Homeland
Security
Current Nationwide
Threat Level
ELEVATED
Daily Open Source Infrastructure
Report for 19 August 2009
Significant Risk of Terrorist Attacks
For information, click here:
http://www.dhs.gov
Top Stories

According to the Register Pajaronian, authorities lifted a mandatory evacuation on Monday
for about 2,200 residents living in the area affected by the Lockheed Fire, which started
near a Lockheed Martin facility in Santa Cruz County, California. (See item 13)

WCVB 5 Boston reports that the operator of a heavily trafficked drawbridge linking
Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts was taken into protective custody on August 15 after
he failed to raise the bridge for an approaching ship and police found him allegedly
intoxicated at his post. (See item 18)
Fast Jump Menu
PRODUCTION INDUSTRIES
• Energy
• Chemical
• Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste
• Critical Manufacturing
• Defense Industrial Base
• Dams Sector
SUSTENANCE AND HEALTH
• Agriculture and Food
• Water Sector
• Public Health and Healthcare
SERVICE INDUSTRIES
• Banking and Finance
• Transportation
• Postal and Shipping
• Information and Technology
• Communications
• Commercial Facilities
FEDERAL AND STATE
• Government Facilities
• Emergency Services
• National Monuments and Icons
Energy Sector
Current Electricity Sector Threat Alert Levels: Physical: ELEVATED,
Cyber: ELEVATED
Scale: LOW, GUARDED, ELEVATED, HIGH, SEVERE [Source: ISAC for the Electricity Sector (ES-ISAC) [http://www.esisac.com]
1. August 18, Cherry Hill Courier-Post – (Delaware) Ship refloated in Delaware
River. A freighter has been re-floated after it ran aground near the Delaware Memorial
Bridge. The 749-foot Jill Jacob was carrying 105,000 barrels of vacuum gas oil when it
ran aground about 11 p.m. on August 16, said a spokesman for the New Jersey Coast
Guard. Authorities reported no leakage of fuel and no injuries to the crew. The boat,
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which was traveling north on the Delaware River, was able to float again early on
August 17 after the contents inside were shifted, he said. The ship will have its steering
system examined to see if it was damaged in the grounding, he said.
Source:
http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20090818/NEWS01/908180318/1006
2. August 18, Ventura County Star – (California) Firefighters extinguish 150-acre
Solimar fire. Firefighters over the weekend extinguished a brush fire that burned 150
acres above Solimar beach north of Ventura. The fire was reported the afternoon of
August 14 near an oil facility. It was declared extinguished at 8 p.m. on August 15, said
a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department. Firefighters checked the burned
area the morning of August 16 to make sure it was completely out, he said. One
firefighter was taken to a local hospital with symptoms of heat exhaustion. No
structures were threatened. The cause of the blaze remained under investigation on
August 17, the spokesman said.
Source: http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/aug/18/firefighters-extinguish150-acre-solimar-fire/
3. August 17, Houma Today – (Louisiana) Blaze damaged oil-recycling plant, fire
officials say. The Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a blaze that
damaged the inside of an oil recycling plant on August 16. The fire began at about 7
a.m. at American Advanced Technologies in Houma, Louisiana, said the company’s
vice-president. The fire caused “extensive” damage to an area of the building where
recycling takes place, he said. No one was inside and the plant was closed, he said. The
blaze was contained inside the metal building, said a Fire Marshal investigator. No
injuries were reported and the cause remains under investigation, he said.
Source:
http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20090817/HURBLOG/908179908?Title=Blazedamaged-oil-recycling-plant-fire-officials-say
4. August 17, KFDM 6 Beaumont – (Texas) Lightning strike causes explosion and fire
at gas well site. A lightning strike the afternoon of August 16 caused an explosion and
fire at a natural gas well site in far northeast Jasper County. The incident occurred at
about 6:00 on County Road 232, about one mile north of Recreation Road 255. The
explosion hurled a large storage tank about 80 feet away from the well, and completely
scorched the well itself. Units of the Lake Rayburn Fire Department were assisted by
the Angelina River, East End, Jasper, and Tri-Community Fire Departments. About an
hour after the explosion, the gas line that was feeding a constant supply of fuel to the
resulting fire was shut off. There were no injuries in the incident. It is unknown who
owns the well site.
Source: http://www.kfdm.com/news/well-33582-gas-explosion.html
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Chemical Industry Sector
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Nothing to report
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Nuclear Reactors, Materials and Waste Sector
5. August 18, Press of Atlantic City – (New Jersey) NRC to explain Oyster Creek
nuclear power plant tritium leak. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is preparing
to release even more details about a tritium leak at the Oyster Creek Generating Station
in Lacey Township. A state senator and an assemblyman both urged the federal agency
to release detailed information about the leak and whether it posed any threats to public
health or safety. The leak was discovered in April shortly after Oyster Creek’s
operating license was renewed for another 20 years. Tritium is a naturally occurring
radioactive form of hydrogen. The two asked for the information to push for more
transparency about what is happening at the Lacey Township plant, the oldest
continuously operating nuclear plant in the country.
Source: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/new_jersey/article_b0f1e4e48beb-11de-8a39-001cc4c03286.html
6. August 17, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission – (Washington) NRC conducting
special inspection at Columbia Generating Station. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission is conducting a special inspection at the Columbia Generating Station in
response to an August 5 electrical fire that resulted in the shutdown of the reactor. The
plant, located near Richland, Washington, is operated by Energy Northwest. A fire in
the plant’s turbine building resulted in a protective automatic turbine trip and
subsequent reactor shutdown, prompting the licensee to declare an Unusual Event – the
lowest of four categories of nuclear emergencies. Plant systems responded as expected.
The licensee and the NRC are continuing to evaluate the sequence of events following
the shutdown. “We’re taking a closer look at what may have caused the fire and how
plant systems responded,” said the NRC Region IV Administrator. “We’ll also be
evaluating the sequence of events following the shutdown. Although this incident
resulted in no danger to public health or safety, it’s important that we understand why it
happened in the first place and how a similar occurrence can be avoided in the future.”
A two-person team of NRC inspectors will develop a chronology of the event, review
the licensee’s root cause determination, and evaluate the licensee’s maintenance and
testing program and the effectiveness of operators’ response to the event. The
inspection will begin on August 17 and is expected to take several days. The team will
write a report about 30-45 days after completion of the inspection.
Source: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2009/09-028.iv.html
7. August 17, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission – (Maryland) NRC meeting Aug. 20
to discuss decommissioning funding assurance for nuclear reactors. The U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff will meet with industry, state officials
and members of the public on Thursday, August 20, to discuss the agency’s oversight
of ensuring proper decommissioning funding for U.S. commercial nuclear reactors; the
draft Regulatory Guide 1229 (DG-1229), “Assuring the Availability of Funds for
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Decommissioning Nuclear Reactors;” and the reasoning behind the Guide’s approach,
which currently is out for public comment. The meeting, which is open to the public
and available on the Internet, is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the Bethesda North
Marriott, 5701 Marinelli Road in North Bethesda, Maryland. The NRC staff will
explain the Biennial Decommissioning Funding Report Analysis process and the draft
DG-1229. The public is invited to attend the meeting and will have an opportunity
during the session to ask questions and receive more information from NRC staff.
Source: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2009/09-137.html
8. August 17, Omaha World-Herald – (Nebraska) Nuke plant will test alert
system. Sirens will sound Wednesday morning as the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power
Station conducts the annual test of its alert system. Radio-controlled sirens within a 10mile radius of the Omaha Public Power District’s generating station 19 miles north of
Omaha will sound for three minutes some time between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. No action
by the public is required. The siren system is designed to alert people in case of a
serious accident at the station.
Source: http://www.omaha.com/article/20090817/NEWS01/908179957
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Critical Manufacturing Sector
9. August 18, WPRI 12 Providence – (Rhode Island) Varnish tank explodes at Walco
Plant on Allens Avenue in Providence. A varnish tank exploded at the Walco Plant
on Allens Avenue in Providence on August 17, firefighters said. The explosion
happened around 7:30 p.m. The Deputy Assistant Fire Chief said the blast ripped a
large hole in the side of the building, and blew the tank’s lid through the roof, which
landed about 60 feet away. About a dozen workers were inside when the explosion
happened. None of them were hurt. The Chief said the polyester varnish tank was used
to make engines water tight. According to the company’s website , Walco works on
“mechanical apparatus” and “automated process equipment.” The cause of the
explosion is still under investigation.
Source:
http://www.wpri.com/dpp/news/local_news/local_wpri_providence_varnish_tank_expl
odes_at_walco_plant_on_allens_avenue20090818_tro
10. August 17, KRCG 13 Jefferson City – (Missouri) Over $15 thousand in tools stolen
from trailer manufacturing plant. Production at the Doolittle Utility Trailer
manufacturing plant in Holts Summit was temporarily shut down on August 17 due to
thousands of dollars worth of missing tools. The plant manager said the majority of the
tools missing were Milwaukee brand cordless drills. Floor drills, grinders, impact
wrenches and sockets are also on the list of stolen items. “Basically, about 90 percent
of the take were red Milwaukee tools, which are very high end expensive tools,” the
plant manager said. “Off the top of my head ballpark figure about 15 to 20 thousand
dollars worth of tools taken over the weekend. We would appreciate anything that can
come to light to bring these people to justice.” All tools that come from the plant have
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the initials DTM engraved.
Source: http://www.connectmidmissouri.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=337939
11. August 17, Wicked Local Canton – (Massachusetts) Battery factory had safety
violations at Canton site. Lithium battery manufacturer Electrochem, the site of an
explosion in Raynham that injured five workers last week, was fined for safety
violations at its former facility in Canton. Electrochem faces a new safety investigation
following an August 13 explosion at its Raynham site that sent five employees to the
hospital. Before the company moved its headquarters to Raynham, it had operated out
of a smaller building in Canton. The company paid $38,000 for several violations in
2006, and $6,000 for a 2007 violation. This year, in March, OSHA fined Electrochem
$24,500 for four unspecified violations — one classified as serious — at the Raynham
plant. Operations resumed at the 82,000-square-foot plant on August 14, and three of
the injured were released from the hospital. Two workers remain in Boston hospitals
undergoing treatment for facial lacerations. An OSHA spokesman said inspectors have
made several visits to Electrochem in recent years to investigate safety infractions. To
reduce the danger, the batteries are manufactured by employees in highly mechanized
and protected booths in a room outfitted with safeguards and alarms. About 230
employees work at the Raynham manufacturing plant, located at the corner of Route 44
and Paramount Drive in the Raynham Woods Industrial Park.
Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/canton/news/x2145962409/Battery-factory-hadsafety-violations-at-Canton-site
12. August 17, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – (Washington) Boat
manufacturers pay over $50,000 for chemical reporting violations. Two Puget
Sound area boat manufacturers, Fluid Motion, LLC and Delta Marine Industries,
reached agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pay fines for
failure to submit timely reports of their use of the toxic chemical styrene to the Toxics
Release Inventory. Both manufacturers are charged with violations of the Emergency
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Fluid Motion, LLC, located in Kent,
Washington, will pay a penalty of $2,850 for failure to submit reports by the Toxics
Release Inventory reporting deadline for its styrene use during the years 2004, 2006
and 2007. Styrene, a chemical component of resins used to manufacture boats, is
released into the air during the spraying and curing process. In addition to paying the
fine, Fluid Motion, LLC will perform a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP)
valued at $10,700. The SEP requires Fluid Motion, LLC to purchase and install new
equipment and to train employees in controlled spraying techniques that will reduce
styrene emissions into the environment and surrounding community. Delta Marine
Industries, a yacht manufacturer located in Seattle, Washington, also failed to submit
reports by the reporting deadline for its use of styrene for reporting years 2003, 2004,
2005 and 2007. The company agreed to pay a penalty of $37,050.
Source:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/A6EA431E170706B285257615006AB6D2
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Defense Industrial Base Sector
13. August 18, Register Pajaronian – (California) Firefighters gain ground on Lockheed
Fire. Authorities lifted a mandatory evacuation on August 17 for about 2,200 residents
living in the area affected by the Lockheed Fire, while others are still waiting to go
home. The fire was about 80 percent contained after burning more than 7,000 acres
over a 11-square-mile area. Fire officials predicted they would have full containment
by August 20. Five injuries were reported, and no homes had been damaged, although
about six were reported threatened on Warnella Road. Two outbuildings had been
damaged and one had been destroyed. A damage inspection team was evaluating power
and water systems to determine whether the area is safe for other residents to return.
Some roads in the area — including Warnella Truck Trail at Cement Plant Road,
Highway 1 at upper and lower Swanton Road and Blodgetts Road at Empire Grade at
the top end — remained closed, though residents with identification were being
allowed in. Crews were unable to fight the blaze by air on August 16 because of heavy
smoke, but more than 2,100 firefighters made progress on the ground along the western
and southern ends of the fire, said a state fire department engineer. So far, it has cost
$12 million to fight the fire.
Source: http://www.registerpajaronian.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=7586
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Banking and Finance Sector
14. August 18, Minneapolis Star Tribune – (Minnesota) Investors turn attention to
stressed banks in Minnesota. Minnesota’s strapped community banks have been
turning to their existing shareholders to pony up more money to weather the economic
maelstrom, a sort of pass-the-hat strategy, as one industry player said. But now outside
investors, including wealthy individuals, private equity firms and investment groups,
are buying in. The nascent interest in local banks comes after national mega-deals to
rescue insolvent banks earlier this year. Private equity groups bought Miami’s
BankUnited Financial Corp. in May, and Pasadena, Calif.-based IndyMac Bancorp in
January, after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), struggling with a wave of
bank failures, opened the door last fall for nonbank buyers to bid for the failed banks.
Two Minnesota banks have failed since the current banking crisis: First Integrity in
Staples and Horizon Bank in Pine City. Other banks purchased both. That pattern may
soon change. Private investors view the bank industry as undervalued now. The head of
Minneapolis-based Fredrikson and Byron said she’s handling a half-dozen equity deals
where outside private investors — not existing bank shareholders — are taking
minority or controlling stakes in local community banks and, in at least one deal, are
planning to buy the bank outright. She will not name names, but she said the deals
range from $200,000 to $25 million and involve local and out-of-town investors.
Source:
http://www.startribune.com/business/53514397.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiD3a
Pc:_Yyc:aUU
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Transportation Sector
15. August 18, WTVT 13 Tampa – (Florida) Guns go missing from TIA luggage. A man
who runs his own personal security service protecting famous athletes and rap stars
took his 9mm Desert Eagle with him when he caught a flight from Tampa to Fort
Lauderdale. Guns are checked every day and loaded into the belly of planes in bags
with special locks approved by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), but
when he landed and went to baggage claim, he saw his bags had been tampered with,
and his weapon was missing. Airport police, TSA, and federal air marshals were
notified, but no one could explain how his gun disappeared. In other instances where
passengers’ bags were broken into or stolen, they had lost money, jewelry, or
electronics — not a gun. Only the airline and TSA know when a gun is in a bag that is
checked on plane. Airport police only find out after it is reported missing. “The dollar
amount, I’m not so concerned about,” he said. “But I’m concerned there’s a weapon
with ammunition in a secure area of the airport.”
Source:
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/investigates/tampa_airport_guns_missing_
081709
16. August 18, WPIX 11 New York – (New York) MTA knew about weak, leaky ceilings
on No. 1 line. The New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) knew
about 181 Street station’s water leaks and crumbling tiles on the No. 1 line for at least
three years before the August 16 ceiling collapse, according to local leaders. The chair
of Community Board 12 in Washington Heights said he has been fielding complaints
from residents for years and although the MTA acknowledged the complaints, they
never took any action. Dripping water is a common complaint for several No. 1 line
stations. He said residents sometimes have to use umbrellas to remain dry in the
underground stations. The exact cause of the collapse is under investigation, but locals
suspect seeping water compromised the ceiling’s structural stability. There was a train
in the 181 Street station at the time of the collapse, which sent debris onto a 35-feet
section of the track. When the debris fell from the 35-foot brick ceiling, the train was
not damaged and no one was injured. The MTA has hired a contractor August 17 to
remove the rubble and any other loose bricks from the station’s ceiling. The contractor
is expected to make temporary repairs, which will take several days. Years of neglect
and limited funding has caused more than 80 percent of the system’s 468 stations to
have a “significant backlog” of necessary repairs, according to MTA reports.
Source: http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-mta-response-ceilingcollapse,0,3719877.story
17. August 17, Aviation Herald – (Washington) Allegiant MD83 near Seattle on Aug
17th 2009, smell of smoke in cabin. An Allegiant Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83,
flight G4-365 from Bellingham, Washington to Los Angeles, California with 75 people
on board, diverted to Seattle, Washington after the crew reported smell of smoke in the
cabin and later in the cockpit. The airplane landed safely 18 minutes later. Attending
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emergency services found no trace of heat or fire. The cause of the smell is under
investigation.
Source: http://avherald.com/h?article=41e61180&opt=4865
18. August 17, WCVB 5 Boston – (Massachusetts) Police: Bridge operator found
intoxicated. The operator of a heavily trafficked drawbridge linking Boston and
Chelsea, Massachusetts, was taken into protective custody August 15 after he failed to
raise the bridge for an approaching ship and police found him allegedly intoxicated at
his post, Chelsea police said. Officers were dispatched to the Andrew P. McArdle
Bridge at about 4 p.m. on August 15 when a tugboat trying to pass underneath the
structure notified police that it was unable to make contact with the drawbridge
operator, according to the Chelsea Police Chief. Officers traveled to the bridge for a
well-being check and found the operator, “in a state of intoxication,” at his monitoring
station. The operator, who is an employee of the Boston Department of Public Works,
was taken into protective custody and replaced by another bridge operator. A worker at
the nearby Fitzgerald Shipyard said tankers frequently pass under the bridge to reach
the fueling stations. The worker who said he witnessed the incident on August 15
estimated that about 20 ships pass underneath the bridge each day.
Source: http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/20432777/detail.html
19. August 16, Aviation Web – (National) System offers voice recognition for GPS
navigation. A Troy, New York, company has developed a system that allows pilots to
talk to their airplanes. VoiceFlight Systems says it has received Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) certification for its VFS101 pilot speech recognition and that it
is the first such system to get a supplementary type certificate (STC) from the FAA. Its
inventor says the patented system allows pilots to accurately enter flight plans, edit
them, make corrections and make changes using voice commands. “The VFS101 uses
aviation specific recognition technology to address the challenging conditions found in
the aircraft cockpit. It is this technology that allows the VFS101 to meet the rigorous
performance requirements of FAA certification,” he said in a press release. He says
using the system does not require any special training and it does not have to be trained
itself to recognize specific pilot voices. The spoken commands are read back by the
system to ensure accuracy and if the system will not do as it is told the pilot can always
revert to the old-fashioned twisting of knobs on the GPS. He says the hands-free voice
command system is up to 10 times faster than loading a flight plan manually.
Source:
http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/SpeechCommandsInTheCockpit_2010041.html
For another story, see item 1
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Postal and Shipping Sector
Nothing to report
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[Return to top]
Agriculture and Food Sector
20. August 17, Associated Press – (Alaska) Reports: Coal project would cause longterm damage. Salmon-producing streams near a proposed coal mine will never fully
recover if the mine is developed, according to three reports commissioned by a public
interest law firm. Scientists at the request of Trustees for Alaska looked at the impact of
the Chuitna coal mine project on the west side of Cook Inlet, 45 miles from Anchorage,
and determined the damage would be irreversible. The site is being developed by
PacRim Coal LP, a Delaware-based company that plans to mine an estimated 300
million metric tons of coal over 25 years. Plans call for building the strip mine, as well
as a road, a conveyor system to transport coal, housing, an air strip facility, a logistics
center and an export terminal with a 10,000-foot trestle into Cook Inlet. Most of the
coal would be shipped to Asia for burning in power plants. Commercial salmon
fishermen, subsistence users and area residents oppose the mine. They fear it will
contaminate the salmon-producing Chuit River and destroy tributaries, wetlands and
traditional fishing grounds. What PacRim proposes to do at Chuitna has never been
done before, according to Citizens for Science and Public Participation. PacRim wants
to completely remove a salmon-producing stream, perhaps digging down hundreds of
feet, and rebuild it once the mining operation ends, she said. “The law requires that the
mined areas be returned to pre-mining condition after the coal has been extracted, but
there is no scientific evidence that a salmon stream mined through in the manner
PacRim proposes can ever be restored,” a local commercial fisherman said.
Source: http://cbs3.com/wireapnewsde/3.reports.say.2.1132381.html
21. August 17, U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service – (New Jersey) New Jersey firm
recalls ground beef products due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination- Class
I recall. Pasha Halal Poultry, doing business as Marcacci Meats, a Vineland, New
Jersey establishment is recalling approximately 128 pounds of ground beef products
that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Monday. The ground beef
products were packed in foam containers and bear a package code of “8.12.09” as well
as the establishment number “EST. 5913” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These
ground beef products were produced on August 12, 2009, and were distributed to a
consumer at the wholesale level in the Atlantic City, New Jersey area and packaged for
sale to consumers at the retail level in Vineland. FSIS has received no reports of
illnesses associated with consumption of these products.
Source:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_043_2009_Release/index.asp
[Return to top]
Water Sector
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22. August 17, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – (California) Port of L.A.
refueling facility to pay proposed $74,473 to settle storm water violations. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that General Petroleum Corporation —
a marine distributor of Chevron and Texaco products — pay a penalty of $74,473 for
allegedly failing to obtain a storm water permit for its facility at the Port of Los
Angeles. Between October 1, 2004 and December 4, 2007, the General Petroleum
Corporation discharged pollutants in storm water at its petroleum bulk storage facility
without first obtaining a storm water permit, a violation of the Clean Water Act and
California’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements. The
action is part of a larger enforcement initiative focusing on ports to ensure the Port, as
well as its tenants, comply with storm water requirements. The U.S. EPA and the Los
Angeles Regional Quality Control Board conducted a storm water audit of the Ports of
Los Angeles and Long Beach in May 2007, and issued 20 administrative orders to the
Ports’ tenants in November 2007, including General Petroleum Corporation.
Source:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/eddd43a393b891ef852576150079796d?Op
enDocument
23. August 17, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – (Missouri) City of Maryville,
Mo., to pay penalty and install energy-efficient water pump to settle alleged
violations of Clean Water Act. The City of Maryville, Missouri, has agreed to pay a
civil penalty valued at $33,000, including a cash payment of $20,400 to the United
States and the installation of a new energy-efficient water pump at the city’s sewage
treatment plant, to settle allegations that it failed to properly operate its industrial
wastewater pretreatment program. According to a civil complaint and consent
agreement filed August 12, 2009, in Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7 determined that the city failed to conduct required
annual inspections of seven local industries, identified as “significant industrial users”
of the city’s wastewater treatment system, during 2005 and 2006. Those users included
LMP Steel and Wire, Federal-Mogul Corporation, Deluxe Printing, Eveready/Energizer
Battery Company, Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Company, Laclede Chain
Manufacturing Company, and St. Francis Hospital. Although EPA identified violations
of Maryville’s pretreatment program by the seven significant industrial users, those
incidents do not appear to have caused or contributed to any violations of the city’s
effluent limits. “This settlement is an important step in protecting water quality in
northwest Missouri,” said the director of EPA Region 7’s Water, Wetlands and
Pesticides Division. “Cities implementing the pretreatment program must realize their
important role in keeping toxic pollutants out of our streams and rivers.”
Source:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/57016009fb656d5a85257615007497ef?Op
enDocument
24. August 17, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency – (Guam) EPA fines Guam
Waterworks Authority $19,000 for failing to complete water tank assessment. The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined the Guam Waterworks Authority
(GWA) on August 17 $19,000 for failing to fully comply with a 2003 court order to
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make improvements to its drinking water system. GWA was penalized for failing to
meet a December 2008 deadline for completing a condition assessment to determine
the structural stability and soundness of the highest priority steel tank water reservoirs.
“Water storage tanks are a critical component of the GWA water system, as they help
ensure water pressure and adequate flow throughout the system. Many of the over 30
tanks located around the island are in poor condition which underscores the need to
complete the assessments and address the deficiencies as required by the court order,”
said the Water Division director for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. The condition
assessment of GWA water reservoirs was to be performed in two phases. The highest
priority tanks were to be assessed by December 2008, and all other tanks by December
2009. Although GWA did an initial, visual inspection of all tanks in 2008, it has not
completed the required, full structural assessments of any tanks to date. Guam’s water
system is being upgraded and improved to ensure the proper management, treatment
and delivery of safe drinking water.
Source:
http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/0/9EB0FFE2CE3C09A08525761600064184
[Return to top]
Public Health and Healthcare Sector
25. August 17, Federal Computer Week – (National) HHS walks a tightrope on health
information exchange, advisory group says. The Health and Human Services
Department (HHS) is undertaking a balancing act as it crafts a nationwide structure for
electronic exchanges of patient medical data, a federal advisory workgroup reported
August 14. HHS needs to find the right combination of strong requirements tied to
financial incentives that it can put in place while also leaving enough room for
innovation, the workgroup advised. The workgroup presented its report to HHS’ Health
Information Technology Policy Committee, which is advising the department on
implementation of the health IT provisions of the economic stimulus law. The law
contains $45 billion in incentives for providers who show “meaningful use” of certified
digital health record systems and $2 billion for fostering health data exchanges. HHS
expects to do rule-making late this year. The most effective incentives would
incorporate a requirement for health information exchange into the “meaningful use”
criteria, stated members of the workgroup, which is chaired by the director of the health
privacy project at the Center for Democracy & Technology, and a chief executive of
the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative. The current state of health information
exchange is “spotty and piecemeal,” the workgroup reported, and the vast majority of
exchanges occur in limited number of participants and settings, such as in labs and
pharmacies. Regional health information exchange is rare and “highly variable,” and
electronic reporting for public health is almost nonexistent, the report said. The
workgroup recommended that the ability to engage in health data exchange should be a
core requirement to demonstrate “meaningful use” under the stimulus law; as part of
this, the doctors and hospitals also must show that their patient data systems are
interoperable with other systems, as well as private and secure.
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Source: http://fcw.com/Articles/2009/08/17/HHS-must-find-the-right-balance-onHealth-Information-Exchange-group-says.aspx?Page=1
26. August 17, Palm Springs Desert Sun – (California) Officials investigating medical
office fire in Indio. An investigation continued into the cause of a fire that damaged an
estimated $220,000 worth of property in a medical services building next to John F.
Kennedy Memorial Hospital in Indio, California according to Cal Fire and Indio police.
The fire was reported at 2:59 a.m. on August 15 on the first floor of the Valley
Comprehensive Medical Group property, said a Cal Fire-Riverside County spokesman.
Smoke and flames were visible at the 18,000-square-foot building when firefighters
arrived minutes later. The incident commander called for more firefighters, and the fire
was knocked down around 4:40 a.m., the spokesman said. A first-floor work area and
second-floor medical imaging office sustained extensive damage, according to Cal Fire.
Total damage from the fire was estimated at $220,000. No injuries were reported and
the fire did not spread from the stand-alone building, according to the Cal Fire and
Indio police commander. The two-story building housed about a dozen medical
businesses, including “therapy, surgery rehab and general practice doctors,’’ the
commander said. A radiologist business called Desert Medical Imaging was also
among the building’s tenants. A Cal Fire spokeswoman said she had not received an
update from investigators on whatever may have caused the fire. The commander said
on August 16 he had not heard anything about potential causes of the fire.
Source:
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090817/NEWS0803/90817002/Officials+investigat
ing+medical+office+fire+in+Indio
27. August 16, Daily Mail – (International) Swine flu vaccine linked to deadly breathing
disease. Doctors have been put on alert for a deadly disease linked to swine flu jabs.
The United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) has told neurologists to look
out for a rise in Guillain-Barr Syndrome — in which paralysis of the breathing muscles
can cause death by suffocation — when vaccination starts in the next few weeks. The
link was made following a mass immunization program in the United States, in which a
swine flu jab was blamed for more deaths than the disease itself. More than 40 million
Americans were vaccinated after an outbreak of swine flu at an army base in 1976. The
program was abandoned after hundreds of cases of GBS were diagnosed and 25 died.
The flu, however, did not spread further than the base and claimed only one life. In a
letter to the Association of British Neurologists, the head of immunization at the HPA
said: ‘GBS has been identified as a condition needing enhanced surveillance when the
swine flu vaccines are rolled out.’ The warning will add to concerns about the safety of
the jab, which will be given to more than 13 million Britons from October. A professor
with the Association of British Neurologists said, “This is a belt-and-braces approach to
safety and is not something people should be worried about as it’s a rare condition.”
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1206988/Swine-flu-vaccine-linkeddeadly-breathing-disease.html
28. August 15, WIVB 4 Buffalo – (New York) Water damage keeps hospital
closed. Gowanda’s hospital remains closed nearly a week after the incredible floods
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that devastated that community. Tri-County Hospital sustained significant water
damage from the flooding. Much of the building still has water in it. Some people in
Gowanda fear that the hospital would not re-open because the building might be
condemned. Tri-County’s CEO addressed those concerns on August 15. An employee
of the Tri-County Hospital said, “We have no reason to believe at this point in time that
we can’t reopen. It is a question of when, for us to know.”
Source:
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/Water_damage_keeps_hospital_closed_20090815
For another story, see item 35
[Return to top]
Government Facilities Sector
29. August 18, Amarillo Globe News – (Texas) Bomb threat clears several city
buildings. Authorities are not sure of the motive behind a bomb threat Monday that
prompted the evacuation of some government buildings in downtown Amarillo. A
person called the switchboard in the Potter County Clerk’s Office around 7:40 a.m.
claiming a bomb was in a court building and that it would go off that day, said the chief
deputy for the Potter County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities emptied the District Courts
building and the Santa Fe Building which houses several county government branches,
as a precaution. Nothing suspicious was discovered. At that time, the buildings were
not open to the public. Most people gathered on surrounding streets had not been to
work at all, he said. The caller did not specify a courthouse. Officials at the Marvin
Jones Federal Building and city officials at the Municipal Court were notified about the
call. The federal building was evacuated briefly, but normal business resumed there by
10 a.m. People were allowed to enter the Santa Fe Building at 8:35 a.m., and the Potter
County Courts Building opened about 9 a.m.
Source: http://www.amarillo.com/stories/081809/new_news5.shtml
30. August 18, CNN – (Arizona) Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest — and it’s
legal. A man toting an assault rifle was among a dozen protesters carrying weapons
while demonstrating outside the President’s speech to veterans on Monday, but no laws
were broken. It was the second instance in recent days in which weapons have been
seen near presidential events. Video from the protest in Phoenix, Arizona, shows the
man standing with other protesters, with the rifle slung over his right shoulder. Phoenix
police said authorities monitored about a dozen people carrying weapons while
peacefully demonstrating. “It was a group interested in exercising the right to bear
arms,” a police spokesman said. Arizona law has nothing in the books regulating
assault rifles, and only requires permits for carrying concealed weapons. So despite the
man’s proximity to the president, there were no charges or arrests to be made. The
police spokesman said officers explained the law to some people who were upset about
the presence of weapons at the protest.
Source:
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http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/08/17/obama.protest.rifle/index.html?iref=mpst
oryview
31. August 18, Associated Press – (Alabama) New schools in Alabama now being built
tornado tough. The tornado that killed eight Enterprise High School students in the
collapse of a hallway where they sought shelter in 2007 has prompted some systems to
put built-in shelters or reinforced walls in new buildings being constructed. While
schools have been built with such safety precautions before, education and construction
officials say the Enterprise disaster pushed those design elements to the forefront when
making decisions. The high school was destroyed along with nearby Hillcrest
Elementary School. Under a $1.07 billion bond issue for school systems and colleges
statewide, both are being rebuilt with storm-resistant features. Jefferson County is
building 11 new schools and they all have tornado-resistant areas, the construction
director said. The $380 million construction project is expected to be completed in
2012.
Source:
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20090817/NEWS02/908170326/New+s
chools+in+Alabama+now+being+built+tornado+tough
32. August 17, Associated Press – (California) Protesters want UC Berkeley law
professor fired. Police have arrested at least four people during a protest at the
University of California, Berkeley campus. Campus police made the arrests as
protesters gathered Monday outside the UC Berkeley School of Law to call for the
dismissal of a professor who has defended controversial interrogation techniques. The
professor is scheduled to begin teaching at UC-Berkeley after spending the spring
semester at Chapman University School of Law in Orange County. The arrests came
after police asked the protesters to leave.
Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/08/17/state/n143920D78.DTL&tsp=1
33. August 17, Associated Press – (Alaska) Water damages up to 500 boxes at State
archives. Rain water has damaged up to 500 boxes of materials at the Alaska State
Archives. Officials say an inflated plastic bubble blew off its fastenings late Sunday or
early Monday at the archives in Juneau. Rain water got into a second-story room in two
places. Some water also dripped down to the first-story vault. Some maps and between
400 and 500 cardboard boxes containing court, legislative and governor’s office
records were damaged. Officials are using dehumidifiers and fans in the affected areas.
Some of the damaged boxes were taken to another building to be dried out. The state
archives have been closed until further notice.
Source: http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=10944928
34. August 17, Midwest City Sun – (Oklahoma) Bomb found at Tinker. Deputies from the
Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad responded to a suspicious device
found at Tinker Air Force Base at 1:45 p.m. today. Deputies discovered a carbon
dioxide cartridge filled with powder. A fuse was attached. The bomb squad disrupted
the device and disposed of it by 4 p.m. Nobody was injured during the incident. The
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FBI and the Tinker Air Force Base Office Special Investigations are continuing to
investigate the explosive device.
Source: http://www.mwcsun.com/breakingnews/local_story_229174356.html
35. August 17, Stillwater News-Press – (Oklahoma) Swine flu confirmed at OSU. Cases
of the swine flu have been confirmed at Oklahoma State University (OSU). In the
weeks before school started, University Health Services had a number of students with
type A influenza and the school sent three samples to the Oklahoma Department of
Health for testing for H1N1, commonly known as the swine flu, the OSU Director of
Communications Services said. Swine flu confirmation came on the first day of classes,
and the president sent a message to students, faculty and staff reporting the cases and
offering tips to avoid the flu. All flu cases have been mild, and the students have been
treated and released without hospitalization, the director said. The school president said
in the letter that an increase in flu and flu-like sickness is expected.
Source: http://www.stillwater-newspress.com/local/local_story_229152452.html
[Return to top]
Emergency Services Sector
36. August 18, Shelbyville Times-Gazette – (Tennessee) Needles stolen from
ambulance. The theft of hypodermic needles from a Bedford County ambulance
Friday was not discovered until their container was opened during an emergency call
several hours later, officials said. But patient treatment was not compromised, said the
director of Bedford County Emergency Medical Service. “We have multiple sizes (of
needles) available,” he said. “They broke the container and grabbed one size. There
were other sizes that would work better.” The ambulance had been parked beside the
VFW, Depot Street, for more than two hours Friday afternoon while a stolen car was
pulled from Duck River, police were told. The ambulance was on standby if needed by
emergency workers, out of sight on the other side of large trees. “There were so many
people in the area, around the truck and on the scene that it was impossible to keep a
visual on the truck at all times,” an EMS personnel said. “A box containing hypodermic
needles and IV products was damaged and four 16-gauge catheter needles was taken
from inside the container,” a Shelbyville police officer’s report said. The needles were
in a container within a department accessible from outside and inside the box-style
ambulance. “We did an inventory of the ambulance and didn’t notice anything else
missing or out of place,” said the EMS personnel.
Source: http://www.t-g.com/story/1562991.html
[Return to top]
Information Technology Sector
37. August 17, CNN – (International) Study warns of cyberwarfare during military
conflicts. An independent research group predicts that cyberwarfare will accompany
future military conflicts and is recommending international action to blunt its impact.
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Computers can become victims in future military conflicts, says the nonprofit U.S.
Cyber Consequences Unit, which studied the cybertactics used against the country of
Georgia during its military conflict with Russia last year. Cyberattacks in August 2008
shut down the Web sites of crucial Georgian government agencies, the media, and
banks. “The Russians have developed a model here that is very effective,” said the
director of US-CCU. “We can expect to see the Russians use it in the future, and other
countries as well.” Because of the sensitive nature of much of the information, the full
100-page report is being released only to U.S. government officials and selected
cybersecurity professionals. CNN was provided a nine-page summary. The study
concludes that the cyberattacks against Georgian targets were carried out by civilians,
many of them recruited via social networking forums devoted to dating, hobbies, and
politics. “There was a large-scale collaboration on these forums,” said the US-CCU’s
chief technical officer. “They were used to recruit potential actors to launch attacks, to
collaborate on what types of attacks worked and what types of attacks didn’t work.
They were used to collaborate on how to bypass security controls and share attack
codes.” As a result, the technical officer said, Russian sympathizers who were not
hackers, and who didn’t even know much about computers, could participate. The
hackers did not carry out physically destructive cyberattacks, although they probably
had the technical expertise to do so, suggesting that “someone on the Russian side was
exercising considerable restraint,” the report says. The report also notes that media and
communications facilities, which might have been attacked by missiles and bombs in a
conventional war, were spared “presumably because they were being effectively shut
down by cyberattacks.”
Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/US/08/17/cyber.warfare/
38. August 17, Softpedia – (International) Two Facebook phishing attacks in one
day. Facebook was the target of two independent and non-related phishing attacks
through its applications service. Two security experts discovered, investigated and
reported these attacks to the social network’s admins, who took all the protection
measures. The first one was was an application called Customer Dispute. The
application link did not open an actual app page, but managed to clone a Facebook
URL (apps.facebook.com/customer_dispute/ ). Instead of the standard application
install screen, it printed a “404 – Page not found” error. The detail that triggered the
expert’s interest was the fact that the error was NOT FROM FACEBOOK, but from a
hosting company called Ripway. A researcher had this to say about Ripway: “The
entire content is taken up by a ‘Page not found’ message served up by Ripway hosting
(who are often used and abused by script kiddies with phish pages and rogue
executable storage).” The second attack was about another Facebook application. The
app sent out countless notifications informing users of a comment on one of their posts
that they needed to check out. The link (when hovering the mouse over it) redirected to
a page from the fucabook.com domain name that contained some info-stealing content.
According to a second researcher, “The server at fucabook.com loads up a JavaScript
before immediately using HTTP meta refreshtags to pull up the real Facebook website
and prompting the victim for their login credentials.” He also added, “The attack site is
registered to an Arsen Tumanyan who allegedly resides in Armenia, the domain is
registered through GoDaddy and the URL leads to an IP address that resolves to the
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http://news.softpedia.com/news/Two-Facebook-Phishing-Attacks-in-One-Day119424.shtml
For another story, see item 39
Internet Alert Dashboard
To report cyber infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact US-CERT at sos@us-cert.gov or
visit their Website: http://www.us-cert.gov.
Information on IT information sharing and analysis can be found at the IT ISAC (Information Sharing and
Analysis Center) Website: https://www.it-isac.org/.
[Return to top]
Communications Sector
39. August 18, IDG News Service – (National) Motorola boosts wireless network
security. Motorola said on August 18 it is adding vulnerability assessment to its
wireless intrusion-prevention system (IPS) device so that organizations can scan for
security holes in Wi-Fi and wireline networks. AirDefense Wireless Vulnerability
Assessment, expected to ship next month as a software module for Motorola’s wireless
IPS sensor, will be able to emulate a laptop to validate the security posture of the
customer’s environment. “If someone can get into your wireless network, this would
show how far they could get,” said the product manager. AirDefense wireless security
sensors often are used by being mounted high within retail stores. Typically, two or
three sensors would be required to cover a 100,000 sq. ft. area., depending on obstacles
such as thick walls that could limit wireless coverage, the product manager notes.
Sensors are managed via an appliance. The new vulnerability assessment capability is
intended to address requirements in the PCI Security Standards Council’s Data Security
Standard 1.2 as well as the more recent wireless security guideline on protection of
payment cards, which was issued in July.
Source: http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=2CF78F3E-1A64-67EAE4FB34E9373B0B5D
40. August 17, Redding Record-Searchlight – (California) Charter Internet suffers
rolling outages. Local Charter Media Internet subscribers on August 17 have been
subjected to disconnections and slow speeds due to an outage that has been “rolling
from area to area.” A Charter spokeswoman in Redding said company troubleshooters
were notified of the problem around 10:30 a.m. She said the problem has spread
through Northern and Southern California and a few other states. She did not know
how many customers were affected. “We don’t know the cause, other than it’s with our
third-party vendor,” she said. “Call centers have all been alerted to this, and hopefully
information is getting back to customers on a timely basis.”
Source: http://www.redding.com/news/2009/aug/17/charter-internet-suffers-rollingoutages/
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41. August 15, Minnesota Public Radio – (Minnesota) Minnesota Public Radio stations
in Moorhead and Appleton sustain damage. Minnesota Public Radio’s transmitters
in Moorhead (KCCM) and Appleton (KRSU) have sustained storm damage. Listeners
in these areas may experience problems. In Moorhead classical music station 91.1
KCCM is off the air until damage has been repaired. In Appleton classical music
station 91.3 KRSU is operating at lower power until damage has been repaired, so
some listeners may not be able to pick up the signal. MPR’s engineers are working
quickly to resolve the issue.
Source:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/about/press/releases/release.php?ftrv_ident=2009/08/1
5/minnesota-public-radio-transmitters-sustain-damage
For another story, see item 37
[Return to top]
Commercial Facilities Sector
42. August 17, Chicago Sun Times – (Illinois) Streets reopening following Lincoln Park
bomb threat. Police are reopening streets to traffic in the Lincoln Park area near the
Lincoln Park Zoo on Monday evening after a suspicious suitcase left by a man who
made a bomb threat turned out not to be dangerous. About 3:05 p.m., a man claimed
that he was going to blow up the first bus he saw, according to a police officer. He was
taken into custody, but had a suspicious package with him, which was left at the scene
so the police Bomb and Arson Unit could determine if it was dangerous, the officer
said. Vehicular and pedestrian traffic was diverted from the area so the package could
be detonated. The suitcase turned out to be non-explosive.
Source: http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/1720458,w-bomb-threat-lincoln-park081709.article
43. August 17, Madison Capital Times – (Wisconsin) Walgreens on South Park Street
evacuated due to chemical reaction. A Walgreens store on South Park Street in
Madison, Wisconsin was evacuated Monday morning after a plumber reportedly used a
drain cleaner in a sink in the photo department, causing a reaction with photo
chemicals. The Madison Fire Department hazardous materials team was called to the
store and stayed at the scene for more than an hour to ventilate the building and clear
out any residual chemicals. A fire department public information officer said about a
dozen people were in the store when the incident happened. “Firefighters used monitors
to determine the air quality,” the public information officer said. “Monitors registered a
vapor that was not visible to those in the building.”
Source: http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/462367
44. August 17, Pioneer Press – (Minnesota) Collapsed risers at Circus Juventas were
overdue for inspection from St. Paul. The risers that collapsed at Circus Juventas in
St. Paul, Minnesota on Sunday night should have been inspected by the city of each
time they were set up, but they had not been since they were purchased in 2006,
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according to a city official. The founder and executive director of the youth circus said
the risers were set up twice a year and circus staff inspected them. City inspectors on
Monday began examining what led the risers to collapse, sending at least 420 people
tumbling to the ground and injuring a handful of people. Ambulances took six women
to Regions and United hospitals, said a St. Paul Fire Marshal. A 3-month-old girl was
taken to Children’s Hospitals and Clinics in St. Paul, he said. Police have said none of
the injuries was severe. Paramedics checked out an estimated two dozen people at the
scene who did not need hospital treatment, he said.
Source: http://www.twincities.com/news/ci_13147421?source=rss
[Return to top]
National Monuments and Icons Sector
45. August 14, Associated Press – (New York) Dredging crews damage Hudson fort
remnants. General Electric (GE) crews dredging PCBs from the Hudson River in
Albany, New York on Friday ripped away remnants of what was once Britain’s largest
fort in Colonial America, a mistake that incensed local officials who had feared the
cleanup project would damage such relics in the area. An area resident said he
discovered that the dredgers had torn out the riverbank, along with two wooden beams
that had been part of the original fort’s waterfront bastion. A third beam was later
found still buried at the site. The resident asserted that crews were supposed to stay
away from that stretch of riverbank because of its archaeological significance. GE is
dredging PCBs from the river bottom as part of a $750 million cleanup project. GE
spokesman said the dredger was removing sediment from the river bottom, not the
bank, when it encountered the beams buried under more than 2 feet of silt and sticking
farther out into the river than expected. The Environmental Protection Agency’s
coordinator for the dredging project, said two beams were removed by mistake when
the operator of the dredger got too close to the bank. The fort, built in 1755 at the start
of the French and Indian War, was home to more than 15,000 troops and the base of
operations for Rogers’ Rangers, forerunners of today’s U.S. commandos.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32420432/ns/us_news-environment/
[Return to top]
Dams Sector
46. August 17, WEAU 13 Eau Claire – (Wisconsin) A dam repair project could force a
draw down at Lake Altoona. A dam repair project could force a draw down at Lake
Altoona. The Eau Claire County, Wisconsin Parks and Forest director says workers
need to fill some cracks and fix the seal on one of the dam’s gates. He says the dam at
Lake Eau Claire also needs some work — but there should not be a draw down there.
The county board will vote on project bids at August 19 meeting. He says they range
from $52,000 to $58,000. “If the deterioration continues on the concrete, both aboveground and below the slab, it’ll just continue to deteriorate and portions of the dam
structure could be in jeopardy.” He says the Department of Natural Resources still has
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to approve the repairs. He hopes to get the work done by the end of the summer.
Source: http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/53510512.html
47. August 17, Fayetteville Observer – (North Carolina) Hope Mills Lake dam
monitoring on agenda. The first year of monitoring the Hope Mills Lake dam will cost
more than $86,000, if the Board of Commissioners accepts a proposal on an August 17
agenda. The board will consider a proposal from engineering firm Hazen and Sawyer to
conduct a four-year monitoring program. State Dam Safety officials are requiring the
monitoring program after the new dam/spillway was given a conditional permit earlier
this year. Hazen and Sawyer’s proposal would cost $86,345 for the first year. The town
manager said the total cost for the proposed four-year program is $213,915, if the board
decides to hire Hazen and Sawyer for the duration of the monitoring. Also on the
agenda is a budget appropriation of $57,000 to be paid to engineering firm McKim and
Creed for a required emergency action plan, operations manual and other projects.
Source: http://www.fayobserver.com/Articles/2009/08/17/925460
48. August 17, Chattanoogan – (Tennessee) Projected cost of Chickamauga lock
replacement now $391 million. It will cost at least $16 million more to replace
Chickamauga Lock than officials originally estimated, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
official said Monday. “The original $375 million cost...is now $391 million,” the
official told members of the Chattanooga Engineers Club. Other increases also are
likely, he said, but he is not allowed to say anything about them publicly until they
have been officially approved. He said he was able to tap into federal stimulus fund
money — allocated in “small $25 million packages” — by authorizing the
prefabrication of several units, so they can be built in advance of when they are actually
needed. “That will make the overall lock contract a little smaller,” he told the group.
Chickamauga Dam, with its navigation lock, was built about 70 years ago as part of a
Tennessee Valley Authority project aimed at protecting the city of Chattanooga from
flooding and enhancing navigation on the Tennessee River. The original 60-foot by
360-foot navigation lock enabled boats and barges to travel past the dam, raising or
lowering the vessels 53 feet between Chickamauga and Nickajack reservoirs. In 2003,
Congress authorized a $375 million project to replace the lock, which had deteriorated
due to “concrete growth” caused by chemical reactions between the rock aggregate and
cement in the structure.
Source: http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_156996.asp
[Return to top]
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DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report Contact Information
About the reports - The DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report is a daily [Monday through Friday]
summary of open-source published information concerning significant critical infrastructure issues. The DHS Daily
Open Source Infrastructure Report is archived for ten days on the Department of Homeland Security Website:
http://www.dhs.gov/iaipdailyreport
Contact Information
Content and Suggestions:
Send mail to NICCReports@dhs.gov or contact the DHS Daily
Report Team at (202) 312-3421
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Visit the DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report and follow
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Contact DHS
To report physical infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact the National Infrastructure
Coordinating Center at nicc@dhs.gov or (202) 282-9201.
To report cyber infrastructure incidents or to request information, please contact US-CERT at soc@us-cert.gov or visit
their Web page at www.us-cert.gov.
Department of Homeland Security Disclaimer
The DHS Daily Open Source Infrastructure Report is a non-commercial publication intended to educate and inform
personnel engaged in infrastructure protection. Further reproduction or redistribution is subject to original copyright
restrictions. DHS provides no warranty of ownership of the copyright, or accuracy with respect to the original source
material.
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