Potential targets to be found and plans improvised

By MIKE GLENN
The Houston Chronicle
Bomb squads and EOD personnel: Interoperability for homeland defense

HOUSTON, Texas — The kind of homemade bombs being used against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan will likely be the weapon of choice in the event of a terrorist strike in the Houston area, officials with the Department of Homeland Security said.

"They're easy to build (and) they're difficult to defeat," said Robert Stephan, assistant secretary for infrastructure protection at DHS, who called such improvised explosive devices "a tough nut to crack."

On Wednesday, Stephen announced that Houston is the test site for a plan to gauge the vulnerability of potential targets, like oil refineries and chemical plants, against attacks from IEDs.

"We see this as the number-one-utilized terrorist tactic," Stephan said.

Because potential targets in the Houston area cross several jurisdictional boundaries, a variety of agencies - both local and federal - will take part in the study, officials said.

"This is a more coordinated process. We'll do it as a region and provide a report," said Dennis Storemski, the city of Houston's director of public safety and homeland security.

The study will identify targets throughout the Houston area considered at risk and make security recommendations to prevent terrorist attacks.

Also, the plan will create a single database of resources, ranging from police bomb squads to hazardous materials teams, that are available to respond to the scene, officials said.

"It allows you to take an inventory of personnel," Storemski said.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, said it was critical for local and state official to collaborate with the federal government to make sure Houston is prepared for any potential terrorist attack.

"This is a wake-up call for the city of Houston. It is a reality that we have to address," Jackson Lee said.

The Houston region study, which will be continually updated, is expected to be a template for similar examinations in other large urban areas, officials said.

Copyright 2008 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company