TR NEWS MAY-JUNE 2005

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY TRAINING AND EDUCATION: RESOURCES, TECHNIQUES, AND STRATEGIES

http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=5199

The May-June 2005 issue of TR News includes the following articles:
* Assessing Transportation Security Training: A Survey of Needs and Programs
* Evacuation Planning, Human Factors, and Traffic Engineering: Developing Systems for Training and Effective Response
* New Frontiers in Emergency and Incident Management Training: Multiagency Models and Interactive Simulation Systems
* Developing and Expanding a Security Curriculum for Frontline Transportation Workers: The National Transit Institute's Programs
* Conducting a Mock Drill in Indiana: State and University Partnership Gauges Transportation Security Training Needs
* Hazard and Security Planning for Transit Systems: One Size Does Not Fit All
* Cooperative Research for Hazardous Materials Transportation: Defining the Need, Converging on Solutions
* Marine Salvage Capabilities: Responding to Terrorist Attacks in U.S. Ports-Actions to Improve Readiness
* Research Pays Off -- Supporting Construction Loads on Steel Bridges: Kansas Team Develops Tool for Design and Analysis

TRB'S SECURITY RELATED PUBLICATIONS

http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=5195

Since September 11, 2001, citizens and government have looked to the scientific and engineering research community to develop faster and more effective ways to detect, thwart, and respond to terrorist attacks on the transportation system. TRB and other divisions of the National Academies have developed a bookshelf of resources and guides for transportation professionals, decision makers, and members of the general public on ways to enhance transportation security. In addition, just days after 9/11, TRB began and continues to assemble a wide-ranging transportation system security website that highlights transportation security activities and resources available from around the world.

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY: A SUMMARY OF TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD ACTIVITIES

http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=5079

A slideshow summary of the Transportation Research Board's pre- and post-September 11, 2001, transportation security activities is updated monthly.

COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS SECURITY RESEARCH STATUS REPORT

http://trb.org/news/blurb_detail.asp?id=5078

TRB's Cooperative Research Program produces a table summarizing more than 60 security and emergency preparedness projects representing over $9 million in the contract research programs for state departments of transportation and the public transportation industry. Updated monthly.

Canadian Transit Security Report

Canada's Victoria Transport Policy Institute has released "Terrorism, Transit, and Public Safety: Evaluating the Risks." The report examines the overall safety of public transit, taking into account all risks, including terrorist attacks.

Read on here

(7/16/05)

Chertoff unveils Homeland Security revamp plan

Chertoff unveils Homeland Security revamp plan By Greta Wodele, CongressDaily Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday announced plans to rearrange and consolidate several agencies at the department-the first reorganization since the department was created two years ago.

"Modest but essential course corrections regarding organization will yield big dividends," Chertoff said, adding he would implement several of the changes while others would require legislation.

Chertoff plans to pull the Federal Emergency Management Agency out of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate to become, once again, a stand-alone agency reporting directly to him.

Read the full story here.

(7/14/05)

London attacks fuel debate over U.S. transit security

London attacks fuel debate over U.S. transit security By Chris Strohm Debate erupted Thursday over federal funding for U.S. mass transit security after four bombs in London ripped through several commuter subway trains and one bus, killing at least 37 people and injuring hundreds more.

London authorities said the bombs appeared to be a coordinated terrorist attack, but did not know whether suicide bombers set them off or whether bombs had been left in packages.

In the United States, the Homeland Security Department raised the terror alert level from yellow to orange for regional and inter-city passenger rail, subways and metropolitan bus systems. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the alert level was being raised out of "prudence" and "common sense," but added that the government did not have any specific, credible information suggesting an imminent attack was likely in the United States.

Read the full story here.

(7/8/2005)

'One-Stop Access' to Homeland Standards Offered by Web Site

'One-Stop Access' to Homeland Standards Offered by Web Site By Patrick Yoest, CQ Staff Local officials have a new, comprehensive resource for researching homeland security standards.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a New York-based nonprofit organization, recently announced the launch of a Web site http://www.hssd.us that promises "one-stop access" to standards for first responders, code officials and other homeland security personnel. In cooperation with government, ANSI administers and coordinates standard technology and practices, for the use of U.S. businesses.

ANSI's Homeland Security Standards Panel (HSSP) developed the site on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). "We were talking to DHS and their Science and Technology Directorate," Matt Dean, program manager of HSSP, said in a telephone interview. "They requested that we put a database together that would kind of capture and classify standards in the homeland security arena."

The site currently distributes standards into five searchable categories: Threats, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Borders and Transportation, Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection and U.S. DHS standards. Within the categories are a number of subcategories, which allows users to obtain more specific output.

ANSI expects that it will address other areas of homeland security on the site in the future. According to Dean, planners want to provide links between the HSSP site and the Responder Knowledge Base, a Web site that carries product information.

Established by ANSI in February 2003, HSSP includes industry representatives, as well as a number of DHS offices and agencies.

(6/24/2005)

Guidance for Transportation Agencies on Managing Sensitive Information

TRB has released Volume 5 of its NCHRP Report 525: Surface Transportation Security, a series reports concerning security and transportation.

Read more here.

(6/23/2005)

A Self-Study Course on Terrorisim-related Risk Management of Highway Infrastructure

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 525: Surface Transportation Security, Volume 4: A Self-Study Course on Terrorism-Related Risk Management of Highway Infrastructure is designed to provide a general background in terrorism-related risk management for highway infrastructure. The report is also designed to assist bridge and structures engineers and managers in identifying critical highway assets and their potential vulnerabilities, developing possible countermeasures to prevent or ameliorate threats to such assets, and determining the capital and operating costs of such countermeasures. This volume of NCHRP Report 525 is presented in PowerPoint and portable document format (pdf) on CRP-CD-55.

Read more here.

(6/10/2005)

Homeland Defense Journal Grants Handbook

Homeland Defense Journal Grants Handbook The Homeland Defense Journal magazine has researched and compiled a 20-page handbook for state and local governments that was recently released to the public. The handbook is available free of charge and is designed to help grants planners and writers improve their award success. Lessons-learned, best practices and writing tips are included in the document.

Click here to download the grants handbook.

(6/4/2005)

ITS America's HSPS Forum Announces Completion of ITS-Homeland Security Linkages Project

ITS America's HSPS Forum has recently completed a project linking ITS applications to Homeland Security.

Read more here.

(5/20/2005)

DHS Announces $17.1 Million in Port Security Grants

DHS Announces $17.1 Million in Port Security Grants By Jim Morris, CQ Staff The Department of Homeland Security said Thursday it had awarded $17.1 million in security grants to three of the nation's biggest ports. The department said the funds will help the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey and the ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach and Seattle/Tacoma improve the security of container cargo. The grants were awarded under the third phase of Operation Safe Commerce, a program that brings together representatives of ports, all levels of government and the private sector to share information, with the aim of improving supply chain security.

"Through this effort, we are adding another layer of security to raise our level of port protection and fulfill our commitment to securing our homeland against all threats of terrorism, whether from air, land, or sea," said Matt A. Mayer, acting executive director of DHS's Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness. DHS said it had awarded $6.7 million to Los Angeles/Long Beach; $5.2 million to Seattle/Tacoma; and $5.2 million to New York/New Jersey. Before the latest awards, the three areas had received a collective $55 million under Operation Safe Commerce.

(4/14/2005)

DHS awards $140 million in transit security grants

DHS awards $140 million in transit security grants By Chris Strohm The Homeland Security Department will provide more grant money in 2005 for transit security than any previous year, but the amount falls far short of what public transportation advocates say is needed. DHS announced Tuesday that it will provide more than $140 million in grants to help secure public transportation infrastructure, including rail, intracity bus, and ferry systems. The department awarded grants totaling $50 million in 2004 and $65 million in 2003 to help protect transit systems. "These grants will target our resources toward the greatest risk while contributing to the overall security of our nation's transit systems," said Matt Mayer, acting executive director of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness.

Read the full story here.

(4/14/2005)

U.S. National Response Plan Online Training

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released a new independent study course to introduce emergency management practitioners to the National Response Plan (NRP). The course, "The National Response Plan, an Introduction," IS-800, is designed primarily for U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal department/agency staff responsible for implementing the NRP. State, local, and private sector emergency management professionals can also benefit from this course. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to describe the purpose of the NRP, locate information within the NRP, describe the roles and responsibilities of entities as specified in the NRP, identify the organizational structure used for NRP coordination, describe the field-level organizations and teams activated under the NRP, and identify the incident management activities addressed by the NRP. The course may be accessed on the web here.

(1/10/2005)

FEMA Mitigation Best Practice Portfolio

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Mitigation Best Practice Portfolio is now live. This portfolio is a collection of ideas, activities, projects, and funding sources that can help reduce or prevent the impacts of disasters. This Web page also invites users to submit their own mitigation best practices for review and possible inclusion in the portfolio.

Find the portfolio here.

(2/19/2005)>

National Response Plan Completed

Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security released the National Response Plan, which describes how federal agencies will work with state, local, and tribal governments in the event of an emergency--naturally occurring or terrorist imposed. "The National Response Plan embodies our nation's commitment to the concept of one team, one goal--a safer and more secure America," said Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. "Completion of the National Response Plan has been one of my department's highest priorities, and this achievement is a bold step forward in bringing unity in our response to disasters and terrorist threats and attacks."

A press release, plan factsheet, and plan are available for viewing.

(1/10/2005)

Telecommunications for Transportation Professionals Handbook

The telecommunications for transportation professionals handbook is now available here at the FHWA web site.

(1/10/2005)

NIMSonline.com

NIMSonline.com was launched on October 1, 2004, to support federal, state, local, and tribal efforts to implement the National Incident Management System (NIMS). As an independent, multi-jurisdictional, and multidiscipline clearinghouse, this Web site provides current NIMS news and open-source document access and serves as an information guide for the developing NIMS Community.

(12/22/2004)

New NIMS Resource Online

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Incident Management System (NIMS) Integration Center at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has developed and posted on its Web page, a template for a basic NIMS Implementation Plan that agencies involved in implementing NIMS can use for planning purposes. Although the template is designed for federal departments and agencies in particular, states and local and tribal agencies may find it useful in guiding their own NIMS implementation process.

The sample plan's concept of execution envisions four distinct phases of NIMS adoption. Phase I is initial staff training, including completion of FEMA's independent NIMS and ICS study courses. The second phase involves evaluating plans, policies and procedures to identify aspects that need to be made compliance with NIMS concepts.

Activities in Phase III involve the actual modification of emergency response plans, Emergency Operations Plans and other relevant plans, procedures and policies to reflect the adoption of NIMS concepts. Phase IV involves credentialing and certifying personnel and equipment based on NIMS Integration Center standards.

The sample plan provides a checklist to help track progress in enhancing Emergency Operations Plans to reflect full NIMS adoption. In addition, Annex A of the plan compares the purpose, components, applicability, the command and coordination structures and requirements of the NIMS with those of the National Response Plan.

To download the NIMS Implementation Plan template visit the NIMS Web page.

(12/06/2004)