Request for Funding
Title: Remote Community Alert Systems Program 2010
Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NWS-NWSPO-2010-2002071
Applicant:     State of Idaho Bureau of Homeland Security
On behalf of :  Boundary County Office of Emergency Management
   PO box 419
   Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805
Contact:  David Kramer, Director OEM
Phone:   (208) 255-6073

Project Description:
   Installation of five (5) audible warning sirens, with digital voice capabilities that would be activated by a radio transmission from the Boundary County Sheriffs Office.  This would provide a secure warning system along with voice message capabilities to reach the most heavily populated areas of Boundary County, including  the majority of Bonners Ferry which has most of the school population,  the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the community of Moyie Springs. The proposed system is a maintenance free, electronic siren with two to six re-entrant speakers providing output ranging from 111 to 121 db(c).  The Directional Speaker array provides excellent voice reproduction.

Estimated Cost:  $250,000
   This estimate includes the cost of installing 5 speaker locations to provide coverage to Bonners Ferry, Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the City of Moyie Springs.  Included in this cost is site preparation, back-up power, digital radio for communications from the Sheriffs Office, necessary antenna’s and software for a completed project.  If full funding is not available, this is a system that can be built and added to as additional funding is located.  The goal of this grant is to provide an early alert warning system to the most heavily populated areas of Boundary County.

Justification:
   Boundary County meets the requirement of a “Remote Community”.  Under the 2000 Census, Boundary County had a population of 9,871 people, with an estimate for 2008 of 10,962 persons.  That is 8 people per square mile.  We have 4,095 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile.  About 11.50% of families and 20% of the population were below the poverty line.  The City of Bonners Ferry (County Seat) has a population of  2,515 people.  Boundary County has 1,278 square miles of land, which includes the Panhandle National Forest and the National Wildlife Refuge.
   Boundary County currently does not have E911 service which meets the grant requirement for “Effectively underserved”. 
   Boundary County has a need for an emergency warning system to alert the public to hazards, currently there is not an adequate system for alerting large populations  of hazards.  Bonners Ferry is located downstream from two dams, the Libby Dam and the Moyie Dam.  The County also has US95 a major truck route between Canada and the US, Hwy 1 and US hwy 2 travelling through the County and the downtown area of Bonners Ferry.  Union Pacific Railroad and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad also travel throughout the County and pass through downtown Bonners Ferry.  As past history and our County All-Hazard Mitigation plan show, we are at risk from hazards such as train or truck derailments with hazardous materials, man-made and natural disasters including flooding, landslides, Forest Fires, earthquakes and Civil unrest.  In a recent Homeland Security table-top exercise concerning a hazardous materials spill and involving local, State, Federal and Canadian authorities, the after action plan identified a need for an emergency warning system.  We feel that it is also vitally important to be able to expand on this system to include the populated community of Naples, and the Eastport area, which is the US / Canadian border crossing, and also the location of frequent flooding on the Moyie river, and a location that has a railroad crossing close to the US Port of Entry.  Depending on funding, will determine when the additional systems will be able to be installed.

Environmental Impact:
   At this time, we are not aware of any environmental impact by the installation and location of this system at the five locations designated.  Most of the installations would be on existing structures, with communication between the Sheriff’s Office and the sirens completed by a radio transmission.

Partnerships:
   If awarded this grant, or any portion of the grant funding, Boundary County would work with the City of Moyie Springs, the City of Bonners Ferry and the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho along with private contractors and the Local Emergency Planning Committee to make sure that the system installed is effective, with public education, testing and maintenance maintained.