Oriskany going back to Texas

Oriskany going back to Texas
Area port not equipped to moor carrier safely during hurricane season
May 4, 2005
Brett Norman@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

The retired aircraft carrier Oriskany, destined for the bottom of the Gulf
of Mexico south of Pensacola, is about to embark on a lengthy detour.

Again.

Navy officials announced Tuesday that the rusty hulk will be towed later
this month to the Maritime Administration Beaumont Texas Reserve Fleet
Facility, where it will weather the upcoming hurricane season.

Safely mooring the 888-foot "Mighty O" at the Port of Pensacola would be
costly, and preparations could not be completed by June 1, the beginning of
the hurricane season, said Pat Dolan, deputy director of the Navy Sea System
Command's office of congressional and public affairs.

The Oriskany will remain in Texas until at least January, when the
Environmental Protection Agency is expected to complete a long-delayed model
of how the Oriskany's remaining polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, will
affect the environment.

The relocation is the latest in a long string of delays in making the
Oriskany the first Naval vessel and largest ship to be sunk intentionally as
an artificial reef.

The news drew frustration from Pensacola Bay Area officials Tuesday.

"It's a huge disappointment, not only to the community, but to me," said
U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Chumuckla. "It's ridiculous that it should take
this long. "¦ The EPA has exhibited, once again, that it puts up an
unacceptable amount of red tape."

Miller, who contacted EPA Administrator Steve Johnson's office on Tuesday,
said "It's time to get an answer from the top."

Port of Pensacola Interim Director Leon Walker said the port will miss the
monthly $90,000 docking fees the Navy has paid since the Oriskany's arrival
in December.

"We were planning on having that revenue through (September)," said Walker,
adding that he would meet with city officials this week to gauge the
financial impact.

Outfitting the port with a mooring that would be rated for a Category 3
hurricane, as recommended by the U.S. Coast Guard, would cost about $6
million and could not be completed this month, Dolan said.

Dolan estimates the round-trip trek to Beaumont, which is equipped with a
hurricane mooring, will cost about $1.8 million.

The Navy has spent $12.3 million on the Oriskany reefing project so far,
including environmental assessments, PCB remediation, towing and berthing,
Dolan said. To dismantle and scrap the ship would cost an estimated $24
million.

"We want to make sure we do the first one right," Dolan said. "Hopefully,
once we develop this model it will allow us to utilize it, of course much
more quickly, on other ships in the future."

She said the Navy remains "absolutely committed" to sinking the Oriskany as
an artificial reef off Pensacola.

Navy officials had planned to scuttle the vessel last August, but
environmental issues kept the ship docked in Corpus Christi, Texas, where it
was undergoing PCB remediation.

The latest delay will have economic consequences beyond the revenue lost to
the Port of Pensacola. A study by Florida State University showed the annual
benefits of artificial reefs to Escambia County could be as high as $92
million.

"This community needs a boost, and Oriskany could be that boost," said
Eilene Beard, co-owner of the Scuba Shack and "Wet Dream" charter boat.

Beard was an early proponent for bringing the decommissioned vessel to
Pensacola. She said her diving class registrations have been up this year,
driven by anticipation of the new reef. The delay is a disappointment, but
not a surprise, she said.

"I guess that's about par for the course, right?" she said. "I believe
that's about the fifth broken promise. "¦ We'll get it here, but we just
have to go through the process, and it's pretty painful."

Retired Vice Adm. Jack Fetterman, who was instrumental in luring the
Oriskany to Pensacola, said he was frustrated by the repeated delays in the
EPA approval process.

"Every day we don't get it sunk, we lose out on the benefit we would have
with it," he said.

Keeping the ship afloat is not cheap, either.

"As a taxpayer, it drives me crazy," Fetterman said.
©The Pensacola News Journal
May 4, 2005




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