[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 197 (Thursday, October 12, 2006)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 60094-60095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-16903]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

33 CFR Part 165

[USCG-2006-25767; CGD09-06-123]


Safety Zones; U.S. Coast Guard Water Training Areas, Great Lakes

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard is announcing that it is adding three more 
public meetings to its current schedule of public meetings to discuss 
issues relating to the proposed permanent safety zones located in the 
Great Lakes to conduct live gunnery training exercises. These meetings 
will be open to the public and are in addition to the four currently 
scheduled public meetings.

DATES: The Coast Guard will hold three additional public meetings as 
follows: Monday, October 30, 2006 in Rochester, NY; Wednesday, November 
1, in the Milwaukee, WI/Chicago, IL area; and Friday, November 3, in 
Charlevoix, MI.
    Comments and materials related to these public meetings must reach 
the Docket Management Facility on or before October 20, 2006. If you 
are unable to attend, you may submit comments to the Docket Management 
Facility by November 13, 2006.
    You may submit your comments and related material by one of the 
following means:
    (1) By mail to the Docket Management Facility (USCG-2006-2567), 
U.S. Department of Transportation, room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20590-0001.
    (2) By delivery to room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif 
Building, 400 Seventh Street SW., Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m. Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. The telephone 
number is 202-366-9329.

[[Page 60095]]

    (3) By fax to the Docket Management Facility at 202-493-2251.
    (4) Electronically through the Web site for the Docket Management 
System at http://dms.dot.gov.
    The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket for the 
rulemaking. Comments and material received from the public will become 
part of this docket and will be available for inspection or copying at 
room PL-401, located on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building at the 
same address between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays. You may electronically access the public docket by 
performing a ``Simple Search'' for docket number 25767 on the internet 
at http://dms.dot.gov.
    Electronic forms of all comments received into any of our dockets 
can be searched by the name of the individual submitting the comment 
(or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor unit, etc.) and is open to the public without 
restriction. You may review the Department of Transportation's complete 
Privacy Act Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 
2000 (65 FR 19477-78), or you may visit http://dms.dot.gov/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information concerning 
this notice and the public meeting, contact Commander Gustav Wulfkuhle, 
Chief Enforcement Branch, Ninth Coast Guard District, Cleveland, Ohio 
at (216) 902-6091. If you have any questions on viewing or submitting 
material to the docket, call Renee V. Wright, Program Manager, Docket 
Operations, telephone 202-493-0402.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Public Meetings

    The Coast Guard will hold three additional public meetings as 
follows: Monday, October 30, 2006 in Rochester, NY; Wednesday, November 
1, in the Milwaukee WI/Chicago, IL area; and Friday, November 3, in 
Charlevoix, MI. These meetings will be held to take comments regarding 
the proposed Safety Zones; U.S. Coast Guard Water Training Areas, Great 
Lakes, published on August 1, 2006, in the Federal Register at 71 FR 
43402. Specific times, locations and additional information for the 
public meetings will be announced in a subsequent notice in the Federal 
Register.
    The Coast Guard encourages interested persons to submit written 
data, views, or comments. Persons submitting comments should please 
include their name and address and identify the docket number (USCG-
2006-2567). You may submit your comments and material by mail, hand 
delivery, fax or electronic means to the Docket Management Facility at 
the address under ADDRESSES.

Regulatory History

    On August 1, 2006, the Coast Guard published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (NPRM)(71 FR 43402) to establish permanent safety zones 
throughout the Great Lakes to conduct live fire gun exercises. The 
initial comment period for this NPRM ended on August 31, 2006. In 
response to public requests, the Coast Guard re-opened the comment 
period on this NPRM. (71 FR 53629, September 12, 2006) Re-opening the 
comment period from September 12, 2006 to November 13, 2006, provides 
the public more time to submit comments and recommendations. In 
addition, the Coast Guard announced on September 19, 2006 it would hold 
public meetings in Duluth, MN; Grand Haven/Spring Lake, MI; Port Huron/
Marysville, MI; and Cleveland, OH to discuss issues related to the 
proposed permanent safety zones. See, 71 FR 54792. The times and 
locations of these four meetings were announced in the Federal Register 
on September 27, 2006. (71 FR 56420)
    This document announces the decision to include three additional 
meetings to the list of currently scheduled public meetings. These 
added meetings will be held as follows: Monday, October 30, 2006 in 
Rochester, NY; Wednesday, November 1, in the Milwaukee, WI/Chicago, IL 
area; and Friday, November 3, in Charlevoix, MI. Specific times, 
locations and additional information for the public meetings will be 
announced in a subsequent notice in the Federal Register.

Background and Purpose

    These safety zones are necessary to protect vessels and people from 
hazards associated with live fire gun exercises. Such hazards include 
projectiles that may ricochet and damage vessels and/or cause death or 
serious bodily harm. The thirty-four zones will be located throughout 
the Great Lakes in order to accommodate 56 separate Coast Guard units. 
The proposed safety zones are all located at least three nautical miles 
from the shoreline.

Procedural

    The meetings are open to the public. Please note that the meetings 
may close early if all business is finished. If you are unable to 
attend, you may submit comments to the Docket Management Facility at 
the address under ADDRESSES by November 13, 2006.

Information on Services for Individuals With Disabilities

    If you plan to attend the public meeting and require special 
assistance, such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable 
accommodations, please contact us as indicated in FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT. Requests for special assistance should reach the 
Coast Guard within seven (7) business days of the meeting.

    Dated: October 3, 2006.
John E. Crowley, Jr.,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. E6-16903 Filed 10-11-06; 8:45 am]
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