Coast Guard Debates Target Practice On Great Lakes

The U.S. Coast Guard says it needs to digest reams of public comment before it decides whether to resume target practice with machine guns on the Great Lakes. In Duluth many public officials, boaters and environmentalists were angered by the plan. Some were concerned for the safety of boaters but more were upset about lead contamination in the ecosystems of the lakes.The Coast Guard closed a public comment period last week. A spokesman says more than one thousand comments were submitted. The Coast Guard plan would create 34 safety zones on the five Great Lakes were the guard would be able to fire rounds at a rate of 10 bullets per second from deck-mounted guns. Seven of those zones would be on Lake Superior, including several at spots a few miles off shore from Two Harbors and Grand Marais.