You Chicago area M-sailors will be interested in this: From the Chigago Tribune:
> > Lake security shored up > > Key sites will be placed off-limits > > > > By Amanda Vogt and Nancy Ryan > > Tribune staff reporters > > Published April 12, 2002 > > > > Six security zones marked by buoys and patrolled by the Coast Guard along > > Lake Michigan's northern Illinois shoreline could make the first summer > > boating season since Sept. 11 a little tougher to navigate. > > > > "We've really tried to find a compromise between having no boats in the > > water to hardening security and still allowing access to recreational > > boaters," said Lt. Cmdr. Al Echols, chief of port operations for the Coast > > Guard in Chicago. > > > > Besides protecting tons of radioactive spent fuel at the inactive nuclear > > power plant at Zion, the no-boating zones are designed to prevent attacks > on > > Navy Pier and the city's water supply, Coast Guard officials said. The > > security zones include water intake and filtration points at 68th and 79th > > Streets. > > > > Adopted on an emergency basis after the attacks, the zones are along about > > 55 miles of shoreline, running from 79th Street north to Zion. > > > > Taken together they encompass only about 2 square miles but represent > > critical water when it comes to the Chicago area's safety, officials said. > > > > "We're concerned about every imaginable act of sabotage, of any act that > > might damage or cause disruption to normal life," Coast Guard spokesman > Paul > > Roszkowski, said. > > > > Officials also hoisted a warning flag: Boaters who challenge the zones > could > > face seizure and forfeiture of their boats and up to 10 years in prison > and > > a $25,000 fine, Echols said. > > > > The security zones originally were implemented on a trial basis but > weren't > > widely publicized. With the busy boating season approaching, officials > > decided that by June 15 they would permanently mark the zones with buoys > and > > increase patrols and publicity. The city's boating season runs from May 15 > > through Oct. 15. > > > > A dozen reservists called up after Sept. 11 and several dozen civilian > > members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary will help enforce the zones, Echols > > said. He also has requested 10 more Coast Guard personnel. > > > > Lt. Earl Zuelke, commanding officer of the Chicago Police Marine Unit, > said > > his crew will also patrol the no-boating zones. > > > > With only six boats and 43 officers, they will not be able to work the > water > > around the clock, he said. Enforcement will probably be handled on a > > case-by-case basis. > > > > "I don't plan on grabbing people and putting handcuffs on them because > they > > inadvertently went in a zone," Zuelke said. > > > > Getting the word out > > > > The Coast Guard met last week with the city's Port Development and Safety > > Council to discuss publicizing the permanent security zones and started > > distributing fliers to marinas, harbors and boating clubs, Echols said. > > > > Rich Munson, regional controller for Westrec Marinas, a private firm that > > manages Chicago's nine harbors, said Westrec and the Park District will > > include a note about the zones when they mail mooring permits to boat > owners > > who use the city's 5,100 slips. > > > > Carolyn and Dave DeAre of Glen Ellyn are avid sailors who rent a slip at > > Burnham Harbor for their 30-foot sailboat. > > > > After Sept. 11, Carolyn DeAre recalled Coast Guard restrictions near the > > water filtration plant north of Navy Pier and within a certain distance of > > the cribs, or water intakes. > > > > "The Coast Guard would hail you and tell you not to come any closer to the > > intake cribs," she said. > > > > When the buoys are put in place, she said she doesn't anticipate any > > problems. "We don't find them excessive at all," she said. > > > > However, boaters hoping to get near Navy Pier might be disappointed. Only > > authorized boats, including tour and cruise ships, will be permitted to > > dock, Roszkowski said. > > > > The restricted zone there will run from the southeast corner of the > Jardine > > Water Purification Plant to Navy Pier, which is about 75 yards to the > south, > > Echols said. > > > > The zone will continue from the pier to the east end of Dime Pier, a > > collection of broken pilings 100 yards to the south, then finish west > along > > Dime Pier to the south breakwater, he said. > > > > "It will be business as usual for the pier, with our commercial operations > > on the lake, the dinner cruises and tourism boats," Navy Pier General > > Manager Jon Clay said. "We anticipate that none of the changes will be > > visible to the public." > > > > Nuclear concerns > > > > Bob Grosso, manager of Illinois Beach State Park, which includes the > closed > > Exelon nuclear power plant in Zion, worries that the proposed > > 1,000-square-yard security zone--along with a barbed-wire fence that runs > > the length of plant property since Sept. 11--will draw unwanted attention. > > > > The zone will extend into the water around the plant, jutting into an area > > that attracts heavy traffic from boaters and other watercraft. > > > > The main security concern at Zion involves the 1,018 metric tons of spent > > fuel stored about 100 yards from the lake, officials said. While spent > > nuclear fuel is not as radioactive as live fuel, it still poses a danger, > > officials said. > > > > "It's much less of a likely target for terrorism than a live reactor, but > > it's still a concern to those living near the plant," said David Lochbaum, > a > > nuclear safety engineer with the Union of Concerned Scientists, a watchdog > > group in Washington. > > > > The spent fuel is stored in a cooling pool inside a concrete pit, Lochbaum > > said. If the water were to drain out or the cooling system were to > > malfunction and the water boiled, the fuel could overheat and emit > radiation > > capable of killing thousands of people within 50 miles, Lochbaum said. > > > > The Coast Guard also will enforce security zones on two Downstate rivers: > > one on the Rock River at the Byron Nuclear Power Plant in Byron, the other > > on the Des Plaines River at the Dresden Nuclear Power Plant near Morris, > > Echols said. > > > > As for the zones that will become a fact of life in the Chicago area, > > boaters are advised to get used to them. > > > > The Coast Guard's Roszkowski said, "We call this the new normalcy." > > > > Copyright � 2002, Chicago Tribune </> _______________________________________________ http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/montgomery_boats
