A multi-state, international Homeland Security training, water quality and boating enforcement exercise is under way on Lake Champlain.
Operation Clear Passage will involve more than 17 agencies including New York state’s DEC, Division of Homeland Security, State Police, Naval Militia and the state Intelligence Center, Vermont’s Department of Health, State Police, Fish and Wildlife, Urban Search and Rescue and the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canadian Border Patrol.
During the maritime training exercise, officers will conduct environmental, law enforcement and homeland security monitoring.
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos says Operation Clear Passage is the first major exercise of its kind on Lake Champlain. “This is a massive exercise with a significant turnout from all the folks who have a stake in the health of this lake and the security of its populations. We are the first line of defense on the lake. Given the environmental threats to this region, given the security threats to this region, you see what’s going on in the world today, preparedness training, cooperation, getting to know each other, understanding each other’s protocols and developing familiarity, these are critical aspects of a training exercise like today.”
Seggos continues: “The goals of this operation are fairly straight forward. Certainly bridging partnerships, improving our counter-terrorism capabilities and disaster response preparedness, protecting water quality and improving boater safety. This is a large water body, 120 miles long, a critical international maritime point between Canada and the U.S. and certainly Vermont and New York. The lake’s also an important recreational destination and over 200,000 people draw water from this lake. It’s critical habitat as well for many threatened and endangered species. So we are underway. Our boats are out on the water right now, most of them.”
During the exercise there will be more law enforcement on the lake than usual conducting normal operations along with the enforcement exercises, according to NYS DEC Police Major Mike St. Jeanos. “You’ll see our officers about both on land and the water with high-tech radiological detection equipment. You’ll also see our vessels conducting routine maritime boardings. Boarding vessels checking for things like overboard discharges, boating safety, navigational safety, and of course contraband and any illegal persons entering the country. So you’ll have a lot of boats on the water. A lot of law enforcement vessels. More than folks are used to. But if there was a major event much of what we’re doing today would be very similar.”
At the marina, the 44-foot Lt. John Fitzpatrick is docked, preparing to enter the waters of Lake Champlain. Filled with high-tech equipment, it is usually deployed in New York Harbor and the Hudson River. “Hi” “How are you doing? Want to come down?” “Yeah. What’s your name?” “Officer Waldo Auguscinski. This is pretty much the helm where the pilot or the captain of the boat sits. You have a display for our radiation equipment and you have all the navigation, pretty much state-of-the-art, navigation equipment. (So when you’re looking at the radiation equipment screen, what exactly is it telling you?) It’s scanning both sides of the boat looking for various types of radiation and actually is able of pinpointing the location of the source and actually identifies it and gives us the isotope id. It can actually say whether it’s medical, industrial or is it a threat.”
As the boat moves away from the dock, Major Jeanos extols its maneuverability and technical capabilities. “This is being moved laterally with the two right rear engines, computerized. You can swing that boat. We could move the boat sideways, swing it in its own length. It’s the most maneuverable boat we have, a tremendous vessel.”
Operation Clear Passage runs through Sunday on Lake Champlain.
