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Late last year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved a plan to fund emergency preparedness training on weapons of mass destruction for nationwide first responders at Transportation Technology Center Inc.’s Emergency Response Training Center (ERTC) in Pueblo, Colo.

“The DHS has already identified the nation’s transportation infrastructure as an area of concern when it comes to potential terrorist threats,” said ERTC Manager Danny Simpson in a prepared statement. “Responders need a training center to learn and practice skills in order to effectively respond to transportation-related incidents.”

Last year, Colorado congressmen introduced measures in the House and Senate to make ERTC part of the National Domestic Preparedness Consortium, a group of institutions that provide training to state and local emergency responders. The consortium — which includes the Center for Domestic Preparedness, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Louisiana State and Texas A&M universities, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Nevada test site — obtained $145 million in federal funds last year.