Water board to discuss mothball fleet

The “Mothball Fleet” is in the news, and on a government agency agenda, once again.

The San Francisco Bay Region of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board will have an opportunity Feb. 10 to discuss the lawsuit between Arc Ecology and the U.S. Maritime Administration about maintaining the Reserve Fleet in Suisun Bay.

The suit is one of several items the board has put on the closed session portion of its agenda.

U.S. District Court Judge Garland Burrell ruled last month that the way the U.S. Maritime Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation have maintained the remaining non-retention Reserve Fleet ships in Suisun Bay violates hazardous waste laws.

The San Francisco Bay Region was a plaintiff in the suit, as was the Natural Resources Defense Council.

In his decision, Burrell sided with the Council and the water board.

Arc Ecology staff has described the Reserve Fleet vessels as “ticking environmental time bombs,” and has warned that if the ships are neglected, they could sink and create an environmental disaster for Suisun Bay and the Delta.

A spokesman for Arc Ecology said the organization currently wants to revise the ship-scrapping project plan and to evaluate the environmental threats posed by these vessels.

In other matters, the board will open a hearing to consider whether Uni Tile and Marble, Hayward, failed to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, Industrial Stormwater General Permit Coverage as required by the state’s water code.

The panel also will consider simplifying its NPDES permit forms and editing them to reflect updated regional standard provisions and monitoring and reporting requirements.

The board also anticipates meeting in closed session to discuss personnel matters and evidence received in an adjudicatory hearing. The board will meet at 9 a.m. Feb. 10 at the Elihu M. Harris Building, 1515 Clay St., Oakland.