COAST GUARD TO RE-OPEN PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
FOR GREAT LAKES SAFETY ZONES

CLEVELAND - The Ninth Coast Guard District has re-opened the public comment period concerning the proposed Great Lakes safety zones, as published in the Federal Register on August 1, 2006.

In an effort to maximize public input concerning the safe co-existence of Coast Guard training, and recreational and commercial traffic on the Great Lakes, the Ninth Coast Guard District is re-opening the public comments time period.

The federal register is scheduled to publish the re-opening of the public comment period on Tuesday, Sept. 12.  The public will have 60 days, from tomorrow, to submit public comments or concerns on the proposed establishment of permanent safety zones throughout the Great Lakes.

The Ninth Coast Guard District is proposing the establishment of 34 safety zones throughout the Great Lakes.  These safety zones will be used for live gunfire training exercises to prepare Coast Guard men and women for maritime law enforcement, national defense and homeland security missions.

The Ninth Coast Guard District's priority will always be public safety.  Therefore, all proposed zones are at least five (5) miles off of the U.S. shoreline and U.S.-Canada maritime border, and outside of commercial shipping lanes and marine sanctuaries.  Public outreach and multiple broadcasts, on marine band radio channel 16, which is used for distress, weather updates and marine information, will be made in advance of all gunfire exercise.  Additionally, a safety observer will monitor the safety zone throughout the exercise.

There are 47 Coast Guard stations and nine (9) Coast Guard cutters that would require the use of these safety zones.

"We must be always ready to protect our Great Lakes and always ready to deploy wherever our nation needs us.  We will do so safely and responsibly," said Rear Adm. John E. Crowley, Jr., Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District, which is responsible for serving the Great Lakes.  "We must protect this intricate Great Lakes' system that constitutes 25 percent of the planet's fresh water supply and provides a vital international maritime transportation link for the nation's agricultural and industrial heartland."

Coast Guard units train with the M240-B lightweight automatic weapon, which fires a NATO-standard 7.62mm round.  Since January 2006, 17 units and 249 Coast Guard men and women have been trained on the Great Lakes without incident.  Those units trained in temporary zones, which were published in the Federal Register.

The Great Lakes encompass 94,488 square miles of water.  The safety zones, combined, would use 2,376 square miles or 2.5 percent.  The proposed permanent zones would be used only a few times in a calendar year; would only be restricted when the Coast Guard is conducting training; and each exercise would last approximately 4-6 hours.

The environmental impact of our safety zones has been studied by two independent environmental consulting companies, e2M and CH2MHill.  The studies concluded there would be no elevated risk to humans or the environment.

Once the Federal Register is published, public comments or concerns can be submitted by the following methods: