The Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration announced that April 14, 2009, is the Transportation Worker Identification Credential compliance date for owners and operators of facilities located within the Coast Guard Captain of the Port Zones of Houston-Galveston, and Port Arthur.

Maritime workers who have not yet applied for a TWIC, are urged to apply as soon as possible before unescorted access to facilities in these port areas is prohibited. Workers can pre-enroll online at www.tsa.gov/twic. Pre-enrollment aids the process of the TWIC application by taking biometric information on-line and then scheduling appointments at local enrollment centers for the member, thus eliminating long wait times caused by walk-ins.

It can take six to eight weeks from the time of enrollment to the time that an applicant receives their TWIC, so port workers need to enroll as soon as possible to meet the facility April 14th and vessel April 15th enforcement dates.

The Coast Guard has been working closely with industry partners through events such as "Operation Got TWIC" and credentialing workgroups to gauge the progress and health of the TWIC program leading up to the April 14th deadline.

The Coast Guard will be responsible for enforcing TWIC rules, and will be assisted by facility owners, port police, and other federal, state and local partners to achieve the security goals of the program. To ensure that all port facilities are complying with the TWIC requirements, Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies will conduct routine inspections and random spot checks. Violations of the TWIC regulations range from on site education and correction to letters of warning to civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation per day.

Additional information and a framework showing expected compliance dates by Captain of the Port zone is available on the U.S. Coast Guard's Homeport Web site at http://homeport.uscg.mil/twic. Captain of the Port zone maps with ports annotated are available on that Web site under General Information, COTP Zone Maps. You may also call 866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) or 877-MTSA-AID (877-687-2243) for more information. For assistance via e-mail, please send queries to credentialing@dhs.gov

Listed here are the addresses of the enrollment centers for Texas ports affected by the April 14th, 2009 deadline:

• Suite 500, 3820 Highway 365, Port Arthur, Texas, 77642

• Gulf Gate (Chase Bank Building), Suite 314, 2900 Woodridge Dr., Houston, Texas, 77087

• West Gulf Maritime Association, Suite 100, 1717 Turning Basin, Houston Texas, 77029

• Mall of the Mainland, Space #1074, 10000 Emmett F. Lowery Expressway, Texas City, Texas, 77591

• Ford Convention Center, Tyler Room, 5115 Iinterstate10 South, Beaumont, Texas, 77705

• Brazos Mall, Suite 1039, 100 Highway 332 West, Lake Jackson, Texas, 77566

• 621 West Main St., La Porte, Texas, 77571