In legal settlement, feds agree to remove toxic ‘ghost fleet’ warships from California bay
By APWednesday, March 31, 2010
Feds to remove toxic, old ships from Calif. bay
BENICIA, Calif. — The federal government has agreed to remove a decaying armada that has shed toxic paint and other harmful substances into a San Francisco Bay estuary for decades.
The Natural Resources Defense Council on Wednesday said the U.S. Maritime Administration has settled a lawsuit and will remove the decrepit collection of more than 50 obsolete military vessels from Suisun Bay.
Studies by the federal government suggest the warships have dumped more than 20 tons of copper, lead, zinc and other metals into the estuary, a critical habitat for a number of endangered species.
The settlement with environmental groups and state water quality regulators calls for half the “ghost fleet” to be removed by September 2012. The rest will be gone by September 2017.
