Gaps seen in Colorado's response to terrorism

Security chief eyes leadership, funding oversight

Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 27, 2007 at midnight

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Colorado is well prepared to handle natural disasters such as tornadoes and wildfires, but needs to sharpen its response to potential terrorist attacks, the state's new homeland security coordinator said Thursday.

Colorado must "make sure our response capability is going to save as many lives as possible," said retired Maj. Gen. Mason Whitney, who ran the Colorado National Guard for seven years. His duties included overseeing the Guard's responses to natural disasters.

Whitney was appointed two weeks ago by Gov. Bill Ritter to reorganize the state's homeland security operations beginning Aug. 1. Ritter said current operations are "too diffused to handle a serious terror incident."

The state is in the middle of the third audit in two years of its homeland security grant spending. In an interview, Whitney attributed the problems uncovered in the audits to a shortage of accounting staff to monitor the grants.

He quoted state emergency management officials as saying that they need an accounting staff of seven, not two, to monitor the $193 million the state has received from the federal government for homeland security since 2001.

Among other things, auditors have questioned whether the state has used its grants to reduce the risk of its most likely threats. Whitney said the state may have used other funds to meet those threats and that the auditors simply don't know it. He said he plans to look into that issue.

Audits were not the only issue prompting Ritter to appoint Whitney. In 2005, four years after the Sept. 11 attacks, a legislative committee found that almost nothing had been done to strengthen security for critical infrastructure, such as dams and electrical grids.

This month, Ritter appointed Kent Smiley to create a plan to keep state government operating in a disaster, after discovering that the state didn't have such a plan.

On the plus side, Colorado has a 22-person, full-time National Guard unit trained to be first responders to a chemical, biological, explosive, radiological or nuclear attack, Whitney said. The unit is equipped with a mobile lab to identify the specific chemical or biological agent on scene.

The Guard also has a 200-person unit to follow up with decontamination, medical care and policing operations, he said.

But what's worrying the governor, Whitney said, is that Colorado "has fractured lines of authority and responsibility" for handling a terrorist attack. Staff are scattered among seven departments and must operate under six different laws, he said.

A legislative committee recommended consolidation two years ago, but then- Gov. Bill Owens rejected the proposal.

Whitney said that his 39 years in the military, with its clear lines of control, is likely to affect the type of reorganization he eventually proposes to the governor. He noted that Guard commanders in 24 states serve as homeland security coordinators. That is one option he will consider.

Next year, Colorado will face a special security challenge as Denver hosts the Democratic National Convention, Whitney said.

Typically, Congress provides federal funding for that, but in 2004, it waited until the month before the conventions, Whitney said. That forced local officials to find money for planning and training in their own budgets, to be reimbursed later.

Whitney hopes that won't happen here.

Colorado's troubled homeland security system

Colorado has long had issues with managing its Homeland Security grants, which now total $193 million.

• Feb. 11, 2005: State senators from both parties slam anti-terrorism planning after learning Colorado is short 94 percent of the security equipment needed for its critical infrastructure.

• May 7, 2005: A legislative committee recommends consolidation of the state's scattered Homeland Security operations under one executive. Gov. Bill Owens rejects the plan.

• Nov. 7, 2005: State auditors criticize Colorado Homeland Security officials, saying they failed to fund the most critical security needs, keep adequate track of the money spent, and ensure that expensive equipment is deployed and ready for use.

• Jan. 10, 2006: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, citing the state audit, asks Colorado for a more extensive review of spending.

• June 23, 2006: The Department of Homeland Security orders Colorado to repay at least $1.5 million in misused funds.

• Aug. 5, 2006: Misspending uncovered during the expanded review sparks a full federal audit of Colorado's use of $159 million in Homeland Security grants. This audit, by the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, has not been released.

• July 13, 2007: Gov. Bill Ritter appoints retired Maj. Gen. Mason Whitney, head of the Colorado National Guard from 2000-2007, to reorganize the state's Homeland Security operation. The governor calls it "too diffused to handle a serious terror incident in Colorado."

• Retired Maj. Gen. Mason Whitney, the state's new Homeland Security chief, appears on the Rocky Mountain PBS show Colorado State of Mind tonight at 7:30.

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