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gunnut · 10-30-2007, 22:23 PM

Actually I'm being serious. I read it on today's "state and region" section of the OC Register. Let me see if I can find a link.

Here we go: News: Environmental groups sue for removal of 'mothball fleet' | - OCRegister.com

Quote:

Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Environmental groups sue for removal of 'mothball fleet'
Groups complain the fleet is generating toxic pollution.
The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO Several environmental groups on Monday sued the federal government over toxic pollution caused by a fleet of mothballed warships floating near San Francisco Bay.

The groups accuse the U.S. Maritime Administration of violating state and federal environmental regulations as dozens of decaying ships linger well past a congressional deadline ordering their removal.

The suit was filed Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.

"These vessels have long since ceased being useful for transportation and are now just floating junkyards," according to the complaint brought by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Arc Ecology and San Francisco Baykeeper.

More than 70 ships comprise the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, some dating back to World War II. The old ships were once kept afloat in case of war, but many have fallen into disrepair, overtaken by rust and rot.

The suit asks the court to order the federal agency to prepare an official review of the environmental impact caused by the ships and to remove hazardous wastes – including paint, discarded oil and asbestos – from the vessels.

The head of the Maritime Administration said in a statement that the agency was engaged in "ongoing and extensive efforts to ensure the safety of these vessels."

"The best way, ultimately, to protect the Suisun Bay is to remove these vessels in as timely a manner as possible," Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton said. "We hope this latest development does not needlessly delay our efforts to remove these vessels."

A congressional order set a 2006 deadline to scrap more than 50 ships, but a regulatory quagmire has kept the fleet anchored in place in the shallow, brackish inland waters east of San Francisco Bay.

Before they can be scrapped and sold, Coast Guard regulations require the removal of barnacles and other sea creatures clinging to the obsolete ships' hulls. That process causes toxic paint to flake off into the water. Fear of contamination has delayed their disposal.

Disposal operations in the country's two other reserve fleets in Beaumont, Texas, and on the James River near Newport News, Va., were also halted after the discovery of paint in Suisun Bay, though recent agreements with both states paved the way for disposal to resume.

A February study commissioned by the federal government suggested that even without the scraping, paint flaking off the Suisun Bay ships has shed tons of toxic heavy metals into estuary sediments.

Earlier this month, California water regulators informed the federal agency it could be fined up to $25,000 per day if it fails to come up with a plan to stop the paint from falling into the water.

The fines have not yet been issued, said Bruce Wolfe, executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.

But state regulators have seen "very little progress in terms of what the Maritime Administration will do to stop the ongoing discharge of hazardous materials from the ships," Wolfe said.

I do see their point. Some of these ships are well over 40 years old. Why didn't we blow them up instead of using newly decommissioned ships like the Sprucan class and one of the Ticos?