Glen Milner

Glen Milner 3227 NE 198th Place Seattle, WA 98155 (206) 365-7865 gkaajm@juno.com April 18, 2009 U.S. Coast Guard, DHS VIA E-MAIL: http://www.regulations.gov RE: Rulemaking Docket No. USCG-2008-1017 U.S. Coast Guard I am commenting on the proposed rulemaking entitled, “Regulated Navigation Areas; Bars Along the Coasts of Oregon and Washington.” I am 57 years old and a life-long resident of Washington State. I have fished in Washington State coastal waters. I am opposed to this proposed rulemaking due to the inherently corrupt nature of the Coast Guard’s civil penalty process and the U.S. Coast Guard Hearing Office. In 2005 I was served a notice for penalty in which the Coast Guard Hearing Office requested a $10,000 fine. I believe the Coast Guard had considered prosecuting me for criminal charges which would have presented a much higher penalty. After an over two year process, I proved that the Coast Guard’s lead witness and lead officer involved in my alleged charges had falsely testified against me. The Hearing Officer in the case found me guilty of the charges anyway and issued a warning against me. I believe that at the end of the case, legal officers with the Thirteenth Coast Guard District knew the case was a sham. Unfortunately for me, I had wasted over two years of my life in this highly stressful process. The U.S. Coast Guard should not be involved in decisions of innocence or guilt involving citizens. This is no different than being arrested, charged, and tried by the same police agency. This is not a technical issue or a separate issue from this rulemaking procedure. Please do not discount this as an unrelated comment. The Coast Guard Hearing Office is inherently corrupt. Therefore this rule should not be adopted because any citizen charged under this rule would be subjected to an unfair and corrupt process. I have attached my appeal to the Coast Guard, appealing the decision by the Hearing Officer, which represents only part of the ordeal I was subjected to by the Coast Guard. The appeal was not taken seriously, which means to me that the Coast Guard is unlikely to change the civil penalties process. Please contact me if you have any questions about this. I am requesting that you tell me that you have received this comment and that it has been entered for the proposed rulemaking. Sincerely Glen Milner