There’s been plenty of action on land cleaning up after Hurricane Ike. Now there’s going to be a similar amount of action in the water.
The Texas General Land Office, which is responsible for protecting the coast, has pinpointed nearly 600 large pieces of underwater debris after surveying about one-fifth of the bay.
The sonar scans will continue through February, but the cleanup could begin as soon as this week, with the goal of finishing before the next hurricane season begins, on June 1.
Texas has set aside $39 million for the cleanup, the largest of its kind in the state’s history. Officials said they expect reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“On the plus side, the bay will be cleaner than before,” said Jim Suydam, spokesman for the General Land Office.
For years, hundreds of abandoned barges, shrimp boats and recreational vessels have cluttered the bayous, bays and shores of the Gulf of Mexico.
Ike’s surge deposited even more debris into the shallow waters of Galveston Bay, one of the nation’s largest and most productive estuaries.
The debris is a hazard to navigation and a potential problem for the environment. For example, the storm-tossed debris has helped destroy half of the bay’s oyster reefs, officials say.
Makes you wonder why we’d never done this before. Well, no, this is Texas – I know exactly why this was never done before (hint: $$$). But hey, I’ll take what I can get.