Ridge unveils emergency response plan

WASHINGTON – Trotting out a new plan to improve federal-local coordination in cases of terrorism, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday his department is also working on better relations within the federal government itself.

“The only turf that we ought to be worried about is the turf we stand on – not any jurisdictional turf in this town,” Ridge said.

His 2-year-old department has faced bureaucratic battles in combining nearly two dozen federal agencies into one department, as well as rivalries with law enforcement agencies like the FBI.

Saying he would not tote up wins and losses, Ridge called interagency cooperation “good, and it’s going to get better.”

Ridge also said he has no idea when President Bush might nominate a replacement, but he hopes to be out of office by Feb. 1. An initial nominee, Bernard Kerik, withdrew last month.

In the meantime, Ridge and aides are bracing for the security challenge of this month’s presidential inauguration. Expressing confidence it will be safe, Ridge said intelligence agencies are reporting less chatter in recent months by terrorist groups.

“The decibel level is lower,” he said.

Ridge spoke as his department unveiled a new National Response Plan, one covering anything from a natural disaster to a chemical, biological, or nuclear attack. The plan seeks to coordinate responses among federal, state, local and tribal governments, as well as the private sector.

“It’s really been drafted by the entire country,” Ridge said.