NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Two eyesores in New Haven Harbor are only a memory now after they were removed with the help of federal, state and commercial organizations.
This month, according to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), coordinated with federal, local and commercial partners to help facilitate the removal of two derelict barges one near the old English Station Power Plant and the other near Lighthouse Point.
The barges posed a navigational and environmental threat to the waters and mariners around New Haven.
One of these barges was located adrift near the New Haven Harbor by the U.S. Coast Guard on Jan. 16, it broke free from the bulkhead at the abandoned English Station Power Plant on the Mill River according to officials from DEEP.
DEEP had been working closely with the Coast Guard, city of New Haven, CT Port Authority, marine contractors and others, they were able to leverage $150,000 in Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) funds from a federal criminal case for violations of the Clean Water Act, to remove the abandoned barges and permanently eliminate the risks they posed.
Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jennifer Sheehy described the situation this past winter as risky.
“The barge was a hazard to navigation; a tanker may have hit the barge, potentially damaging the hull and creating an oil spill,” Sheehy said. “If the barge could not be secured, then the port may have been closed.”
DEEP said in a press release that, a Coast Guard small boat crew was able to secure a line to the barge from the breakwater at Lighthouse Point Park and attached a strobe light so it would be visible to other boaters. This mitigated the hazard and allowed the port to remain open until they came to a final solution.
After an extensive investigation and Kevin Zawoy of DEEP Land and Water Resource Division (LWRD) Enforcement Section inspected the barges at both locations, Zawoy began the process of obtaining the SEP funds. He also contracted out the barge removal and disposal work, Miller Marine services were hired for the releasing and towing of the barges.
“This a great example of what the SEP funds are intended for,” said Zawoy. “Without the money DEEP receives from penalties, there would not have been the financial funding for this task and the navigational threat would remain.”
As of July 6, both barges were brought to Blakeslee Arpaia Chapman, Inc.’s yard on the Quinnipiac River in New Haven where they were secured according to DEEP.
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