by the flooding."
The president said there are still assessments going on for further federal help and federal assistance, and when those assessments are made, the proper help will be granted.
"For those people who are wondering about the federal help, there's toll-free numbers," Bush said.
"You can call the Emergency Center, they'll give you the toll-free numbers if you've been a citizen affected by these recent floods."
The president urged residents to call (800) 621-FEMA or visit www.fema.gov to get claims started.
At Dunlap's request, the president also made an unscheduled visit within the EOC to speak and shake hands with dispatchers.
"Again, I want to congratulate you all for a job well-done," Bush said.
18 "I had the honor of talking to dispatchers, hardworking people that are on the phone all the time helping people. And now, once the lives have been saved, with the exception of one soul, that it's now time to help the people rebuild their lives.
"There's a lot of people concerned and a lot of people working here, and the federal government will do its part with the local authorities."
During the briefing, the president took the opportunity to ask questions and to listen to comments from 13 officials and first responders during a roundtable discussion. In addition to LaTourette, Dunlap, Greene and Munoz, others involved were Gov. Bob Taft, Lake County Commissioner Daniel P. Troy, Fairport Harbor Mayor Frank Sarosy, Painesville City Manager Rita McMahon, Concord Township Fire Chief Mike Warner, Ashtabula County Commissioner Joe Moroski, Geauga County Sheriff Dan McClelland, Mentor City Manager John Konrad, Madison Village Mayor Mike Evangelista and Eastlake Fire Chief Richard Sabo.
After Bush left, officials involved in the briefing held a news conference at Mooreland Mansion at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland.
"Our first responders did a tremendous job under incredibly trying circumstances," LaTourette said. "I wanted the president to hear firsthand about their great effort, and how training and planning can pay off. I think these men and women did such an admirable job and first responders from all over the country can learn from their amazing response." Taft said he had the chance to personally thank Bush for the federal declaration.
"It was clear the president was concerned about the people affected by this disaster," the governor said. "The response by the local officials here was textbook."
Troy said Lake County takes disaster planning seriously especially due to the proximity of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant in North Perry Village.
"This is a local problem first," the commissioner said.
"Unfortunately, we had to put part of that action plan into place. ... Now we need to keep the red tape at a minimum."
Konrad said it was a wonderful opportunity to have the president hear everyone's concerns.
"President Bush was very interested in what we had to say," Konrad said. Moroski said he is hopeful the federal declaration for Ashtabula County will be pushed back to July 22, when the first of three storms hit his county. McClelland praised his county's response to the flooding and said he was proud to live in a community where people take action when they are called upon.
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Unified St. Tammany Parish Meets with Governor August 4, 2006 STTammany.com By Milena Merrill URL: http://www.sttammany.com/news-detail/article/563/unified-st.html
St. Tammany Parish president Kevin Davis led a consortium of local mayors to meet with the governor Tuesday in a show of unity, solidarity and strength.
Gov. Kathleen Blanco assembled department heads or cabinet level officials, Davis said, to talk through issues such as recovery, emergency preparedness, hospitals, housing and better communication with the state.
Blanco's staff was also there to learn about St. Tammany's steps toward recovery and to listen to local concerns. Davis said that the "meeting went well, at least on an informational level."
Sheriff Jack Strain, another proponent of improving communication between local and state agencies, also made the trek to Baton Rouge.
During the meeting, the governor got word that the promised $4.2 billion in federal grant monies had been placed in the state's coffers. St. Tammany lawmakers were the first to know, Mandeville mayor Eddie Price told StTammany.com.
The $4.2 billion in Community Development Block Grants will be supplemented by $3.7 billion to fix levees, improve higher education institutions and other state priorities. Another $6.2 billion from a supplemental bill would pay homeowners for their uninsured and uncompensated damages. At last count, 123,000 homes, 82,000 rental units and 18,000 businesses were destroyed as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The governor and Louisiana Recovery Director Andy Kopplin talked about how recovery monies would find their way from the state to local citizens.
"The state of our parish nearly a year after Katrina, while strong and improving, still requires resources from the state level," Davis said. "We need to have a clear understanding of what those resources are and how we can access them, and there's no better way to get these answers than to meet directly with the people in charge. We now know what we can expect from the state."
20 Price said that the meeting -- taking place on the last day the governor could have signed or vetoed bills -- was a "gesture of acknowledgment of the importance of this growing region."
Covington Mayor Candace Watkins said that St. Tammany is clearly the "go to" parish for evacuees from the devastated lower-lying parishes. "We want to be addressed and considered as a group so we can get more accomplished and have added credibility when we ask for something," she said.
In advocating a regional approach with the governor, Davis told the mayors that a unified voice would get St. Tammany's needs met, a feat that Watkins feels was accomplished. She said she was reassured to see how far the state and region had come, but realized how much work there is still left to do.
After the meeting, Strain said, “We were concerned about there being a complete lack of communication between St. Tammany officials and the Governor’s office. There are still many problems with interoperability that need immediate attention, but I think yesterday’s meeting was a good first step toward establishing a dialog between us."
Strain said that the state's new communication system is of no worth to St. Tammany Parish if it is not compatible with local jurisdiction.
Local lawmakers echoed his concerns about fixing the communication gap between state radio systems and those used in the parish.
Price said that sound communication between law enforcement, first responders and the state is integral "to handling any emergency and we need to be on the same page."
Price said that "the governor told us to think regionally with regard to communication as the state is running itself and the state police and the National Guard on its own system." Price's take is that "St. Tammany Parish is a viable part of this region with a great number of people from so many other parishes living here now."
Slidell mayor Ben Morris, head of the worst hit municipality in the parish, said, "We are not an island out by ourselves, we are a region and we need to be part of what the state is doing."
Strain was also concerned that officers with State Troop L are being taken from St. Tammany and sent to New Orleans and other locales. "As for the issue of fully staffing Troop L," he said, "there were no immediate solutions discussed at yesterday’s meeting. This is a problem of great significance to this area, and I will continue my efforts to get more boots on the ground until there are 75 permanent troopers positions here."
Strain said that he asked the legislative delegation to get involved in
21 allocating more troopers to St. Tammany Parish: "Hopefully, they will also carry my concern to the Governor and help enable a quick resolution."
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Our Cities Are Not Prepared for Disaster August 4, 2006 Executive Intelligence Review By Pat Salisbury URL: http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2006/3331mayors_disaster.html
The official organization of mayors of the United States held a press conference July 26 to issue a chilling report documenting that America's cities are not prepared to survive upcoming disasters, be they natural or man-made. The mayors' conclusions, presented by a bipartisan panel, were released under the title: "Five Years Post 9/11, One Year, Post Katrina: The State of America's Readiness. A 183-City Survey."
Speaking at the press conference were Tom Cochran, executive director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors; Michael A. Guido, mayor of Dearborn, Mich., and president of the group; Martin O'Malley, mayor of Baltimore, Md.; Douglas H. Palmer, mayor of Trenton, N.J.; J. Christian Bollwage, mayor of Elizabeth, N.J.; David G. Wallace, mayor of Sugar Land, Tex.; and John E. Street, mayor of Philadelphia.
The mayors minced no words, and dove right into their findings, placing much of the blame on the Federal government, and virtually begging the assembled press corps to alert the American population.
One of the most startling findings is the documentation of a continuing lack of interoperable communications, the basic ability of first responders to reach and communicate with each other and with relevant public officals, hospital personnel, and other institutions. This lack proved disastrous in both the 9/11 terrorist attack and the devastation of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina.
Eighty percent of the cities report that they have not received sufficient Federal funds to achieve full communications interoperability. When asked how far away they are from achieving full communications interoperability, cities reported the following: 40% said "four years" and 60% either were unable to respond or said "unknown." Therefore, not one city is even within reach of achieving this most basic parameter of disaster preparedness.
Several mayors commented on the obstacles to success. Mayor Wallace, a Republican, described the way in which aspects of the communications system put into place, have been delayed by a cutback in Federal funding. He also noted that while many
22 municipalities in his regional area have created a network which is at least partially functional, the city of Houston is not participating. Wallace reported estimates that it would require $150 million to bring Houston into the net.
Mayor Street, a Democrat, later reported that $25 million would be required to establish basic communications in the subway system in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.
'Market Forces Will Not Do It' The study also documented the inabilities of the cities to cope with a bird flu pandemic, given the insane refusal of the Bush Administration to admit Federal responsibility in such an emergency. Seventy percent responded "no" to this question: "The Federal government has already stated that local governments would be largely on their own during the first days and possibly weeks of a pandemic. Is your city prepared to handle such a crisis on its own?"
Mayor O'Malley, a Democrat, elaborated on this point, stating that there is no way any city could be prepared for a bird flu pandemic without the aid of the Federal government. "Market forces will not do it, the profit incentive is not there," he said.
Mayor Street made a similar point, reporting that an in-depth study conducted in the tri- state, 11-county area around Philadelphia had convinced him and other public officials that they remained "woefully unprepared" for an emergency. "I'm telling you we have whole sections of the country that are unprepared," he said, adding that he could not stress forcefully enough that the local taxpayer cannot foot the bill; huge assistance is needed from the Federal government.
During the question and answer session, this EIR reporter challenged the mayors to go further and address the fundamental cause of the problem. Summarizing the role of fascist financier Felix Rohatyn in the destruction of urban infrastructure, EIR asked them to comment on reversing the Rohatyn policies that caused the infrastructure takedown. Tom Cochran, executive director of the mayors' group, chose to answer this question by making remarks on the importance of infrastructure, and lamenting that there was no climate in Congress or in the population for building infrastructure. He said that he had known Rohatyn when he was U.S. Ambassador to France.
In subsequent discussion with EIR, Cochran said Rohatyn had told him that infrastructure development had to be paid for by an increase in the tax on gasoline. He told Rohatyn that would never work, he said.
Cochran and the mayors received copies of the just-completed EIR study "Rohatyn Steals Public Property Coast to Coast," which documents Rohatyn's seven-year campaign to win over the Conference of Mayors to the proposition that globalization is here to stay, and that huge chunks of taxpayer-funded urban infrastructure should be "privatized." It is to be hoped that study of this report and proposals by Lyndon LaRouche for Federal infrastructure projects to reverse 30 years of looting and decay, plus constituency
23 pressure, will prod the mayors to make a serious response to LaRouche's call to both parties to rid themselves of Rohatyn and his ilk.
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