Ports Official: Government Did ‘Good Job’ With ID Regulations

By Gregory Richards, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Jan. 4–Maritime security experts say they are generally pleased with the final regulations released Wednesday for a national port worker identification card.

The regulations for the Transportation Worker Identification Credentials explain how port workers will have to register for the cards, crimes that will disqualify applicants, how the cards are to be used and other requirements.

The regulations follow a proposal issued in May that generated more than 1,900 public comments, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which developed the rules for the TWIC card.

The federal government “has done a good job incorporating and listening to the feedback from the maritime community and concerned citizens,” said Ed Merkle, security director for the Virginia Port Authority.

Among the most important changes, Merkle said, was the government’s decision to delay requiring electronic card readers to be installed at marine terminal entrances. Many terminal operators had concerns about the design and reliability of the proposed readers, which will verify the authenticity of the card and the identity of the person holding the card.

However, even with that step postponed, many bumps are expected along the way because of the program’s scope and complexity, said Joseph F. Bouchard, a homeland security expert at Zel Technologies LLC in Hampton.

“TWIC is still a good idea,” Bouchard said, but the government “needs to be prepared to adapt to these problems.”

An estimated 750,000 port workers nationwide, including about 15,000 in Hampton Roads, will carry the cards.

The federal government is not saying when the cards will come to Hampton Roads. Enrollment will begin in March at a small, unnamed group of ports.

The Transportation Security Administration’s “top 10 priority ports” are required to implement the cards by July 1, according to the regulation. TSA spokeswoman Amy Kudwa would not identify those ports, citing security concerns. She said the agency is selecting the priority ports on the basis of factors such as size, location and the type of freight handled.

All of the country’s ports must implement the cards by January 2009.

— Reach Gregory Richards at (757) 446-2599 or gregory.richards@pilotonline.com.

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Copyright (c) 2007, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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