Customs and Border Protection sets Havre meeting

U. S. Customs and Border Protection is holding a series of meetings, including one in Havre Thursday night, to seek public input on the environmental impacts of handling security on the

U. S.-Canadian border.

According to a press release from the federal agency, the input will be used for environmental impact statements to identify and assess potential impacts of ongoing and future activities to provide security on the border.

The statements will be used to improve planning Cus tom and Bo rde r Protection's actions to meet requirements of homeland security.

According to an agency website about the process, "U.S. Customs and Border Protection protects the nation's borders from terrorism, human and drug smuggling, illegal migration, and agricultural pests while simultaneously facilitating the flow of legitimate travel and trade. CBP does so by integrating modern technology, deploying highly trained law enforcement personnel, and developing public and private sector partnerships that advance its overall mission." The agency plans to study a region extending about 100 miles south of the border. The meetings — and impact statements — have been broken into four regions to account for the diversity of conditions in different parts of the United States.

Customs and Border Protection scheduled 11 scoping sessions ranging from Augusta, Maine, to Bellingham, Wash. The first meeting for the regions was held in Duluth, Minn., Monday. Additional meetings will be held in Minot, N. D., Wednesday and Havre Thursday.

The area office for the Havre Sector of the Border Patrol is located just south of Havre. Several ports of entry, including Wild Horse north of Havre and the 24-hour commercial Port of Sweetgrass north of Shelby are included in the sector.

The public is invited and welcome to attend the meetings to provide input on what issues the agency should look at while writing the environmental impact statements, the release said. That includes the potential environmental impacts of the uses of technologies, facilities, infrastructure and personnel.

The invitation to provide comments extends to the general public as well as agencies and organizations, the release said.

The Havre meeting is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the TownHouse Inn at 629 1st Street.

——— On the Net: Northern Border Project: http://www.northernborderpeis.com