From the video presentation at the public meeting in Port Huron on October 9, 2007:

Hello.

My name is Robert Perez, and I'm the Director of Field Operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, commonly referred to as CBP, in the state of Michigan. I'm responsible for CBP's activities at the ports of entry throughout the state, which includes the Blue Water Bridge plaza in Port Huron.

I would like to take a moment to share with you just a few thoughts from CBP's perspective regarding the Blue Water Bridge plaza study, and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

But first, I would like to thank the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and all our other partners on the Blue Water Bridge project for organizing today's events. I would also like to thank the members of the Port Huron community who took time out of their busy schedules to participate in this public hearing. Your feedback and ongoing support have been, and will continue to be invaluable to the success of this project.

As you just saw in the video presentation which outlined the background and next steps of the project, making improvements to the Blue Water Bridge plaza and corridor will result in making improvements for the community, and keeping us safe and prosperous in the future. From CBP's perspective, this project will enhance our national security and alleviate traffic congestion. Once completed, the new plaza will provide CBP with a venue designed to improve our ability to carry out our critical mission of preventing terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the United States, while also facilitating the flow of legitimate travel and trade.

I'm pleased that CBP has had the opportunity to be actively involved in the development and review of the four Blue Water Bridge alternatives. CBP supports the "city west" alternative. This alternative, more than any of the others, best addresses the reasons that plaza improvements are needed, while being mindful of the impact on the surrounding community. Specifically for CBP, the "city west" alternative provides space for additional primary inspection lanes, additional space to accommodate and deploy the latest non-intrusive inspection technologies available for our officers' use, and the ability to conduct on-site commercial cargo examinations--all of which will provide for a more secure and efficient flow of people, goods, and vehicles through the port. Over the past six years in particular, our challenges to secure and manage the border have grown, and continue to evolve. This critical improvement to the Blue Water Bridge plaza will keep pace with these ongoing challenges for years to come.

By virtue of our creation in 2003, CBP and the Department of Homeland Security are still relatively new - but the agencies that came together to form CBP have been around for some time. In fact, Customs has been an important member of the Port Huron community for 141 years--dating back to an act of the 39th Congress of the United States that established the then Customs collection district of Port Huron.

We in CBP, have been, and continue to be proud members of this great community. Our employees don't just work here--we live here, we raise our families here, and we are very interested in making sure that projects such as these are planned, designed, and completed with the best interests of our community in mind.

We take pride in our history and we will work diligently to build a great future for CBP in Port Huron. I'm confident that by continuing to work together, we will make the Blue Water Bridge plaza project a great success.

Thank you for your time and attention.