[House Hearing, 112 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
THE STATE OF NORTHERN BORDER PREPAREDNESS: A REVIEW OF FEDERAL, STATE,
AND LOCAL COORDINATION
=======================================================================
FIELD HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE,
AND COMMUNICATIONS
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 28, 2011
__________
Serial No. 112-55
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Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
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__________
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
Peter T. King, New York, Chairman
Lamar Smith, Texas Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi
Daniel E. Lungren, California Loretta Sanchez, California
Mike Rogers, Alabama Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Michael T. McCaul, Texas Henry Cuellar, Texas
Gus M. Bilirakis, Florida Yvette D. Clarke, New York
Paul C. Broun, Georgia Laura Richardson, California
Candice S. Miller, Michigan Danny K. Davis, Illinois
Tim Walberg, Michigan Brian Higgins, New York
Chip Cravaack, Minnesota Jackie Speier, California
Joe Walsh, Illinois Cedric L. Richmond, Louisiana
Patrick Meehan, Pennsylvania Hansen Clarke, Michigan
Ben Quayle, Arizona William R. Keating, Massachusetts
Scott Rigell, Virginia Kathleen C. Hochul, New York
Billy Long, Missouri Janice Hahn, California
Jeff Duncan, South Carolina
Tom Marino, Pennsylvania
Blake Farenthold, Texas
Robert L. Turner, New York
Michael J. Russell, Staff Director/Chief Counsel
Kerry Ann Watkins, Senior Policy Director
Michael S. Twinchek, Chief Clerk
I. Lanier Avant, Minority Staff Director
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SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND COMMUNICATIONS
Gus M. Bilirakis, Florida, Chairman
Joe Walsh, Illinois Laura Richardson, California
Scott Rigell, Virginia Hansen Clarke, Michigan
Tom Marino, Pennsylvania, Vice Kathleen C. Hochul, New York
Chair Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi
Blake Farenthold, Texas (Ex Officio)
Peter T. King, New York (Ex
Officio)
Kerry A. Kinirons, Staff Director
Natalie Nixon, Deputy Chief Clerk
Curtis Brown, Minority Professional Staff Member
C O N T E N T S
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Page
STATEMENTS
The Honorable Gus M. Bilirakis, a Representative in Congress From
the State of Florida, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Emergency
Preparedness, Response, and Communications..................... 1
The Honorable Hansen Clarke, a Representative in Congress From
the State of Michigan, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on
Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Communications........... 2
WITNESSES
Panel I
Mr. Andrew Velasquez, III, Regional Administrator, Region V,
FEMA:
Oral Statement................................................. 4
Prepared Statement............................................. 6
Mr. Michael Parks, Ninth District Commander, U.S. Coast Guard:
Oral Statement................................................. 9
Prepared Statement............................................. 11
Mr. John S. Beutlich, Director of the Northern Region, Office of
Air and Marine, U.S. Customs and Border Protection:
Oral Statement................................................. 14
Prepared Statement............................................. 16
Panel II
Captain W. Thomas Sands, Deputy State Director, Division of
Emergency Management and Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 27
Prepared Statement............................................. 29
Mr. Donald R. Austin, Administration Division, Fire Department,
City of Detroit:
Oral Statement................................................. 33
Prepared Statement............................................. 35
Mr. R. Daryl Lundy, Director, Office of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management, City of Detroit:
Oral Statement................................................. 39
Prepared Statement............................................. 41
Mr. James P. Buford, P.E.M., Director, Department of Homeland
Security and Emergency Management, Wayne County, Michigan:
Oral Statement................................................. 44
Prepared Statement............................................. 46
THE STATE OF NORTHERN BORDER PREPAREDNESS: A REVIEW OF FEDERAL, STATE,
AND LOCAL COORDINATION
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Friday, October 28, 2011
U.S. House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response,
and Communications,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Detroit, MI.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:15 a.m., in
the Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center Auditorium,
Wayne State University College of Engineering, 5050 Anthony
Wayne Drive, Detroit, Michigan, Hon. Gus M. Bilirakis [Chairman
of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Bilirakis and Clarke.
Mr. Bilirakis. Good morning. The Committee on Homeland
Security, Subcommittee on Emergency Management, Preparedness,
Response, and Communications will come to order.
The subcommittee is meeting today to receive testimony on
the efforts of Federal, State, and local officials to work
together to address the homeland security needs of the Northern
Border.
I appreciate the effort taken by all of those involved to
have this important field hearing. This is an official
Congressional hearing, as opposed to a town hall meeting, and
as such, we must abide by the certain rules of the Committee on
Homeland Security and the House of Representatives.
I kindly wish to remind all guests today that
demonstrations from the audience, including applause and verbal
outbursts, as well as the use of signs or placards, are a
violation of the rules of the House of Representatives. It is
important that we respect the decorum and the rules of this
committee.
I have also been requested to state that photography and
cameras are limited to accredited press only.
I now recognize myself for an opening statement. I am
pleased to be here in Detroit this morning, and I thank
Congressman Clarke and Wayne State for hosting this
subcommittee. My wife grew up in the Detroit area. So I have
been here a couple of times. Very, very impressed with the
university and also the downtown area.
Unfortunately, I won't have a lot of time to stay. But
thank you, Hansen, for inviting me.
We got off to a great start this morning by observing the
tabletop exercise. It was a challenging scenario, and the
collaboration we witnessed at the exercise is so vital to our
preparedness and response efforts.
We have two very distinguished panels of witnesses today
who will provide the subcommittee with their perspective on the
unique homeland security issues and challenges along the
Northern Border, and particularly in the Detroit area. I am
interested in learning more about how you work with each other
and with your Canadian partners to address these challenges and
share best practices. So important.
Before I yield to Congressman Clarke for his opening
statement, I just want to let you know that your Congressman is
working tirelessly for you and the Detroit area in Washington,
DC, and I want to tell you how well-respected he is in
Washington, DC.
Mr. Clarke. Thank you.
Mr. Bilirakis. Extremely effective, works well with the
Majority party, and I tell you, he is a rising star as far as I
am concerned. Anything I can do for Hansen, because I know his
heart is in the right place always.
So, anyways, it is great to be here again. With that, I
welcome our witnesses here today, and I look forward to your
testimony. But I do want to yield to Hansen for his opening
statement.
Mr. Clarke. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
It is an honor to have this body meet here in the city of
Detroit. As a matter of fact, this hearing is historic. This is
the first time a Homeland Security Subcommittee has ever met in
this region, probably one of the few times ever that we have
had an official Congressional hearing here in the city of
Detroit.
That is because this Chairman understands the importance of
securing this region from a terrorist attack and also from any
other disaster. This region and this city has unique assets
that create a risk of an attack or would make the consequences
of any disaster just devastating in terms of loss of life and
disruption to not only our regional, but also our National
economy.
We have our international bridge, the Ambassador Bridge,
our tunnel, our drinking water system. We have a large regional
airport, a nuclear power plant in the region, all within a very
large metropolitan area that has millions of people. We are at
risk.
But yet, even though we are at risk, our first responders--
and that was very clear from the discussion on the simulated
biological attack at Wayne State University that we had just
prior to this hearing--is that our first responders, our local
police, fire, and emergency medical providers, those are the
ones that will be called into action in the event of some type
of a disaster.
But it is our very State and local government agencies that
don't have the revenue right now to provide the equipment, the
staffing, the training, the planning, and the technical
assistance that we need to better protect this region. This
housing crisis has just devastated our tax base. So we need the
resources.
At a National level, one of the most disturbing findings is
that Secretary Napolitano said that we are at the highest risk,
as a Nation, of a terrorist attack since 9/11. But yet this
Congress continues to cut the homeland security budget and, as
a matter of fact, had threatened to cut all funding eligibility
of metro Detroit to the Urban Assistance Security Initiative
funding.
I had to offer an amendment to restore that funding. With
the support of Chairman Bilirakis, that amendment--yes, offered
by a Democrat who is a freshman--was successful on the floor of
the House. I want to thank him for his support.
But so, the point is this. We have got challenges right now
in protecting our people, our infrastructure, and also making
the point to Congress that we need more investment here in this
region to not only protect Detroiters, but to protect our
economy.
You know, all of those assets that really put us at risk--
the busiest international border crossing in North America; the
global headquarters for one of the largest companies in the
world, General Motors; a great research university here; our
manufacturing know-how; the best-trained workforce around--all
of those resources, though, gives us the ability to put this
entire country back to work if our people are protected, if we
have the resources invested in the city.
So it is my great honor to be here not only as a Member of
the Homeland Security Committee, as a lifelong Detroiter, but
also as a partner to this man, the Chairman of the EPRC
Subcommittee of the Homeland Security Committee.
Regardless of whatever you hear on the news or you see on
TV, Republicans and Democrats can work together to better
protect our people in this country from threats. He and I, our
partnership together, exemplify that working relationship.
So, in closing, I am honored to be here as a part of this
historic Congressional committee. I just want to say on a
personal note, though, Dr. David Weinreich, who is right here,
who has been assisting me for all the time, the few months I
have been in Congress, has now chosen to leave employment in
the United States Congress to go to other promising pursuits.
His service to our country, to the Congress will be sorely
missed, but I appreciate his work here.
So, Chairman, I will turn it over to you, and thank you
again.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thanks for
your remarks.
Our first witness is Administrator Andrew Velasquez. Mr.
Velasquez is the administrator for the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency Region
V, and he is responsible for preparedness coordination in
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Wow.
Prior to becoming regional administrator, Mr. Velasquez
served as the director of the Illinois Emergency Management
Agency and as homeland security adviser to the Governor.
Administrator Velasquez has also served as the executive
director of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and
Communications and served in the Chicago Police Department for
over 10 years.
Administrator Velasquez earned bachelor's and master's
degrees in criminal justice from Illinois State University and
an MBA from St. Xavier University.
Our next witness is Rear Admiral Michael Parks. Welcome,
Admiral. Rear Admiral Parks is the operational commander of the
Ninth Coast Guard District, which spans the five Great Lakes,
St. Lawrence Seaway, and the surrounding States. He most
recently served as the deputy director of operations for
headquarters, United States Northern Command, where he was
principal adviser to the U.S. NORTHCOM commander on all
operational matters.
Admiral Parks earned his bachelor's of science in
government from the United States Coast Guard Academy, his
master's of public administration from George Washington
University, and a master's of science and national security
strategy policy from the National War College.
Following Admiral Parks, we will hear from Mr. John
Beutlich. Mr. Beutlich is the executive director for the
Northern Border within the Customs and Border Protection Office
of Air and Marine. The region has 8 air and marine branches,
with over 500 employees, 51 aircraft, and 48 vessels.
Previously, Mr. Beutlich served as the director of air
operations for the Miami Air and Marine Branch.
Prior to his service in Miami, Florida, where I am from,
Mr. Beutlich served in Washington, DC, for the Department of
Homeland Security integration staff, where he was involved in
the National Response Plan, principal Federal official cadre,
and National special security events.
Mr. Beutlich served in both the United States Army and the
Naval Reserves. Director Beutlich received his bachelor's of
science from Loyola University in Chicago and an MBA from the
University of Phoenix.
Welcome, all of you. Your entire written statements will
appear in the record. I ask that you each summarize your
testimony for approximately 5 minutes, and Mr. Velasquez, you
are now recognized to testify.
Thank you again, sir.
STATEMENT OF ANDREW VELASQUEZ, III, REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR,
REGION V, FEMA
Mr. Velasquez. Thank you.
Good morning, Chairman Bilirakis, Congressman Clarke. My
name is Andrew Velasquez. I am the regional administrator for
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency
Management Agency Region V office in Chicago, Illinois.
It is a pleasure to appear before you this morning and,
indeed, an honor to discuss the critical Federal, State, and
local coordination near the United States Northern Border. No
matter how prepared communities may be, disasters can and do
strike anywhere and at any time.
Within the United States, the response to and recovery from
major emergencies and disasters is managed and coordinated
under the National Response Framework, otherwise known as the
NRF. A major tenet of the NRF is that response to all
emergencies and disasters begins at the local level.
When those governments become overwhelmed, they can seek
the additional assistance from the State. If the State becomes
overwhelmed and needs support, the Governor can request
assistance from the Federal Government.
Stricken jurisdictions also have the option of activating
intrastate or interstate mutual aid assistance agreements with
their neighbors. Many jurisdictions located along the borders
of Canada and Mexico have already entered into emergency
assistance agreements, anticipating the likely need to share
resources such as personnel and equipment that can quickly help
save lives and protect property.
Although States, provinces, and territories are capable of
managing most emergencies, there are times when disasters
exceed the State, provincial, or territorial resources and,
therefore, require outside assistance. Because of the proximity
of resources, cross-border mutual aid assistance can be readily
available, timely, and/or operationally expedient.
In the mid-1990s, the Regional Emergency Management
Advisory Committees were established for the purpose of
supporting development of regional mutual assistance agreements
between the United States and Canadian provinces. The Central
Regional Emergency Management Advisory Committee, CREMAC,
comprises FEMA Regions II, III, and V, including the States of
Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and
Wisconsin, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
The co-chairs of CREMAC rotate between U.S. and Canadian
regional emergency management organizations. FEMA's role in
coordinating these State-province agreements is found in
Section 612 of the Stafford Act, which directs the FEMA
Administrator to provide assistance to States in the
development of mutual aid agreements with neighboring
countries.
On October 26, just this past Wednesday, FEMA Region V in
Chicago hosted a Central and Prairie Region emergency
management meeting to work towards consensus on the latest
version of a mutual assistance agreement. Representatives from
CREMAC; the Prairie Region Emergency Management Advisory
Committee, PREMAC; the National Emergency Management
Association, NEMA; FEMA; and the Canadian Council of Emergency
Management Organizations discussed the content of that
agreement, potential issues and challenges, as well as the
ultimate approval process.
The representatives agreed to changes in the draft language
and will continue working on additional language related to
liability and licensure. Once final, States and provinces will
seek to have the agreement provided and approved by their
respective governments.
This current draft is a U.S. State-to-Canadian province
agreement that encourages and authorizes cooperative planning,
training, and exercises so that jurisdictions located on both
sides of the border are better prepared for a disaster. Through
the agreement, any resource can be made available from one
member State or province to another. This assistance would be
provided regardless of the initiating event, whether natural,
such as a flood or tornado, to a man-made event, such as a
terrorist attack or even a chemical spill.
While our efforts currently focus on the development of
cross-border State-to-province agreement along the central
region of the Northern Border, the Eastern Regional Emergency
Management Advisory Committee has developed its own agreement,
known as the International Emergency Management Assistance
Compact. The IEMAC is now a formal, Congressionally-ratified
agreement with bylaws and operations manual that includes five
eastern Canadian provinces and six U.S. States.
Similarly, the Western Regional Emergency Management
Advisory Committee, WREMAC, has a Congressionally-ratified
agreement, the Pacific Northwest Emergency Management
Arrangement, signed in 1998. Our efforts along the central
U.S.-Canadian border will solidify a continuous Northern Border
mutual aid agreement between our two countries that strengthens
our response capabilities, our resilience, and the
survivability of our residents.
In conclusion, the concept of mutual aid has been the
foundation of emergency response for decades. When a disaster
occurs, the rate of survivability is greatly increased by an
effective and timely response by trained emergency responders.
Whether these responders come from the United States, Canada,
or Mexico is irrelevant. What is critical, though, is that
these professional lifesavers have the ability to share
knowledge, equipment, and expertise and are ready to function
as a team during a crisis.
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you
today. I am happy to answer any questions that you may have.
[The statement of Mr. Velasquez follows:]
Prepared Statement of Andrew Velasquez, III
October 28, 2011
I. INTRODUCTION
Chairman Bilirakis, Representative Clarke, and distinguished
Members of the subcommittee: My name is Andrew Velasquez and I am the
Regional Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's
(FEMA) Region V Office located in Chicago, Illinois. It is an honor to
appear before you today on behalf of FEMA to discuss the critical
Federal, State, local coordination taking place along the United States
Northern Border. FEMA recognizes that we are not the Nation's whole
emergency management team; rather we are part of the team. This team
includes not only Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, but
also private, non-profit, and citizen partners--the Whole Community.
This Whole Community approach emphasizes the importance of working with
all partners in order to effectively prepare for, protect against,
respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards. In some cases, the
Whole Community also includes our international partners.
``In my testimony today, I will describe and review the Federal,
State, and local roles in responding to emergencies, as well as the
current state of cross-border emergency assistance agreements at each
level of government, with a particular focus on how FEMA is working to
improve preparedness along the northern border, specifically here in
the central region.''
II. A REVIEW OF THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM AND PROCESS AND THE ROLE
OF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE
Regardless of how prepared communities may be for an emergency,
disasters can strike anywhere and at any time. Within the United
States, the response to and recovery from major emergencies and
disasters are managed and coordinated under the National Response
Framework (NRF) and most recently the National Disaster Recovery
Framework (NDRF). A major tenet of that framework is that all
emergencies and disasters are local. Local governments are the first to
respond to a wide variety of events. When those governments become
overwhelmed they can seek additional assistance from the State. In some
circumstances, when the State becomes overwhelmed and needs assistance,
the Federal Government can be called upon to provide assistance where
needed. While this is the standard process for domestic incident
response, jurisdictions located along the borders with Canada and
Mexico may also find it necessary to enter into emergency assistance
agreements, allowing the cross-border sharing of additional critical
resources (personnel and equipment) that can quickly help protect
property and save lives.
Local Governments
Local emergency response personnel, including first responders,
public health and medical providers, emergency management officials,
public works, and other groups within the community, are typically the
first to detect a threat or hazard, and respond to it. They are often
the first to arrive, the last to leave, and play a major role in
leading the jurisdiction's recovery efforts.
Local senior officials and their emergency managers create and
maintain a foundation for an effective response. They organize and
integrate their capabilities and resources with neighboring or county
jurisdictions, the State, and non-governmental partners, including the
private sector. All these entities form collaborative partnerships and
resource capabilities which local governments can use during
emergencies.
While intra-state and inter-state mutual aid agreements are
commonplace between local governments and their neighbors throughout
the United States, many Northern Border cities and counties have mutual
aid agreements with their international cross-border counterparts.
Mutual aid exists today along the border at the local level between
cities such as Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario in Canada and
many others. Many of these have a long history dating back to the
1960s. These agreements normally provide mutual aid for fire and
emergency medical services (EMS). The agreements are only between
specific cities where the closest support lies across the border; e.g.
Port Huron & Sarnia. Items normally covered in the agreement include
how requests for assistance are coordinated, command and control
operations, liability, reimbursement expectations, duration of the
agreement and joint training.
States and Territories
States and territories have the primary responsibility to protect
the public health and welfare of the people living within their
jurisdiction. Should local and county governments become overwhelmed,
State resources are the closest line of support to those impacted by
incidents.
The role of the State government is to supplement local efforts
before, during, and after an event, providing and coordinating
resources and capabilities from throughout the State. They have
significant resources of their own, including State emergency
management and homeland security agencies, mutual aid programs, the
National Guard, and a host of other State agencies that can bring
specialized support. If a State anticipates that the response to an
event may exceed its resources and capabilities, the Governor can
request additional assistance from other States through mutual aid and
assistance agreements such as the Emergency Management Assistance
Compact (EMAC) or from the Federal Government--often in the form of a
Stafford Act declaration. EMAC, established in 1996, is a system that
allows U.S. States to transfer resources, such as personnel, equipment,
and commodities during Governor-declared states of emergencies.
However, in some circumstances it may be necessary for States along
the Northern Border and outside of the Federal response process to seek
assistance directly from their Canadian provincial counterparts.
Although States, provinces, and territories are capable of managing
most emergencies, there are times when disasters exceed the State,
provincial, or territorial resources and require outside assistance.
Even when EMAC or Federal assistance is warranted, cross-border mutual
aid assistance may be more readily available, timelier, less expensive,
and/or operationally expedient. FEMA is supportive of these types of
cross-border mutual aid agreements and actively assists States, through
regional emergency management committees and the National Emergency
Management Association (NEMA) to develop and win approval for these
pre-negotiated assistance agreements.
FEMA's role in coordinating State/province agreements is based on
section 612 of the Stafford Act, mutual aid pacts between States and
neighboring countries, which states that ``the Director (now
Administrator of FEMA) shall give all practicable assistance to States
in arranging, through the Department of State, mutual emergency
preparedness aid between the State and neighboring countries.''
In the mid-1990's, Regional Emergency Management Advisory
Committees were established as four geographically organized entities:
Eastern Regional (EREMAC), Prairie Regional (PREMAC), Central Regional
(CREMAC) and Western Regional Emergency Management Advisory Committees
(WREMAC).
The purpose of these four groups is to advance the development of
regional cross-border emergency preparedness and response arrangements.
The CREMAC comprises FEMA Regions II, III and V, including the States
of Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and
the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The co-chairs of CREMAC
rotate between State and provincial emergency managers. Public Safety
Canada and FEMA are non-voting members.
FEMA Regions II and V have been working with CREMAC members to
build consensus on a cross-border mutual aid agreement. Recently, NEMA
and the Canadian Council of Emergency Management Organizations have
been working together to reach agreement on draft language for a
Central Region Emergency Management Assistance Agreement (CREMAA) and a
Prairie Region Emergency Management Advisory Agreement (PREMAA). The
draft CREMAA/PREMAA is a U.S. State-to-Canadian province agreement
which will better align State and provincial emergency management
mandates. CREMAA/PREMAA also encourages and allows cooperative planning
and exercises so jurisdictions located on both sides of the border are
better prepared for a disaster regardless of the initiating event and
the appropriate response and recovery activities. Through the CREMAA/
PREMAA, any resource, whether personnel or equipment, could be made
available from one member state to another. The draft agreement has
been sent to the States and provinces of both the CREMAA and PREMAA
organizations.
On October 26, 2011, FEMA Region V hosted a Central and Prairie
region emergency management meeting to gain consensus of the latest
iteration of the CREMAA/PREMAA agreement. Representatives from CREMAC,
PREMAC, NEMA, FEMA, and the Canadian Council of Emergency Management
Organizations discussed the content of the agreements, potential issues
and challenges, as well as the ultimate approval process.
While a cross-border State-to-province agreement is being developed
for use along the central region of the Northern Border, the Eastern
Regional Emergency Management Advisory Committee, similar to the CREMAC
and also known as the International Emergency Management Group (IEMG),
has developed its own agreement known as the International Emergency
Management Assistance Compact (IEMAC). The effort to build this compact
began almost 15 years ago when the Premiers and Governors strengthened
a 1975 agreement between the State of Maine and the Province of New
Brunswick. The IEMAC is now a formal, congressionally ratified
agreement with bylaws and an operations manual that includes five
eastern Canadian Provinces and six U.S. States.
Similarly, the Western Regional Emergency Management Advisory
Committee (WREMAC) has a Congressionally-ratified agreement, the
Pacific Northwest Emergency Management Arrangement (PNEMA) signed in
1998. Under the agreement, WREMAC coordinates cross-border mutual
disaster preparedness, response, and recovery among two Canadian
Provinces and three U.S. States.
III. THE FEDERAL ROLE IN DOMESTIC U.S. DISASTERS, FOREIGN ASSISTANCE,
AND THE INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE SYSTEM
The Federal Government maintains significant capabilities and
resources that can support a stricken State. For events where the
Federal Government has primary jurisdiction or authorities (e.g., on a
military base or a Federal facility or lands), Federal departments or
agencies may be the first responders and the first line of defense,
coordinating activities with State, territorial, Tribal, and local
partners. The Federal Government also maintains its own working
relationships with the private sector and other non-governmental
partners.
In accordance with the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and Homeland
Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 5, the Secretary of Homeland
Security is the Principal Federal Official for domestic incident
management. While DHS maintains the responsibility for the overall
incident management, a number of Federal departments and agencies have
their own authorities for leading Federal response to certain emergency
and disaster events. As the leader of the Federal incident management
team, DHS coordinates with the entire Federal family to surge Federal
support at all levels of the response.
In some circumstances, such as a catastrophic event, the Federal
Government, through the U.S. Department of State, may seek the
assistance of foreign governments such as Canada or Mexico. In order to
enable that coordination of assistance at the Federal level, the United
States Government created the International Assistance System (IAS).
This system establishes standard operating procedures for requesting
specific international assistance when specific resources are
unavailable in the United States, reviewing foreign government offers
for acceptance or declination, and managing the logistics of
transporting, receiving, and distributing international donations.
FEMA, the Department of State, and the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) coordinate the IAS to address both
the critical needs of a response operation as well as the foreign
policy objectives of the United States. As such, the IAS applies only
to formal transactions between the United States and foreign
governments or international organizations, during a large-scale
domestic disaster, following a Stafford Act declaration.
In addition to mutual aid agreements, the United States Government
and government of Canada have a long history of cooperation in the area
of emergency management. There are a number of Federal level bi-
national agreements to facilitate information exchange, advances in
technology, preparedness, and mutual assistance during cross-border
incidents.
For example, under the U.S.-Canada Agreement on Emergency
Management Cooperation, FEMA co-leads two bi-national working groups to
address challenges to Federal-to-Federal mutual aid assistance, and
identify opportunities to jointly train and exercise. To further
enhance this bi-national partnership, President Obama and Prime
Minister Harper signed a joint declaration this year called ``Beyond
the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic
Competitiveness.'' Under this declaration, FEMA and the interagency are
partnering with Canada to prepare for and respond to bi-national
Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE)
events; address barriers to bi-lateral communications interoperability;
and enhance collective preparedness for health security threats.
Additionally, the Canada/U.S. Reciprocal Forest Fire Fighting
Arrangement provides for the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary
of the Interior to enter into arrangements with foreign fire
organizations for assistance in wildfire protection. The Canada-U.S.
Joint Inland Pollution Contingency Plan provides for a cooperative
mechanism for preparedness for and response to polluting incidents that
cause, or may cause, damage to the environment along the inland
boundary.
IV. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the concept of mutual aid has been the foundation of
emergency response for decades. When a disaster occurs, the ability to
save lives and protect property is greatly increased by an effective
and timely response by trained emergency responders. It is critical
that these professional life savers--whether they come from United
States, Canada, or Mexico--have the ability to share knowledge,
equipment, expertise, and are ready to function as a team during times
of crisis.
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today. I
am happy to answer any questions the subcommittee may have.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, Administrator.
Now I will recognize Admiral Parks. Again, you are
recognized, sir, for approximately 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF MICHAEL PARKS, NINTH DISTRICT COMMANDER, U.S.
COAST GUARD
Admiral Parks. Well, good morning, Mr. Chairman and
Congressman Clarke.
With your permission, I ask that my written statement be
inserted into the record.
It is a great pleasure to be with you today, particularly
alongside my good friends and partners, Andrew Velasquez and
John Beutlich. I would like to just make a few brief remarks
and then look forward to your questions.
When asked to describe the Great Lakes operating
environment, I sum it up as a system, a system that is shared
and that is not just saltless, but extremely sensitive and one
that poses unique seasonal operating challenges.
First, the Great Lakes are a continuous and interconnected
maritime system with a diverse range of maritime environments
from open seas to narrow rivers to locks, bridges, tunnels, and
critical infrastructure. It is a complex system that requires
multi-dimensional efforts to ensure its safety, security, and
stewardship.
Second, the Great Lakes are truly a shared internal waters
of sovereign nations. When you consider the fact that their
governance is shared among tribal interests, eight States,
three Canadian provinces, and hundreds of county and local
stakeholders across the region, it is clear that building
partnerships is not a mission luxury. It is an absolute
necessity.
Third, the Great Lakes form the largest fresh water system
on Earth. They are not just a system or a domain. They are an
extremely sensitive and invaluable natural resource. They are
truly a bi-national treasure.
Last, the Great Lakes pose unique seasonal challenges.
Waterways that normally flourish with commercial and
recreational traffic can become restricted by unrelenting ice
in the winter. Borders that normally require a boat to cross
become accessible by vehicle or even on foot.
Preparedness and response in the maritime environment can
be a tough job in ideal conditions. When that environment
freezes, every aspect of our operations becomes more difficult.
Mr. Chairman, within this environment, I believe there are
three principles that guide our efforts to enhance border
preparedness and response in the Great Lakes region, and they
are shared awareness, synchronized goals, and seamless
operations.
First, we must maximize shared awareness. We must
understand the common threats and be efficient at sharing
information and intelligence with the full range of partners
that can contribute to our success. With all the environmental
challenges that we face, we can't afford cylinders of
excellence. We need systems of shared situational awareness.
Second, we must continually work to establish synchronized
goals. We share the border environment with a diverse and
complex array of regional neighbors. We must have mechanisms to
synchronize our collective goals. Now, obviously, we do not all
have the same mission priorities or responsibilities. But we
must be able to navigate across those responsibilities because
no agency or entity can do it alone.
Third, we must be able to seamlessly operate. The tyranny
of time and distance, particularly in the maritime border of
the Great Lakes, demands agile and coordinated responses.
Together, Federal, State, and local partners bring to bear
tremendous amounts of authority and responsibility. We must
continually work to integrate those assets to assure a seamless
response to any threat.
Mr. Chairman, the glue that binds these three principles
together is partnerships. They are a critical component to
Coast Guard mission success--I would offer DHS success and our
National success--and I would like to highlight just a few
examples of these partnerships in action.
From staffing the regional coordination center, the RCC, to
detailed preparedness planning and execution for flood response
in the Midwest, we work with FEMA nearly every single day. As
you know well, we can't wait until an emergency to get to know
one another.
Working together across the Great Lakes and with our
Canadian, State, and local partners, I know we are better
prepared to respond to a full range of contingencies because of
our strong operational partnership with FEMA.
Over the past 18 months, we have made tremendous progress,
solidifying our relationship with CBP and ICE across the Great
Lakes. Just last month, the Coast Guard, Customs and Border
Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement leaders
from across the Great Lakes, including John and I, signed an
approved standard operating procedures for coordinated air and
maritime operations across the Great Lakes.
It establishes guidance for sharing of information, on-
scene operational coordination, and the sharing of surface and
aviation patrol schedules to help ensure a unity of effort
across this region. And locally, our area maritime security
committees continue to deliver outstanding results in managing
the full spectrum of maritime security preparedness and
response missions, very similar to what you engaged in this
morning.
In August, the area maritime security committee here in
Detroit conducted a full-scale exercise that brought together
70 partner agencies. Federal, State, local, U.S., and Canadian
partners responded to a simulated terrorist attack on a ship on
the Detroit River between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor,
Ontario.
The scenario, in which many of the 500 passengers were
injured and over 800,000 gallons of simulated oil were spilled,
enabled those agencies to to work side-by-side to improve their
response and recovery capabilities. I would like to thank
Congressman Clarke for providing such realism at the press
conference.
Mr. Clarke. You are welcome.
[Laughter.]
Admiral Parks. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for your
time and again for your focus on the Great Lakes as part of
your important work. The Coast Guard looks forward to
continuing to contribute to the effort and building a system of
shared awareness and synchronized goals such that we can
seamlessly operate together for safety, security, and
stewardship of the Great Lakes.
Thank you again for this opportunity, Mr. Chairman, and I
look forward to your questions.
[The statement of Admiral Parks follows:]
Prepared Statement of Michael Parks
October 28, 2011
Good morning Mr. Chairman and distinguished guests. Thank you for
the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss homeland security
cooperation in the Great Lakes and along the shared maritime border of
the United States and Canada.
As Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District, I oversee Coast
Guard operations throughout the Great Lakes region, which includes
overseeing four Coast Guard Sector Commands in Buffalo, NY, Detroit,
MI, Sault Ste Marie, MI, and Milwaukee, WI, and two Coast Guard Air
Stations in Traverse City, MI and Detroit, MI, along with a fleet of
nine cutters.
The Ninth Coast Guard District enjoys a unique vantage point with
mission responsibility from Lake of the Woods, MI, to Massena, NY. The
Great Lakes constitute a diverse and challenging maritime environment
that exemplifies the necessity for fully integrated preparedness,
response, and communications. The Great Lakes first is a salt-less and
sensitive system; it is shared and seasonally challenging. The Great
Lakes are a complex, interconnected, and continuous maritime system
with a wide range of environments--from open seas much more like oceans
than lakes--to narrow rivers challenging even experienced navigators
and providing easy border access. More than just an operating
environment--the Great Lakes are a unique natural resource, and a bi-
national treasure. Together they form the largest fresh-water system on
earth. With so many dependent on the Great Lakes as a resource, we
treat all spills as significant.
The Great Lakes are shared by staunch allies, vital economic
partners, and steadfast friends. With roughly 10 percent of the U.S.
population and more than 30 percent of the Canadian population living
in the Great Lakes basin, local issues are often National, and
typically bi-national, issues. Roughly 300,000 people and $1.5 billion
in trade cross our regional border with Canada each and every day. Once
a commercial vessel enters the Great Lakes, it has equal opportunity
access to both the United States and Canada. A vessel may cross the
border 17 times or more while transiting the Great Lakes. They are
shared waters of sovereign nations. Combined with tribal interests,
eight States, three Canadian provinces, and hundreds of county and
local stakeholders across the region--the jurisdictional complexity is
enormous. Combined response protocols and shared capabilities across
multiple jurisdictions are a mission necessity. Whether it is bridges,
pipelines, power grids, or communication networks--critical
infrastructure in the region is shared much more often than it is owned
outright by any one State, community, or even nation.
There are few better examples of the shared nature of our maritime
infrastructure than in the Detroit-Windsor Corridor. The Detroit River
is a critical linkage for the entire Great Lakes system with the
majority of foreign and domestic ships either arriving at or passing by
the Port of Detroit. This transit corridor for the Great Lakes system
supports the movement of more than 106 million tons of commodities
between U.S. Great Lakes ports, and 16 million tons in Detroit alone.
It accounts for approximately 10 percent of all U.S. waterborne
domestic traffic. On average, there are 40 daily commercial ship
movements in the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers along the international
border. These movements occur past and among more than 50 U.S. and
Canadian waterfront facilities. Cross-border operations are a daily
reality and necessity. The Coast Guard small boat station in Belle
Isle--just outside metropolitan Detroit--is only yards away from our
border with Canada and they cannot depart their dock without crossing
into Canadian waters.
In August, we conducted a full-scale exercise in this critical
interagency and international waterway. The exercise brought together
70 partner agencies--Federal, State, local, U.S., and Canadian--to
respond to a simulated terrorist attack on a ship on the Detroit River
between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. The scenario, in which
many of the 500 passengers were injured and 800,000 gallons of
simulated oil were spilled, enabled these agencies to work side-by-side
to improve their response and recovery capabilities. This exercise is
just one example of the many that we conduct throughout the Great Lakes
region, ensuring we and our partners are adequately prepared and can
work together to counter the threats we face.
The Great Lakes operating area presents unique seasonal operational
challenges. In some cases, borders that normally require a boat to
cross can be accessed by vehicle or foot. Waterways that normally
flourish with commercial and recreational vessel traffic can become
restricted by unrelenting ice, requiring significant effort to keep
open. Maritime preparedness and response is a complicated endeavor. It
is made more so when that maritime domain becomes impassable by
traditional patrol and response assets. When water freezes, oil spill
response and recovery, port security patrols and deterrence, search and
rescue, small boat, and flight operations all become more difficult.
Coast Guard combines several maritime functions--from regulatory
and rescue to security and stewardship into one Federal agency. The
Coast Guard applies its authorities and allocates resources in a way
that reduces risk and provides the level of reliable response our
communities expect while ensuring we remain adaptive and flexible to
respond to changing risks within an always dynamic maritime
environment. The Service succeeds by empowering its people to act--to
understand the resources available to them and apply those resources
toward maritime risks and requirements.
Seasonal demands and limitations pose a special challenge to
mission execution. In the winter, our crews are challenged to sustain
qualifications due to ice conditions. There is no other place in the
Coast Guard where we expect and train our crews to respond not just on
``soft water'' but also ``hard water.'' The Coast Guard must be
creative and relentless--and pursue technology where appropriate--to
ensure our crews master their respective crafts.
Strategic partnerships are vital component of Coast Guard mission
success. The Coast Guard cannot meet every mission priority alone. Our
missions demand that we seek out sustainable partnerships at every
level of maritime interest. The complexity and shared interests of the
Great Lakes region has spurred many longstanding regional partnerships.
Such initiatives should be strengthened in order to harmonize mutually
supportive goals. And where needed, the Coast Guard should grow new
partnerships. The Coast Guard adds value with our unique combination of
maritime authorities and capabilities that can bring civil, law
enforcement, and military communities together in shared solutions.
Partnerships are particularly important here in the Great Lakes.
The United States--much less the Coast Guard--does not ``own'' the
entirety of the Great Lakes system in which we operate. The Coast Guard
deals with the challenges, complexities, and opportunities of the
international border every day and is well-suited to help inform
National maritime policy with Canada. Successful mission execution in
the Great Lakes requires effective bi-national cooperation and
governance.
President Obama and Prime Minister Harper recently issued the
``Beyond the Border'' declaration articulating a shared vision for
perimeter security and economic competitiveness. It recognizes the
interdependence of our security and economic relationships with Canada.
From search-and-rescue to pollution response and ice-breaking--the
Coast Guard has solid partnerships and time-tested procedures to work
seamlessly with Canada. We need to bring that same collaborative spirit
and trust to security and law enforcement concerns.
A number of bilateral initiatives already exist. For example, the
Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET) remains a critical
collaboration mechanism across our shared border with Canada. Each IBET
establishes an integrated, bi-national law enforcement capability from
both Canada and the United States. These intelligence-led partnerships
facilitate information sharing and operational collaboration to detect,
deter, and interrupt cross-border threats and criminal enterprises. Of
the 15 IBET regions across our shared border, seven are in the Great
Lakes area of responsibility. There are five core IBET agencies: The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, U.S. Coast Guard, Canada Border Services
Agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These core agencies liaise with
provincial, State, and local law enforcement partners to help assure
seamless and integrated operations in countering cross-border crime.
Similarly, through our partnership with Transport Canada (TC), the
Joint Initial Verification Team (JIVT) enables Coast Guard marine
inspectors to work alongside TC personnel to visit hundreds of foreign
flagged vessels each year in Montreal, Canada. These visits are
critical to ensuring regulatory compliance of vessels entering the
Great Lakes system.
With 42 Federally-recognized Tribal nations in the eight States
that comprise the Great Lakes region, Tribal partnerships are
indispensable to mission execution. Many of these first nations have a
strong maritime heritage and history that we must respect and
acknowledge if we are to be successful. I'm especially proud of our
efforts to enhance the safety of commercial Tribal fishing. We operate
together with the Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority (CORA) and Great
Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) to enhance the
safety of Tribal fishing vessels. CORA and GLIFWC enforcement officers
attend Coast Guard fishing vessel safety training and we regularly
conduct joint vessel examinations and waterborne patrols.
Similarly, we are continuing work to ensure that the Integrated
Cross-border Maritime Law Enforcement Operations framework agreement
signed by Secretary Napolitano in 2009 is poised for success upon final
approval by Canada's parliament. Last April, training for Coast Guard
and CBP officers also involved the St. Regis Tribal Police Department.
Providing law enforcement presence on the Mohawk Akwesasne Reservation
along the St. Lawrence River in upstate New York, they are critical
partners to ensuring adequate preparedness and response in an area of
vital strategic interest to the entire Great Lakes region.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently promulgated a
Maritime Operations Coordination Plan. It builds on the success of Area
Maritime Security Committees and creates regional coordination
mechanisms--ReCoMs--for the express purpose of enhancing maritime
operational coordination. In the Great Lakes, the Coast Guard has
already solidified a Great Lakes ReCoM that strengthens partnerships
with our DHS peers. It includes the recent renewal and approval of
Standard Operating Procedures for Coordinated Air and Maritime
Operations throughout the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes ReCoM unifies
the effort of the entire Coast Guard Ninth District with the CBP Office
of Air and Marine Northern Region, four CBP Border Patrol Sectors, four
CBP Offices of Field Operations, and five ICE Homeland Security
Investigation (HSI) regions. It is the first time Great Lakes DHS
leaders have memorialized such a partnership and provided written
guidelines to enhance operational effectiveness irrespective of
individual agency boundaries. It will be strengthened in the weeks and
months ahead by the involvement of Canadian, State, Tribal, and local
partners.
Mr. Chairman, there is hard work to be done. But it is work the
Coast Guard can and will do to accomplish its mission. That is the true
value of the Coast Guard in the Great Lakes and beyond--to apply our
unique combination of maritime functions to those duties assigned,
build sustainable mission partnerships, and to do so to the very best
of our ability every single day. The Coast Guard cannot eliminate every
maritime risk. But through the active involvement of hundreds of
partners with a stake in the safety, security, and stewardship of the
maritime domain, the Coast Guard is committed to deter incidents before
they happen and ensure the Coast Guard is well-prepared to respond to
them should they occur.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. I will
be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, Admiral.
Now, Mr. Beutlich, you are recognized for 5--approximately
5 minutes. Thank you, sir.
STATEMENT OF JOHN S. BEUTLICH, DIRECTOR OF THE NORTHERN REGION,
OFFICE OF AIR AND MARINE, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION
Mr. Beutlich. Thank you, sir.
Chairman Bilirakis, Representative Clarke, and
distinguished Members of the subcommittee, it is a privilege
and an honor to appear before you today to discuss the work of
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, particularly the tremendous
dedication of our men and women in the field, both at and
between the ports of entry.
Integral to these efforts is the cooperation with our
Canadian partners, State, local, Tribal agencies, and other
elements of the Department of Homeland Security. I would like
to begin by expressing my gratitude to Congress for its
continued support of the mission and people of Customs and
Border Protection. We greatly appreciate your efforts and
assistance, and I look forward to continuing to work with you
on these issues in the future.
As America's frontline border agency, Customs and Border
Protection is responsible for securing America's borders
against threats while facilitating legitimate travel and trade.
To do this, CBP has deployed a multilayered, risk-based
approach to enhance the security of our borders while
facilitating the lawful flow of people and goods entering the
United States.
This layered approach to security reduces our reliance on
any single point or program that could be compromised and
includes close coordination with DHS partner agencies, with
other U.S. interagency partners, and with our Canadian
counterparts. Close coordination with our partners ensures our
zones of security extend outward and that our physical border
is not our first or last line of defense, but one of many
layers.
There are many--there are a number of ways in which the
Northern Border is operationally distinct from other
environments. The international boundary with Canada extends
over 5,500 miles across both land and water, including the
border of Alaska, and it is often described as the longest
common nonmilitarized border between any two countries.
It delineates two friendly nations with a long history of
social, cultural, and economic ties that have contributed to a
high volume of cross-border trade and travel amounting to more
than $1 billion a day. The border is a diverse region
consisting of major metropolitan centers, integrated bi-
national communities, numerous transit hubs, and vast regions
with little or no population.
Thickly forested mountainous areas with recreational trail
networks provide avenues of cover for those seeking to cross
the border illegally. The extensive commercial and
transportation infrastructure along the border also provides
avenues vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers and
smugglers, including vehicular transportation, commercial and
noncommercial air, rail, and maritime modes of transportation.
The Great Lakes region consists of several large bodies of
open water, as already mentioned by Admiral Parks, including
the Great Lakes themselves and rivers along the border. The
lakes are heavily used by boaters in the summer, ice fisherman
and snowmobilers in the winter, and present unique border
enforcement challenges as small vessels can potentially be
exploited for illicit purposes.
In the winter, sub-zero temperatures and significant
snowfall provide a natural barrier along some portions of the
border. While pedestrian and vehicle traffic are reduced during
the winter, unlawful entries between the ports of entry
utilizing snowmobiles are not unusual.
When frozen, some rivers and streams become easy for
smugglers to utilize for cross-border on foot or by snowmobiles
or other modes of transportation. The spring thaw can cause
impassably deep mud, enclosing them to commercial trucks, and
tends to increase unlawful cross-border activity by all-terrain
vehicles.
We recognize the importance of partnerships, intelligence,
and information sharing to the success of our mission. As such,
we are engaged in several National initiatives to increase
security on the Northern Border, such as the IBET and BEST,
which comprise Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Customs and
Immigration, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Canadian Border
Security--or Services Agency. By incorporating this integrated
mobile response capability that these organizations provide,
they allow law enforcement agencies with a multiplier that
maximizes border enforcement efforts.
Within the Detroit sector, IBET cases have resulted in
multiple arrests, most prominently in the Detroit stations area
of responsibility, reflecting an increased level of direct
coordination between the stations and our Canadian partners at
the tactical level.
In August this year, CBP participated in a Coast Guard-led,
full-scale exercise to test first responders to a simulated
mass rescue operation. The 2-day exercise focused on
notification, response, public affairs, and recovery operations
within a unified command structure involving multi-
jurisdictional, multinational agencies.
The participants included CBP, Coast Guard, ICE, TSA, the
U.S. Attorney's Office, FBI, Michigan State Police, Michigan
National Guard, Detroit Police Department, the Wayne County
Sheriff's Office, Macomb County Sheriff's Office, CBSA, and the
Windsor, Ontario, Police Department. This type of partnership
is an example of efforts to continue to build upon an already-
forged relationship among our law enforcement partners and
Detroit area border communities.
Additionally, CBP, in conjunction with CBSA and RCMP,
completed a joint border threat assessment, which provides U.S.
and Canadian policymakers, resource planners, and law
enforcement officials with a strategic overview and significant
threat along the U.S./Canadian border.
In 2005, CBP created a robust information-sharing
environment, known as ``BigPipe,'' which links equipped CBP
aviation assets and information-sharing protocols to Federal,
State, and Tribal law enforcement. This provides near real-time
sensor data, which allows for numerous Federal, State, and
local Tribal agencies during warrant presentations, controlled
deliveries, search and rescue, and surveillance operations.
An example would be earlier this year, live video streams
via BigPipe enabled FEMA rapid needs assessment analyst teams
to quickly determine the condition of levees during the
flooding that occurred in the Mississippi River Valley.
Chairman Bilirakis, Representative Clarke, I look forward
to the opportunity to testify about the work of U.S. Customs
and Border Protection and our efforts. I look forward to
answering your questions at this time.
Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Beutlich follows:]
Prepared Statement of John S. Beutlich
October 28, 2011
Chairman Bilirakis, Representative Clarke, and distinguished
Members of the subcommittee, it is a privilege and an honor to appear
before you today to discuss the work of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), particularly the tremendous dedication of our men and
women in the field, both at and between our ports of entry (POE).
Integral to these efforts is the cooperation with our Canadian
partners, State, local, and Tribal agencies, and the other elements of
the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to Congress for
its continued support of the mission and people of CBP. We greatly
appreciate your efforts and assistance, and I look forward to
continuing to work with you on these issues in the future.
As America's front-line border agency, CBP is responsible for
securing America's borders against threats, while facilitating
legitimate travel and trade. To do this, CBP has deployed a multi-
layered, risk-based approach to enhance the security of our borders
while facilitating the lawful flow of people and goods entering the
United States. This layered approach to security reduces our reliance
on any single point or program that could be compromised and includes
close coordination with DHS partner agencies, with other U.S.
interagency partners, and with our Canadian counterparts. Close
coordination with our partners ensures our zone of security extends
outward and that our physical border is not the first or last line of
defense, but rather is one of many layers.
NORTHERN BORDER ENVIRONMENT AND CHALLENGES
There are a number of ways in which the Northern Border is
operationally distinct from other environments. The international
boundary with Canada extends over 5,500 miles across both land and
water (including the border of Alaska), and it is often described as
the longest common non-militarized border between any two countries. It
delineates two friendly nations with a long history of social,
cultural, and economic ties that have contributed to a high volume of
cross-border trade and travel, amounting to more than a billion dollars
a day. The border is a diverse region consisting of major metropolitan
centers, integrated bi-national communities, numerous transit hubs, and
vast regions with little or no population. Thickly forested,
mountainous areas with recreational trail networks provide avenues and
cover for those seeking to cross the border illegally. The extensive
commercial and transportation infrastructure along the border also
provides avenues vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers and
smugglers, including vehicular transportation, commercial trucking, and
commercial and non-commercial air, rail, and maritime modes of
transportation.
The Great Lakes region consists of several large bodies of open
water, including the Great Lakes themselves, and rivers along the
border. The lakes are heavily used by boaters in the summer and ice
fisherman and snowmobiles in the winter, and present unique border
enforcement challenges, as small vessels can potentially be exploited
for illicit purposes. Seasonal changes affect the ease with which the
Northern Border can be crossed; in general, winter allows the Border
Patrol to focus on fewer points of egress than the summer, when much
more of the border becomes passable.
In the winter, sub-zero temperatures and significant snowfall
provide a natural barrier along some portions of the border. While
pedestrian and vehicle traffic are reduced during the winter, unlawful
entries between the POEs utilizing snowmobiles are not unusual. When
frozen, some rivers, lakes, and streams become easier for smugglers and
others to utilize for crossing the border on foot, or by snowmobiles or
other modes of transport, while other areas become treacherous with ice
floes and are less traversable. The spring thaw can cause impassibly
deep mud on some logging roads, thereby closing them to commercial
truck traffic, and there tends to be an increase in unlawful cross-
border activities via all-terrain vehicles.
NORTHERN BORDER PARTNERSHIPS
At CBP, we recognize the importance of partnerships, intelligence,
and information sharing to the success of our mission, and as such, we
are engaged in several National initiatives to increase security on the
Northern Border. Our officers and agents provide support to the
Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBET), comprised of U.S. and
Canadian Federal, State/provincial, and local law enforcement
personnel, and encompassing 15 regions along the Northern Border. The
IBET concept was formalized in December 2001 with five core agencies:
CBP, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE), Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Canadian Border
Services Agency (CBSA). IBETs operate as intelligence-driven
enforcement teams designed to increase information and intelligence-
sharing capabilities among the appropriate U.S. and Canadian
authorities. By incorporating integrated mobile response capability
(e.g., air, land, and marine), the IBETs provide participating law
enforcement agencies with a force multiplier that maximizes border
enforcement efforts. Within the Detroit Sector, IBET cases have
resulted in multiple arrests, most prominently in the Detroit Station
area of responsibility, reflecting an increased level of direct
coordination between the Stations and our Canadian partners at the
tactical level. Our personnel additionally provide manpower to Border
Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) units, multi-agency teams which
collaborate to identify, disrupt, and dismantle criminal organizations
which pose significant threats to border security.
In August of this year, CBP participated in a Coast Guard-led,
full-scale exercise designed to test first responders to a simulated
mass rescue operation, a transportation security incident, and a major
oil spill on the Detroit River between Michigan and Ontario, Canada.
The 2-day exercise focused on notification, response, public affairs,
and recovery operations within a unified command structure involving
multiple jurisdictional/multi-national agencies. The participants
included CBP, USCG, ICE, Transportation Security Administration, the
U.S. Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the
Michigan State Police, the Michigan National Guard, the Detroit Police
Department, the Wayne County Sheriff's Office, the Macomb County
Sheriff's Office, CBSA, and the Windsor (Ontario) Police Department.
This type of partnership effort continues to build upon an already
forged relationship among our law enforcement partners and the Detroit
area border community and has helped to strengthen our ability to
respond to unexpected emergencies while maintaining border security.
Additionally, CBP, in conjunction with CBSA and RCMP, completed a
Joint Border Threat and Risk Assessment, which provides U.S. and
Canadian policymakers, resource planners, and other law-enforcement
officials with a strategic overview of significant threats along the
border between the United States and Canada. The threat assessment
encompasses a range of National security issues, including cross-border
criminal organizations, drug trafficking and illegal immigration, the
illicit movement of prohibited or controlled goods, agricultural
hazards, and the spread of infectious diseases. The assessment also
further highlights the commitment of the two countries to identify and
mitigate potential threats along our shared border, where there is a
potential of terrorism and transnational organized crime.
CBP RESOURCES ON THE NORTHERN BORDER
Along the U.S. Northern Border, CBP processes more than 70 million
international travelers and 35 million vehicles each year. Since the
implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) in
June 2009, WHTI compliance along the Northern Border is at
approximately 99 percent, allowing CBP to facilitate travel and focus
on individuals who may pose a threat to National security. In addition,
CBP annually makes approximately 6,000 arrests and interdicts
approximately 40,000 pounds of illegal drugs at and between the POEs
along the Northern Border. Although CBP typically defines the Northern
Border region as the area between the United States and Canada, running
from Washington through Maine and including the Great Lakes region, CBP
also facilitates and ensures the security of travel and trade across
the Alaska-Canadian border. On the Northern Border, CBP has 120 land
border crossings and 17 ferry land crossings, eight Border Patrol
Sectors, eight Air and Marine Branches, nine Coastal Marine Units and
23 Riverine Marine Units to protect against the illegal flow of people
and goods at and between the official POEs.
Over the past 2 years, DHS has dedicated historic levels of
personnel, infrastructure, and technology to the Northern Border. Since
9/11, Border Patrol agent staffing on the Northern Border has increased
by over 650 percent--from approximately 340 agents in 2001, to more
than 2,200 agents today. At the POEs along the Northern Border, CBP's
Office of Field Operations (OFO) has deployed more than 3,800 CBP
Officers and Agriculture Specialists. We have developed and implemented
a comprehensive training curriculum for these Officers and Agriculture
Specialists, which includes comprehensive, advanced, on-the-job and
cross-training courses, as well as routinely offering our front-line
officers opportunities to further hone their skills through
professional development training.
CBP's Office of Air and Marine (OAM) has 158 Air and 121 Marine
Interdiction agents deployed along the Northern Border. Since 2004, CBP
has opened five strategically located Air Branches along the Northern
Border in Washington, Michigan, Montana, New York, and North Dakota. In
the maritime environment, since 2009, OAM has opened six new marine
units on the Northern Border in New York, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania,
and Washington. Currently, CBP operates 29 coastal and 52 riverine
vessels on the Northern Border. CBP has stationed 54 fixed-wing and
rotary aircraft on the Northern Border, including two Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (UAS) operating out of the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North
Dakota.
With the cooperation of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),
CBP expanded its operational airspace along the Northern Border in
January of this year, allowing CBP UAS operations from the Lake-of-the-
Woods region in Minnesota to the vicinity of Spokane, Washington, a
distance of approximately 950 miles. UAS flight operations contribute
significantly to situational awareness in areas that are difficult to
reach by other operational elements, a critical capability in difficult
terrain along the Northern Border.
As part of a multi-layered approach to secure America's borders,
CBP has also greatly improved our technological capabilities on the
Northern Border. CBP has deployed two mobile surveillance systems (MSS)
to provide added radar and camera coverage in the Spokane and Detroit
Sectors, and installed additional remote video surveillance systems
(RVSS) in the Detroit and Buffalo Sectors, among other technologies.
CBP has also established the Operational Integration Center (OIC)
located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township,
Michigan. The OIC is a demonstration project, involving the application
of personnel and technology to enhance border security and situational
awareness for CBP and its mission partners in the Detroit region, a
critical area of the Northern Border. In terms of personnel, the OIC
allows for a collaborative work area and communications capabilities
for all components of CBP, USCG, other DHS organizations, Federal law
enforcement agencies, State and local law enforcement, the RCMP, and
CBSA.
The OIC brings together information feeds, including radar and
camera feeds, blue force tracking, database query from databases not
previously available to CBP, remote sensor inputs, RVSS and MSS feeds,
and video from various POEs and tunnels. Additional information feeds
such as local traffic cameras will be added in the near future. This
level of personnel and technology integration serves as a model for
collaboration and technology deployments in other areas of the Northern
Border.
In 2005, CBP created a robust information sharing environment known
as ``BigPipe,'' which links equipped CBP aviation assets and
information-sharing protocols to Federal, State, local, and Tribal law
enforcement and public safety agencies to provide near-real time video
and sensor data--enhancing situational awareness for officers and
rescue personnel across the public safety community. BigPipe is also
used by numerous Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies during
warrant presentations, controlled deliveries, search-and-rescue, and
surveillance operations. Earlier this year, live video information
streamed via Big Pipe was used to enable FEMA Rapid Needs Analysis
(RNA) teams to quickly determine the condition of levees during the
flooding that occurred in the Mississippi River Valley.
Additionally, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination cells
have been established at the Air and Marine facilities in Riverside,
California, and Grand Forks, North Dakota, to provide essential
information to law enforcement across the Nation--increasing our
understanding of evolving threats and providing the foundation for law
enforcement entities to exercise targeted enforcement in the areas of
greatest risk. This intelligence-driven approach prioritizes emerging
threats, vulnerabilities, and risks, greatly enhancing our border
security efforts.
Chairman Bilirakis, Representative Clarke, and distinguished
Members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to testify
about the work of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and our efforts in
securing our borders. I look forward to answering your questions at
this time.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, Mr. Beutlich. Appreciate it very
much. Thank you.
I now recognize myself for approximately 5 minutes. My
first question will go to Administrator Velasquez.
I am pleased you discussed cross-border mutual aid in your
statement, and the meeting you hosted earlier this week to
further negotiate--the negotiations of these mutual aid
agreements in the CREMAC region, I feel they are very, very
important. Could you tell us a little more about when you think
the agreements will be ratified and what feedback you received
from State participants?
Mr. Velasquez. Well, I will have to tell you, Mr. Chairman,
that the meeting was incredibly productive. The National
Emergency Management Association and the Canadian Council of
Emergency Management Organizations were just incredibly happy
with the great, great discussions that occurred, although there
was some spirited debate. But they were very pleased with the
discussions that had occurred.
We are now at the stage where we have reached consensus on
language for the agreement, and the next step at this time is
for the respective organizations to take this agreement back to
their leadership for concurrence. Then, in the days to come
and, hopefully, in the weeks to come, we will move that
agreement through the acceptance phase and then onward to the
ratification phase.
But there are still some issues with language that they are
tweaking, but we have made some significant and tremendous
progress toward cross-border mutual aid among our partners in
Canada. So, we are really excited about this opportunity.
Mr. Bilirakis. Do you think within the end of the year--by
the end of the year you might have ratification?
Mr. Velasquez. That is our hope.
Mr. Bilirakis. That is your----
Mr. Velasquez. That is certainly our hope, and we are
working to ensure that we can get the agreement expedited
through the acceptance phase as quickly as possible. I can
assure you that we will stay on top of this to ensure that if
there are any other issues, we will work to address those
quickly and as expeditiously as possible.
Mr. Bilirakis. Very good. Thank you.
Question for Admiral Parks. My colleagues along the
Northern Border have extolled the benefits of the Shiprider
program and the way our Coast Guardsmen are able to join with
their Canadian counterparts--and you talked about this--in the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police. What is your opinion of the
Shiprider program, and do you think the American Government
should continue to pursue this program?
What is the current status, of course, of the program? I
know you talked about it. Maybe you can elaborate a little bit?
What is needed to make this cooperation operational on a daily
basis?
Admiral Parks. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
You will find few larger fans of the Shiprider program than
myself.
Mr. Bilirakis. I kind of figured so.
Admiral Parks. It is an incredible opportunity that,
basically, in summary, erases the border as an impediment to
border enforcement issues for our two countries. By that cross-
designation, it is just an incredible force multiplier.
The other thing is not just the ability to be more
effective from an operational sense, it is also a fiscally
smart way to go because it allows us to gain benefit from
sharing resources with our Canadian partners.
Currently, that is awaiting ratification in Canada. We
have--while we are awaiting that, we have continued to train.
We currently have 112 people trained, both 56 Canadians and 56
U.S. folks that went through training in 2010 at our law
enforcement academy in Charleston, South Carolina, so that we
can continue to be prepared as soon as we get approval from the
Canadian government, that we can operationalize that.
We are preparing to use it. We just used it in G-20 in
Toronto. It obviously was a huge success in the Vancouver
Olympics and the Paralympics in 2010. So we are working very
hard to be ready to operationalize that and have been meeting
with our U.S. partners as well as our Canadian partners to be
ready for that, sir.
Mr. Bilirakis. Very good. Director Beutlich, are any of
your personnel participating in the program?
Mr. Beutlich. At this point in time, I don't believe we
have any participation actively. However, we are standing by,
once this first class goes through, to go ahead and participate
in support. Like the admiral said, it is going to be a
tremendous force multiplier.
When you consider the amount of waterways that exist in the
Great Lakes and in the connecting rivers, no one force has
sufficient personnel or assets to be able to accurately patrol
that area. So having what Shiprider brings to the table is
going to be a tremendous force multiplier for all enforcement
efforts, both Canadian and U.S., along the Great Lakes and the
connecting rivers.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, sir.
Okay, Director, you mentioned in a statement that CBP
recently opened the Operational Integration Center, which is
important to help coordinate operations between DHS components
and their State and local law enforcement partners.
Mr. Beutlich. Yes, sir.
Mr. Bilirakis. Is the OIC fully operational? Are all parts
of CBP engaged in the center, and are the key local, State, and
Federal agencies participating in this center?
Then, does the OIC have operational control of any
resources or assets, or is it simply an information-sharing
arena that depends on collaborative planning?
Mr. Beutlich. Sir, if I can try and touch each one of the
questions?
Mr. Bilirakis. Yes, I can repeat the questions if you like.
No problem.
Mr. Beutlich. The OIC is fully operational.
Mr. Bilirakis. Okay.
Mr. Beutlich. One of the keys of the OIC is it is
tailorable and scalable. The component members that are there
don't necessarily have to be there 24/7. If a mission need
arises, the door is open in the OIC to be able to support
anything at the local, State, or Federal level.
We do have--the four main Federal partners are maintaining
a presence there: Customs and Border Protection, specifically,
with field operations, Office of Air and Marine, Office of
Border Patrol, and the United States Coast Guard. The OIC has
brought in some recent initiatives, which are aiding with the
maritime aspect.
Recently, listening to some of the concerns raised by local
boaters within the Great Lakes area about multiple boardings,
we have leveraged some technology which ties in both the OIC
and the Coast Guard Command Center to try and reduce some of
those.
It is not under operational control of any of the assets.
It is, as you had mentioned, sir, a more of an information-
sharing capability, more of an ability to move that information
quickly between the component agencies on the water both at the
Federal level, as well as at the State and local level.
I think I got all of them answered.
Mr. Bilirakis. Very good. One more question, and then I am
going to yield to Representative Clarke.
What about Watchkeeper? Describe that. Maybe, Admiral, you
want to as well. Then, is it being utilized in the OIC?
Mr. Beutlich. I will turn that over to the admiral on
Watchkeeper.
Admiral Parks. Yes, sir. It is, in fact, being used there,
and I think that if I could kind of foot-stomp what the
director has just said, I think the Operation Integration
Center is really--we are just scratching the surface on the
potential that it demonstrates.
Our ability to use that facility and its ability to
leverage the technology, it has kind of a short--a small scope
right now. But its potential is much, much larger to be able to
integrate that information and some day might even be able to
actually, if resourced appropriately with the right kind of
people there all the time, on a 24/7 basis, I think we could
almost operationalize it. So it could have operational control.
I think that this demonstration project is certainly worthy
of continued support. We feel completely welcome at the table,
and this is, I think, a DHS success story for cross-border
operational information and integration.
Mr. Bilirakis. Very good.
Okay, at this time, I would like to yield to Representative
Clarke for as much time as he would like, but within reason.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Clarke. Yes. Absolutely.
Again, thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving us this
opportunity.
Administrator Velasquez, appreciate your leadership with
FEMA. A couple questions, just about the unique challenges
facing the city of Detroit, given its position on the Northern
Border. If you could describe to me what you see as the unique
security challenges facing Detroit and how those challenges
affect FEMA's ability to respond to an emergency and to better
coordinate an effective response?
Mr. Velasquez. Well, having had the responsibility,
Congressman, of actually overseeing a large and complex urban
area emergency management operation myself, having been the
former director of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management,
I am very keenly aware of the threats that large cities face in
this country.
I think it is important that we take the steps necessary,
working in partnership with all of the members that make up the
emergency management and homeland security enterprise, that we
work together to better understand those threats that we face
and that we develop plans in accordance with those threats that
we face.
I think the biggest issue here is that sometimes we can
find ourselves becoming a little complacent in terms of
planning for those threats that we are most familiar with. But
I think sometimes we have to focus our attention now on the
threats that can truly stress the emergency management system
of this country.
So, having a composite picture of those threats that you
face is important, and the only way that you can do that is
through true interoperability. What I mean by that is not
interoperability, per se, from a radial perspective, but
interoperability from an agency perspective, interoperability
from the perspective of public safety agencies working together
to develop innovative and creative ways to respond to these
threats.
The threat of terrorism exists in any big city, and these
are the types of threats that we have to make sure that we are
focusing our attention on, in addition to those natural threats
that we face. So, focusing on the natural and focusing on the
man-made are critical at this juncture in our history.
Mr. Clarke. Thank you.
Just a follow-up, it goes to the role of the Urban Areas
Security Initiative funding and, as I stated in my opening
remarks, that funding eligibility was threatened to be wiped
out for this city and this region, which would have been
totally unacceptable. It was because of the leadership of our
Chairman we have garnered the supports on the Republican side
that allowed my amendment to prevail in the House to at least
restore that eligibility.
Could you explain to us how that funding initiative and
other first responder grants can be used to help better develop
the disaster response capabilities of our local police, fire,
and emergency medical providers?
Mr. Velasquez. Congressman Clarke, excellent question.
Planning, training, and exercising is what really forms the
core of our emergency preparedness efforts. I think these grant
funds have and continue to be used to enhance capability, to
bolster our plans, and to make sure that we are making a
concerted effort to better understand the types of threats that
we face and the resources that are necessary to confront those
threats.
So, we can utilize these grants for a variety of reasons.
We utilize them for, as I said, planning--planning for the
catastrophic-type events, planning for acts of terrorism. We
use them to build capacity, developing specialized teams,
developing mutual aid teams, in-State mutual aid teams.
Because I think sometimes, as you mentioned earlier, we
recognize the challenges associated with struggling
communities' diminished and diminishing resources. So, as we
receive funding, we need to come up with creative and
innovative ways to utilize that funding to create mutual aid
teams, to create specialized teams, so that way we can have
these readily available.
So, enhancing our readiness posture by the development of
mutual aid teams and specialized teams is critical in this
effort to confront the threats that we face in urban areas, and
so we can use them to build capacity. Then, of course,
equipment. Equipment is key.
So, looking at new and innovative solutions for
interoperability from a radio perspective, or from a satellite
perspective, or even from a GIS perspective, to help us
identify threats, to help us with our planning efforts, and
even, in some instances, predictive analysis. So, all of these
areas--planning, training, and exercising--can be funded
through grant monies.
Mr. Clarke. Thank you, Administrator.
For all of the first responders who are here, I mean, we
are acutely aware of the risk of an attack or an emergency that
we are facing every day. A few years ago, the Christmas day
bomber attempted to blow up a plane that was destined for our
Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
You know, we were all concerned that our Ambassador Bridge,
one of the busiest international border crossings in all of
North America, could be the target of an attack. Our tunnels
could be blown up. But this morning's simulated exercise of a
biological attack here on Wayne State University underscores
the new and evolving threat that faces us here, and that is of
bioterrorism.
Now, you know, at risk of putting an idea in a terrorist's
mind, which, unfortunately, they have already been thinking
about this. You know, our drinking water system, it is open. It
is vulnerable. Some terrorist could poison that system and kill
or harm, you know, millions of us here in this region.
So we are particularly at risk here in metropolitan Detroit
because of all of these assets. So, Administrator Velasquez, to
whatever degree you can, I would ask you to urge the Department
of Homeland Security to reconsider this sector's designation
under the Urban Areas Security Initiative. We definitely
warrant a Tier 1 status.
You know, just our history here. You know, it was our
folks' parents and grandparents that helped this country win
World War II when we built the arsenal of democracy. Over the
last five decades, you know, the innovation that we have had
here in this city, in this region to create the auto industry,
to sell cars. It created millions of jobs all around this
country. That originated right here. This is a vital region for
this country's economic renewal.
So, you know, in my other role outside of this committee, I
am asking Congress, let us help rebuild this city because we
can renew America's economy. But in the same sense, though, we
need to be protected as well in order to secure this country's
economy.
So thank you for considering that. As a native east sider,
I would also like to say that we have got a great facility,
Samaritan Center--Father Francis was here--that I believe if it
were upgraded could be designated as a Federal emergency
center. I will be talking to you and other Federal officials
about that.
We have a lot of resources here. One great thing--and Mr.
Chairman, if you would allow me?
Mr. Bilirakis. No, go ahead.
Mr. Clarke. He knows what my job is in Congress. I am not
necessarily being the representative of the 13th District, I am
the salesman for metro Detroit.
You know, we have been through some tough times in this
region, but because of that, we are tough folks. So we are
precisely the people you would want to invest in here. We can
help make this region safe. We can help make this country safe.
So thank you again.
To Admiral Parks, you know, your response about the value
of the Shiprider program really underscores the new way of
looking at the international border with Canada. It is no
longer a division between the United States and Canada, but it
is essentially a shared border.
How does the Coast Guard's relationship with Canadian law
enforcement agencies further efforts to pursue in a sense this
joint perimeter approach to security? So, essentially, maybe
outside of the Shiprider concept, how does the Coast Guard's
relationship with Canadian law enforcement really foster this
shared border approach to security?
Admiral Parks. Well, Congressman, the Coast Guard has got a
very active role. We are, as mentioned previously, one of the
charter members of the IBET, the Integrated Border Enforcement
Team. We work very closely with our partner Federal and
Canadian agencies to try to work on that information sharing.
We work very closely, obviously, across the border and not
just in law enforcement, but the Coast Guard has a rather
unique position in that we work with a number of agencies in
Canada. We don't just work with our Canadian Coast Guard. That,
obviously, is a very strong relationship, but we also work very
closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian
Border Security Agency.
We work with Transport Canada Safety and Security. We work
with Environment Canada. We work with Canada's Ministry of
Public Safety. We work with their defense, you know, ministry.
So we have relationships with all those entities because of our
Coast Guard's 11 statutory missions.
In our country, we have a lot of cross-border activity, and
I think the relationship that the Coast Guard brings with our
Canadian partners is really one based on trust. There is a lot
of truth and a lot of transparency, and we have worked very,
very closely together with them.
So, I think that that is one of the reasons we have got
this relationship that is allowing Shiprider to be so
successful. As we continue to leverage our relationship, we
will be able to use that for other agencies inside our
department and our country.
So we do that on a daily basis with our Canadian
counterparts as we operate in this region. One of the things to
keep in mind is this is a 1,500-mile maritime border. That is
the same distance as the distance from San Diego to
Brownsville.
Mr. Bilirakis. Amazing.
Mr. Clarke. Thank you, Admiral Parks.
Yes. It really is. Also I just want to tell you, you have
got a real tough guy here in Commander Ogden, who is our
captain here. So I really appreciate the work that you are
doing here in this sector.
That is a great segue to Director Beutlich. You outlined--
you had actually described the over 5,000-mile Northern Border.
The reason why that is so important here, that is one of the
bases for having this hearing.
Because in the Department of Homeland Security, the
committee oversight, our focus has been primarily on the
Southern Border, you know, between Mexico and the United
States, which is pretty much flat. I mean, it is a lot easier
to monitor than the Northern Border, which, as you outlined,
crosses mountainous terrain or it is in the middle of heavily
forested area. Or right here in Detroit, it is right in the
middle of a body of water. That makes it very difficult to
monitor the Northern Border, compared to the Southern Border.
To what extent do you see the increased use of unmanned
aircraft systems and video surveillance as a way to effectively
monitor the Northern Border, such as the area right here
separating Detroit from Windsor?
Mr. Beutlich. Well, sir, the unmanned aerial systems that
we have within Customs and Border Protection, just we now have
the ability to operate them on the Northern Border between
Spokane, Washington, and Minnesota. That, right now, is the
certificate of authorization granted by the FAA.
We have a small area that we can operate currently in the
Syracuse, New York, area. We are actively working with the FAA
to bridge that gap, if you might say, that is between the
eastern edge of the current certificate of authorization in
Minnesota down to that area in New York.
This is a very heavily air-trafficked area when you
consider the amount of commercial aviation. So we are working
with the FAA because of the safety concerns that we have to
have for the general aviation airspace to make that happen. FAA
has been fantastic with working with us over the years and
going ahead and getting that.
Also coming into the mix is a manned aircraft we have at
the MEA, which will be the newest aircraft to our fleet. Right
now, we have five in production. They are scheduled to be
delivered. As a matter of fact, the first one has been
delivered to San Diego to go through operational tests and
evaluation.
We are scheduled to receive one of those aircraft
specifically to address the maritime issues within the Great
Lakes area sometime next year. We don't have a firm date on it
as yet.
But it, like the UAS, has the capability of maritime radar,
as well as what is most important is the data link capability
that they possess, which gives the information to the OIC as
capable of giving the information to--through BigPipe to just
about anybody who wishes to receive it, whether that be FEMA,
whether that be the RCMP, whether that be the Ontario
Provincial Police.
Mr. Clarke. Thank you, Director Beutlich.
Just for all of you that are not involved with
Congressional affairs, when we talk about yielding back time,
that means we are giving up our time back to the other Member.
So, with that, I yield my time back to the Chairman.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you. Thank you.
All right. I want to thank the witnesses for their
testimony, and of course, the Members--only two of us here--for
the questions. With that, I dismiss the panel, and we will now
move to the second panel.
Thank you very much, gentlemen. Thank you. Very
informative. Appreciate it.
[Pause.]
Mr. Bilirakis. Let us get started with the second panel. I
would like to introduce the witnesses.
Our first witness is Captain Thomas Sands. Captain Sands is
commander of the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management
and Homeland Security Division. As commander, he served as the
Deputy State Director of Emergency Management and Homeland
Security.
Captain Sands chairs the Michigan Homeland Security
Advisory Council, the Homeland Security Preparedness Committee,
and the Michigan Citizen Community Emergency Response
Coordinating Council. He received a bachelor's degree in public
administration from Central Michigan University and is a
graduate of the 211th session of the FBI National Academy in
Quantico--I may have mispronounced that, and I apologize--
Virginia.
Our next witness is Mr. Donald Austin. Mr. Austin is the
commissioner of the Detroit Fire Department. Prior to coming to
Detroit, Commissioner Austin served nearly 30 years in the Los
Angeles Fire Department. During his tenure in the LAFD, he rose
from training academy peer instructor to assistant chief.
During this time, he worked as the homeland security
assistant chief for Los Angeles International Airport and
enhanced the maritime domain awareness in the Port of Los
Angeles as the harbor homeland security assistant chief. He
retired in February 2011 and moved to Detroit to serve here as
the fire commissioner.
Commissioner Austin earned his bachelor's degree in
business administration from California State University,
Dominguez Hills and during this time served as a member of the
California National Guard.
After Commissioner Austin, we will hear from Mr. Daryl
Lundy. But I want to say, and I know that Hansen is going to
say this, too. The commissioner is from Detroit.
Mr. Clarke. That is right.
Mr. Bilirakis. He is from Detroit. He is a native. East
Detroit?
Mr. Clarke. East side.
Mr. Bilirakis. East side. East side. Okay. All right. That
is important.
Mr. Lundy, we will hear from him next. He is the director
for homeland security and emergency management for the city of
Detroit, Michigan. Prior to his appointment as director, Mr.
Lundy was a colonel in the United States Army Military Police,
where he served as director of military support to civil
authorities, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs for
the State of Michigan--something close to my heart.
In his position, he was responsible for State security
plans concerning natural disasters, weapons of mass
destruction, National security special events, and military
support for civil disturbance. Prior to his last assignment, he
served as an inspector general for Army and Air Force personnel
for the State of Michigan.
Director Lundy received his bachelor's of science in
sociology and criminal justice from Western Michigan University
and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff
College. Welcome, sir.
Finally, we will receive testimony from Mr. James Buford.
Mr. Buford is director of Wayne County Homeland Security.
Previously, Director Buford was a member of the Wayne County
Sheriff's Department for 21 years, where he was assigned to the
Sheriff's Road Patrol.
He was promoted through the ranks from certified police
officer to commander. Mr. Buford has received two departmental
citations, three unit citations, and the community service
citation for his service.
Director Buford retired from the United States Army
Reserves in 1989. He received his bachelor's degree from Wayne
State University, and his master's degree from Eastern Michigan
University.
Welcome all, and we look forward to your testimony.
Captain Sands, you are recognized for approximately 5
minutes. We are going to have to try to stick to the 5-minute
rule here. But you are recognized, sir, to testify. Thank you
for being here.
STATEMENT OF CAPTAIN W. THOMAS SANDS, DEPUTY STATE DIRECTOR,
DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND HOMELAND SECURITY
Captain Sands. Thank you.
Good morning, Chairman Bilirakis and Representative Clarke.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today on
behalf of the State of Michigan and the Michigan State Police
Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division.
It is a privilege to be here to discuss the State of
Michigan's efforts to secure our Northern Border and
international waterways in coordination with our partners from
local units of government and Federal agencies. I would like to
begin by providing an overview of Michigan's homeland security
framework and the role of Michigan State Police in protecting
our citizens from all hazards, both natural and man-made.
Michigan's unique geography, resources, and critical
infrastructure are vital to the Great Lakes region and the
country. With 721 miles of shared international border with
Canada, Michigan serves as our Nation's principal gateway for
international commerce and trade.
The State of Michigan has built an extensive homeland
security structure to safeguard Michigan's residents and
resources by ensuring the necessary plans, procedures, systems,
and protocols are established before an emergency occurs.
I would ask that my written testimony be entered into the
record so I may provide just a brief overview of that
testimony.
Mr. Bilirakis. So ordered. Thank you, sir.
Captain Sands. In Michigan, I am quite proud we have a very
inclusive and transparent system for organizing and structuring
our homeland security efforts. It starts with the input and
participation from the local level up. It starts with local
planning teams, which is built primarily by first responders,
moves up to the regional board, which they report to--those
regional boards coordinate many efforts across the State and
provide input up to us at the State through the Homeland
Security Advisory Committee and other committees, ultimately to
the Homeland Protection Board in an advisory nature to the
Governor.
We have what I believe is a National best practice on our
homeland security strategies. It is built on the age-old
premise that all disasters happen locally.
We assisted the regions in building their regional
strategies. Went out, they did a self-assessment on 37 target
capabilities, their ability to respond to different incidents,
put that up against their ability to respond in other--or many
areas, and ultimately built goals with objectives to fill those
critical gaps that they personally identified. We tie all the
homeland security funding to those.
We then took the regional strategies and built our State
strategy. So our role at the State is to help coordinate the
resources and response, provide whatever assistance that the
locals need. We, again, at the State level tie all our funding
to fulfilling those goals and objectives.
We have made tremendous progress over the last several
years, and I would just like to talk to you about a couple of
current initiatives that we have on-going right now. A primary
one is in the area of information-sharing environment.
We have the Michigan Intelligence Operations Center, which
is the State's primary fusion center, as well as we have helped
support the UASI region here with standing up the Detroit and
Southeast Michigan Intelligence Information Center. These two
centers help gather and share information locally, across the
State, and nationally through the National Operations Center.
We have a very close working relationship with our Federal
partners in the fusion center as the State Department of
Homeland Security, State intelligence officer. We have the FBI.
We have a number of other Federal agencies, as well as State
departments and local agencies as part of those centers.
A big part of those fusion centers is communicating with
the private sector. With 80 percent of the critical
infrastructure owned by the private sector, it is imperative
that we are communicating to them on threats and also gathering
information from them to share with their counterparts. We have
a 24/7 operation there. It has been very successful in
coordinating these initiatives.
In the area of collaboration, we do a tremendous amount of
collaboration. You heard earlier this morning from the Customs
and Border Patrol on their Operation Integration Center. That
is a tremendous asset to the State of Michigan. I believe it is
going to pay significant dividends.
We have been working closely with them and coordinating
resources. I have a staff working on a camera project, which
will allow us in the State emergency operations center, in the
MIOC, and in the DSEMIIC to view some of the camera feeds they
have. In return, we have a number of cameras throughout the
UASI area here, as well as across the State, that we are tying
the technology in so that they will be able to view those
cameras as well.
You heard from the Coast Guard about Operation Channel
Watch, a tremendous initiative there. We participate with our
aviation section, dive teams, and other specialty teams to help
secure that border. A big part of that is the information
sharing as well, passing out information to boaters, help get
information from the public on things that they may deem
suspicious that is coming across the waterways.
We have a very close working relationship with FEMA, a
number of initiatives underway. They have been tremendous
supporters in improving emergency management here in Michigan.
You also heard about the project going on with Canada. For
several years, I have participated in the North American Mutual
Aid Working Group to help establish not only a mutual aid
agreement with Ontario, but hoping to carry that across the
entire Northern Border.
I share the comments from Mr. Velasquez here this morning.
It was a very productive meeting, and I am very optimistic that
we are going to see success on that.
In the area of communications, interoperability with our
radio systems always has been a challenge, and anything that
goes wrong in a disaster oftentimes comes back to those
communication issues. I have on my staff a full-time State-wide
interoperability coordinator to work with the locals, working
to help support and improve operability across the State.
There has been some grant funding that has come into the
State through Wayne Country through DHS Border Interoperability
Demonstration Project to help some of the issues there. We do,
at the State level, have several radio caches. So if we do have
a significant incident, we can help with those.
In closing, I would just like to again thank you for having
me here today.
[The statement of Captain Sands follows:]
Prepared Statement of W. Thomas Sands
October 28, 2011
Good morning Chairman Bilirakis, Ranking Member Richardson, and
distinguished Members of the House Subcommittee on Emergency
Preparedness, Response, and Communications. Thank you for the
opportunity to appear before you today on behalf of the State of
Michigan and the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and
Homeland Security Division (MSP/EMHSD). It is a privilege to be here
today to discuss the State of Michigan's efforts to secure our Northern
Border and international waterways in coordination with our partners
from local units of government and Federal agencies.
I would like to begin by providing an overview of Michigan's
homeland security framework and the role of the Michigan State Police
in protecting our citizens from all hazards, both natural and man-made.
Michigan's unique geography, resources, and critical infrastructure are
vital to the Great Lakes Region and the country. With 721 miles of
shared international border with Canada, Michigan serves as our
Nation's principal gateway for international commerce and trade.
MICHIGAN'S HOMELAND SECURITY FRAMEWORK
The State of Michigan has built an extensive homeland security
structure to safeguard Michigan's residents and resources by ensuring
the necessary plans, procedures, systems, and protocols are established
before an emergency occurs. The responsibility of Michigan's homeland
security response activities and initiatives rests with the director of
the Michigan State Police (MSP), who serves as the State Director of
Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
As the commander of the MSP Emergency Management and Homeland
Security Division, I hold the position of Deputy State Director of
Emergency Management and Homeland Security with the responsibility of
coordinating the State's day-to-day activities for all emergencies and
disasters. The MSP/EMHSD focuses on a number of areas including
strategic planning, intelligence gathering, information sharing,
critical infrastructure protection, citizen preparedness, and Federal
homeland security grant programs.
Michigan's homeland security framework is based on a collaborative
effort among all local, State, and Federal agencies working together to
protect Michigan's residents, resources, and Northern Border. To ensure
a coordinated homeland security approach, the State of Michigan
implemented an enhanced 5-year State-wide Homeland Security Strategy in
2009 integrating the State's collective efforts in accordance with a
strategic vision to complement and unite the capabilities of all
partners. With the understanding that all disasters begin as local
events, the State-wide homeland security strategy focuses on local
priorities developed by the State's seven regions.
Michigan's border crossings, manufacturing centers, corporate and
government buildings, waterways, and technology networks all present
attractive targets for terrorists and criminals. To secure the safety
of Michigan's assets, the State-wide Homeland Security Strategy focuses
on eight strategic goals, including improving operational readiness,
enhancing intelligence and information sharing, reducing the risk to
critical infrastructure and key resources including international
interdependencies, and strengthening communications capabilities.
Today, I will discuss several initiatives underway in the State of
Michigan to bolster the security of our Northern Border in partnership
with local, State, and Federal agencies.
INFORMATION SHARING
The State of Michigan has worked extensively to develop a
collaborative environment and culture of sharing information among all
Government agencies, law enforcement, private sector members, and the
public.
One of our key means of sharing information is through Michigan's
primary fusion center, called the Michigan Intelligence Operations
Center for Homeland Security, known as the MIOC. Operational since
2007, the MIOC was established to build upon existing information-
sharing practices and to enhance relationships between law enforcement
agencies. Housed within the MSP, the MIOC operates
24/7 providing a critical link to all Government and law enforcement
agencies, as well as the private sector in sharing critical information
as it pertains to all crimes, all threats, and all hazards. The MIOC is
one of 72 Federally-recognized fusion centers Nation-wide to
effectively exchange information and intelligence, and improve the
ability to fight crime and terrorism by maximizing resources and
streamlining operations.
The MIOC is a cooperative effort among all levels of government and
the private sector, including the following agencies working within the
facility: Michigan Departments of State Police (MSP), Corrections
(MDOC), Military and Veteran Affairs (DMVA), Technology, Management &
Budget (DTMB), and Transportation (MDOT), as well as the Michigan
National Guard, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Coast
Guard, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA),
and Michigan State University Police Department.
The MIOC works extensively with public and private sector partners
in Michigan, the United States, and Canada to gather and share
intelligence to help prevent acts of terrorism or crime from occurring
in our country and across the Northern Border. Through sharing
information, the MIOC is able to help identify trends occurring across
the Northern Border, such as organized crime, narcotics smuggling, or
human trafficking, which can then be shared with law enforcement
agencies in the United States and Canada.
A key nexus of information sharing takes place among the many
jurisdictions and agencies located in Southeast Michigan, which is
designated as a Tier II Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) by DHS.
Over the past several months, the State of Michigan has worked in
partnership with members of the UASI Board to begin standing up a
fusion center, called the Detroit Southeast Michigan Information and
Intelligence Center (DSEMIIC). The DSEMIIC serves as a node of the MIOC
to help streamline the flow of information sharing in Southeast
Michigan and State-wide.
COLLABORATING RESOURCES
In March 2011, Michigan's capabilities to secure the Northern
Border were significantly enhanced by the opening of the CBP
Operational Integration Center (OIC) located at the Selfridge Air
National Guard Base in Michigan. The MSP and MIOC are building a strong
partnership with the OIC to protect Michigan's Northern Border.
We are currently in the process of developing infrastructure to
provide the OIC, MIOC, DSEMIIC, and State Emergency Operations Center
(SEOC) with the capability to share data, videos, and maps among all
facilities. This capability will better enable Michigan to provide
timely and actionable intelligence to enhance our border integrity and
to direct operations in an efficient and effective manner. Through our
partnership with the OIC, Michigan is able to further protect our
Northern Border by integrating law enforcement and intelligence
resources into one common operating picture, thus maximizing the
effectiveness of our combined efforts.
Our department strives to work in partnership with our fellow
public safety agencies to join resources and intelligence assets
through collaboration and interagency consortiums. For example, since
2010 the MSP Aviation Unit has supported the CBP with patrolling the
international border in Southeast Michigan. The primary mission for MSP
aviation is observing and tracking activities along the border that may
be a violation at international crossings, waterways, or critical
infrastructure sites. This partnership strengthens the security of
Michigan's Northern Border and enhances the response capabilities of
local, State, and Federal resources along the border.
Recognizing the importance of patrolling and securing our shared
international waterways, the MSP and additional State agencies actively
participate in Operation Channel Watch led by the U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG), which is designed to gather intelligence and intercept illegal
activity associated with the international border. Operation Channel
Watch brings together law enforcement officers from local, State, and
Federal agencies to carry out joint patrols along shared waterways
between Michigan and Canada to improve interoperability, maximize
public service, and promote sharing of resources and collaborative
intelligence gathering. The MSP also serves as a member of the Area
Maritime Security Committee (AMSC) to help identify and mitigate any
threats against Michigan's ports.
The MSP maintains a continuing presence in several other
interagency consortiums, including the Integrated Border Enforcement
Team (IBET) formed in 2002, which is a joint bi-national law
enforcement team involving agencies from both the United States and
Canada. The team analyzes and responds to information gathered from a
collection of border agencies pertaining to illegal cross-border
activity.
ENHANCING BORDER CAPABILITIES
Since the attacks against our Nation on Sept. 11, 2001, Michigan
has enhanced its capabilities and resources to protect citizens against
threats along and across the Northern Border in large part through
Federal grant funding.
Since fiscal year 2008, Michigan's law enforcement capabilities
have been significantly bolstered along the Northern Border with the
award of nearly $10.5 million under the DHS Operation Stonegarden Grant
Program (OPSG). Michigan and other Northern Border States were
incorporated into the OPSG program for the first time in 2008, which
enabled the Michigan counties of Chippewa, St. Clair, and Wayne to
purchase equipment and increase law enforcement patrols along their
shared land border with Canada. Since the OPSG program was expanded in
2009 to include international water and shared land borders of the
United States, 24 counties in Michigan are now eligible to receive OPSG
funding.
With the availability of OPSG funding, Michigan's Northern Border
is better secured by providing law enforcement agencies with the means
to put more boots on the ground by covering overtime costs and to
purchase essential equipment needed to patrol the border. For example,
OPSG funding was used to purchase a communications tower in Chippewa
County located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, which greatly enhanced
the ability of law enforcement to secure the border as they encountered
illegal border crossings and previously had limited capabilities to
communicate in the area.
As evident during the September 11 attacks, one of the biggest
challenges first responders often face is difficulty communicating with
one another due to different communication systems or a lack of
infrastructure. Over the past decade, Michigan has greatly expanded the
ability for public safety personnel to communicate during an incident,
share critical information in a timely manner, and leverage all
available resources in an efficient and effective manner. While it is
critical for Michigan first responders to have the ability to
communicate with one another, we also recognize the importance of
facilitating communications between Michigan, neighboring States, and
Canada. Because when a disaster strikes, it ignores geographical
boundaries affecting communities from different jurisdictions, States,
and countries.
A project is currently underway enhancing interoperable
communications among local, State, Federal, Tribal, and international
partners through the award of $4 million to Wayne County as a part of
the DHS Border Interoperability Demonstration Project (BIDP). With the
use of BIDP funding, the necessary infrastructure and equipment is
being purchased creating a gateway connecting the Michigan and Canadian
public safety communications systems. This project will improve
communications for emergency personnel responding to incidents along
the international border and ports of entry between Canada, Southeast
Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie. Michigan serves as a key hub for
international trade along the Northern Border with transportation
infrastructure including three international bridges, three tunnels,
and multiple vehicle ferries.
The MSP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division (CVED) has worked
extensively to secure Michigan's Northern Border by promoting
commercial vehicle safety enforcement measures, including conducting
security visits on bulk hazardous materials carriers in Michigan. Since
2004, the CVED has received nearly $7.6 million in funding from the
U.S. Department of Transportation to enhance commercial motor vehicle
security at Michigan's international border crossings. Using Federal
funding, our department has expanded commercial vehicle enforcement
efforts at the Ambassador Bridge in Detroit, the Blue Water Bridge in
Port Huron, the Detroit-Windsor Truck Ferry, the International Bridge
in Sault Ste. Marie, and the tunnel connecting Detroit and Windsor.
PROACTIVE MEASURES
Events like the 2009 Christmas day airplane bombing in Detroit are
a reminder that a terrorist attack in Michigan and across our Northern
Border is a realistic threat we must be prepared for. I am pleased to
share with you today that Michigan has taken several proactive steps in
partnership with local and Federal agencies to secure our Northern
Border and prepare for all potential threats.
Multiple times each year, local, State, Federal, and international
partners participate in drills and exercises conducted along the
Northern Border to test emergency plans, enhance security measures, and
ensure a coordinated response during an incident. For example, an
exercise tested the response to an improvised explosive device (IED) at
the Soo Locks along Lake Superior requiring a response from the bomb
squads with the Michigan State Police and the Sault Ste. Marie Ontario
Police Department. This past August, an exercise was held along the
Detroit River involving nearly 30 agencies from the United States and
Canada to test a multi-jurisdictional and multi-agency response to an
explosion and subsequent oil spill in international waters.
Many emergencies not only require a coordinated response, they also
frequently require additional resources to be brought in as the
affected jurisdiction's capabilities are exceeded. This is why Michigan
is taking proactive measures to form an international mutual aid
agreement with our Canadian partners.
A few months ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a cross-
border mutual aid executive seminar in Port Huron, Michigan with
participants representing all levels of government and the private
sector from the United States and Canada. Throughout the seminar, we
discussed opportunities to collaborate resources and planning
initiatives across the border, challenges associated with international
mutual aid including legal concerns, as well as potential next steps
toward solidifying a cross-border mutual aid agreement.
Initiatives are also underway at the National level to make a
cross-border mutual aid agreement a reality for Michigan and other
States. For example, I serve as a member of the North American Mutual
Aid Work Group with the National Emergency Management Association
(NEMA), which is making significant progress in establishing the
framework for a cross-border mutual aid agreement. This past week, I
attended a meeting in Chicago hosted by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) Region V Office that brought together
representatives from several States and Canada to discuss the next
steps in establishing an international mutual aid agreement.
While there is still work to be done, I am confident by the
progress we have made thus far and I look forward to further developing
our capabilities in partnership with Canada to prevent, deter, respond
to, and recover from all hazards.
CLOSING
Protecting Michigan's border and citizens requires a proactive and
coordinated approach from local, State, Federal, Tribal, and
international partners. As portrayed by the many initiatives I shared
today, the State of Michigan works in close partnership with all levels
of government and seeks new avenues to ensure the security of our
border and safety of our citizens. Thank you again for the opportunity
to testify today and I look forward to any questions you may have.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, sir. Appreciate it. Thank you
very much.
Commissioner Austin, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
Thank you, sir.
STATEMENT OF DONALD R. AUSTIN, ADMINISTRATION DIVISION, FIRE
DEPARTMENT, CITY OF DETROIT
Mr. Austin. Thank you.
Chairman Bilirakis, Congressman Hansen Clarke, I want to
thank you for the opportunity to make a presentation to you
about the great city of Detroit and its fire department.
Again, I am the fire commissioner of Detroit City Fire
Department. I have been on the job 158 days as of today and
look forward to moving this agency into an all-hazard response
organization.
My background in the fire service over the last 30 years
began in the Los Angeles Fire Department, where, as you
indicated, I rose to the rank of assistant chief. I have a
background, in addition to the main fire service discipline of
fire fighting and delivering EMS services, in the aviation and
maritime domain, working in that area doing homeland security.
In my 30 years, I have been involved in large-scale and
major emergencies from wild land fires, earthquakes, multi-
casualty incidents, civil unrest, aircraft accidents, and
maritime emergency exercises. In addition to that, I have been
an EMT.
I am a student of the National Response Framework and the
National Incident Management System. I have operated as a
unified incident commander, agency representative, and many
other positions in the incident command structure. I have
worked with many fire departments in the United States as a
promotional exam panelist participant and consulted
internationally by providing aircraft rescue firefighting
assessment capabilities for the El Dorado Nuevo Airport in
Bogota, Colombia.
The main thrust of my testimony, however, before this
committee is to highlight the needs to support grant funding to
increase organizational capability and preparedness. This is
extremely important because of the fiscal challenges facing the
city of Detroit today.
Detroit, as you know, is an important transportation hub.
It has three international border crossings--the Ambassador
Bridge, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and the Michigan Central
Railway Tunnel, linking both Detroit and Windsor, Canada.
The Ambassador Bridge is the single-busiest border crossing
in North America, carrying approximately 27 percent of the
total trade between the United States and Canada. The Detroit/
Wayne County Port Authority imported and exported over 17
million tons of cargo. This accounted for over 5,800 jobs
directly, 4,500 jobs indirectly, and over $200 million in State
and local taxes. Additionally, $164 million of business
revenue.
The Detroit River is the southern border of the city, and
its interruption could impact the economy regionally. Detroit
River represents an international border between the United
States and Canada. It is 32 miles long, over 29 ports, and only
618 nautical miles from the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence
Seaway.
Eighty percent of the goods that come into the United
States come in through a port. Ports are very vital to this
economy. My city, Detroit, although struggling during these
fiscally difficult times, is on a path of rebirth. The city of
Detroit is winning efforts to lure the region's growth
companies downtown with business tax incentives, entertainment
in the international riverfront, and repopulating their inner
city by moving residents downtown.
In addition, we have world headquarters, GM, which is a
major defense contractor, world headquarters for Compuware,
Quicken Loans. Recently, Blue Cross Blue Shield has moved over
5,000 employees into downtown Detroit. We are on the rise
again. Additionally, there are two Fortune 500 companies,
American Axle and Manufacturing and DTE Energy.
While these are very positive signs of Detroit turning the
corner, many difficult days lie ahead. The population declined
by 25 percent, or 200,000 residents, in the last 10 years,
leaving many vacant and abandoned structures to contend with.
Seventy percent of the fire incidents occur in vacant abandoned
dwellings.
Mayor Bing is working feverishly to overcome the structural
deficit and return the city to financial health. The
department, under my leadership, is working hard to remake
itself into an organization that can meet the challenges of a
new Detroit and the threats that have become a reality of the
21st Century.
The Detroit Fire Department has about 1,400 personnel, 985
firefighters, over 240 EMS technicians. We deploy only 236
firefighters on any given day across 44 fire stations and
respond to over 30,000 fire calls annually and 130,000 EMS
calls. In addition to the traditional fire service disciplines,
we provide hazardous materials, urban search and rescue, and a
limited maritime and aviation domain capability.
Speaking to the maritime domain capability, the fire
department has one fire boat, the Curtis Randolph, built in
1979. It is a Class-A fire boat, the only fire boat on the
Detroit River and in southern Michigan--southeastern Michigan,
I am sorry, with a pumping capability of over 10,000 gallons
per minute.
I am going to review very quickly three incidents that
occurred since 1999. February 2, 1999, the Curtis Randolph
responded to a boiler explosion and fire at the Ford Motor
Company Rouge power plant. That accident killed 6 workers and
injured 14. Our fire boat pumped water to keep that operation
going for over 90 days.
During that time frame, there was a fire, and the Curtis
Randolph is the only fire boat ever to fight a fire on foreign
shores. Windsor, Canada, officials called on the Curtis
Randolph in April 1999 to assist in extinguishing a fire of a
hotel on the Windsor riverfront. The fire boat did respond at
then-Mayor Archer's request and assisted in that
extinguishment.
Additionally, and last, as an example, in August 2003, as
you recall that there was a major power outage in the Northeast
quadrant of the country. The United States Steel production
operations were impacted. Their blast furnaces require water to
keep them operational.
The Curtis Randolph again responded and pumped water to
assist in them continuing their operations. Again, if either of
those would have shut down, that would have been a severe
impact--jobs lost or people laid off, not getting checks.
I am going to move to some efforts quickly here.
Mr. Bilirakis. So, yes, we have got to wrap up. So----
Mr. Austin. Okay.
Mr. Bilirakis. If you can do it in a minute, that would be
great.
Mr. Austin. In a minute. We are reaching out here within
Detroit to partner with our neighbor fire agencies. There are
over 1,000 fire departments. Many are volunteer fire
departments, which make it a challenge.
But we have relationships with the United States Coast
Guard, the 51st Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team,
United States Customs, and so forth and so on. So, with that, I
would like to say that we look forward and I welcome the
opportunity to make any additional comments and answer any
questions you may have.
[The statement of Mr. Austin follows:]
Prepared Statement of Donald R. Austin
October 28, 2011
My name is Donald R. Austin. I am the executive fire commissioner
of the Detroit Fire Department. I have been on the job 158 days as of
today and look forward to making this Department an ``all hazards''
response organization.
My background in the fire service began over 30 years ago in the
Los Angeles Fire Department. I rose to the rank of Assistant Chief in
the Los Angeles Fire Department and have a background in the aviation
and maritime domain as well as the traditional fire service discipline.
In that capacity, I have been involved in large-scale emergencies from
wild land fires, earthquakes, multi-casualty incidents, civil unrest,
simulated aircraft accidents, and maritime emergency exercises. In
addition to being a fire fighter, I was an emergency medical technician
most of my fire service career.
I am a student of the National Response Framework and the National
Incident Management System (NIMS). I have operated as a unified
incident commander, agency representative, and in many other incident
command positions. I am certified in ICS 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, and
800 and have taken additional NIMS courses in the course of my fire
service career. I have worked with many fire departments in the United
States as a promotional examination panel participant, and consulted
internationally by providing an Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting
capability assessment for the El Dorado Nuevo Airport in Bogota,
Columbia. I bring this fire service experience to the Detroit Fire
Department and the city of Detroit at the Honorable Mayor Dave Bing's
request.
The main thrust of my testimony before this committee is to
highlight the need for support of grant funding to increase
organizational capability and preparedness. This is extremely important
because of the fiscal challenges facing the city and region. Our
ability to manage day-to-day fire and emergency medical incidents
within our allotted budget is becoming more difficult. We are currently
projecting a $14 million deficit at the close of this fiscal year. This
lack of funding will inherently reduce the level of service on a daily
basis and make it more difficult to respond to incidents of National
significance.
The city of Detroit located in southeastern Michigan is a city of
over 700,000 residents with an area of 139 square miles. Detroit
completely encircles the cities of Hamtramck and Highland Park. The
Detroit Tri-County area of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties has a
population of 3,863,000, as of the 2010 census, with an area of 1,967
square miles. Detroit is the largest city in the State of Michigan and
the seat of Wayne County. Detroit has three of the four major league
professional sports teams located in downtown. Detroit is known by many
nicknames to include Arsenal of Democracy, the Motor City, Motown, and
America's Automotive Capital to name a few.
Detroit is an important transportation hub. It has three
international border crossings, the Ambassador Bridge, Detroit-Windsor
Tunnel, and the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel, linking Detroit to
Windsor, Ontario. The Ambassador Bridge is the single-busiest border
crossing in North America, carrying 27% of the total trade between the
United States and Canada.
The Detroit Wayne County Port Authority imported and exported over
17 million tons of cargo. In 2005 this accounted for 5,851 direct jobs
and 4,505 indirect jobs; $201,629,000 in State and local taxes and
business revenue in excess of $164 million. The Detroit River is the
southern border of the city and also represents an international border
between the United States and Canada. The Detroit River is a 32-mile-
long river with over 29 port terminals. Detroit is 618 nautical miles
inland from the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
My city, although still struggling during these fiscally difficult
times, is on a path of rebirth. The city of Detroit is winning efforts
to lure the region's growth companies downtown with business tax
incentives, entertainment, an International Riverfront, and
repopulating the inner city with residents living downtown. The world
headquarters of Compuware (over 2,500 employees), Quicken Loans (over
4,000 employees), and General Motors (over 4,600 employees) are located
in downtown Detroit. Additionally, Fortune 500 companies like American
Axle & Manufacturing and DTE Energy are located in Detroit. Blue Cross
recently completed a move into downtown relocating upwards of 5,000
employees.
While these are very positive signs of Detroit turning the corner,
many difficult days lay ahead. The population declined by 25% or
200,000 in the last 10 years. This has left many vacant/abandoned
structures to contend with. The number of vacant/abandoned structures
is said to be as high as 80,000. In fact, the last line of duty death
involving fire fighter Walter Harris occurred in a vacant single-family
dwelling after two previous fires. Seventy percent of the fire
incidents occur in vacant/abandoned structures.
The severe population decline not only left many vacant structures
in the city, it represents an erosion of the property tax base, reduced
city income tax, and State revenue-sharing necessary to provide the
level of services for a new Detroit. However, it remains a fact that
public safety services, fire, EMS, and law enforcement constitute more
than 50% of the city's general fund expenditures, which exceeds $1
billion dollars.
Mayor Bing is working feverishly to overcome a structural deficit
and return the city to financial health. Mayor Bing's personal
commitment is illustrated in the fact that he has accepted a salary of
$1 a year. The Fire Department under my leadership is working hard to
remake itself into an organization that can meet the challenges of a
new Detroit and the threats that have become the reality of the 21st
Century. We are diligently working to become fully NIMS-compliant and,
our members are currently enrolled in FEMA on-line NIMS training for
ICS 100, 200, 700, and 800 courses.
The Detroit Fire Department has 1,400 personnel and approximately
985 fire fighters and 240 emergency medical personnel. We deploy 236
fire fighters in 44 fire stations across the city and respond to over
30,000 fire calls and 130,000 EMS calls for service annually. In
addition to the traditional fire service, we provide hazardous
materials, urban search and rescue, a limited maritime and aviation
domain capability.
The average age of the fire station buildings is 81 years old with
the oldest active fire station being 118 years old. This represents a
significant draw on a budget of $186,400,000 of which 95% is salaries
and benefits. The average age of my fire fighters is 43\1/2\ years,
which result in a pretty significant injury rate and negatively impacts
my overtime budget. The 21 ambulances have an average of 149,000 miles
and break down frequently. The logistical support staff which maintains
fire and EMS apparatus is equally challenged and has a difficult time
doing preventive maintenance.
The Fire Department has one fire boat; the Curtis Randolph built in
1979. It is the only Class A fire boat on the Detroit River and in
Southeastern Michigan with a pumping capacity of 10,000 gallons per
minute. The response district for the Curtis Randolph is Windmill
Pointe at the mouth of Lake St. Clair south to the Trenton Turning
Basin. The fire boat will be taken out of service on November 1, 2011,
and returned to service in June 2012.
On February 2, 1999, the Curtis Randolph responded to a boiler
explosion and fire at the Ford Motor Company, Rouge Power Plant. This
fire killed 6 and injured 14 workers. The fire boat supplied water for
approximately 3 months while repairs to the plant were made. Our
response allowed operations to continue relatively uninterrupted.
The Curtis Randolph is the only U.S. fire boat to ever fight a fire
on foreign shores. Windsor, Canada officials called on the Curtis
Randolph in April 1999 to assist in extinguishing a fire at the
riverside Ramada Inn. Mayor Dennis Archer called the fire boat from the
Rouge Power Plant incident to the Windsor hotel fire.
The northeast electrical power outage of August 2003 threatened
United States Steel production operations. The blast furnaces used in
the process required water to keep them operational. The Curtis
Randolph was placed into fire service to assist with supplying river
water to the plant. This incident required the fire boat to pump river
water to keep its blast furnaces operational during the several days of
the electrical grid outage.
VULNERABILITIES TO HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS,
RESPONSE, AND COMMUNICATIONS
In addition to providing an emergency response capability to the
residents of Detroit, Detroit being situated on an international water
border should have maritime capabilities to respond to threats to
security and natural disasters that could impact the continuity of
operations of businesses and the city.
The Detroit Fire Department is not especially situated to respond
to a mass casualty scenario. This is an identified weakness in our
``all hazards'' capability, which sooner than later must be addressed.
Below are some identified critical infrastructure and disaster
scenarios in the Detroit area that would require a response by the
Detroit Fire Department.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Infrastructure Incident Type Consequence
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Renaissance Center.............. Fire.............. Approximately
\1\ VBIED......... 13,000 occupants;
\2\ CBRNE......... GM World
Headquarters; GM
is a major
defense
contractor;
tallest hotel in
the United States
and Michigan's
tallest building.
Electrical Grid................. Fires............. Failure of city
water main
pressure could
occur and
negatively impact
downtown.
Water Main Failure.............. Fires............. Major outage could
severely impact
downtown high-
rise
infrastructure.
Hart Plaza and the Detroit Multi-casualty.... Depending on the
Riverfront. number of
simultaneous
events could
attract more than
1 million
visitors.
Detroit River................... Oil Spill......... Damage to the
environment and
ecosystem.
Maritime Commerce............... Vessel Fire....... Blockage of the
Loss of propulsion river.
Bridges and Tunnels............. Terrorist Attack.. Collapse.
Sports Stadiums................. VBIED............. Ford Field
CBRNE............. capacity is
65,000;
Comerica 40,000;
Joe Louis 20,000.
North American International Multi-casualty.... High-media
Auto Show. coverage; patient-
generating event.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device.
\2\ Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive.
EFFORTS TO SHORE UP VULNERABILITIES
Since the beginning of my tenure as the Executive Fire
Commissioner, I have been actively seeking to expand this
organization's relationship with area fire departments by becoming a
member of the Southeastern Michigan Fire Chiefs Association. The
Detroit Fire Department has reached out to Southfield, Warren,
Dearborn, Highland Park, and Hamtramck Fire Department seeking to enter
into a Mutual Aid agreement for reciprocity of fire and rescue
services. We did not enter into an agreement relative to emergency
medical incidents because our EMS resources are strained on a daily
basis and our fire fighters are not EMT-trained. However, it is my goal
to move the organization in this direction. Eighty-five percent of the
workload in the United States fire service is delivering emergency
medical services to the communities they serve.
We have a relationship with many agencies such as:
US Coast Guard Sector Detroit, Commander Jeffrey E. Ogden,
Captain of the Port;
51st Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team;
City of Windsor Fire and Rescue Services, Fire Chief Bruce
Montone;
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Detroit Sector;
Michigan Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1;
Hart Medical EMS Services--A Private Ambulance Company;
Detroit Emergency Medical Service Authority;
Detroit Medical Center;
Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, John Jamian, Executive
Director.
The Department is also considering joining the Michigan Emergency
Management Assistance Compact (MEMAC). MEMAC is designed to help
Michigan's 1,776 local political subdivisions share vital public safety
services and resources more effectively and efficiently. Neither the
State nor any local jurisdiction can afford to acquire and maintain all
the manpower, equipment, and other resources that would be necessary to
respond to every possible emergency or major disaster, especially
terrorist acts involving chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons of
mass destruction.
Since my appointment as Executive Fire Commissioner, the Department
participated in the ``Detroit River Readiness 2011'' full-scale
exercise. More than 65 U.S. and Canadian Federal, State, and local
emergency response partner agencies took part in a full-scale, cross-
border security, mass rescue and oil spill response exercise, on Aug.
23 and 24 along the Detroit River Corridor from Trenton north in the
river to Detroit and Windsor.
The Fire Department also works collaboratively with private
ambulance services to support large-scale downtown events such as the
fireworks display during River Days, and other downtown public events.
Through the leadership of Mayor Bing one public safety headquarters
is being built to house the Fire and Police Departments, Homeland
Security, and elements of the Michigan State Police. The co-locating of
these public safety agencies will improve inter-relationship,
coordination, and unified command operations, which will improve our
ability to manage an ``all-risk'' emergency incident.
The Detroit Fire Department submitted grants for equipment and
apparatus under the Assistant to Fire Fighter Grant Program (AFG). The
primary goal of the AFG is to meet the emergency response needs of fire
departments and emergency medical service organizations. There was over
$404,000,000 available in grant funds for 2011. Items requested by the
Detroit Fire Department include:
3 Pumper/Engine: $1,500,000;
1 Ladder Truck: $750,000;
977 Personal Protective Equipment: $2,071,240;
100 Automatic External Defibrillator: $150,000;
7 Air Cascade Filling Systems: $494,102;
Total: $4,965,342.
The Public Safety Foundation of Detroit has recently expanded to
include the Detroit Fire Department. This is a significant development
for our service. Under this umbrella my agency can submit request for
funding various equipment needs and possibly the costs-sharing
associated with the aforementioned grants.
The Detroit Fire Department is comprised of dedicated men and women
who strive everyday to deliver the best service to the citizens of this
great city. We have a Mayor and City Council who has prioritized public
safety as No. 1. We in the fire and EMS service recognize that even
with such prioritization for public safety there are other essential
services a city must provide its citizens. Times have been difficult
but because of our fire service ``make it happen'' attitude we continue
to serve our community with professionalism and pride.
As the Executive Fire Commissioner for the Detroit Fire Department,
I want to thank the committee for offering me an opportunity to present
some insight into this great Department, which I am proud to be a
member of.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, Commissioner. Thanks for coming
home, too.
Mr. Austin. Yes.
Mr. Bilirakis. Appreciate that. That is important.
Okay, Mr. Lundy, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF R. DARYL LUNDY, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF HOMELAND
SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, CITY OF DETROIT
Mr. Lundy. Once again, good morning, Mr. Chairman and
Congressman Clarke.
On behalf of Mayor Bing, he thanks you for being here
today.
Again, my name is Daryl Lundy. I am the director of
homeland security and emergency management for the city of
Detroit. I am pleased to be here to testify on the state of the
Northern Border and the city of Detroit.
I have submitted my full testimony and ask that it be part
of this formal record.
Mr. Bilirakis. Without objection, so ordered. Thank you.
Mr. Lundy. Sir, I would like to begin by discussing our
working relationship with the many Federal partners located in
and operating along the Detroit border. I will start out by
going over some of the many, many events as to why we have to
work together on a day-to-day basis as well.
Detroit is host to a special event roughly every 60 to 90
days. Beginning in January, for example, we will kick off 15
days of the International Auto Show. This will be followed by
an event, the International Fireworks that takes place down on
the Detroit River. Now we get roughly 1 million viewers
downtown for that evening firework on the Detroit side, and on
the Canadian side, roughly about 800,000 are viewing.
In addition to that, we have the Detroit Free Press
Marathon that takes place--took place just a few weeks ago.
This is an annual event that typically has about 25,000 to
27,000 individuals. They run throughout the city of downtown
Detroit. They cross the border into Canada, and then they also
then return back into the United States.
We host the Turkey Trot Run, which is followed by our
Thanksgiving Day parade. Once again, roughly a million
spectators lining the Thanksgiving Day parade route downtown.
In 2012, we will once again host the Detroit Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix is held on Belle Isle, which is an island that
basically sits right in the middle of the Detroit River. Along
with this, we host at Belle Isle the Gold Cup Hydroplane
Championship Races on a yearly basis.
Most importantly, we just hosted the Major League Baseball
Division, as well as the American League Series, just to name a
few events that we are constantly doing here in the city of
Detroit.
Jointly, we develop----
Mr. Bilirakis. How about the Lions?
[Laughter.]
Mr. Lundy. How about those Lions?
[Laughter.]
Mr. Lundy. Denver will go down this weekend.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Clarke. Yes, that is right. Prophesize.
Mr. Lundy. Absolutely, we have hope. So, jointly, we
develop with our Federal, State, regional, and our Canadian
counterparts our operational plans for all of these events, as
well as sharing information and intelligence and also providing
operational support. That is many times even swapping
individuals to work each other's operational centers to make
sure that we have good connectivity during these events.
In addition, too, we have members from our office that sit
on the U.S. attorney's ATAC, the Anti-Terrorism Advisory
Council. We have members who sit on the U.S. Coast Guard's
Maritime Security Committee. We have Detroit Police
representatives in the Joint Terrorism Task Force amongst also
having cross-border members who sit on each other's emergency
management and homeland security teams and attend their
regularly scheduled meetings as well.
Sir, in February of this year, our department participated
in a Canadian exercise called Central Gateway. Central Gateway
was a contact notification drill and a tabletop exercise.
It did have a field component in which our Detroit police
and fire and emergency medical personnel participated with
their counterparts, the SRT teams, our harbor master dive
teams, and the emergency medical, as I stated. We shared in
some lessons learned there.
Detroit itself, particularly, we, in the emergency
management, actually focused on the communications system. We
are now sharing and working with a Canadian system they allowed
us to use called Fusion Point. It is a sister system to what we
use here in the State for emergency management called E-Team.
It is a situational sharing system.
This event was a lead-in to the joint U.S. Coast Guard and
Detroit exercise called River Readiness--Detroit River
Readiness--that you have heard about already. River Readiness
was a regional and international emergency response exercise
intended to enhance our local, as well as our regional and our
international response, and our readiness and cooperation by
building on the successes from the previous exercises.
The Detroit River Readiness scenario again included a major
terrorist event along the international border, included
chemical materials, medical response, and really tested both
our city, our county, the provincial as well as our Federal
departments, our coordination capabilities, and response.
While there were many, many areas of success during this
exercise, we have also identified gaps and vulnerabilities. We
are working now toward the correction of those many.
Sir, Detroit is a high-risk, high-density city. It shares,
as you have heard, the many homeland security threats itself
against terrorist attacks. Detroit stands out from the rest of
the Nation, of course, because of the size of our immigrant
population, along with this international border that we have
been speaking about. It creates a very--a potential risk for
terrorists to not only use Detroit as a place to attack, but
also to conceal terrorist support networks and also a place to
recruit new members and supporters.
Detroit and its border brings about a unique challenge as
we attempt to prevent, protect, and share and respond to
potential threats to our population and to the many hazardous
material sites and critical infrastructure that we have here in
the city.
Sir, as a recommendation, I just want to say that I really
encourage both the Federal as well as the State government in
its policy to direct our primary grant funding, which is the
UASI grant, to be focused at this high-density, high-risk
location, as I believe that DHS is focusing or it planned on
focusing that money.
Most importantly, our readiness posture, if we don't
continue with that funding and having that funding directed
here at this key area, not only will we not move forward here
in the future, we will start to take steps backward in the
readiness that we have acquired over these past couple of
years.
Sir, I know my time has run out. So I will just conclude at
this time.
[The statement of Mr. Lundy follows:]
Prepared Statement of R. Daryl Lundy
28 October 2011
Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the committee. My name is
Daryl Lundy, director of the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
Management for the city of Detroit. As director, I am responsible for
Plans and Operations related to terrorism, and catastrophic
emergencies, protection of Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources,
managing the Emergency Operations Center, managing the Department of
Homeland Security Grants Program and coordination with our private
partners and partners across the border in Canada.
I am pleased to be here today testifying on the state of the
Northern Border and funding to the city of Detroit. I have submitted my
full testimony which I ask be made part of the hearing record.
FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL COORDINATION
I would like to begin by discussing our working relationships with
the many Federal partners located in and operating along the Detroit
border. Detroit is host to a special event every 60-90 days, beginning
in January for 15 days of the International Auto Show, followed by the
International Fireworks with roughly 1 million viewers on the Detroit
River and 800,000 on the Canadian coastline of the Detroit River. We
host the Detroit Free Press Marathon in which 20,000 runners navigate
in Detroit into Windsor, Canada and return. We host the Turkey Trot Run
followed by the Thanksgiving Day Parade which lines the route in
downtown with approximately 1 million viewers. In 2012, we will again
host the Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle located in the middle of the
Detroit River as well as the Gold Cup Hydroplane Races. Most recently
we hosted the Major League Baseball Division and American League
Series.
Jointly, we develop operational plans, share intelligence, and
provide operational support in a combined effort to ensure the safety
of our citizens and guests at these many events. Our working
relationship further includes participation as a member of the U.S.
Attorney Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council (ATAC) and the U.S. Coast
Guard Area Maritime Security Committee. In addition, the Detroit Police
has a member who participates on the Federal Bureau of Investigations,
Joint Terrorism Task Force.
In addition, to the Federal partners, Non-Governmental
Organizations, private sector partners, and Canadian counterparts are
extremely engaged and important to the success of these events and the
protection of our borders. Private sector partners chair our Local
Emergency Planning Committee, information-sharing advisory council,
critical infrastructure and key infrastructure council and are members
in our Emergency/Event Operations Center during events and many times,
provide use of their operation center to augment our operations. Our
working relationship with Canadian Homeland Security and Emergency
Management coordinators are routine. We not only participate in joint
training exercises, we attend meetings, conferences, and working groups
with each other in the United States and Canada.
In February of this year, our department participated in a Canadian
Exercise, Central Gateway. Exercise Central Gateway was a contact/
notification drill, communications and table-top exercise, with a field
exercise component as part of each of the Incident Sites/Events. The
scenario was based upon a major event surrounding a terrorist attack in
the area of the Detroit River and a resulting hazardous materials
spill/leak in the LaSalle, west Windsor, and Detroit area that directly
impacted at least three county municipalities, the city of Windsor, and
the Detroit Metropolitan area. The affects of the hazard had potential
to have a short- and long-term effect upon transportation through the
region and across the international border. Additional secondary events
included health concerns resulting from the on-going flu season,
threats of severe weather and other emergency events. The primary
training focus for Detroit was testing the Situational Awareness
communications between Detroit, Windsor and Essex County, Ontario.
This event was a lead into the Joint U.S. Coast Guard and Detroit
River Readiness Exercise. River Readiness was a Regional and
International Emergency Response Exercise intended to enhance local,
regional, and international response, readiness, and cooperation by
building on the success of previous regional exercises in the Ex SPRING
DAY series over the past 4 years. It also provided a confirmatory and
audit model in support of the Federal project examining Critical Risk
Identification and Capability-Based Plans modeling in the Windsor-Essex
County region. The exercise focused on incident site management:
Communications systems between the incident site, Emergency Operations
Centers (EOC) and other centers and staffing; Emergency Information and
Media Centers and staffing; Traffic Control and Traffic Plans;
Reception and Evacuation Centers and staffing; and decision-making
during an emerging situation.
The scenario included a major terrorist event along the
international border that included, chemical materials threats and
impacts; evacuations and registrations; limited access; traffic control
issues, cross-border issues, environmental and agricultural impacts and
pollution response; hazardous materials; coordination and control
issues between city and county municipalities, provincial ministries,
Federal departments and neighboring U.S. agencies such as Detroit
Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Michigan
State Departments, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Customs Border
Protection, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Transportation
Security Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and others.
While there were many areas of success during these exercises, we
have identified gaps and weaknesses of items tested and evaluated and
are attempting to correct them as we move forward.
THE NEED FOR GRANT FUNDING
The following information is submitted as information the city of
Detroit believes to be relevant in determining our threat,
vulnerability, and consequences referencing terrorism:
The United States Office of Management and Budget defines Detroit-
Warren-Livonia as the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) queried for
the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). Population of the Detroit
MSA: City of Detroit: 710,000 plus 40,000 visitors daily; Wayne County:
1.2 million, Michigan's 8th largest city, Livonia at 100,500; Macomb
County: 832,000 with Michigan's 3rd largest city, Warren with 135, 000
and the 6th largest city, Sterling Heights at 127,000.
Metropolitan Detroit has the largest Arab population in the United
States at 350,000. Over 1,000 Canadian Nurses cross the bridge or
tunnel daily to work in the Detroit Medical Center and surrounding
hospitals.
There are 56 DHS-identified Critical Infrastructure/Key Resource
facilities in the Detroit and Wayne County UASI. There are many more
that we locally identify as critical and key sites. There are 302 Sites
that store or produce extremely hazardous substances, 103 located in
Detroit and 151 in Wayne County. There are hundreds more throughout the
UASI region.
The U.S. Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) located in Warren, MI is
responsible for Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering.
Selfridge Air National Guard Base located in Macomb County hosts F-
16's, DHS Air and Maritime Headquarters, Border Patrol Sector Detroit,
U.S. Coast Guard Aviation, National Guard CH-47's and Civil Air Patrol.
Selfridge is also host to a bi-annual Air Show.
The Detroit, Wayne County water border is approximately 37 miles
long and largely unprotected. Twenty-nine miles are bordered with
Canada and includes 4 Ports of Entry. Boating along the Detroit River
is plentiful and boats easily cross United States to Canada and back.
In addition, Great Lakes Ships transit the Detroit River via Lake Erie,
Lake St. Clair, and Lake Huron.
The city of Detroit has 4 international border crossings with a
waterfront border that makes the largest land- and rail-based foreign
trade zone in North America. Canada is Michigan's largest foreign
export market and largest trading partner, with nearly 60% of the value
of the State's exported goods destined for Canada. About 10% of U.S.
exports to Canada originate in Michigan. Over half of U.S.-Canada land-
based trade crosses the border in the Detroit region. Canada-U.S. trade
supports 7 million U.S. jobs, including over 200,000 Michigan jobs.
The Detroit/Windsor Tunnel is the busiest passenger border crossing
between the United States and Canada, it ranks in the top 15 border
crossings nationally and is the largest Northern Border crossing.
Michigan residents make over 1.4 million visits to Canada, spending
almost approximately $444,000 million a year. We receive over 12
million car passengers a year.
The Ambassador Bridge located in Detroit is the largest-volume toll
crossing between the United States and Canada which accounts for $90
billion in annual trade.
The Detroit/Windsor Truck Ferry carries approximately 100 trucks
per day of mostly dangerous cargo. The transportation of dangerous
goods is regulated in both the United States and Canada. Under Michigan
law, trucks carrying Classes 1, 3, 6, and 7 dangerous goods, i.e.,
corrosives, explosive, etc. are prohibited from the Ambassador Bridge
and the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel.
The Detroit River Rail Tunnel operates 25 trains a day with almost
400,000 railcars annually. There have been incidents where the tunnels
have been used as a means to enter the United States illegally.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) is the third-
largest water and sewer utility in the United States. DWSD provides
water service to approximately 1 million people in Detroit and 3
million people in neighboring southeastern Michigan communities
throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, St. Clair, Lapeer, Genesee,
Washtenaw, and Monroe counties. The 1,079-square-mile water service
area, which includes Detroit and 125 suburban communities, makes up
approximately 43 percent of the State's population. The Department also
provides wastewater service to over 700,000 Detroit residents and 2
million suburban residents in neighboring communities. Wastewater
service is provided to a 946-square-mile area that encompasses 35
percent of Michigan's population.
The Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT), annual riders is
2,687,720. The Detroit People Mover is a fully automated light rail
system that operates on an elevated single track loop in Detroit's
Business district. The system provides connections between the courts
and administrative offices of several levels of government, sports
arenas, exhibition centers, major hotels, and commercial, banking, and
retail districts. The integration of 8 of the 13 people-mover stations
into pre-existing structures links over 9 million square feet that can
be traversed unimpeded by outside elements. Also, future plans indicate
the construction of a light rail system to run from downtown Detroit to
our neighboring county.
Detroit Metro Airport is the 10th-largest airport in the United
States. Total economic impact (estimated) $5 billion annually and total
economic impact (estimated) $14 million daily. There are approximately
3,076,542 international passengers and a total cargo (freight/small
pkgs, mail) of 487,149,710 lbs.
Detroit Coleman A. Young International Airport supports
approximately 17 private jet landings per day with a surge up to 50
during special events. Yearly average is approximately 6,000 landings.
This airport lies in the heart of the city surrounded by a rail line
and high school.
Marathon Oil Company.--Detroit, Michigan houses Marathon Oil
refinery, which is the fifth-largest in the United States and Romulus,
Michigan houses Marathon's terminal and marketing operations. Marathon
Oil processes 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day, which is refined
into 50% gasoline, 28% diesel, 17% asphalt, and 5% other products.
Marathon is currently in the process of expanding the refinery capacity
to process 115,000 barrels per day from the current 100,000.
General Motors Corporation World Headquarters reside in the
Renaissance Center, a 73-story building in the heart of downtown
Detroit located off the Detroit River, next to the Detroit Windsor
tunnel, and across from City Hall. In addition to GM, the Renaissance
Center houses a hotel, many businesses and 2 consulates. Ford Motor
Corporation World headquarters is located in Dearborn, Michigan.
Sports Venues include: The Detroit Lions, Ford Field, capacity
65,000; Detroit Tigers, Comerica Park, capacity 40,000; Detroit Red
Wings, Joe Louis Arena, capacity 20,066.
Additional entertainment venues like the Fox Theater, Music Hall,
Opera House, 3 Casinos also exist next to the above-listed sports
centers.
Detroit is a populous city which shares with the homeland the
common threat of attack by terrorists. Detroit stands out from the rest
of the Nation in the size of its immigrant population and international
border, which creates the potential risk for terrorists to use Detroit
as a place to attack, conceal terrorist support networks, or to recruit
new members and supporters. Detroit and its border brings about unique
challenges as we attempt to prevent, protect, share, and respond to
potential threats.
REGIONAL APPROACH
Over the past 5 years, much of the annual UASI grant has been
directed to neighbors outside the urban area in support of the regional
concept. While we have partnered with our neighboring jurisdictions,
the prioritization of where the funds are dedicated are sometimes not
the priority of the high-risk, high-density urban area, as defined by
the MSA. This could be a recipe for disaster. Detroit and Wayne County
collaborate on many projects along the border by a piecemeal approach
of combining, Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) funds, StoneGarden
Grant funds, and Buffer Zone Grant funds. This is not a practical
method to continue in light of the elimination of DHS Grant Programs,
and based upon the expected decreasing dollar amounts for the 2012
Homeland Security Grant funds. Hence, Detroit's primary grant, the
Urban Area Security Initiative Grant, previous UASI Grant guidance was
revised from funding focused at the core city and core county to
``enhancing regional preparedness in metropolitan areas''. Without a
clear definition of a ``metropolitan area'', our ``Region'' was
determined to be all of Southeast Michigan. With 7 jurisdictions to
receive funding from the UASI grant, Detroit is left with roughly one-
eighth of that year's grant funding. While our focus remains on
programs that were previously instituted, we must be concerned about
sustaining and moving forward as we support DHS priorities as well as
our own known gaps.
RECOMMEND FEDERAL OR STATE POLICY CHANGES
I encourage Federal and State policy be changed and enforced to
direct UASI Grant funds to the intended receivers identified as the
high-threat, high-density urban area in the DHS Grant Guidance. It is
my fear that if this does not occur, we will not be able to sustain our
current strengths and gains. Most importantly, our readiness posture
will not move forward, putting our citizens and guests in harm's way.
SUMMARY
In summary, Mr. Chairman, we believe that we have made significant
improvements in working jointly with our many partners--State, Federal,
Canadian, and private sector. Through exercising, we have validated our
strengths and identified weaknesses in our readiness posture of
securing and responding to incidents at our border as well as securing
our city. Without previous grant funds to augment our local
jurisdictional dollars, we would not have been able to execute the
planning, training, and evaluation of those exercises and capabilities.
This being said, it is imperative that future grant dollars continue
and be strategically forwarded to the high-risk entities that have
unique planning and operational needs as we do here on our U.S.-
Canadian border.
Thank you for the opportunity to share with you the work of Mayor
Dave Bing and the Detroit Team. I'm proud to serve the citizens and
guests who visit and transit Detroit daily. We will continue to do all
that we can, with what we have to strengthen securing our border and
Nation.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, sir. Thank you.
You have a champion here with regard to that grant, that is
for sure. We will continue to work on that.
Mr. Buford, you are recognized for 5 minutes. Thank you
again, sir.
STATEMENT OF JAMES P. BUFORD, P.E.M., DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, WAYNE COUNTY,
MICHIGAN
Mr. Buford. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Congressman Clarke.
My name is James Buford. I am director of homeland security
and emergency management for the county of Wayne.
As director, I am responsible for the emergency operation
plan and the emergency operations center in Wayne County. I am
also responsible for all other planning to mitigate potential
acts of terrorism, disasters, and emergencies. I am responsible
for managing the Homeland Security Grant funds allocated to
Wayne County.
I am honored to be here today to testify on the state of
the Northern Border and funding to Wayne County. I have
submitted my full testimony, which I ask to be made a part of
the hearing record.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you. So ordered.
Mr. Buford. I would like to start by saying that I honor
all the men and women in uniform, whether military or civilian,
who protect us every day from acts of terrorism. I remember on
9/11, like most of us, exactly where I was during that time. I
was a commander of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department at
their Road Patrol. I remember law enforcement before that day,
and I have seen how it has changed since then.
I remember that law enforcement had its own lanes for
Federal, State, and local. I also know that that has changed
significantly since that fateful day. I do believe that we have
a much better environment for information sharing amongst law
enforcement agencies.
Wayne County and the city of Detroit share an international
border with Essex County and the city of Windsor. There are
many events that occur on the Detroit River between these
communities, as you have heard earlier, including the shipping
that occurs annually.
This requires coordination between all law enforcement,
fire, and EMS agencies along the border. We also have several
large hospital systems that provide treatment to Canadian
citizens every day.
Homeland Security Grant funding has come to this area, and
it is provided by the Homeland Security Grant Program. The
metropolitan statistical area, MSA, includes Detroit, Wayne
County, Livonia, and the city of Warren. These communities have
the largest populations in the core urban area. It was
determined by the Department of Homeland Security that these
core urban areas were at the highest risk for potential
terrorist attacks.
In the Detroit urban area, we have received funding
intended for the high-risk mitigation--for the risk mitigation.
We use allocated grant funds to assist the public safety
agencies to prevent and protect the public from acts of
terrorism.
We have educated the public about emergency preparedness
and recognition of potential terrorist activities. During these
depressed economic times, these activities would not have been
able to be taking place without the Homeland Security Grant
funding. The need to have a strong and resilient Northern
Border will rest with those entrusted with protecting us.
Within the first few years of Homeland Security Grant
Program, the State of Michigan recommended a regional approach
to grant funding. The core urban area was asked to add the
additional five counties in southeast Michigan, and this group
exists today as the Urban Areas Security Initiative Regional
Planning Board.
We have developed a regional strategy and use it as a guide
for the project allocation of Homeland Security Grant funds.
The core county has found that while the regional group is a
good concept, it does not provide for the best use of ever-
shrinking financial resources, given that the highest risk
remains in the core urban area.
The Northern Border has had additional grant funds used for
patrol efforts. Operation Stonegarden grant provides overtime
and backfill for patrol efforts by communities along Lake St.
Clair, Lake Erie, and the Detroit River border area. It allows
for equipment to be purchased to assist with these patrols.
This is a coordination of the Wayne County Sheriff Marine
Patrol, along with local communities on their shore patrol.
Information from these patrols is given to the Customs and
Border Patrol Division of DHS for their review.
We have also a State-wide shared channel radio system that
allows for interoperable communications throughout the region
and the State. Wayne County was the recent recipient of the
Border Interoperability Communications Grant Demonstration
Project. Once completed, this will allow for an even greater
level of radio communications interoperability with our
Canadian partners.
Wayne County has also used Homeland Security Grant funding
to help develop a border surveillance camera system along the
international border. This system will be made available to
local, State, and Federal law enforcement.
I encourage a review of the way the Homeland Security Grant
Program dollars are distributed in the Detroit urban area so
that these shrinking resources can be used as intended on the
high-threat, high-density areas. If this is not done, I believe
that we will be not giving the citizens the best protection
that they deserve.
In summary, Mr. Chairman, Wayne County realizes that we are
an integral part of the surveillance and security of our share
of the Northern Border. This responsibility is taken very
seriously, and we continue to work with all our public and
private partners to strengthen our border area.
The planning, training, exercising to complete this mission
are greatly assisted through the use of Homeland Security Grant
dollars. Without these dollars, it significantly reduces our
ability to have a resilient U.S.-Canadian border.
Thank you for the opportunity to share with you the work of
the hard-working men and women of Wayne County. We will always
work to protect the residents, workers, and visitors by
securing the international border in Wayne County.
Thank you very much.
[The statement of Mr. Buford follows:]
Prepared Statement of James P. Buford
28 October 2011
Good morning Mr. Chairman and Members of the committee. My name is
James Buford, director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
for the county of Wayne. As director I am responsible for the Emergency
Operation Plan and Emergency Operation Center in Wayne County. I am
also responsible for all other planning to mitigate potential acts of
terrorism, disasters, and emergencies. I am responsible for managing
the Homeland Security Grant funds allocated to Wayne County.
I am honored to be here today and to testify on the state of the
Northern Border and funding to Wayne County. I have submitted my full
testimony which I ask be made part of the hearing record.
FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL COORDINATION
I would like to start by saying that I honor all of the men and
women in uniform whether it is military or civilian, who protect us
every day from acts of terrorism. I remember 9/11 like most of us and
exactly what I was doing at that time. I remember law enforcement
before that day and I have seen how it has changed since then. I
remember that law enforcement had its own lanes for Federal, State, and
local law enforcement officers. I also know that has changed
significantly since that that fateful day. I do believe that we have a
much better environment for information sharing amongst law enforcement
agencies today.
Wayne County has 43 cities and townships, all with their own Police
Chief and Fire Chief. The City of Detroit is the largest city in Wayne
County and also the seat of county government. The local police and
fire chiefs have three mutual aid groups, Downriver, Western Wayne
County, and Eastern Wayne County. There are two small communities,
Highland Park and Hamtramck that are completely surrounded by the City
of Detroit. All of the Public Safety agencies in Wayne County assist
each other with different special events that occur throughout Wayne
County.
The Michigan State Police and all of the Federal Law Enforcement
agencies have a presence in Detroit. Law Enforcement coordination
occurs through task forces, joint operating groups, and day-to-day
information sharing.
The Wayne County Sheriff's Department operates three jail
facilities, court room security, road patrol, marine patrol, and
narcotics/morality enforcement. Sheriff Benny Napoleon coordinates
activities with other sheriffs in Southeast Michigan as well as with
local, State, and Federal agencies.
In addition to law enforcement we work with our private partners
who give us input and feedback on planning and information sharing to
protect the residents and visitors of Wayne County.
Wayne County and city of Detroit share an international border with
Essex County and the city of Windsor. There are many events that occur
on the Detroit River between these communities as well as the shipping
that occurs annually. This requires coordination between all law
enforcement, fire, and EMS agencies along the border. We also have
several large hospital systems that receive Canadian patients every
day.
THE NEED FOR GRANT FUNDING
The Homeland Security grant funding that has come to this area is
provided by the Homeland Security Grant Program. The Metropolitan
Statistical Area (MSA) includes Detroit, Wayne County, Livonia, and
Warren. These communities have the largest populations in the core
urban area. It was determined by the Department of Homeland Security
that these core urban areas were at the highest risk for potential
terrorist attacks. With this determination the Urban Area Security
Initiative grant has provided billions of dollars throughout the United
States. In the Detroit Urban Area we have received some of the funding
intended for this risk mitigation. We used the allocated grant dollars
to assist the public safety agencies to prevent and protect the public
from acts of terrorism. We have educated the public about emergency
preparedness and recognition of potential terrorist activities. During
these depressed economic times these activities would have not been
able to have taken place without the Homeland Security Grant Program.
The need to have a strong and resilient Northern Border will rest with
those entrusted with protecting us.
REGIONAL APPROACH
Within the first few years of the Homeland Security Grant Program
starting, the State of Michigan recommended a regional approach to
grant funding. The Core Urban Area was asked to add the additional five
counties in Southeast Michigan to its region. This was agreed to based
on that recommendation, and this group exists today as the Urban Area
Security Initiative Regional Planning Board. We have developed a
regional strategy and use it as a guide for the project allocation of
Homeland Security grant funds. The core county has found that while the
regional group is a good concept, it does not provide for the best use
of ever-shrinking financial resources given that the highest risk
remains in the core Urban Area. The Northern Border has had additional
grant fund used for patrol efforts. The Stonegarden grant provides
overtime and backfill for patrol efforts by communities along the Lake
St. Clair, Lake Erie, and Detroit River border area. It also allows for
equipment to be purchased to assist with these patrols. This is a
coordination of Wayne County Sherriff's Marine Patrols along with local
communities' shore patrol. The information of these patrols is given to
the DHS Customs Border Patrol Division for their review.
We also have a State-wide shared channel radio system that allows
for interoperable communication throughout the region and the State.
Wayne County was the recent recipient of the Border Interoperable
Communication Grant Demonstration Project. This will allow for an even
greater level of radio communications interoperability with our
Canadian partners.
Wayne County has also used Homeland Security grant funding to
develop a border surveillance camera system along its international
border. This system will be made available to local, State, and Federal
law enforcement.
RECOMMEND FEDERAL OR STATE POLICY CHANGES
I encourage a review of the way the Homeland Security Grant Program
dollars are distributed in the Detroit Urban Area so that these
shrinking resources can be used as intended on the high-threat, high-
density areas. If this is not done, I believe that we will not be
giving the citizens the best protection that they should have.
SUMMARY
In summary Mr. Chairman, Wayne County realizes that we are an
integral part of the surveillance and security of our share of the
Northern Border. This responsibility is taken very seriously and we
continue to work with all of our public and private partners to
strengthen our border area. The planning, training, and exercising to
complete this mission are greatly assisted through the use of Homeland
Security grant dollars. Without these dollars it significantly reduces
our ability to have a resilient U.S. Canadian border.
Thank you for the opportunity to share with you the work of County
Executive Robert Ficano, and the hard-working men and women of Wayne
County. We will always work to protect the resident, workers, and
visitors by securing the international border in Wayne County.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you very much.
Thank you, gentlemen, for your excellent testimony.
I am going to recognize myself for 5 minutes for questions.
The first question is for the panel, and this is an obvious
question. How is FEMA doing?
You know, getting good report cards from folks in the
Northeast--Members of Congress representing folks in the
Northeast on both sides of the aisle--with regard to the
floods. How is FEMA doing in this region? Is there a lot of
cooperation there?
Mr. Austin. Yes, I believe so, but I will have a more
definitive answer when the Assistance to Firefighters Grants
are awarded.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Austin. We submitted $4.9 million in grants for
equipment and--that we need to provide the service, level of
service. So, hopefully, they will come through, with your
support.
Mr. Bilirakis. Anyone else wish to respond?
Captain Sands. Sure. I will respond. FEMA has been a very
good partner. For example, you know, we have been working on
this North American mutual aid agreement. They just recently,
this week, hosted that in an effort to continue to move that
forward. So there is everything on a daily basis that interact
with them in a number of different areas, and I am very
satisfied.
Mr. Bilirakis. Very good. Okay.
Mr. Buford. If I could just quickly----
Mr. Bilirakis. Yes, go ahead.
Mr. Buford [continuing]. Mr. Chairman? We know that there
is going to be a lot more Congressional oversight when it comes
to the Homeland Security Grant funding. The citizens of the
country want to know what has been done with these billions of
dollars that have been sent here, and we know that we are
working with FEMA to make sure that we identify how those
resources were spent and that they were spent well.
So we just require that FEMA works closely with us on those
needs and being able to get the information to them that they
are requesting.
Mr. Bilirakis. Very good. Thank you.
Captain Sands, how would you rate the usefulness of the
intelligence and analysis you and the Michigan Intelligence
Operations Center are receiving from the Department of Homeland
Security, particularly with respect to the counterterrorism
information you receive from DHS's Office of Intelligence and
Analysis? Again, how would you rate the usefulness in
intelligence and analysis that you are receiving?
Captain Sands. Yes, it is very useful. It has been
improving as the fusion centers and the information-sharing
environment grows.
I believe it is important for everyone to recognize that
these centers and abilities are just recently being formed and
getting up to speed. Some of those communications that we used
to struggle with are now starting to flow. So they are useful.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you. Thank you.
I am interested--this is for all the witnesses--I am
interested in hearing more about your impressions of the River
Readiness exercise and how you plan to incorporate lessons
learned into your operations to address any gaps in your
preparedness.
Director Lundy, you noted that there were many successes,
but also weaknesses in your statement. What are some of the--
describe some of the successes and address the weaknesses, if
you can, please.
Mr. Lundy. Mr. Chairman, well, some of the successes are
the fact that we were able to bring, for the first time that I
know of in this area, as many different jurisdiction and
entities, both U.S. and Canadian together, and be able to
establish a unified command and actually go through the
response was very significant. Where the weakness may be is
that you have a year to plan for the exercise to bring those
individuals together.
While we actually did response, say, a response of
individuals off of the Detroit River, which was actually done
by I believe they are called Gumby suits--they actually threw
these floatable suits into the water, and they actually had to
actually pull them out. So response times, even during the
exercise is, of course, not where we want it to be. You can
only get better by, you know, continuing to do these exercises
and continuing that training and then using the exercise so
that it can be evaluated.
Interoperability was another area. While we were able to
talk, there were certain pieces of equipment that didn't work
as well as we expected. So we still have some things to
overcome there. Of course, as you go through a scenario for the
first time like this, your standing operating procedures may
not have included something that now you need to add, as a
checklist or on a flowchart.
So those are probably the two or the three biggest items, I
think, is just working as a large entity, the response times,
and then just being able to use the interoperability as well as
we think we should, if it became a mass situation and a
situation that would be sustained at least for maybe 72 hours.
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you, sir.
Anyone else wish to comment on that?
Mr. Austin. Yes, in two areas. First of all, on the
successes, I think working with our response partners and
getting to know them was really a great opportunity.
One of the weaknesses Mr. Lundy pointed out is the fact
that we had a year to plan for it. Some of the weaknesses that
I saw internally was our need to improve our multi-casualty
response capability.
Another weakness, I think, is, again, our maritime
response. You know, we had a simulated fire on the Detroit
Princess. Because our boat is not in the river year-round, we
don't really have the in-depth understanding of maritime
incidents and fighting fires on floating ships, quite honestly.
So, there are some things that we can do. I have locked in
on them, and we are going to be working to improve that
capability.
Mr. Bilirakis. Very good, sir. Anyone else?
[No response.]
Mr. Bilirakis. Thank you very much, and now I am going to
yield the rest of the time to a great Congressman from the
great city of Detroit, Mr. Clarke.
Mr. Clarke. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
What I will do is I will first address my question to
Commissioner Austin, Mr. Lundy, Mr. Buford, then to Captain
Sands.
I would like to recognize that we did have Governor Miller
of Wayne State University, who was here for a while as a member
of the governing board of this great institution. I want to
thank again Captain Holt for that great simulation on a
bioterrorist attack on Wayne State University. We had a great
discussion here earlier.
I see Isaac Robinson with Ranking Member Congressman
Conyers, Ranking Member of Judiciary, is also here. Thank you,
Isaac, for being here. The Congressman and I are very concerned
about not only protecting our people from an attack or a
disaster, but also making sure that as our Federal department
does that, it doesn't--that it doesn't unduly discriminate or
profile against folks who really pose no harm to us here in
this area.
Commissioner Austin, you talked a little bit about the
population loss in the city of Detroit over the last 10 years.
You know, that loss has really depleted our tax base here in
the city, and it is because Federal Government over the last
few years has not effectively addressed this housing crisis.
The rampant foreclosures that hit this region, especially
the city, ended up evicting many people out of their homes.
Other folks had no choice but to walk away from their homes.
That created the huge blight and the huge loss in tax funding.
You had also indicated that Detroit is on the rebirth on
account in part of many economic development incentives. But as
a first responder and as a Detroiter, we all are acutely aware
that we could have all the economic development programs we
want. The only way we are going to bring people and businesses
back, if folks know that this city is a safe place to do
business and to live.
While the Department of Homeland Security can help
coordinate a response, when disaster hits, it is your men and
women that are there to respond. Right now, in my opinion, from
what I have heard through this hearing and what I also heard
during the discussion of the simulated bioterrorist attack, we
don't have the resources to adequately protect or prepare
against such an attack. That concerns me gravely.
So, you know, in light of your nearly $5 million request
for Assistance to Firefighters Grants and in light of the cuts
to that program, Commissioner, how do you plan to respond to
that and to protect our citizens here?
Mr. Austin. Start off by praying. Second by appreciating
the men and women on the Detroit Fire Department, the
firefighters and EMS workers who are truly committed.
We recognize in the fire service that we have to have a
``make it happen'' attitude. As I have often said, ``There is
no 9-2-2. There is only a 9-1-1.'' When you dial 9-1-1, you
expect firefighters and law enforcement to show up. We
recognize that, and we do it. But it is getting more and more
difficult.
We requested in the grant full turnout. You know, in the
winter time, this is something going to be new to me. Fighting
fire in California is totally different than fighting fire in
January in Michigan. When our firefighters get drenched and
their turnout gear is wet and they have to continue to go out
to fire after fire after fire, it gets pretty cold to be in
that wet gear.
So I have nothing but great admiration for the men and
women. In the fire service, you break an arm and a leg of a
fireman and tell him or her to hang wall paper on the ceiling,
we generally start hopping to hang that wallpaper.
But you know, at some point, we are going to need some
relief. My biggest concern, as I look at this fire service
equation here in Detroit, is the 50,000 to 80,000 vacant
dwellings that the last firefighter that died in the line of
duty here, Walt Harris, died after a third time into a fire.
In other words, there were two previous burns. On the third
time he went into that situation, an accident happened on the
fire ground. Partly the roof collapsed and killed him.
If I have 50,000 vacant dwellings, and I have to go into
them each three times, I essentially have 150,000 dwellings
that are potentially in my fire inventory.
We are working hard. The Mayor, council is working hard to
try and get rid of some of this blight. I believe if we could
wipe that off the table, it would change the whole environment
for a fire service that can be more responsive, more effective,
for a community that will be attracting residents back,
building our tax bases, and we won't have to lean as much on
the Federal and the State governments.
Mr. Clarke. Thank you, Commissioner.
Just on that end, that is why I am pushing legislation
right now in Congress to allow Detroiters to keep the Federal
taxes that we pay on a pilot basis. That is an additional $2
billion every year. So we can invest it right here at home to
help clear up some of these properties, train people for jobs,
and rebuild our city.
So I am thankful that we have over 30 cosponsors on that
legislation, including support from Republican lawmakers.
You know, Commissioner, just before I go on, you know, I
know many of your great firefighters like Mr. Taylor, Mr.
Atara. Could you just have the great men and women of the
Detroit Fire Department to stand and be recognized?
Mr. Austin. Absolutely.
Mr. Clarke. Also by name, if they could introduce
themselves? On the record and for the committee.
I just want the Department of Homeland Security and our
subcommittee in the Federal Government to know who is on the
front line protecting our people here.
[Applause.]
Mr. Austin. We have Assistant Fire Marshall Osric Wilson,
my Second Deputy Commissioner Charleta McInnis, Community
Relations Chief, Chief Kwaku Atara, and Deputy Commissioner
Fred Wheeler.
Also a partner who is not on the fire department, but
sometimes I think he is--Mr. John Jamian, director of the
Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, a dear friend and
supporter.
[Applause.]
Mr. Clarke. Thank you.
Mr. Austin. I am going to be possibly rude. You know--you
can be seated, I believe.
If I could have just one quick second because I am talking
to the Federal Government now. I had a citizen call me the
other day, complaining about the blight and vacant homes in her
area. I drove over on the east side of town, and I was just
quite devastated. I had this epiphany, and I am going to just
throw it out here because I have your ear.
The United States Navy has an arm called the Seabees, and
they are a construction arm that came about in early World War
II. They would drop them in the jungle, come back a week later,
and they have mowed down a mile-long runway.
I am going to go through more formal channels. But I have
often thought if it was possible for the Department of Defense
to engage the Navy to come to Detroit and tear down 10,000
homes? I will settle for three.
But I just wanted to throw that out there. I could not walk
away from this committee hearing without trying to reach out to
you. It is kind of out-of-the-box thinking. I am actually off
the table in some of my thinking, trying to help this city turn
around. So----
Mr. Clarke. Well, Commissioner, I appreciate that request.
I am going to make that request of the Department of Defense. I
think that is important for us to demolish and clear out those
blighted homes. But for one reason, so we can rebuild our city.
Absolutely.
Here is the reason why I say this. All the tough times we
have gone through in Detroit, we still have the best
manufacturing know-how in this country. We have got the best-
trained workforce. We have this great research university right
here in the middle of our city.
So if we clear out this blight, that is vacant land that
new plants can locate here in advanced manufacturing. But we
have to have the city safe. See, homeland security is not just,
you know, fighting terrorism or a natural disaster. It is also
making everybody safe here who live here every day in Detroit
safe and secure. Because we have got to have a safe and secure
city if we want to attract people and businesses back.
So, yes, I will take that message to the Department of
Defense as a way of rebuilding our region economically and
creating new jobs. Absolutely. I think it is a great idea.
Mr. Austin. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Congressman.
Mr. Clarke. So I only have a couple very brief questions,
Mr. Chairman.
Thank you again, Commissioner.
Mr. Lundy, as you know, you and I talked offline about the
importance of the Urban Areas Security Initiative funding. With
the Chairman's support, again, we were able to maintain the
eligibility for metro Detroit for that funding.
So, yes, having the funding available is important. That is
what we can help secure in Congress. Do you have any concerns,
though, on how that money is being spent, how it is being
distributed?
Mr. Lundy. Yes, Mr. Congressman. I think Mr. Buford started
to discuss this as well. He talked about the regional concept.
While that may have been great back a few years ago when the
concept came up, as you know, many grants are going away. The
dollars are shrinking. It just has to go back to directing the
funds to where they need to be directed.
I will use as an example, I came on-board here in this job
5 years and 1 month ago. Third week on the job, I looked in the
office and I said, ``Where is the city of Detroit's emergency
operations center?'' The city of Detroit does not have a
standing emergency operations center to this day.
The grant dollars--one of the first things that I began
working on was to identify grant dollars to be used to stand up
an emergency operations center, which was an allowable cost.
Under the concept, as we expanded with the five additional
jurisdictions, it was identified that that is a local
jurisdiction's issue because we are all equal here. Unless it
is something that we can all share in, then the dollars won't
go to it. To this day have not.
Luckily, DHS created an EOC grant, which I understand is
going to be going away in the future. The max was only $1
million per year. We have been lucky to win two of those over
the past few years. I am still trying to stand it up.
We have shifted our thought right now as we move in and
develop the public safety center now, which is at the old MGM
Grand. We are still another year and a half away. We will be
moving our office. We will be standing up the EOC. It will be
police and fire as well.
That is just one example, and I can go over many examples
as to where dollars have not been focused at the big dog on the
porch. My city government--the CAYMC, the Coleman A. Young,
where the Mayor, our city council, a court system, some county
entities, 3 years ago, I had DHS come in. They conducted a site
assistance visit, vulnerability assistance visit. Fifty-page
document, gaps and vulnerabilities we are still having issues
with, I could not focus grant dollars that were allowable, an
allowable expense to be focused to fix those things.
Why again we are focusing from a regional standpoint to
some things that may benefit the region that I simply say is
probably a priority 1-V, but not a 1-A? So we have got to get
back to focusing those few dollars on what the real priority
is. If that means that the region is no longer as large as it
is right now, then so be it.
I have talked to many partners across the Nation as they
have expanded. Many didn't. Chicago, I know, remained its
region as Chicago and the county. San Diego did the same thing.
Some did expand.
But also some of those that have been pretty successful as
well, the lead was still by, as was said by Mr. Buford, the
core city and the core county assets. So we are lacking here
right now. We have a lot of vulnerabilities and gaps that we
just have not been able to tackle because of the funds being--
going somewhere.
I talked to FEMA. You asked about FEMA. They came in and
did a monitoring visit not too long ago, and I showed them the
regional strategy versus the city of Detroit strategy, which is
my priority is to make sure that we are a safe and sound city
for the citizens and the guests that come in for all these
events. They don't match. What you get from the regional
strategy, unfortunately, is a watered-down version of what we
really need.
Mr. Clarke. So we could best use our tax dollars if we
focused the Urban Areas Security Initiative funding on where
the greatest need and the greatest risk is, which is in the
city of Detroit----
Mr. Lundy. Absolutely. Those unique needs, as we keep
talking about--the border issues, the critical infrastructure,
these soft targets from all these special events. We have got
to get back to some very basics.
When I can't stand up an emergency operations center or it
takes me, you know, a day to stand up the room--you know, it is
10 years after 9/11. We shouldn't be here.
Mr. Clarke. Well, this helps educate us on this. I am going
to make that request on the region's behalf. A stronger Detroit
is going to protect the region, but let us work together off-
line to get that communication together.
Thank you.
To Mr. Buford, you had talked about some of the gains that
we made in first responders at the local level and at the State
level communicating better with each other through their
communication systems, with the State of Michigan having the
first State-wide shared radio system in the United States.
But you also raised some concerns during our simulation
about the on-going re-banding that has got to be completed and
then also the need for first responders to be trained on how to
best use these radios. Could you better describe to us the
basis for your concerns and any other issues we need to address
so that first responders throughout our region, throughout the
State can better share information, whether it is voice or
data?
Mr. Buford. Thank you, Congressman.
As you can tell that this is a passion of mine when it
comes to interoperable communications in this region. There has
been a significant amount of money that Congress has let for
us. The Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant was a
billion dollar grant that we got approximately 3 years ago and
distributed throughout the United States for the purposes of
interoperable communications.
We were able to partake in that grant, and we have used it
for purchasing a simulcast radio system here in Wayne County to
be a part of the State-shared radio system. We have bought
radios--handheld radios and mobile radios that go in vehicles
for many different communities throughout the area so that they
would have that capability also.
Just in Wayne County alone, I know that we have spent
probably at least $8 million toward interoperable
communications, and we could spend another $20 million easily
to have more shared radio communications. Throughout the
region, we have recognized the State-wide radio system as the
radio system to go to, where six out of the seven partners have
either moved toward the State radio system or are there at the
State radio system or will be there very soon.
So as I keep saying over and over again, that is a--the
State has provided us with a tremendous asset that we can use.
The training--sometimes we lose focus. In buying all the
gadgets and the equipment that we need for the radio
communications system, we don't do the training that is needed
all the time. We have done some training, but where we do need
to start focusing some of these shrinking resources is
developing more training systems or training and education for
the users of these radios.
As was stated before, in many of these radios that are very
technologically advanced, the systems are already in there.
They have been programmed into these radios. But teaching the
people how to use them, how to go to the appropriate zone on
that radio and go to the appropriate talk group and use them is
what they need to learn. Because often they don't understand
that or they don't know how to do it. So we do have to invest
in training our people on how to use these radios.
The next area where we are going to have issues beyond
radio communications is data communications. Throughout the
country, law enforcement and fire service both use data
communications by having in-car computers, having computers in
fire engines, having them in their EMS rigs and things like
that.
Now being able to make sure that one data system talks to
another data system, that that transmission of data between
systems is just like interoperable communications. If they
don't communicate--if I can't transfer data from a Wayne County
sheriff's vehicle over to a Detroit police car, you know, that
is not doing us any good.
We need to be able to make sure that that data can be
transferred, whether we are looking for a suspect and we need
to transmit that picture back and forth between vehicles or
between--or we need to transmit information about hazardous
substances that may be at a facility between different fire
departments. Those are things that transmission of data is the
next big gap that we really have to cover.
Mr. Clarke. Well, thank you, Mr. Buford.
You know, presenting that Border Interoperability
Demonstration Project Grant of $4 million to Wayne County was a
great honor of mine. What you are saying is now we also have to
train the folks on how to use the equipment and not only should
we be concerned about interoperable radio communications, but
how we are able to share data as well.
Mr. Buford. Absolutely.
Mr. Clarke. Well, I appreciate that. Just, you know,
finally, to Captain Sands or whoever, the cuts in our State
preparedness grants. How will that impact your ability to
implement homeland security initiatives that the State has
designed?
Captain Sands. It is already being felt, and it is going
to--when you project into the future with the 50 percent cut
that Michigan just got, which could have been worse--
counterpart down in Indiana, they lost their UASI region.
I want to take this opportunity to thank you. I think
because if it wasn't for your efforts and those of a few
others, we wouldn't have the UASI funding.
Mr. Clarke. Well, thank you. It is an honor to work for
you.
Captain Sands. Especially with the funding cuts, the way
those are set up, it has a 50 percent personnel cap. So when
you look back to when we were building these capabilities,
Michigan received approximately now just over $70 million. We
were able to have quite a few personnel with that.
Now we are looking at about just over $20 million,
approximately $22 million. So half of that is what your
personnel cap. We bought a lot of things over the years. Much
of what we are doing right now is personnel-related issues
within the fusion centers. The planning, the training, as Mr.
Buford talked about, getting people, you know, trained in
things is a continuous effort. Those take resources.
Without additional funding, there are some things the
Federal Government can do. They can take a look at the PRICE
Act that caps that personnel cost. That would help us to
sustain some of the critical programs that we have.
Mr. Clarke. Well, thank you, Captain.
That ends my questioning, and I just want to thank all of
you for coming to testify, all of you for being here today
because the leadership in Congress, as exemplified by Chairman
Bilirakis, they understand the importance of metro Detroit, of
our city, of our history. But also that, you know, if we are
able to get the resources, the tax dollars we already pay to be
returned back here, we can rebuild ourselves and actually
create prosperity throughout this country.
That is why for the first time ever, we have a homeland
security Congressional hearing right there in the heart of
Detroit. So, Mr. Chairman, thank you again for your leadership.
Mr. Bilirakis. My pleasure, my pleasure.
I want to thank the witnesses also for their valuable
testimony, and I want to thank you, the city of Detroit, for
their hospitality. I would love to come back. You can hold me
to that.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Bilirakis. The Members of the subcommittee--I have to
say these things, okay? This is in the script. But the Member
of the subcommittee may have some additional questions for you,
and we ask you to respond to these questions in writing. So we
will have some questions for you, additional questions.
The hearing record will be open for 10 days.
Without objection, the subcommittee stands adjourned.
Thank you very much.
[Whereupon, at 12:30 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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