Date: July 16, 2008

Contact: Petty Officer Will Mitchell
(216) 310-2608, cell

COAST GUARD, MICH. DEQ RESPOND TO GARBAGE WASHING UP ON MUSKEGON BEACHES

MUSKEGON, Mich. - The Coast Guard, Mich. Department of Environmental Quality, and local agencies are responding to garbage that has washed up on a local beach, here.

This is the third multi-agency response to garbage washing ashore on the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Coast Guard Sector Field Office is investigating this incident to determine the source of the garbage.  Mich. DEQ and local Muskegon response agencies are cleaning up the littered beach.  An HH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Traverse City, Mich., and a 30-foot Utility Boat from Station/Aids-to-Navigation Team Muskegon are providing reconnaissance in the area to determine the extent of the pollution.

Two earlier incidents affect the Lake Michigan shoreline earlier this week.  On Monday, a ten-mile stretch of shoreline was littered with trash near Manistee, Mich.; and on Tuesday, private beaches near Holland, Mich. were littered with trash.

All three incidents are under investigation.  It is too early to determine if the three incidents are related.

For further inquiries, contact Petty Officer William Mitchell, Ninth District Public Affairs Office, at (216) 310-2608.

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