Emerson seeks Homeland Security money for inland ports

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson has asked for more Homeland Security funding to be dispersed to Midwest states.

Emerson on Friday brought up the subject of interior waterways during a subcommittee hearing on Homeland Security.

She acknowledged that there is less of a chance that Midwest cities would be terrorist targets, but she said smaller cities and inland ports shouldn't be forgotten.

"Everybody is so focused on L.A. or Long Beach, New York City and all the big sea ports," Emerson said during a telephone interview after the meeting. "We can't forget about the fact that up and down the Mississippi River, we've got so many chemicals that can be very deadly. Terrorists think logically, and if you want to cause worry and anxiety among the public, you don't necessarily have to go to a big city."

Emerson said she received no specific promise for more funding in the Midwest, but she said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said he would get more specific information regarding interior ports and strategic plans for locks and dams.

Dan Overby, the executive director of the Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority, said much has been done in the way of security since Sept. 11, 2001. But he said there is always room for improvement.

"Here in the Midwest, we do have a greater feeling of security," he said. "The ocean ports have a tough situation with cargo coming in from different countries. Very little of the Homeland Security funding goes to inland ports."

Overby said the port has two companies that handle specific fertilizers that are considered dangerous. Those companies have been ordered to come up with emergency and security plans.

"With these types of fertilizers, you can dump it in a big pile and throw a match on it and nothing will happen," Overby said. "But if you do certain things to it, like Timothy McVeigh did in Oklahoma, it can be explosive."

Overby said the companies that transport such chemicals must have a detailed security plan, one which includes multiple layers of security. In other words, security can be tightened when the nation's security color code raises, for example, from yellow to orange.

Most of the security burden falls on the individual companies, Overby said. But if different security measures need to be taken for the good of the entire port, those have to be paid for out of the port budget.

The U.S. Coast Guard has also increased its presence on the river, and towboat companies have been required to increase security on their boats.

Given that the port doesn't reap huge profits makes it difficult, Overby said, to spend on security when other capital improvements could bring in more industry and revenue.

"But our board does the best it can with it," he said.

Overby said it wouldn't take huge amounts of money to really make a difference in port security.

"The rural ports can reach a certain level with a modest amount of money," he said. "But when you add up all the modest amounts, you can get a pretty big figure. I appreciate what Jo Ann Emerson is trying to do."

bmiller@semissourian.com

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