Current as of: January 2009 (a) In General. - The Secretary shall establish a grant program
for the allocation of funds based on risk to implement Area
Maritime Transportation Security Plans and facility security plans
among port authorities, facility operators, and State and local
government agencies required to provide port security services.
Before awarding a grant under the program, the Secretary shall
provide for review and comment by the appropriate Federal Maritime
Security Coordinators and the Maritime Administrator. In
administering the grant program, the Secretary shall take into
account national economic, energy, and strategic defense concerns
based upon the most current risk assessments available.
(b) Eligible Costs. - The following costs of funding the
correction of Coast Guard identified vulnerabilities in port
security and ensuring compliance with Area Maritime Transportation
Security Plans and facility security plans are eligible to be
funded:
(1) Salary, benefits, overtime compensation, retirement
contributions, and other costs of additional Coast Guard mandated
security personnel.
(2) The cost of acquisition, operation, and maintenance of
security equipment or facilities to be used for security
monitoring and recording, security gates and fencing, marine
barriers for designated security zones, security-related lighting
systems, remote surveillance, concealed video systems, security
vessels, and other security-related infrastructure or equipment
that contributes to the overall security of passengers, cargo, or
crewmembers. Grants awarded under this section may not be used to
construct buildings or other physical facilities, except those
which are constructed under terms and conditions consistent with
the requirements under section 611(j)(8) of the Robert T.
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
5121(j)(8) (!1) ), including those facilities in support of this
paragraph, and specifically approved by the Secretary. Costs
eligible for funding under this paragraph may not exceed the
greater of -
(A) $1,000,000 per project; or
(B) such greater amount as may be approved by the Secretary,
which may not exceed 10 percent of the total amount of the
grant.
(3) The cost of screening equipment, including equipment that
detects weapons of mass destruction and conventional explosives,
and of testing and evaluating such equipment, to certify secure
systems of transportation.
(4) The cost of conducting vulnerability assessments to
evaluate and make recommendations with respect to security.
(5) The cost of conducting exercises or training for prevention
and detection of, preparedness for, response to, or recovery from
terrorist attacks.
(6) The cost of establishing or enhancing mechanisms for
sharing terrorism threat information and ensuring that the
mechanisms are interoperable with Federal, State, and local
agencies.
(7) The cost of equipment (including software) required to
receive, transmit, handle, and store classified information.
(c) Matching Requirements. -
(1) 75-percent federal funding. - Except as provided in
paragraph (2), Federal funds for any eligible project under this
section shall not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of such
project.
(2) Exceptions. -
(A) Small projects. - There are no matching requirements for
grants under subsection (a) for projects costing not more than
$25,000.
(B) Higher level of support required. - If the Secretary
determines that a proposed project merits support and cannot be
undertaken without a higher rate of Federal support, then the
Secretary may approve grants under this section with a matching
requirement other than that specified in paragraph (1).
(d) Coordination and Cooperation Agreements. - The Secretary
shall ensure that projects paid for, or the costs of which are
reimbursed, under this section within any area or port are
coordinated with other projects, and may require cooperative
agreements among users of the port and port facilities with respect
to projects funded under this section.
(e) Multiple-Year Projects. -
(1) Letters of intent. - The Secretary may execute letters of
intent to commit funding to such authorities, operators, and
agencies.
(2) Limitation. - Not more than 20 percent of the grant funds
awarded under this subsection in any fiscal year may be awarded
for projects that span multiple years.
(f) Consistency With Plans. - The Secretary shall ensure that
each grant awarded under subsection (e) -
(1) is used to supplement and support, in a consistent and
coordinated manner, the applicable Area Maritime Transportation
Security Plan; and
(2) is coordinated with any applicable State or Urban Area
Homeland Security Plan.
(g) Applications. - Any entity subject to an Area Maritime
Transportation Security Plan may submit an application for a grant
under this section, at such time, in such form, and containing such
information and assurances as the Secretary may require.
(h) Reports. - Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of the SAFE Port Act, the Secretary, acting through the
Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall submit a report to Congress,
in a secure format, describing the methodology used to allocate
port security grant funds on the basis of risk.
(i) Administration. -
(1) In general. - The Secretary shall require eligible port
authorities, facility operators, and State and local agencies
required to provide security services, to submit an application,
at such time, in such form, and containing such information and
assurances as the Secretary may require, and shall include
appropriate application, review, and delivery mechanisms.
(2) Minimum standards for payment or reimbursement. - Each
application for payment or reimbursement of eligible costs shall
include, at a minimum, the following:
(A) A copy of the applicable Area Maritime Transportation
Security Plan or facility security plan.
(B) A comprehensive description of the need for the project,
and a statement of the project's relationship to the applicable
Area Maritime Transportation Security Plan or facility security
plan.
(C) A determination by the Captain of the Port that the
security project addresses or corrects Coast Guard identified
vulnerabilities in security and ensures compliance with Area
Maritime Transportation Security Plans and facility security
plans.
(3) Procedural safeguards. - The Secretary shall by regulation
establish appropriate accounting, reporting, and review
procedures to ensure that amounts paid or reimbursed under this
section are used for the purposes for which they were made
available, all expenditures are properly accounted for, and
amounts not used for such purposes and amounts not obligated or
expended are recovered.
(4) Project approval required. - The Secretary may approve an
application for the payment or reimbursement of costs under this
section only if the Secretary is satisfied that -
(A) the project is consistent with Coast Guard vulnerability
assessments and ensures compliance with Area Maritime
Transportation Security Plans and facility security plans;
(B) enough money is available to pay the project costs that
will not be reimbursed by the United States Government under
this section;
(C) the project will be completed without unreasonable delay;
and
(D) the recipient has authority to carry out the project as
proposed.
(j) Audits and Examinations. - A recipient of amounts made
available under this section shall keep such records as the
Secretary may require, and make them available for review and audit
by the Secretary, the Comptroller General of the United States, or
the Inspector General of the department in which the Coast Guard is
operating.
(k) Reports on Security Funding and Compliance. -
(1) Initial report. - Within 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit an
unclassified report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, that -
(A) includes a funding proposal and rationale to fund the
correction of Coast Guard identified vulnerabilities in port
security and to help ensure compliance with Area Maritime
Transportation Security Plans and facility security plans for
fiscal years 2003 through 2008; and
(B) includes projected funding proposals for fiscal years
2003 through 2008 for the following security programs:
(i) The Sea Marshall program.
(ii) The Automated Identification System and a system of
polling vessels on entry into United States waters.
(iii) The maritime intelligence requirements in this Act.
(iv) The issuance of transportation security cards required
by section 70105.
(v) The program of certifying secure systems of
transportation.
(2) Other expenditures. - The Secretary shall, as part of the
report required by paragraph (1) report, in coordination with the
Commissioner of Customs, on projected expenditures of screening
and detection equipment and on cargo security programs over
fiscal years 2003 through 2008.
(3) Annual reports. - Annually, beginning 1 year after
transmittal of the report required by paragraph (1) until October
1, 2009, the Secretary shall transmit an unclassified annual
report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure, on progress in achieving
compliance with the correction of Coast Guard identified
vulnerabilities in port security and compliance with Area
Maritime Transportation Security Plans and facility security
plans that -
(A) identifies any modifications necessary in funding to
ensure the correction of Coast Guard identified vulnerabilities
and ensure compliance with Area Maritime Transportation
Security Plans and facility security plans;
(B) includes an assessment of progress in implementing the
grant program established by subsection (a);
(C) includes any recommendations the Secretary may make to
improve these programs; and
(D) with respect to a port selected by the Secretary,
describes progress and enhancements of applicable Area Maritime
Transportation Security Plans and facility security plans and
how the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 has
improved security at that port.
(l) Authorization of Appropriations. - There are authorized to be
appropriated $400,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 through
2011 to carry out this section.
(m) Investigations. -
(1) In general. - The Secretary shall conduct investigations,
fund pilot programs, and award grants, to examine or develop -
(A) methods or programs to increase the ability to target for
inspection vessels, cargo, crewmembers, or passengers that will
arrive or have arrived at any port or place in the United
States;
(B) equipment to detect accurately explosives, chemical, or
biological agents that could be used in a transportation
security incident against the United States;
(C) equipment to detect accurately nuclear or radiological
materials, including scintillation-based detection equipment
capable of signalling the presence of nuclear or radiological
materials;
(D) improved tags and seals designed for use on shipping
containers to track the transportation of the merchandise in
such containers, including sensors that are able to track a
container throughout its entire supply chain, detect hazardous
and radioactive materials within that container, and transmit
that information to the appropriate law enforcement
authorities;
(E) tools, including the use of satellite tracking systems,
to increase the awareness of maritime areas and to identify
potential transportation security incidents that could have an
impact on facilities, vessels, and infrastructure on or
adjacent to navigable waterways, including underwater access;
(F) tools to mitigate the consequences of a transportation
security incident on, adjacent to, or under navigable waters of
the United States, including sensor equipment, and other tools
to help coordinate effective response to a transportation
security incident;
(G) applications to apply existing technologies from other
areas or industries to increase overall port security;
(H) improved container design, including blast-resistant
containers; and
(I) methods to improve security and sustainability of port
facilities in the event of a maritime transportation security
incident, including specialized inspection facilities.
(2) Implementation of technology. -
(A) In general. - In conjunction with ongoing efforts to
improve security at United States ports, the Secretary may
conduct pilot projects at United States ports to test the
effectiveness and applicability of new port security projects,
including -
(i) testing of new detection and screening technologies;
(ii) projects to protect United States ports and
infrastructure on or adjacent to the navigable waters of the
United States, including underwater access; and
(iii) tools for responding to a transportation security
incident at United States ports and infrastructure on or
adjacent to the navigable waters of the United States,
including underwater access.
(B) Authorization of appropriations. - There is authorized to
be appropriated to the Secretary $35,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2005 through 2009 to carry out this subsection.
(3) National port security centers. -
(A) In general. - The Secretary may make grants or enter into
cooperative agreements with eligible nonprofit institutions of
higher learning to conduct investigations in collaboration with
ports and the maritime transportation industry focused on
enhancing security of the Nation's ports in accordance with
this subsection through National Port Security Centers.
(B) Applications. - To be eligible to receive a grant under
this paragraph, a nonprofit institution of higher learning, or
a consortium of such institutions, shall submit an application
to the Secretary in such form and containing such information
as the Secretary may require.
(C) Competitive selection process. - The Secretary shall
select grant recipients under this paragraph through a
competitive process on the basis of the following criteria:
(i) Whether the applicant can demonstrate that personnel,
laboratory, and organizational resources will be available to
the applicant to carry out the investigations authorized in
this paragraph.
(ii) The applicant's capability to provide leadership in
making national and regional contributions to the solution of
immediate and long-range port and maritime transportation
security and risk mitigation problems.
(iii) Whether the applicant can demonstrate that is (!2)
has an established, nationally recognized program in
disciplines that contribute directly to maritime
transportation safety and education.
(iv) Whether the applicant's investigations will involve
major United States ports on the East Coast, the Gulf Coast,
and the West Coast, and Federal agencies and other entities
with expertise in port and maritime transportation.
(v) Whether the applicant has a strategic plan for carrying
out the proposed investigations under the grant.
(4) Administrative provisions. -
(A) No duplication of effort. - Before making any grant, the
Secretary shall coordinate with other Federal agencies to
ensure the grant will not duplicate work already being
conducted with Federal funding.
(B) Accounting. - The Secretary shall by regulation establish
accounting, reporting, and review procedures to ensure that
funds made available under paragraph (1) are used for the
purpose for which they were made available, that all
expenditures are properly accounted for, and that amounts not
used for such purposes and amounts not expended are recovered.
(C) Recordkeeping. - Recipients of grants shall keep all
records related to expenditures and obligations of funds
provided under paragraph (1) and make them available upon
request to the Inspector General of the department in which the
Coast Guard is operating and the Secretary for audit and
examination.
(5) Annual review and report. - The Inspector General of the
department in which the Coast Guard is operating shall annually
review the programs established under this subsection to ensure
that the expenditures and obligations of funds are consistent
with the purposes for which they are provided, and report the
findings to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives.Legislative History Prev ________________________________________________________________________
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