Coast Guard plan meets strong opposition

BY KRISTINA HUGHES NEWS-REVIEW STAFF WRITER
Petoskey News-Review
Nov. 07, 2006

CHARLEVOIX - Flo Peterson was proud of the Coast Guard's role as guardians of the Great Lakes.

But her pride has changed to disgust since the Coast Guard shared its intent to establish live fire training zones on the Great Lakes.

“I think this is the most ludicrous thing imagined,” said Peterson, of Charlevoix. “... Water is the most precious commodity. It's more important than oil.”

Close to 100 environmentalists, boaters, city officials, business owners and concerned residents of the Great Lakes basin attended the Coast Guard informational meeting and hearing Friday at the Charlevoix Public Library. The crowd overwhelmingly opposed the plans.

The Coast Guard is proposing the establishment of 34 zones throughout the Great Lakes that will periodically be used for live gunfire training exercises.

Audience members requested that the Coast Guard conduct a new environmental study, use lead-free bullets, reduce training centers or remove the centers all together.
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The drills will distribute approximately 7,000 pounds of lead into the Great Lakes annually, according to the “Coast Guard Preliminary Health Risk Assessment for Proposed U.S. Coast Guard Weapons Training Exercises Study.”

This would make the Coast Guard the leading producer of lead in the Great Lakes. Michigan industries distributed 4,069 pounds of lead compounds into surface water in 2004, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Menominee, who requested the hearing, said several of his constituents question why the Coast Guard would be permitted to discharge 7,000 pounds - more than what the state industries produce. Stupak said he does not have a practical answer for them.

Stupak questioned the environmental study results.

“I'm not convinced that it will have negligible results,” Stupak said.

According to James Maughan, Ph.D., the vice president of water resources for CH2M Hill, which conducted the study, said the study operates under a worst case scenario. Maughan said the pounds of lead distributed would be less than what was indicated in the report.

For example, the Coast Guard will use 3,000 rounds per year in each zone. The study used 10,000 rounds to determine the impact, Maughan said. The bullets contain copper, antimony, zinc and lead. The study also considers the impact left if the zones were utilized for drinking purposes. Maughan said the results indicated that the water would be safe for drinking. The zones, however, are at least five miles away from drinking water intakes.

“The study concluded that there would be no elevated risk to humans or the environment” Maughan said.

But Diane Meyer, representing the Sierra Club, questions the validity of a study that did not include the contaminants that already exist in the zones. The study does not take account of the current levels of lead, copper or other metals.

Gayle Gennett of Charlevoix said good science includes a baseline.

“I didn't see any baseline work and as a teacher I always look for a base,” Gennett said.

Some environmentalists believe in some zones the levels could be higher than EPA standards permit if the current levels were included in the results.

Jennifer McKay, a policy specialist for the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council based in Petoskey, said the study was inadequate on many levels. The study did not include site specific evaluations of the zones to determine if there were endangered, threatened species, contaminants or poor water quality or the impacts of the potential chemical interactions. The council recommends a full environmental study specific to each zone.

The metal discharges could have detrimental impacts on unstable food chains and fish populations. By introducing more lead and copper to the lakes, the metals may work up the food chain, increasing the concentration of contaminants in fish. Many of these chemicals are attracted to fats and move into the tissue of fish.

If consumed at a high enough concentration lead can cause poor muscle coordination, nerve damage, increased blood pressure, hearing and vision impairment and reproductive problems in adults, according to the CDC. Children 7 and under are more at risk.

Regionally, fish habitats financially support a commercial fishing and booming restaurant business that prides itself on whitefish.

The Great Lakes support a commercial fishery worth about $13 million as of 2002, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and a sport-fishing industry of nearly $1.3 billion as of 2001, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

For centuries, Native American tribes fished and hunted the Great Lakes regions, and the firing zones would interfere with those traditions.

The intended zones may violate the recognized 1836 Treaty that reserved tribal preserves for hunting and fishing, said Suzanne McSawby, natural resources department manager for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. McSawby said 10 zones are within the 1836 tribal territory.

The location of the zones also concerned recreational boaters, fishing companies and ferry boat operators.

The zone located off Charlevoix is becoming a controversial site.

The zone is in the middle of the direct path of the Beaver Island Boat Company ferry, said Timothy McQueer, the assistant manager of the company.

If the company would alter the course to move around the zone, it would require six more miles of travel, resulting in an additional half-hour of ferry time and increased fuel costs, McQueer said.

The company formally asked the Coast Guard to remove the zone from the center of the ferry route and consider an alternative location.

The company also requested the establishment of specific practice dates and times which would not interfere with their operation. McQueer suggested making these times and dates consistent so commercial and recreational boaters can plan around it.

He also requested for the Coast Guard to set the firing dates during April or December when the ferry trips are less frequent.

Captain Mike Parks, Chief of the Response Branch of the Ninth Coast Guard District, said the trainings are designed to not interfere with the general boating population or commerce.

The centers are located near Coast Guard stations to enable the guard to continue its search and saving missions, Parks said. The training sessions will include classroom training, land simulation and the water-based training. The ships will be equipped with the M-240 machine gun which is fired by a coordinated effort by the crew, Parks said. The Coast Guard began live fire trainings in January of this year.The guard will train nine cutters twice a year and small lifeboat stations once a year. On average each zone would be used less than 24 hours per year, Parks said.

The Coast Guard will issue a broadcast via the marine band radio two hours prior and every 15 minutes within the training. They will also work with officials and media to assure the community and boaters are properly notified.

One boat platform will be used for the training and another platform will be used to secure the zone. The safety boat includes a radar system that can track three miles. If any boat encroaches the training area the training will be stopped.

But if the Coast Guard establishes these zones would it set a precedent for more training? McQueer said with the changing needs of the Coast Guard the training may increase, potentially adding more firing days.

Some residents are concerned about what they called the militarization of the Coast Guard.

“I oppose the war on the Great Lakes,” said Anne Rojers, of Traverse City.

Edith Gilbert of Charlevoix asked who is manufacturing and profiting from these weapons.

But weapons on the Great Lakes are uniquely tied to the waters' history. During World War I the Coast Guard armed cutters and smaller boats. During World War II, the Navy established a gunnery range in the middle of Lake Michigan. The Coast Guard began arming its cutters and boats in the 1980s. Vessels such as ice breakers and the new Mackinaw are equipped to support .50-caliber machine guns.

During the nearly three hour hearing two people spoke in support of the plans.

“If you're going to have young men and women under attack, you have to train them,” John Haggard of Charlevoix said.

Haggard doesn't believe the lead or environmental issues should come into play.

“As a sportsman and fisherman I probably put as much lead in the waters when I lose a downrigger,” Haggard said. “...On a lighter side, maybe we can use the training to solve the cormorant problem.”

Pete Phillips, a retired serviceman of Charlevoix, also defended the training zones.

“Without the actual fire training, you don't have the experience to defend yourself,” he said.

Scott Boop, the officer in charge at the Coast Guard station in Charlevoix, attended the meeting to hear from the public and encourage the guard's mission to guard the lakes. Boop said the station will conduct trainings when there is low density boat traffic and dependent on weather. Boop said the trainings are safe.

“I live in Charlevoix County and want the community to be just as safe as my next door neighbor,” Boop said.

Rear Admiral John Crowley, encourages those who did not attend to comment.

“No decision has been made. Your concerns will be taken in consideration before a decision is made,” Crowley said.