The 76-year-old boat owner is settling up with the San Mateo County Harbor District and the U.S. Coast Guard. Chief among those concerns is paying for clean-up costs and figuring out what to do with his boat, which is currently lying on Perched Beach at Pillar Point Harbor.
Walton’s boat sank offshore from Pillar Point Harbor in April and a month later sprung a leak, releasing fuel into the water, triggering a federal response. The Coast Guard and its contracting salvage company, along with California Fish and Game, stepped in to clean up the spill, and the Harbor District salvaged Walton’s boat and moved it to the beach.
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However, a storm in May shifted the vessel and caused fuel aboard to be released, threatening a commercial abalone farm in the area. Walton did not have the immediate resources available to remove the vessel himself when the fuel leaked, so the Coast Guard “federalized” the scene to expedite the removal process and paid the immediate cost.
Once the Coast Guard “federalizes” a spill, the federal government picks up the tab and all cost recovery and investigation reports go to the National Pollution Funds Center in Washington, D.C., to be paid out of the Federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. Coast Guard spokeswoman Laura Williams said that the NPFC’s claims department then makes arrangements to recover any costs from the responsible party. Officials could not give a final tally for the cost of the Coast Guard response for the Pillar Point spill, but Kevin Fong, with the U.S. Coast Guard, estimated the cost at around $40,000.
Carol Singleton, spokeswoman for the Fish and Game’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response, said it cost her department about $16,000 for staff time and transportation to clean up the spill.
Whatever the final tally, Walton considers the matter settled as far as the Coast Guard is concerned.
“I’ve paid what I’m supposed to pay,” said Walton, explaining that the Coast Guard had so far amortized a portion of the clean-up costs and given him a “very reasonable” rate to pay.
Walton said that arrangements are underway with the Harbor District to move “The Gypsy” in an environmentally safe way from the beach at Pillar Point Harbor, and Pillar Point Harbormaster Robert Johnson says that Walton is in the process of selling his boat to a buyer in San Francisco, who plans to clean up the vessel and relocate it to a San Francisco harbor.
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