News and Events

BIDP Grants Awarded - Washington Projects Not Selected

Date 05/02/11

Dear Stakeholder,

Today, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, announced grant funding under the Office of Emergency Communications’ (OEC) Border Interoperability Demonstration Project (BIDP) — a one-time competitive grant program focused on developing innovative solutions to strengthen interoperable emergency communications along the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico.  Through a merit review process, OEC selected the following projects that represent varying geographic regions and population densities to test new approaches to solving interoperability problems in real-world conditions:

Border Interoperability Demonstration Project Selected Communities*

  • City of Yuma, Arizona—$3,994,443 for the Yuma Full Voice and Data Integration Demonstration Project.
  • San Diego Fire-Rescue, California—$3,852,580 for the Regional Command and Control Communications Tactical Border Communications Project.
  • County of Washington, Maine—$3,963,163 for the Enhanced Communications Infrastructure and Partnerships for Border Security Project.
  • Wayne County, Michigan—$4,000,000 for the Southeast Michigan Border Interoperability Solution Project.
  • Interoperability Montana, Montana—$3,895,425 for the Northern Tier Consortium Border Interoperability Demonstration Project.
  • Lake County, Ohio—$3,998,200 for the Multi-Agency, Multi-Jurisdictional U.S. Regional & International Interoperable Communications Infrastructure and Maritime Domain Awareness Project.
  • City of McAllen, Texas—$1,940,000 for the Rio Grande Valley Border Interoperability Regional Project.

*Estimated funding is subject to change pending final negotiations.

These projects may serve as repeatable models for other border communities across the country to strengthen their own communications capabilities.  OEC will work with BIDP award recipients to document lessons learned, capture challenges and successes, and share information with the emergency response community throughout the project performance period.  We look forward to sharing more information about these innovative projects in the future.

Additional information about the BIDP selections can be found in the press release and fact sheet. For any questions relating to the BIDP program, please contact us at BIDP@hq.dhs.gov.

Sincerely,

Chris Essid
Director, Office of Emergency Communications
Department of Homeland Security

 

Thank you.

All my best,

Laura Kingman
Special Deputy
Washington State Patrol
SIEC Outreach and Public Affairs
www.siec.wa.gov

360.507.3881