Area Ports Awarded Grants for Security

Officials announced Wednesday that the Los Angeles-Long Beach shipping basin will receive about $17 million in federal grants that local officials had lobbied for, citing an urgency for security upgrades at the nation’s busiest seaport.

The awards were announced in news releases from the offices of the Department of Homeland Security, two congresswomen, the mayor of Los Angeles and the Port of Los Angeles. Although it was clear the ports would receive millions of dollars, conflicting figures emerged.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said in his news release that $179 million in port security grants had been awarded nationally in this round of budgeting, with $33.7 million of that directed to California ports.

The Port of Los Angeles and Mayor James K. Hahn announced that $10.3 million would be awarded to Los Angeles, and an additional $7 million would go to port customers and the Port of Long Beach for various projects.

Rep. Jane Harman (D-Venice), whose district includes port-affected communities but not the basin itself, said $10.3 million in Homeland Security grants would be split between the two ports. Aides in her office deferred, however, to port officials.

What all the entities agreed on was that the L.A.-Long Beach basin handles 40% of the country’s imports, worth about $2 billion a day, making it a tangible sign of American success and thus a target for terrorists. Yet the federal funding for security improvements needed in the post-9/11 era has not been commensurate to the risk and volume at the port complex, Hahn and Harman said. Los Angeles Councilwoman Janice Hahn, who represents the port area, has made similar complaints.

According to Harman’s office, projects that will be funded include $1.6 million for security enhancement facilities for both ports, $3 million for a waterside security surveillance system, $1.7 million for vehicle screening at the passenger complex, $3 million for waterborne perimeter barriers, and $979,000 for security upgrades at the passenger complex.