Friday, November 13, 2015

POLA Receives $1.8 Million in FEMA Grants

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of Los Angeles has received three grants from the US Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) totaling $1.8 million.

The grants, which were applied for in May and approved by the port’s harbor commission on Nov. 10, will help pay for $2.5 million in planned port police security and operation integration initiatives, plus cyber security infrastructure.

The security projects to be undertaken include: a $1 million integration, maintenance and repair of port security systems; and a $1 million integration of external security video feeds from various government departments, terminals and mobile sources.

Also included is a $500,000 project for improvements to the port’s mass notification system; and infrastructure upgrades that address a variety of cyber risks associated with port complex security.
“These grants will allow us to continue extremely important programs and technology upgrades necessary to keep our security operations state-of-the-art,” port Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a statement.

As a condition of the FEMA grant program, the port will contribute 25 percent in additional non-federal funds, or $625,000 total for the three projects, while the federal match of $1.87 million brings total funding for the three initiatives to $2.5 million.