GBF Focuses on Marine Debris Removal

Back in the summers of 2004 and 2005, the Galveston Bay Foundation set its sights on removing a number of abandoned boats and barges in Galveston Bay. GBF removed 13 items from the Dickinson Bay system, including four from Dickinson Bayou, one from Salt Bayou, one from the Texas City Prairie Preserve shoreline on Dickinson Bay, three from Dickinson Bay, and three from Moses Lake. In addition, six sunken, metal vessels were removed from a location in West Bay and one from Galveston Bay, just north of Dickinson Bay, near the Houston Ship Channel. The project was funded through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program of the Texas General Land Office (“GLO”). It was a great success, garnering front-page attention from the Houston Chronicle. Since then, GBF has remained committed to addressing the issue of marine debris and has two separate ongoing efforts aimed at removing debris.

The first is a traditional effort whereby GBF has secured funds from the EPA Gulf of Mexico Program to continue marine debris removal work in Galveston Bay. It has targeted a group of abandoned barges near the mouth of Dickinson Bayou for removal and is currently in the process of securing removal of between three and five barges from the area. These barges have been abandoned and left sitting in the area for years. Most are rusted and lie partially submerged on the bayou bottom. They present not only an obvious eyesore, but also a navigational hazard and an impediment to water circulation in the area. The greatest potential hazard relates to the possibility of abandoned oil being present on one or more of the barges. In fact, as part of its research on the barges, GBF confirmed that one abandoned heated oil barge still contains nearly 15,000 gallons of oily sludge. GBF is working with the GLO to ensure that this oil is removed from the barge and the barge removed from the Bay as soon as possible.

The second marine debris effort that GBF is working on is more of a grass roots effort. Over a year ago, a group of three GBF members, led by Bill Turner and including John Geddie and Doug McMurrey, approached GBF with their concerns about debris in Galveston Bay. All three are boaters, and each had come into contact with various debris items over the years. They were concerned with three types of debris: unmarked oil and gas infrastructure, abandoned pilings, and abandoned vessels.

They initially focused their efforts on unmarked oil and gas infrastructure in Galveston Bay. These items range from large, unmarked, abandoned platforms to small pipelines that lie just below the surface of the water. All platforms are required by law to be marked with navigation lights, but many simply do not have them. There are no bonding requirements for platform construction in Texas waters, so some of these structures are simply abandoned when their use is complete. These unlit structures present a significant danger to boaters during times of limited visibility. The group identified two specific structures in Galveston Bay and photographed and determined GPS navigation points for both. They then documented their concerns in writing to the GLO. The GLO has since identified and contacted the owner of the abandoned structures to ensure that those structures are either removed or lighted. The GLO is also making a broader effort to ensure that structures across Galveston Bay have the required navigation lights.

Doug McMurrey summed up the effort by stating, “The fish and the birds are back in Galveston Bay; higher standards are working! Now it’s time to get rid of the eyesores and marine hazards -- abandoned structures and submerged pilings are as unacceptable as throwing your coke bottle out of the car window.” GBF intends to continue its efforts to address marine debris over the long run and make Galveston Bay a safer place for all of us.