Coast Guard Seeks Comments On Navigation Aid Changes

A navigation buoy equipped with solar panels. Photo/Pixabay

Are you a boater who has some thoughts on the proposed plan to remove hundreds of navigational buoys from New England waters? Then the Coast Guard wants to hear from you.

The Coast Guard has announced it is reopening public comments on proposed changes to aids to navigation in the Northeast from now until November 15, 2025.

In August, Coast Guard officials announced they were delaying a plan that would remove hundreds of navigational buoys from New England waters following months of vocal opposition from boaters and federal and state officials.

As a result of the public feedback, Coast Guard officials said they’ve since changed the plans for more than half of the original Coastal Buoy Modernization Proposal (CBMP) buoys.

Officials said 121 aids were removed from the list proposed for discontinuation, 71 aids to navigation remain proposed for discontinuation with supporting changes to nearby buoys, and 162 buoys remain proposed for discontinuation without additional proposed changes.

Coast Guard officials said the Northeast has 5,600 federal buoys and beacons.

The original plan received nearly 3,000 public comments.

Coast Guard officials said the CBMP’s main objectives remain to ensure long-term buoy system sustainability at the most navigationally critical locations for mariners while better understanding how navigation practices are changing through tools like GPS location, radar, AIS, electronic charts, and navigation apps.

The Coast Guard is strongly requesting mariners to give feedback before November 15. When providing feedback, boaters should include the size and type of their vessel, how they use the buoys to navigate and the distance at which they start looking for and using it.

Responses are only accepted by email at D01-SMB-DPWPublicComments@uscg.mil.

A visual map of changes can be found at www.bit.ly/BuoyProposal.

The Local Notice to Mariners can be found at Maritime Safety Information Products | Navigation Center.