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Sept. 14: Coast Guard fires machine guns off Two Harbors

Last update: December 18, 2006 - 1:39 PM

TWO HARBORS, Minn. Crew members on two U.S. Coast Guard boats fired machine guns at a floating target on Lake Superior, drawing criticism from the mayor of Duluth.

Coast Guard crews fired the M-240 machine guns about eight miles offshore from Two Harbors, said Chief Petty Office Robert Lanier, spokesman for the Coast Guard's Great Lakes district, based in Cleveland.

Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson said he had been led to believe there would be no live fire exercises during the Coast Guard's extended public comment period on the issue, which runs through Nov. 13.

Lanier said the target practice was announced on marine band radio Channel 16 more than two hours before firing began and every 10 minutes during the exercise.

At least two pleasure craft witnessed the firing.

"I'm outraged. ... I would think the public is outraged,'' Bergson said at a hastily called news conference Tuesday afternoon.

The Coast Guard last month proposed establishing 34 permanent live-fire training zones across the Great Lakes, including three in Lake Superior. The zones would be closed to the public only during the drills. Currently, temporary zones are created for each drill. The safety zones combined would encompass 2,376 square miles, or 2.5 percent of the Great Lakes' 94,488 square miles.

That proposal was put on hold for 60 days after Minnesota and Wisconsin congressmen complained that neither their offices, the public nor the media were given proper notice.

Lanier said Tuesday that creation of the permanent zones was put on hold, but live-fire training was not, and that there are no plans to suspend exercises during the public discussion on creating the training zones.

"We need to do the necessary training to conduct our missions of maritime safety, homeland security and national defense. ... We never intended to say that we were putting training on hold,'' Lanier said.

The Coast Guard has held 24 live-fire exercises across the Great Lakes this year and at least two more are scheduled, though not on Lake Superior, he said.

Bergson criticized the live-fire training because of the lead bullets that fall into Lake Superior. At a time the federal government is pushing efforts to clean up the Great Lakes and with state officials encouraging anglers to use lead-free fishing tackle, he said, the same government is putting toxic lead on the lake bottom.

Bergson said the live-fire issue came up during a teleconference last week among several Great Lakes mayors, members of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

"Everyone was concerned about it,'' he said.

The mayor said he opposes all live-fire training on the Great Lakes. He said the shooting should be done on land at police ranges where lead is controlled.

Lanier said an internal environmental review found no major impact.

"We think creating permanent safety zones is the best way to make sure we can do our training with the least impact on the public. Our number-one priority is public safety,'' Lanier said.

Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com