Seattle investigating old munitions

Seattle investigating old munitions    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Navy, Coast Guard and Port of Seattle said last week they are working together on a plan to investigate a section of Elliott Bay to determine the extent military munitions are present.
   In April, port police divers discovered munitions during a routine dive. They date back decades to when the facility was used by the military. The Coast Guard, as the agency responsible for the safety of Elliott Bay, was called, as was the Navy, which removed the munitions, which are likely World War II ammunition.
   The port also communicated regularly with the cruise terminal operator who ensured that affected cruise lines were notified of the items found.
   The Coast Guard and Navy determined that the munitions posed no imminent danger to people or nearby facilities. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will coordinate a joint-agency effort to investigate and potentially remove the old munitions.
   Last month divers in New York said they located a cache of old military munitions on the bottom of New York Harbor near the Verrazano Narrows and Gravesend Bay.
   A diver told the New York Post the ammo is believed to have accidentally spilled from a barge in 1954 and was found in just 20 feet of water. The Post reported the munitions included machine-gun rounds and at least eight copper World War II-era anti-aircraft shells.