Date: October 12, 2006

Contact:
(216) 902-6020

COAST GUARD UPDATES PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULE; ERIE AND STURGEON BAY CONFIRMED 

CLEVELAND - The Ninth Coast Guard District public meeting schedule has been updated.

The public meetings have been planned in order to present issues relating to the proposed establishment of permanent safety zones on the Great Lakes to conduct live gunnery training exercises. On August 1, 2006, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed rule making to establish permanent safety zones throughout the Great Lakes, which would restrict vessels from portions of the Great Lakes during live fire gun exercises that will be conducted by Coast Guard cutters and small boats. The comment period will close on November 13, 2006. All comments received will be considered before any final decisions are made by the Coast Guard.

Members of the public will be able to submit formal comments for consideration at each location.  The updated schedule includes two additional locations:

October 18 - Grand Haven Waterfront Holiday Inn, 940 West Savidge, Spring Lake MI

October 19 - Crystal Gardens, 1200 Gratiot Boulevard, Marysville MI

October 23 - Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, 31st floor auditorium, 1240 E. 9th Street, Cleveland, OH

October 30 - Rochester Fast Ferry Terminal, 1000 N. River Street, Rochester, NY

November 1 - Lake County Conference and Banquet Center, 248 Ambrogio Drive, Gurnee, IL

November 3 - Charlevoix Public Library, 220 W. Clinton Street, Charlevoix, MI

November 6 - Erie, PA - Cruise Ship Terminal

November 8 - Sturgeon Bay, WI - exact location to be determined

Prior to the start of each public meeting , Coast Guard officials will conduct an open house from 4 pm to 5:30 pm (local) to answer questions and provide background information. 

The public meetings are scheduled for 5:30 pm to 8 pm (local) at each location. After a brief statement by Coast Guard officials, the public can provide comment.  In accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, the public meeting is not a question and answer format, but rather an opportunity for the public to have their comments recorded and formally entered into the docket for consideration. Topics to be discussed include:

• Introduction of the proposed zones and the need to train on the Great Lakes
• How the Coast Guard determined locations of the zones
• Scheduling and frequency of training in the zones
• Notification procedures
• Safety procedures
• Weapons and munitions
• Environmental risk assessment overview

Members of the public who are unable to attend the public meetings may still submit comments to the Docket Management Facility web site at http://dms.dot.gov. Docket #25767.

Further information on the safety zones can be found at: http://www.uscgd9safetyzones.com/.

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