- Joined
- Jan 1, 2000
- RO Number
- 2818
- Messages
- 272
USCC has cancelled the live fire exercises on the Great Lakes. All of those "closed to boating" zones will now be open. There was too many complaints by the boating public.
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Coast Guard, responding to safety and environmental concerns, said Monday it was withdrawing plans to periodically close 6,475 square kilometres of the Great Lakes for live machine-gun exercises.
The plan had been criticized by several U.S. and Canadian mayors, business leaders and environmentalists who said it could be unsafe and disruptive. Environmentalists also said they worried about the consequences of lead shot being deposited in the Great Lakes.
"The coast guard appreciates the thoughtful comments we received and we will work with the public to ensure the coast guard can meet any threat to public safety or security,'' said Rear Admiral John Crowley Jr., commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District in Cleveland.
"We are committed to addressing the concerns that training be safe, preserve the diverse uses of the lakes and protect the environment,'' Crowley said.
During several public hearings in the region, coast guard officials said the training exercises were vital to its homeland security and law enforcement missions. The plan called for crews to shoot at floating targets with M240-B automatic rifles aboard cutters, rescue boats and other vessels.
Each of the 34 "safety zones'' on lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario would have been closed to private vessels for four-hour spans about four to eight times a year. Exercises would have taken place in each zone two or three times a year.
The proposal followed the coast guard's decision to mount automatic weapons on about 150 Great Lakes vessels as it has done on vessels on the East, West and Gulf coasts.
Representative James Oberstar (D-Minn.) said Monday he learned about the decision from Admiral Thad Allen, the coast guard's commandant, who "was dissatisfied with the process by which the coast guard undertook this activity.''
"We understand the need of the coast guard to be in a top state of readiness, but they must respect the public's concern for safety and the environment,'' said Representative Dave Obey (D-Wis.).
Mayors from 80 U.S. and Canadian cities from around the Great Lakes had urged the coast guard to halt plans for the exercises, saying it would create tensions. Toronto Mayor David Miller said it was "totally contrary to the long history of peaceful relations and environmental co-operation'' between the neighbouring countries.
The coast guard had said the exercises would not endanger the public, noting that about two dozen live-fire sessions were conducted on the lakes this year. The exercises were held in temporary zones while the plan to establish permanent training sites were under review.
But some of the zones overlapped established vessel routes, including those of Michigan-to-Wisconsin car ferries and the Beaver Island ferries originating from Charlevoix on Lake Michigan. And some worried that boaters might not hear warnings on maritime radio and find themselves in the line of fire.
Hugh McDiarmid Jr., spokesman for the Michigan Environmental Council, said the group was pleased by the decision. The council was concerned that some 3,200 kilograms of lead would be deposited annually into the lakes and "there really was no examination of where this lead would fall and what it would do,'' he said.
Crowley said he would "take the time to get this right'' and would not conduct live-fire training in the lakes to meet non-emergency training requirements. Crowley said he planned to reconsider public concerns and was committed to finding "environmentally friendly alternatives to the lead ammunition we currently use.''
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Coast Guard, responding to safety and environmental concerns, said Monday it was withdrawing plans to periodically close 6,475 square kilometres of the Great Lakes for live machine-gun exercises.
The plan had been criticized by several U.S. and Canadian mayors, business leaders and environmentalists who said it could be unsafe and disruptive. Environmentalists also said they worried about the consequences of lead shot being deposited in the Great Lakes.
"The coast guard appreciates the thoughtful comments we received and we will work with the public to ensure the coast guard can meet any threat to public safety or security,'' said Rear Admiral John Crowley Jr., commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District in Cleveland.
"We are committed to addressing the concerns that training be safe, preserve the diverse uses of the lakes and protect the environment,'' Crowley said.
During several public hearings in the region, coast guard officials said the training exercises were vital to its homeland security and law enforcement missions. The plan called for crews to shoot at floating targets with M240-B automatic rifles aboard cutters, rescue boats and other vessels.
Each of the 34 "safety zones'' on lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario would have been closed to private vessels for four-hour spans about four to eight times a year. Exercises would have taken place in each zone two or three times a year.
The proposal followed the coast guard's decision to mount automatic weapons on about 150 Great Lakes vessels as it has done on vessels on the East, West and Gulf coasts.
Representative James Oberstar (D-Minn.) said Monday he learned about the decision from Admiral Thad Allen, the coast guard's commandant, who "was dissatisfied with the process by which the coast guard undertook this activity.''
"We understand the need of the coast guard to be in a top state of readiness, but they must respect the public's concern for safety and the environment,'' said Representative Dave Obey (D-Wis.).
Mayors from 80 U.S. and Canadian cities from around the Great Lakes had urged the coast guard to halt plans for the exercises, saying it would create tensions. Toronto Mayor David Miller said it was "totally contrary to the long history of peaceful relations and environmental co-operation'' between the neighbouring countries.
The coast guard had said the exercises would not endanger the public, noting that about two dozen live-fire sessions were conducted on the lakes this year. The exercises were held in temporary zones while the plan to establish permanent training sites were under review.
But some of the zones overlapped established vessel routes, including those of Michigan-to-Wisconsin car ferries and the Beaver Island ferries originating from Charlevoix on Lake Michigan. And some worried that boaters might not hear warnings on maritime radio and find themselves in the line of fire.
Hugh McDiarmid Jr., spokesman for the Michigan Environmental Council, said the group was pleased by the decision. The council was concerned that some 3,200 kilograms of lead would be deposited annually into the lakes and "there really was no examination of where this lead would fall and what it would do,'' he said.
Crowley said he would "take the time to get this right'' and would not conduct live-fire training in the lakes to meet non-emergency training requirements. Crowley said he planned to reconsider public concerns and was committed to finding "environmentally friendly alternatives to the lead ammunition we currently use.''