HSCSD Newsletter

SPECIAL COVER-FOLD

The Houston Ship Channel Security District November 2012

www.hscsd.org

District Members and Industry Stakeholders, 2012 was a year of transition and preparation for the Houston Ship Channel Security District. As the Board of Directors met, we considered the direction that the District is heading and took steps to ensure that we are balancing the potential improvements we can make to our port’s safety and security with our responsibilities as stewards of public funds. Reflecting on the year, I want to share our goals and vision that have helped guide and inform our deliberations, actions, and achievements. What have we done this year?



We have worked to provide an equal level of security to all facilities regardless of size or finances When the Board supports a project, our goal is that the security measures supported by District funds benefit all facilities located within and near the boundaries of the District. The District has supported projects to increase visible water and land patrols in Harris County - law enforcement presence which add additional deterrents to all types of crimes. We have funded projects to increase the eyes and ears on watch in our region through increased patrols, advanced electronic sensors and human monitoring of cameras which not only provide on-scene information about developing events, but also important forensic tools for our law enforcement personnel to analyze and dissect.



We are developing a vision of security which is a working partnership between public and private sectors centered on improved communication and shared information.

We know that industry's support and guidance is critical to the District's success and the District needs to be able to show tangible results and benefits to its members. The support of District projects that enhance the public good helps not only the facilities within the District, but also the communities in which we live and work. To this end, we are excited to be moving through a review by the Chertoff Group. We anticipate that the report will give us a balanced view of where the District can best move forward taking into account nation-wide best practices and lessons learned from a multitude of response plans, scenarios, and experiences. At the same time, District facilities are participating in focus groups and test groups to determine how best to use the new technology available with message switching, cloud service bus, the expanded LTE/broadband network, wireless, and other communication methodologies now available to us.



We are supporting projects that improve interoperability among first-responders.

Watching the Northeast stand up after hurricane Sandy last week, we're reminded about how important our first-responders are in time of crisis. We are proud to continue our support for the Harris County Security Project by funding the 25% cost-share for the County’s Port Security Grant awards. By providing support for the Information Technology Department’s Land Mobile Radio project and the LTE/Broadband project, we're assisting our local law enforcement and response agencies by giving them the ability to communicate without being hampered by outdated equipment's restrictions on frequency switching and technical limitations.

    



2012 was a year of progress and planning for the District. We’re excited to see advantages for carefully planned and community-supported growth in our future, but at the same time, we are cognizant of our solemn duties and responsibilities which 2012 District Security Enhancements: A Snapshot have been entrusted to us by the compaDeployed 26 of 58 Security Sites with over 120 cameras and sensors nies and constituencies we represent. I Deployed the first Public Safety Broadband (LTE) Network in the nation (6 want to encourage you: if you’re involved sites operational along the Houston Ship Channel and in the City of Baytown) with the District in any way, or would like Built Fiber Optic and Microwave Network to share video feeds Linked video feeds to Port of Houston Authority Police, United States Coast to be, come talk to us. We’re here for you and ready to help whenever you have Guard, and Harris County Security Monitoring & Analysis Center an issue you’d like to discuss. It was a Allocated Port Security Grant Funds for good year for the District, and we’re look 32 remaining Security Sites ing forward to an even better 2013.  3 Public Safety Broadband LTE Sites for Baytown and Pasadena Secured Port Security Grant Funding for Updating the Houston-Galveston Robin Riley Port-Wide Risk Mitigation and Business Continuity Plan Chairman

2012 Houston Ship Channel Security District Projects and Progress In early 2012, as the District continued its support of the Harris County Security Project, the Board of Directors also began planning for the future. Releasing a Request for Proposal for the Development and Implementation of a Strategic Plan for the District, the District looked for guidance and vision to inform its progress forward. The Chertoff Group, led by former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and headed locally by Admiral Timothy Sullivan, USCG (Ret.) was awarded the contract to develop this strategic plan at the August meeting of the Board of Directors.

Since then, the Chertoff Group has been active in the field talking to District members, accumulating information, and developing a report based on nation-wide best practices and their decades of experience in the response community.

An additional step toward planning was taken when the District applied for a 2012 Port Security Grant to update the Houston-Galveston Port-wide Risk Mitigation and Business Continuity Plan was submitted in May and approval came from the Department of Homeland Security in September. To execute this project, the District will select a contractor from a late-2012 RFP and then pay the 25% cost-match required by the Department of Homeland Security.

Continuing work on the 2010 District plan to fund the Harris County Security Project, the District funded the cost-match from DHS Port Security Grants rounds 6 and 7. By paying the nearly $1.7 million, the District enabled Harris County was able to secure over $6.7 million in Port Security Grant funds to enhance video conferencing capabilities, message switching equipment, upgrade law enforcement radios and upgrade the Port Information Network—a data backbone that allows the connection of sensors, telephones and cameras across the region. In addition, the County enlisted the expertise of Dowley Security Systems to perform analysis and programming of the county’s NICE Situator System. The NICE system performs advanced analytics and provides automated security alerts for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, allowing deputies to respond remotely and use intelligent video to analyze an event before, during and after it occurs.

During 2012, the Harris County Information Technology Center (ITC) transferred responsibility for maintenance and operation of the video cameras to the Harris County Public Infrastructure Department (PID), signifying the transition from implementation to operational status for cameras covering the Houston Ship Channel Security District. Located to cover facilities up and down the Houston Ship Channel, as well as the petrochemical complex of east Harris County, the camera system feeds law enforcement and regulatory agencies across the District such as the Port of Houston Police Department, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Security Monitoring and Analysis (SMAG) Center, and the United States Coast Guard Sector Houston -Galveston.

Also during 2012, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office took delivery of the a new thirty-six foot SAFE boat. This brought the complement of boats at the HCSO to 4 boats and augments the presence of law enforcement personnel on the channel, even assisting with operations conducted by the Houston Police Department, and the United States Coast Guard.

Finally, during the summer, security operations supported by the District took to the air when the District signed an agreement with the Houston Police Department to fund fuel costs for helicopter flights over District facilities. The Bell 412EP Twin Engine Tactical Support Helicopter and a MD500 Patrol Helicopters ensure that tactical response units are able to train and deploy in case of emergency and increase the response capabilities of HPD.

Clayton Curtis Oiltanking Zone One Richard Henderson ExxonMobil Zone One Charles King Jr. Buffalo Marine Service Zone Two

Robin Riley Harris County Mayors & Councils Association Steve Stewart Harris County

Tom Schroeter Port of Houston Authority

Lewis Brown Enterprise Products Zone Two Gary Schiebe Shell Deer Park Zone Two Mike Stewart LyondellBasell Zone Three Ray Yellig Haldor Topsoe Zone Four Jake Leavins Linde Gas Zone Four

The Houston Ship Channel Security District, in accordance with Chapter 68 of the Texas Water Code and other applicable laws, will endeavor to provide an integrated strategy to increase the level of security for both the waterside and landside facilities within the District. The goal of the District strategy and services is to increase preparedness and response to potential security threats by providing reliable, cost effective security systems. The District will promote projects to deter future security threats as identified in ongoing vulnerability and threat assessments.

How Do I Find My Zone?

North of the Houston Ship Channel?

Zone One

South HSC, West of Beltway 8?

Zone Two

South HSC, East of the Beltway, West of 146, and North of Spencer Highway?

Zone Three

South HSC, Southwest of the Beltway, South of Spencer Highway, and/or East of 146?

Zone Four

HSCSD District Boundaries