What Does it Take to Demolish the BeBe at Pillar Point Harbor? $35k

PHOTO-ESSAY. Who pays?  San Diego Boat Movers, Leland Parsons, still loves his job at 80 years old, told me a pretty good story today at the boat ramps at Pillar Point Harbor.

Unwelding The BE-BE. Bye-bye BE-BE.

There once was a crab and salmon fisherman who needed to buy a new fishing boat. Turns out salmon and crab licenses are attached to the boat, not the person, and so the fisherman could not fish for salmon or crab without finding a boat that had salmon and crab licenses attached.

Enter the BE-BE. The Captain of the BE-BE was done fishing. The BE-BE had to be demolished…but it had salmon and crab licenses attached. The fisherman bought the BE-BE for her licenses and transferred them to his new boat.

The Captain of the BE-BE, rather than letting the BE-BE become a taxpayer’s burden through California Waterways, he is paying for the demo. The Captain is paying Leland $35k to demolish the BE-BE in an environmentally responsible way.

Numbers of Note

Cost to raise a boat once it sinks.

“I would say that the raising of the vessels after they sink depending on size and scope of clean-up can quickly exceed high 6 figures.  Additionally, we, as the district, apply every year for reimbursement grants to assist with the costs associated of responsibly disposing of old abandoned and otherwise unseaworthy vessels. The grant fund available is shared by all public agencies of the whole state. This is a fluctuating number funded by small portion boat registration fees.

We must have a 10% contribution that is not reimbursed and is a direct cost to the district. However, the cost of cleanup to the environment and the dangers of an unseaworthy vessel have the potential to far outweigh the 10% contribution we must pay to dispose through the SAVE program prior to their sinking.  We feel that the dangers to the harbor, the environment and potentially first responders and persons using such unseaworthy vessels is a top priority to educate and engage with.”

~ Chris Tibbe, Pillar Point Harbormaster, San Mateo County Harbor District, One Johnson Pier, Half Moon Bay, CA 94018, Tel: (650) 741-9176, Ctibbe@smharbor.com .

There are 35 boats ready to demolish at Pillar Point Harbor, as we speak.

$8k, on average, to demolish a 20-30′ sailboat.

Part of the problem occurs with boats that are lien sold for as little as $1,000. People desperate for housing buy them and have no idea how much maintenance it takes to keep a boat afloat. They live on it for a while and then abandon the boat, leaving taxpayers to pay to demolish the derelict boat in an environmentally proper way.

Additionally, “Safe-Harbor” rules mandate that boat owners can moor in a harbor to be safe. They are supposed to prove that their boat is seaworthy by taking it outside of the harbor, once every 30 days.   In the case of the big tugboat currently in the harbor, it does not move. How does it get rid of its sewage?

Contact: Chris Tibbe, Harbormaster
Email: ctibbe@smharbor.com

California Department of Boating and Waterways: Surrendered and Abandoned Vessel Exchange (SAVE)

The SAVE program combines the Abandoned Watercraft Abatement Fund (AWAF) and the Vessel Turn-In Program (VTIP) grants into one, allowing local public agencies the convenience of only one grant to apply for and manage, and the flexibility to use the funds for both purposes as needed.

EFFECTIVE AS OF JANUARY 1, 2016, only the SAVE will be available to public agencies interested in receiving an AWAF and/or VTIP Grant. The SAVE is a competitive grant. Agencies are required to participate in both services under the SAVE.

The AWAF and VTIP are grant programs designed to remove, reduce and prevent abandoned recreational vessels and marine debris. Administered by the California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW), grants are awarded annually to qualified local public agencies statewide. The AWAF and VTIP, enacted in 1998 and 2010 respectively, have provided millions of dollars in grants, and have enabled the removal of thousands of vessels and marine debris.

To learn more about SAVE, contact Ron Kent at ron.kent@parks.ca.gov.

 

The California Legislature has created a number of programs that authorize the removal and disposal of abandoned and derelict vessels and marine debris. Local public agencies that have jurisdiction over their area of responsibility (AOR) have authority to remove, store and dispose of wrecked property within their AOR. The State Lands Commission was granted statewide authority to remove ADV’s through an expedited processes in 2011. In 2015, the Legislature passed a Marine Debris Statute, Harbors and Navigation Code (HNC) Sections 550 and 551, which provides an expedited process and legal authority to any state, county, city or other public agency having jurisdiction over its location to identify and remove vessels under certain conditions as marine debris or solid waste.

Case Studies in the Region

 CA – FV SanDiego

 CA – Oakland Estuary Enhancement Project

 CA – Tug Respect

ADV Publications

Documents with national relevance to ADVs

Funding

The California State Legislature has created two grant programs overseen by the CA State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways for the removal and prevention of ADVs:

1. Abandoned Watercraft and Abatement Fund (AWAF)–Statutes of 1997,

2. Vessel Turn-In Program (VTIP)—Statutes of 2009.

These grants are now combined under a single grant title of “Surrendered and Abandoned Vessel Exchange (SAVE)” and are awarded annually to local public agencies for the abatement, removal, storage and disposal of abandoned and surrendered (recreational) vessels, and for the removal and disposal of other water hazards and marine debris on California’s waterways.

The removal of these abandoned vessels, water hazards, and/or the interception of derelict vessels, increases public and navigational safety, and removes or prevents environmental contamination.

The AWAF and VTIP are legislatively mandated by HNC Sections 525 (1) (A), and 526.1.

More AWAF information can be found at http://www.dbw.ca.gov/Funding/AWAF.aspx.

More VTIP information can be found at http://www.dbw.ca.gov/Funding/VTIP.aspx.

Legislative Overview

In California, the provisions contained in Division 3, Chapter 3, Sections 510-527 and Sections 550-551 of the HNC represent the primary statutory authority for state and local agencies and law enforcement for removal of abandoned and derelict vessels and marine debris. Provisions contained in Section 6302 of the Public Resources Code, passed in 2011, give the California State Lands Commission, which has jurisdiction over all navigable waters, statutory authority to remove derelict and abandoned vessels through a truncated administrative process.

Point of Contact

The California Division of Boating and Waterways and the State Lands Commission are the lead agencies for abandoned vessels.