HOUSTON, Jan. 7, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) hosted a port security grants briefing and Q&A session today for managers of private sector port facilities located along the Houston Ship Channel. Congressman Gene Green and Department of Homeland Security Grant Program Manager Ken Concepcion led the discussion with U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Richard Kaser, PHA Chairman Jim Edmonds, PHA Executive Director Tom Kornegay and other PHA executives, and about 100 representatives from private companies that operate private port facilities along the ship channel.
Photos and captions accompanying this release can be found at: http://media.primezone.com/poha/pages/community.html
"A smart national defense effort helps protect critical private sector facilities that face greatly increased security costs as a result of the War on Terrorism," Congressman Green said. "Many of my constituents live near and work at the many petrochemical plants that are essential to the energy and economic security of the entire nation."
The meeting focused on guiding the attendees through the history and future of the federal port security funding programs and the grant application process. In a draft report to be issued this month, a former DHS inspector general questioned the prioritization of port security grant funding and procedures related to post-award grant administration. Seaport security grant money is used to reimburse marine facilities only after they have spent money on an approved project.
To date, the Port of Houston Authority, which operates the public facilities of the port, has been awarded a total of $16.7 million in federal port security grants. These grants are awarded as reimbursements to PHA for expenditures on port security-related equipment and services including closed-circuit television cameras, gate access controls, fencing, and high-tech communication and monitoring devices.
The Port of Houston Authority logo can be found at: http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=720
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and sixth largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
