Rhode Island could lose some federal funding for homeland security this year under new guidelines, but some officials say they are optimistic the state will be able to maintain its current programs.
Rhode Island received $21.3 million in 2004 and $16 million in 2005 from the Department of Homeland Security to pay for emergency equipment and "regional response teams," which are trained for incidents ranging from chemical spills to terrorist attacks that result in mass casualties, according to John Aucott, homeland security director at the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency.
Aucott said the state's urban search rescue team has already seen action, deployed to Mississippi to assist in the recovery effort after the hurricane season of 2004.
Beginning this year, DHS will require states to declare how they will spend federal funding before they receive their allocations. States "may not receive all of the funding that they request," according to a DHS guide to the program.
"I am hopeful that we're going to do a very good job" presenting Rhode Island's homeland security needs, Aucott said.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., announced Monday that DHS will allocate $1.7 million to Rhode Island for emergency preparedness in 2006, but it was not immediately clear if the allotment would affect the state's future funding from DHS.
A related DHS program, the Urban Area Security Initiative, funnels security money to 50 cities seen as being at high risk for terrorist attack and other disasters. Funding for homeland security is being shifted to the cities, leaving less for individual states. However, no cities in Rhode Island are eligible for that funding.
Though the prospect of decreased funding has worried some state officials, residents of the Ocean State should "take solace in the fact that the federal government thinks we're not in harm's way," said John Riendeau, the defense industry manager at the state's Economic Development Corporation.
In past years, Rhode Island's ample homeland security funding allowed the state to distribute money to every city and town, according to a Jan. 6 article in the Providence Journal. Decontamination teams, chemical emergency crews and mass casualty response teams have been developed throughout the state, Aucott said.
But now, with greater competition for funding, the state is unsure it will be able to fund each town directly and might instead have to focus on regional programs, Aucott said.
Even if Rhode Island does receive less federal money this year, Riendeau said, the past few years' ample funding will continue to benefit the state, having created "more awareness" of the need for preparations in the event of an emergency.
In past years, Brown personnel have participated in several training sessions run by RIEMA, according to Stephen Morin, the director of Environmental Health and Safety. The staff in this office are trained hazardous material responders and work closely with the Providence Fire Department to respond to incidents, he said. Domestic preparedness training sessions in association with RIEMA still continue for Brown officials. Weapons of mass destruction training sessions will begin this week, according to Morin.