FACT SHEET
Our Great Lakes system, its resources & most importantly its people, are an integral component of our nation's trade & economy, environment & social fabric. The training of Coast Guard men & women on the Great Lakes, & our subsequent proposal to create 34 permanent safety zones where Coast Guard personnel could conduct weapons training, has generated some concern to those who live, work & play on & around the Great Lakes. The Coast Guard is actively pursuing input & comment on this proposal. Detailed images & documents can be found at www.uscgd9safetyzones.com. This is an overview of the issue & proposed rulemaking.
As we face new threats & challenges, Coast Guard cutters & small boats have been equipped with a mounted M-240B machine gun that:
- is a significant improvement to our handheld weapons;
- is safely & effectively fired through a coordinated effort by the entire boat crew;
- requires crew training on the water for its safe & effective use.
The Coast Guard began crew live-fire weapons training in January of this year only after:
- a thorough review of law & policy;
- completing a human health & environment risk assessment which concluded there would be insignificant elevated risk to humans or the environment;
- holding extensive classroom & live-fire training ashore;
- conducting extensive marine broadcasts & notifications prior to & during every live-fire training exercise;
- scanning the safety zone with radar & employing a fulltime safety observer
We proceeded to propose the creation of 34 permanent zones to:
- provide mariners with stable, predictable training schedules & locations;
- ensure that nautical charts would be marked with the permanent zone locations;
- enable our 56 Coast Guard units that require the weapons training to avoid crew fatigue;
- standardize the process for mariner notifications prior to every training exercise.
On August 1, 2006, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed rulemaking (FR 43402) to establish permanent safety zones throughout the Great Lakes. Mariners would only be restricted from using these safety zones during the actual live-fire exercises, scheduled to occur on average only a few times a year for a few hours at a time.
The official public comment period was extended through Nov. 13th to provide the public with additional time to learn more about this issue & provide input.
The Ninth Coast Guard District is holding a series of open house public meetings, in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, to discuss issues & gather public input relating to the proposed permanent safety zones. Public meetings are scheduled for: Duluth, Minn., Oct. 16; Spring Lake, Mich., Oct. 18; Marysville, Mich., Oct. 19; Cleveland, Ohio, Oct. 23; Rochester, N.Y., Oct. 30; Waukegon, Ill., Nov. 1; Charlevoix, Mich., Nov. 3; Erie, Pa., Nov. 6; & Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., Nov. 8.
Everyone interested in this issue or who wishes to provide comment should visit the Federal Register Docket at http://dms.dot.gov/, and enter docket number 25767. From this site you can also download a copy of the environmental risk assessment & review comments & other materials submitted to date.
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