Major ports share $219 million in security grants

Major ports share $219 million in security grants       Seven major port districts picked up $218.7 million of the $388.6 million in port security grants allocated Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security.
      The winner in the port security sweepstakes is the Port of New York and New Jersey, with $45 million, followed by the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach with $37.9 million.
      The lion's share of the money went to so-called Tier 1 ports under risk-based formulas that give weight to ports based on their vulnerability and economic importance.
      A second group of ports split $148.8 million, led by the Port of Norfolk with $7.4 million. The Virginia Department of Emergency Management is the applicant to manage the grant.
      Tier 3 port applicants will share $10.3 million. The Brownsville Navigation District in Texas was awarded $2.6 million.
      The money is to be used for systems to increase maritime domain awareness, access control systems, fencing, lighting, video cameras, communications, training exercises and implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Card.
      The overall amount of grant funding allocated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is responsible for managing the grant programs, is almost $970 million.
      The Freight Rail Security Grant program will receive $15 million and the Trucking Security Program will disburse $2.2 million.
      Money will be released to award winners on a rolling basis this summer.
      The full breakdown of port security and other grants is available here .