The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday revealed that 448 vessels were identified as being impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The count, higher than that of Puerto Rico, which on Monday stood at 340, brings to the fore the vast damage the USVI’s marine industry sustained during the passage of the ruinous storms.<\/p>\n
The EPA continues to play a major role in mitigating the impact that damaged vessels, including sunken ones, have on the environment.\u00a0\u201cOur role is to assist both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to minimize environmental damage from boats leaking gasoline, fuel or other contaminants,\u201d said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. \u201cWe are doing this in a way that respects the vessel owner\u2019s rights while still protecting people from spills and hazardous substances that might be onboard the vessels.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marine Vessels Recovery Operations<\/span><\/strong> EPA\u2019s support role includes recording the vessel\u2019s location and collecting information such as the name of the vessel and identification number, condition, impact to surrounding areas and\/or sensitive\/protected habitats (e.g. mangroves, coral reefs) for future recovery missions and owner notifications. A higher priority is placed on vessels found to be actively leaking fuel or hazardous materials, where containment and absorbent booms are placed to decrease contamination, the EPA said.<\/p>\n Once the damaged vessels are brought to shore, or are processed on a staging barge, EPA will be handling various hazardous materials for recycling and disposal, including petroleum products (oil, gas or diesel fuel), batteries, and e-waste, which can harm the environment if they\u2019re not removed from the waters. EPA will also recycle or dispose of any \u201chousehold hazardous wastes\u201d, such as cleaners, paints or solvents and appliances from the vessels. It is important to properly dispose of these items to prevent contamination to the aquatic ecosystem. <\/p>\n Correction: Nov. 22, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n The Consortium was contacted by Chief Petty Officer David Mosley, public information officer for the U.S. Coast Guard’s ongoing hurricane response in the U.S. Virgin Islands relative to misplaced vessels, who told the publication that information provided by the E.P.A. regarding the amount of damaged vessels found in USVI waters, is wrong. While the E.P.A. said 589 vessels damaged vessels were found, Mr. Mosley said the actual number is much smaller: 448. The Consortium has updated the article to reflect the correct information.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Feature Image: Damage vessels in the USVI. (EPA)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday revealed that 448 vessels were identified as being impacted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The count, higher than that of Puerto Rico, which on Monday stood at 340, brings to the fore the vast damage the USVI’s marine industry sustained during the passage […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":58525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5310,7429,191,147],"tags":[3354,7438,71,69,70,7635,121,68],"yoast_head":"\n
The EPA is also supporting P.R., the USVI and the U.S. Coast Guard in marine vessel recovery work. Its teams continue to locate, assess and retrieve sunken, damaged and derelict vessels around Puerto Rico and the USVI, the federal agency said, adding that it continues to assist with the recycling and disposal of recovered oil and hazardous materials from the vessels.<\/p>\n
Assessment teams are tagging vessels with a sticker requesting that owners contact the U.S. Coast Guard to either report their vessel\u2019s removal, or to request U.S. Coast Guard assistance in its removal. There is no cost, penalty or fine associated with the removal of the vessels.<\/p>\n