Photographed on Thursday Dec. 19, three barges lie on San Jose Island, where they and three other barges have been beached ever since Hurricane Harvey washed them ashore in 2017. An effort to remove the barges is getting underway. The lighter-colored line encircling the barges is a silt ‘fence’ marking off the work area. Photo by Mark Dulaney
An effort is getting underway to remove six barges that have been stranded on San Jose Island ever since Hurricane Harvey washed them onto the island more than two years ago.
Site preparation will begin soon, with the actual movement of the barges taking place “in the February March timeframe,” said Matt Woodruff, vice president of public and government affairs with the Kirby Corporation, which owns Higman Marine, the company that will manage the operation to move the barges.
Higman Marine owned the barges at the time Harvey struck on Aug. 25, 2017. The company was purchased later by Kirby.
The barges will be towed over a series of 60-foot-long inflatable bags to the beach and into the Gulf of Mexico, according to a barge removal and restoration plan filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which issued a permit for the project.
The barges then will be taken by tugboat to a shipyard for evaluation and repair, Woodruff said.
“Based on information presently available, we believe these barges can be returned to service following repair,” he said.
A barge lies beached on San Jose Island not long after Hurricane Harvey pushed it ashore in August 2017. Barge company officials are planning to move this barge and five others off San Jose Island soon. South Jetty file photo
The barges contained no cargo at the time they were beached by the hurricane, so there haven’t been concerns about anything spilling from them, according to company officials.
Asked why it took more than two years for an operation to begin to remove the barges, Woodruff responded:
“It took considerable time to develop a plan that created the least impact on the environment, address the concerns of and obtain consensus from the interested natural resource agencies and landowner, obtain the necessary permits, then contract for and mobilize the various service providers needed to carry out the various stages of the operation. Also, the work has to be done during the appropriate time of year to minimize impacts on the species that seasonally use the island.”
Higman Marine has hired a variety of firms with expertise in engineering marine salvage and environmental protection and restoration to take part in the project, according to Woodruff.
The project will be performed “in close consultation with the appropriate natural resource agencies and the land owner to minimize disruption to the island during the operation and to restore the area after the removal takes place,” Woodruff said.
San Jose Island is owned by Texas’ Bass family, famous for their wealth, rooted largely in oil, and their philanthropy.
All restoration activity, including planting, must be finished within six months from the start of construction in areas within corps jurisdiction, according to a letter from the corps to Higman. (The letter is a public record obtained by the South Jetty.)
Impacts to dunes also will be “remediated,” Woodruff said.
If restoration is determined by the corps to be “unsuccessful,” the corps will require that corrective measures be taken, the letter said.
According to the barge removal and restoration plan on file with the corps:
• A gap about 200 feet long by 300 feet wide will be excavated through dunes at one location. The gap later will be refilled.
• Routes for moving the barges were chosen to minimize environmental impacts while providing the space needed for turning the barges, accommodating roller bags and providing enough space for additional equipment to tow the barges and maneuver alongside them.
• The area between the barges and the beach will be graded to create a relatively smooth ground surface for the roller bags. The areas will be returned to “approximate pre-construction contours” after the barges are removed.
• Topsoil will be segregated from underlying soil and stored in temporary stockpiles within the overall work area boundaries. They will be watered and protected from erosion and then put back in its approximate point of origin.
• Healthy plants will be extracted with roots intact from inside the work area before the barge removal. The plants, combined with native hay installation and topsoil replacement, will serve as the primary plant source for restoration. Plants will be harvested mainly by hand with shovels.
• If areas of soil are deemed too compact as the work is wrapping up, work will be done to “fluff the soil.”
• To avoid disturbing wildlife, noise levels will remain at less than 85 decibels.
• Potential impacts to vegetation by movement of equipment and personnel to and from the project sites will be “minimized through use of access routes that have been previously used by dredging contractors for work at an existing and active dredged material placement area near the south end of San Jose Island.”
• Construction equipment needed for removing the barges and restoring the removal sites will be offloaded from barges approaching the island from Lydia Ann Channel.
• Five to 15 people typically will be working at a time.
• The work will take place only during daylight hours.
• The site will be monitored for up to five years to make sure environmental restoration has proceeded well.
Higman tugboats had the six barges with them at the time the hurricane struck. The tugs sought refuge at Lydia Ann Channel moorings. Coast Guard authorities said there wasn’t room at the Port of Corpus Christi.
The M/V Belle Chasse sank, and the M/V Sandy Point and M/V Sabine Pass were grounded in the Lydia Ann Channel area because of Harvey, according to a statement issued by Higman not long after Harvey.
The Belle Chasse, a 78-foot ocean-going tugboat, sank near the historic wreck, the S.S. John Worthington, and later was salvaged.
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