Firestorm of protest at Waukegan hearing

Prior to the public meeting at the Genesee Theatre, Rear Adm. John Crowley met with The News-Sun's editorial board and reiterated that "no decision has been made" about resuming live fire exercises after he called a stop to the practice to conduct public hearings on the issue.

But Crowley added that "I feel obligated to help us be prepared" as the Coast Guard patrols waters that contain what he called "maritime targets of value," including tankers with natural resources.

But Crowley added that "I feel obligated to help us be prepared" as the Coast Guard patrols waters that contain what he called "maritime targets of value," including tankers with natural resources.

"This is new, as far as the public looks at the role of the Coast Guard," he said. "But part of our mission is protecting the people and the commerce that use the Great Lakes."

"This is new, as far as the public looks at the role of the Coast Guard," he said. "But part of our mission is protecting the people and the commerce that use the Great Lakes."

At the same time, Crowley expressed understanding for the concerns about safety and the environment, saying the people who recreate on the Great Lakes have a personal stake in them.

"We heard from people who said, 'You're shooting on my lake. You didn't get my permission,'" he said. "That sense of ownership is what makes the Great Lakes (so) unique."

Crowley stressed that live-fire exercises would be conducted a minimum of five miles offshore and five miles from water intakes, and that the Coast Guard would "provide advance notice aggressively" to alert boaters to upcoming exercises. He pointed out that patrols would monitor the waters around the fire zone, and "if they see anything that they even think is unsafe, they have the authority to stop (the firing)."

Regarding environmental concerns, Crowley displayed a slug from an M240 round, which has a copper jacket surrounding a lead base. He said the Coast Guard commissioned a private study to examine worst-case scenarios for firing the slugs into lakewater, aiming for standards that exceed minimum requirements from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He said the study showed that even deposits of slugs with broken copper jackets would remain below EPA thresholds for pollution.