NERRTC awarded funding through Homeland Security National Training Program

COLLEGE STATION – The National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC) has been awarded $21.6 million through the Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (DHS/FEMA) Homeland Security National Training Program Cooperative Agreement. The award is for Federal Fiscal Year 2013, which is projected to cover training provided by NERRTC from Sept. 1, 2014, through Aug. 31, 2015.

The passage of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act for federal fiscal year 2013 provided funding for the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium (NDPC), of which NERRTC is a founding member. NERRTC is a training center operated by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), a member of The Texas A&M University System headquartered in College Station, Texas.

Established in 1998, NERRTC provides training and assistance to jurisdictions nationwide to help them prepare for all kinds of catastrophes, including natural disasters, public health emergencies and terrorism incidents.

The DHS/FEMA funding for the Homeland Security National Training Program Cooperative Agreement helps to ensure that the nation’s emergency response personnel are prepared to protect citizens and critical infrastructure in case of a major disaster.

NERRTC is one of the seven members of the NDPC, a major training partner of the DHS/FEMA National Protection and Preparedness Directorate. Other NDPC training programs include:

  • DHS/FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, Ala.;
  • New Mexico Tech’s Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (NMT/EMRTC) in Socorro, NM;
  • Louisiana State University’s National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (LSU/NCBRT) in Baton Rouge, LA;
  • Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) CTOS-Center for Radiological/Nuclear Training program in Las Vegas, NV;
  • Transportation Technology Center, Inc.’s National Center for Emergency Response in Surface Transportation TTCI/NCERST) in Pueblo, CO; and
  • University of Hawai’i’s National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (UH/NDPTC) in Honolulu, HI.