While Beaufort County, S.C., is partnering with local municipalities and state agencies on efforts to remove storm debris from roadways, that’s not yet the case for debris in the water.
“For marine debris, we are not as far along in the removal process as we are with debris along the roads,” county stormwater manager Eric Larson said earlier this week. “We are working with state agencies trying to determine who is going to take the lead on this.”
In the days following Hurricane Matthew, crews with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources “removed debris from the navigable channel (of local waterways) and set it aside in the marsh.”
But the state, rather than the county, has “jurisdictional control over the marshes,” Larson said.
And while the county is “doing some inventory of the debris so we have some idea what the magnitude is,” much of that debris remains in marshy areas near waterways, he said.
“We don’t have a time frame. We don’t have a cost. We don’t know whether (removing the debris is the county’s) responsibility or not,” Larson said. “We are working through the process (of making those determinations) now.”
Both the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the S.C. Emergency Management Division are involved in conversations with the county on these issues.
Regarding debris removal — whether on land or in the water — Hilton Head Island town manager Steve Riley said earlier this week that “patience is the keyword.”
But underwater debris such as sunken docks can pose a danger to boaters.
In fact, SCDNR recently installed signs on local boat landings warning boaters to slow down and be aware of damaged docks and debris in the water.
“Try to stay in a safe channel,” Lt. Michael Thomas with SCDNR’s law enforcement division said when the signs went up earlier this month. “Stay as far away from structures as you can.”
SCDNR personnel have been patrolling local waterways to ensure boaters are being safe.
“Be courteous of the folks who are still recovering from this (hurricane) event,” Thomas advised boaters.
Debris left floating in a marshy area or sunk at the bottom of a river can also have an environmental impact.
“It’s essential for our waterways to get cleaned up as soon as possible,” Kate Schaefer with the Coastal Conservation League said Wednesday.
Because the storm blew debris into the water indiscriminately, “we don’t know exactly what the debris is,” she said. “It could be plastics, or treated wood, or other things that can leach toxins.”
Marine debris cleanup is “is definitely a broad, multi-agency effort, and that can take time to coordinate,” Schaefer said, “but the faster the debris is cleaned up, the better.”
Lucas High: 843-706-8128, @IPBG_Lucas
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