Governor Edward G. Rendell said Pennsylvania's ports in Erie, Philadelphia and
Pittsburgh will be more secure now that the state and private entities that
operate them are receiving $8.6 million worth of grants. The grants will be
awarded through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's port security
grant program.
A grant to the Pennsylvania State Police is the only one awarded to a
state agency. Other agencies receiving federal grants include the City of
Pittsburgh, Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority and the Philadelphia
Regional Port Authority.
The $1.66 million grant to State Police will be used to:
-- Implement a Delaware River Virtual Maritime Domain Awareness Center
within four months. The center will facilitate the sharing of security
information on a 24/7 basis among law-enforcement agencies and the
petrochemical facilities and general cargo terminals in the Port of
Philadelphia area.
-- Purchase a patrol boat for PSP to be used to prevent, detect and
respond to any threats to critical infrastructure and key resources in
the Port of Philadelphia area.
-- Increase the frequency of Civil Air Patrol aerial reconnaissance
missions in the Port of Philadelphia area and increase their
effectiveness by adding sophisticated sensor equipment to CAP aircraft.