(The following story by Kathy Adams appeared on The Virginian-Pilot website on January 8.)
NORFOLK, Va. — Leo Carman didn’t want to spend his day off Wednesday waiting in a government office, but he didn’t have a choice.
Starting Tuesday, he’ll be one of about 14,000 people in Hampton Roads who need a new, high-tech port security card, the Transportation Worker Identification Credential, to get to work.
Carman, a pier operator at Norfolk Southern Corp.’s Lambert’s Point coal terminal, arrived at the TWIC Enrollment Center on Greenbrier Circle around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
He was still waiting at 2:15 p.m. to pick up and activate the card he enrolled for six weeks ago.
He wasn’t alone. About 40 port workers lined the walls of the small office. Some dozed under their baseball caps, some sat with their arms crossed over Norfolk Southern coveralls, some listened to iPods.
Carman described the process in one word: “slooooow.”
“It’s just like anything dealing with the government; it’s hurry up and wait,” said David Ray, a Hampton truck driver who had been waiting nearly three hours to enroll for a card. “You have no choice.”
Ray said he waited until the last minute because he didn’t realize he needed a TWIC. He thought the congressionally mandated cards applied only to people dealing with cargo containers. Rather, the cards are meant to better secure the nation’s ports from terrorist threats and are required for all workers accessing port facilities.
Ray visits the port at least once a week to pick up cement, he said.
On Tuesday, when more than 50 local facilities begin requiring TWICs for entry, many could be turned away.
“If you do not have your TWIC on the 13th, you’re in a difficult spot,” said Ed Merkle, director of port security for the Virginia Port Authority. “You will be denied entry into the port.”
Since local enrollment for the program began in February 2008, about 17,000 people have signed up in Hampton Roads, said Maurine Fanguy, TWIC program manager for the Transportation Security Administration.
Nationwide, 787,015 people had enrolled and 561,477 had obtained their TWIC as of Wednesday, according to the administration Web site.
“But as you can even see from the crowd that’s here today, there’s a lot of folks that still don’t have their TWIC,” Merkle said. “Those folks are unfortunately going to be out of work on the 13th.”
The card requires a full set of fingerprints, photo, proof of identity and extensive background check.
“I think they asked for our first born,” Carman said, laughing.
The port is ready to begin full TWIC compliance, said Joe Harris, a spokesman for the Virginia Port Authority.
“We’re as ready as we possibly can be,” he said. “The infrastructure system has been tested, the people have been educated, the community has been notified.”
W ith 4,000 to 5,000 daily gate transactions, though, the first day will still be tough, Merkle said.
“We’re expecting a rough start,” he said. “The first day with any implementation is always a difficult day.”