CLEANUP OF THE ABANDONED BUNKER BARGES1

Abstract

ABSTRACT An estimated 1300 abandoned vessels are decaying on U.S. waterways. An unknown number of these vessels contain oil or hazardous substances and pose a substantial threat of discharge into the environment. Historically, the Coast Guard has responded to environmentally harmful oil and hazardous material spills from abandoned vessels after they occur, sometimes spending millions of unrecoverable dollars in cleanup and disposal costs. The Federal Water Pollution Control Act as amended gives the Coast Guard jurisdiction to mitigate a “substantial threat of discharge” of oil or hazardous substances into the water. Responding to a substantial threat of discharge prevents environmental damage, reduces the number of medium or major spills, and costs substantially less than large shoreline or open water cleanups. Recently, Coast Guard Marine Safety Office (MSO) Hampton Roads initiated the first federal removal action in response to a substantial threat posed by abandoned barges; the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund was used to remove 691,000 gallons of oily waste and to clean and render gas-free the abandoned tank barges Bunker Delaware, Bunker 1000, and VTL-1.