Reps. Sak, Ball, Bieda, Brandenburg, Byrnes, Byrum, Clack, Condino, Farrah, Gillard, Gleason, Gonzales, Green, Hopgood, Kolb, Kathleen Law, Lemmons, III, McDowell, Miller, Murphy, Palsrok, Polidori, Alma Smith, Tobocman, Zelenko, Acciavatti and Lipsey offered the following resolution:

            House Resolution No. 312.

            A resolution to request the United States Coast Guard to reevaluate its plan to conduct live fire gun exercises in Great Lakes safety zones.

            Whereas, The United States Coast Guard has proposed the establishment of safety zones throughout the Great Lakes in order to conduct live fire gun exercises with Coast Guard cutters and small boats. The training area safety zones are planned for all of the Great Lakes and more than two dozen of these zones are envisioned; and

            Whereas, These United States Coast Guard Water Training Areas may create hazards to vessels and people from projectile ricochets that could damage vessels and injure or kill people should civilian vessels enter these safety zones during training exercises. The local Captain of the Port will have the duty to notify boaters of the activation of these zones during exercises. The large numbers of recreational and commercial vessels that use our Great Lakes will make this a daunting task to accomplish each and every time a safety zone is activated or suspended. Enforcing the zones to keep unwary boaters away from the zones will be an added burden as well; and

            Whereas, The importance of Great Lakes commerce and recreation to the people of Michigan may make the establishment of Coast Guard live fire gun exercise training areas a burden on the state of Michigan. Questions concerning the potential environmental impact of this live fire training are troubling given the importance of the Great Lakes to our state. Our people and industries are already struggling to emerge from the economic dislocations of this decade. We must preserve the Great Lakes for their prime uses of recreation and commerce, and explore other more innovative ways to maintain the training edge of our Coast Guard sailors; now, therefore, be it

            Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we request the United States Coast Guard to reevaluate its plan to conduct live fire gun exercises in Great Lakes safety zones; and be it further

            Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard and the Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security.