Omaha eligible for security grants

WASHINGTON — After losing out for two years, Omaha once again is eligible for federal grants aimed at beefing up cities’ ability to respond to acts of terrorism and other disasters.

The Omaha metropolitan area — including Douglas, Sarpy and Washington Counties — has been allocated $1 million under the Urban Area Security Initiative for fiscal year 2010. Omaha still must submit a proposal for how it would spend that money.

Nebraska also has been allocated $6.6 million under a separate grant program that sends federal homeland security funding to each state. Omaha officials hope to receive some of that money as well.

Omaha was one of 64 high-risk urban areas to make the new list. That includes 10 “Tier I” areas such as New York City and Washington, D.C., that will receive a total of $524.5 million and 54 “Tier II” areas, which include Omaha, that will split a total of $308 million.

It will be the first time the Omaha area has received money through the program since 2006. At that time, it received $8.3 million, while some other major cities saw funding cuts.

The move set off howls of protest in New York City that Omaha was an unlikely target for terrorists.

Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle said Wednesday that he’s been working with Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., and the rest of the state’s congressional delegation on getting Omaha back on the list. During a recent trip to Washington, Suttle made a personal pitch to homeland security officials.

Suttle said he highlighted several points: that Omaha is poised to be the 40th largest city in the nation, has a nuclear power plant in its backyard and represents a crossroads for rail traffic.

He said he also pointed out that President George W. Bush flew to Offutt Air Force Base when terrorists struck on Sept. 11, 2001.

“Tying all that together in just a simple narrative paragraph, I think, began to turn on light bulbs,” Suttle said.

Suttle said he’d like to use the new funding for training exercises where emergency personnel practice how they would respond to a major disaster. He said the area has spent a lot of money in recent years on equipment.

“Now we have to make sure we know how to use all the tools,” Suttle said.

Omaha’s allocation is one of the smallest on the new list and significantly less than in 2006. Suttle said it’s up to Omaha to use the money well and make the case for larger allocations in the future.

Although the focus is terrorism, Suttle said the grants help prepare for a range of potential disasters.

“If we’re preparing for a hazardous waste spill or a tornado or a terrorist incident, we still are engaging our first responders,” Suttle said.

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