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U.S. agrees to remove toxic 'Ghost Fleet' ships
LA Times ^ | 4/1/10 | Maria L. La Ganga

Posted on 03/31/2010 7:17:15 PM PDT by NormsRevenge

Reporting from San Francisco - After years of legal wrangling, the federal government agreed Wednesday to remove a fleet of mothballed military ships that has dropped tons of heavy metal pollution into a waterway northeast of San Francisco.

As part of a settlement with environmental groups, the U.S. Maritime Administration said it will remove 52 obsolete and decaying vessels -- nicknamed the Ghost Fleet -- from the estuary between the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. Five others have been removed since November.

The agency plans to get rid of the 25 worst offenders in less than 2 1/2 years; the entire decaying armada is scheduled to be removed from Suisun Bay by September 2017. ..

"We are following through on our commitment to clean and maintain these vessels in an environmentally sound manner," said David Matsuda, acting administrator of the maritime agency. "We are moving expeditiously to remove the worst-polluting ships first and diligently moving to clean the rest."

Officials say it is likely that all of the ships will be towed out of the bay and recycled for scrap.

The ships already have shed more than 20 tons of heavy metals into the bay, including lead, zinc, copper and cadmium, said Michael Wall, chief litigator for the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco. If they are not cleaned up, they could lose as much as 50 tons more.

"Many of these ships have been moored there since the Vietnam War with no maintenance," said Wall, who estimates that the cleanup could cost more than $100 million. "The paint, loaded with heavy metals, has been flaking off and polluting the bay."

Congress issued three deadlines for the maritime agency to clean up the Ghost Fleet, Wall said, but the agency "violated all of them."

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; US: California
KEYWORDS: ghostfleet; ships; toxic
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1 posted on 03/31/2010 7:17:15 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge

I like seeing them. They are cool. I’ll miss them.


2 posted on 03/31/2010 7:18:26 PM PDT by luckystarmom
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part of the Mothball Fleet
3 posted on 03/31/2010 7:19:14 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Chuck DeVore - CA Senator. Believe.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Isn’t that where the climax of the Killer Elite took place?


4 posted on 03/31/2010 7:19:49 PM PDT by Tribune7 (Only stupid, racists people support Obama.)
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To: luckystarmom

saw them for the first time almost 35 years ago.. in their day, they helped this nation and its allies a force to be reckoned with. sad to see them go too.


5 posted on 03/31/2010 7:21:01 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Chuck DeVore - CA Senator. Believe.)
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To: luckystarmom

How about we drop them all of at Pelosi’s backyard?


6 posted on 03/31/2010 7:21:21 PM PDT by max americana
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To: Tribune7

not sure how many films were made there.. could be.


7 posted on 03/31/2010 7:21:35 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Chuck DeVore - CA Senator. Believe.)
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To: NormsRevenge

8 posted on 03/31/2010 7:22:34 PM PDT by RGSpincich
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To: luckystarmom

Called the "ghost fleet" or "mothball fleet," a large flotilla of retired WWII
and Vietnam-era ships reside in the Suisun Bay just east of the Benicia Bridge.
9 posted on 03/31/2010 7:26:10 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Chuck DeVore - CA Senator. Believe.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Unlike most of the meaningless lawsuits filed by these groups (whose goal is to make the US less competitive and a third-world nation), I can agree with this one.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.


10 posted on 03/31/2010 7:26:23 PM PDT by CedarDave (Obamacare, cap/trade, etc. - all have the same goal: Government control and power over individuals)
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11 posted on 03/31/2010 7:27:46 PM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Chuck DeVore - CA Senator. Believe.)
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To: luckystarmom

....I used to see the James River componant of the Mothball fleet when I was stationed at Ft Eustis,VA...I liked seeing them also...there was even a 5-hatch Victory Ship from WWII that we trained on...without that baby England never would have held out against Hitler.

...I got a hunch those old ships aren’t really so bad for the environment...it’s just that the Lefties are so anti war and anti military....they don’t like seeing them.


12 posted on 03/31/2010 7:29:39 PM PDT by STONEWALLS
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To: NormsRevenge

What will happen to the most famous ship there - the USS Iowa?


13 posted on 03/31/2010 7:31:32 PM PDT by Last Dakotan
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To: luckystarmom

When we lived in Berkeley many years ago, we used to drive by them when we drove up by the Delta. They were spooky, all lined up at anchor in the water. Dressed in grey and no place to go.


14 posted on 03/31/2010 7:32:31 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: STONEWALLS

Truk Lagoon...the ecofacsits looove this dive destination. Lead, asbestos, diesel fuel.....nuckin futz!

vob


15 posted on 03/31/2010 7:32:39 PM PDT by Vob (free radical community organizer)
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To: NormsRevenge

I was an engineer at Mare Island and lived in Benicia. I always like seeing them while tooling around the area.


16 posted on 03/31/2010 7:32:51 PM PDT by qwertypie
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To: Vob

When I visited Truk in ‘75, there were still rusting landing craft of some sort on the hotel beach. Very out of the way back then, though.


17 posted on 03/31/2010 7:34:52 PM PDT by qwertypie
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To: Vob

fascists...long day indeed.

vob


18 posted on 03/31/2010 7:34:54 PM PDT by Vob (free radical community organizer)
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To: qwertypie

Probably sell them as scrap to China who will melt them down and build new ships out of them, with which to build a navy to dominate the Pacific.


19 posted on 03/31/2010 7:36:15 PM PDT by Jack Black ( Whatever is left of American patriotism is now identical with counter-revolution.)
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To: qwertypie

You witnessed the aftermath of history that is no longer being taught. Keep those memories cherished and share them.

vob


20 posted on 03/31/2010 7:37:31 PM PDT by Vob (free radical community organizer)
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