by MARK REUTTER

The recent layoff of most of the Sparrows Point police force – leaving two officers responsible for patrolling a property 11 times larger than Baltimore’s Inner Harbor – will not negatively impact port security, Coast Guard officials have told The Brew.

In addition to being a steel mill, Severstal Sparrows Point is a deepwater port subject to anti-terrorist measures enacted by Congress after 9/11. But because the mill relinquished its status as an active marine terminal in January, the company does not need to station guards and maintain an approved security plan, USCG Com. Kelly Post, chief of prevention for the Port of Baltimore, said.

Still, having a key facility at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor subject to very limited armed patrol worries state Delegate John A. Olszewski, Jr., who represents the Dundalk-North Point area.

“I do not like the idea of there being little law enforcement across such a vast land mass,” Olszewski said.

Gaps in Police Presence

Security at Sparrows Point is governed by a unique agreement in which law enforcement is handled by company-hired and paid “special police” bearing firearms and given full arrest powers.

In its heyday, the Sparrows Point Police Department was fully equipped with a jail and boasted more than 30 officers. Over time, the force has been steadily replaced by unarmed security guards and was down to six officers when the mill’s Russian owner, Severstal, placed four of the officers on layoff earlier this month.

As a result, the 2,500-acre peninsula is now without police presence for at least 48 hours a week. At other times, the facility is under the supervision of either Chief of Police David Fyhr or Lt. Ernest Swiger.

The steel mill operates around-the-clock.

In place of the police, unarmed Crown Security guards ride around plant and visually inspect the waterfront and marine terminals.

While granting that Severstal “is struggling like most businesses to stay afloat,” Olszewski said that the company should “consider other security measures to keep their workers – and the surrounding area – safe.”

He added in an e-mail, “I understand the desire to find cost savings. I would hope that, to the extent possible, the company helps to keep the workforce they have.”

What Will Happen in an Emergency?

Several employees said that without the presence of company police, who are trained to respond to plant emergencies and have an intimate knowledge of the mill’s layout, worker safety could be compromised.

“This place has miles and miles of roads, many of them not accurately mapped. How are emergency vehicles going to find their way without the cops to escort them,” asked one employee.

Another said bluntly, “You make a wrong turn here, you fall into a pit.”

A person with close knowledge of security operations wrote the following:

“Usually, during an emergency, the SPPD Officer will respond to the Truck Dock or Ambulance Station, and Patrol would respond to the corresponding gate to escort emergency equipment to the scene… Since Engine 57 [of the Baltimore County Fire Department] is familiar with the plant as they are located on the property, they never have a problem finding an area or arriving too late to an emergency (usually).

“I suppose the 911 operator will relay the location to the county dispatcher and then cross their fingers and hope emergency equipment arrives. This will become an issue in my honest opinion.”

The Crown Security guards who patrol the peninsula are poorly trained, this source said, and there is a constant turnover of personnel.

Change in Port Status

In January, Severstal closed its old export pier, Pennwood Wharf, and changed its status from an “active” to “caretaker” port. As a result, the company no longer was covered by the Maritime Transportation Security Act.

The law requires port facilities to conduct vulnerability assessments and develop security plans that include crew and cargo screening procedures, security patrols, restricted areas and installation of surveillance equipment.

Raw materials for Sparrows Point still come from overseas sources, including China and Russia, mostly on foreign-flagged ships. The New Ore Pier, which receives these shipments, is operated under lease by Houston-based Kinder Morgan Bulk Terminals.

USCG Chief Petty Officer Aaron Studie said Kinder Morgan has a USCG-approved security plan. This includes the stationing of an armed guard at boats docked at the pier and a strict pass-identification program for crew leaving a ship.

The relationship between Kinder Morgan and Severstal has been rocky. Last year, Severstal filed a $20 million suit against Kinder Morgan for damages caused by the collapse of a bridge crane during a rainstorm.

County Agreement to Continue

Sparrows Point was granted its own policing powers back in 1888 under the Maryland Special Police Act, which vested all patrol and arrest functions to a police department to be established by the steel company.

Baltimore County police officers are still not allowed to patrol south of Peninsula Expressway on company property, but may respond to calls for service by Point police.

There are two exceptions to this rule. Cases of rape and fatalities “not work-related and/or accidental” come under the jurisdiction of county police under a memorandum of understanding between Baltimore County and Severstal reviewed by The Brew.

The county does not plan to change this agreement in the wake of force reductions at Sparrows Point, according to police spokesman, Cpl. Michael Hill.

Hill said the layoffs have not affected safety in the nearby communities of Edgemere and Dundalk. “There have been no decrease or adverse effect to Baltimore County residents in the North Point Precinct area, nor has it created any additional demands in BCPD’s continued service to the residents of that area,” he said in an e-mail.

Severstal spokesperson Bette Kovach and mill manager David A. Howard have declined to answer questions about the police layoffs.

An aide to Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith, Jr., referred all questions about security at Sparrows Point to the county police department.

– Reach Mark Reutter at reuttermark@yahoo.com .