Contractor: Boats more damaging than oil spill to Beaufort River

Boats motoring up and down the Beaufort River are more damaging to the water than the oil that spilled into it almost a month ago, in the opinion of a contractor who’s managing the clean-up effort.

“This is just my opinion,” said Tim Odum of U.S. Waste Industries, the Walterboro-based company whose oil-absorbent boom rests in the river behind Beaufort Memorial Hospital, “(but) 25 boats running up and down this river, they’re going to do a lot more damage than this oil.”

The daily pollution from the boats’ exhaust and fuel, he said, would be worse for the water than the oil spill.

About 290 gallons of No. 5 fuel oil leaked into the hospital’s boiler room on May 23. The leak was thought to be contained but oil was found in the river on May 29 after heavy rain. On the same day oil was discovered in Factory Creek near Lady’s Island Marina.

The U.S. Coast Guard tested samples from the river and the creek and, on Thursday, said the hospital was “the responsible party” for the oil spill.

The latest

The hospital will be responsible for clean-up costs in Factory Creek but says it hasn’t yet received a cost report from the National Pollution Funds Center, which has continued to finance the marina clean-up.

In an email to the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette on Monday, hospital spokesperson Courtney McDermott said “... we've been told that it could be several weeks before all of the costs are available to us.”

“It could be more than a couple of weeks before the amount of money spent on the clean-up is fully known,” Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer Joshua Cobb said Tuesday afternoon. “We’re still waiting on a number from the contractors.”

When the Coast Guard gets that amount it will be able to complete its “case package,” Cobb said. That package — which includes costs incurred by the contractors and the Coast Guard, and evidence gathered during the investigation process — will be sent to the National Pollution Funds Center, which will then work with the hospital to figure out the cost.

The hospital is paying for the clean-up operation behind its own facility, according to its website.

Regarding clean-up costs in the Beaufort River, McDermott wrote, “I do not have a figure at this time.”

Water safety

“Totally,” Odum said, when asked if the water in the river near the hospital was safe for people to use.

“That’s what the boom’s for,” he continued. “Now, would I want to swim around inside the boom? It wouldn’t hurt you, but I wouldn’t suggest it.”

On its website, the hospital has continued to say the amount of oil spilled into the river is “small,” and “the fuel oil is non-hazardous and does not represent a threat to local ecosystems or wildlife.” It has credited both of those statements to U.S. Waste Industries.

When asked if he could estimate a more specific amount for the oil spilled into the river, Odum said he could not. When asked if the oil was hazardous and represented a threat to the environment, Odum said the type of oil in the river was considered a “non-hazardous, non-regulated material” under Title 40: Protection of Environment of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.

“Does it need to be in water?” Odum said of the oil, which he described as a “thick syrup.” “Not at all.”

But he said the spill had been contained “as good as it gets” and said the hospital was doing its due diligence. The oil’s thickness, he said, actually makes it easier to soak up with the boom.

Regarding the environmental impact to the river, a representative from the S.C. Department of National Resources could not be reached for comment.

“At this point we haven’t,” Coast Guard Lt. Jeffrey Prebeck said when asked if his agency had observed any threats to wildlife. “Obviously we’re in the early stages of that game.”

The Coast Guard will continue to monitor the area around the marina, he said.

The boat business

“Not drastically,” Lady’s Island Marina’s Steve Stanforth said Tuesday when asked if his business had been adversely impacted by the spill.

“A few people are worried about coming,” he continued. “A few boats haven’t come because they’re worried about the oil spill. I haven’t actually put numbers on it yet.”

Stanforth said the hospital had contacted him about posting information at the marina about the clean-up’s next steps.

That signage, McDermott wrote, is part of the hospital’s ongoing clean-up plan that will be submitted to the National Pollution Funds Center for approval.

“As soon as it is approved it will be posted at the marina and affected boat owners will be contacted with details about the claims process,” she wrote. “Notices will be posted by no later than next week.”

Stanforth said the Coast Guard had finished its clean-up at Factory Creek, but that many of the marina’s boats were still sullied.

“There a lot,” he said, “the whole marina, basically. ... Some folks have already cleaned their own boats.”

When asked if boaters, kayakers and swimmers continued to use Factory Creek, Stanforth said “yes.”

“We went swimming the other day,” he said.

This story was originally published June 21, 2016 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Contractor: Boats more damaging than oil spill to Beaufort River."