HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania Office of Homeland Security (OHS) Director Jonathan A. Duecker, in coordination with the PA Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), the PA State Police, and the PA National Guard, conducted a one-day "Pennsylvania Private Sector Security Seminar" at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
"This first-of-a-kind seminar was the result of the great work many of our Commonwealth private sector partners are doing independently to identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities," Duecker said.
Seminar participants included members from the energy generation, energy transmission, nuclear power, water, compressed gas, chemical, petroleum, rail, trucking, seaports, large venue sports, and shopping mall sectors. Select organizations were encouraged to share non-specific security vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies for the benefit of the general attendees.
Members of Commonwealth agencies and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security offered insight into how local, state, and federal government agencies interact and collaborate on homeland security.
"While each of the participating sectors share similar vulnerabilities, many have very unique security issues and have taken creative approaches to mitigate their concerns," Duecker said. "The ultimate goal of this seminar was to capture the security 'best practices' realized by our private partners and share that information across sectors."
"We approach homeland security, crisis response, and consequence management here in the Commonwealth from a team perspective," PEMA Director Adrian R. King, Jr. said. "A key player on that team is the private sector and our ability to prevent or respond to a natural or man-made disaster is contingent on our relationships with the private organizations participating at this seminar.
"In addition, I would like to thank the Pennsylvania Chemical Industry Council, the Philadelphia Eagles, and Team Pennsylvania for their support and cooperation in putting on the seminar."
