U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY POLLUTION/SITUATION REPORT Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Mile Post 318.5 Sunken Vessel - Removal Polrep UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Region V
Subject:	POLREP #2 Progress Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Mile Post 318.5 Sunken Vessel Z5OG Chicago, IL Latitude: 41.8260941 Longitude: -87.7234600
To:
From:	Jacob Hassan, OSC
Date:	9/17/2014
Reporting Period:	09/09/2014 to 09/17/2014
1. Introduction   1.1 Background     Site Number: Z5OG    Contract Number:   D.O. Number:      Action Memo Date:   Response Authority: OPA    Response Type: Emergency Response Lead: EPA    Incident Category: NPL Status: Non NPL    Operable Unit: Mobilization Date: 9/4/2014    Start Date: 9/4/2014 Demob Date: 9/5/2014    Completion Date:   CERCLIS ID:    RCRIS ID: ERNS No.:    State Notification: FPN#: E14544    Reimbursable Account #: 1.1.1 Incident Category Emergency 1.1.2 Site Description A Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Patrol Vessel observed a sunken vessel at Mile 318.5 in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal east of the Pulaski bridge, on the North Bank. A sheen roughly 10’ wide by 2000’ long was observed coming from the back of the vessel. The crew aboard the patrol vessel report the release to the NRC (NRC 1094345). It was noted that a strong gasoline smell coming from the water way which was attributed to the vessel. The vessel was moored just off the Crawford Power Plant with only the top portion of the cab exposed. No vessel identifiers were visible from the water surface. 1.1.2.1 Location The sunken vessel was located at MP 318.5 on the right descending bank of the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal. The vessel was moored along the Crawford Power Plant, 200 feet upstream of the Pulaski St Bridge. 1.1.2.2 Description of Threat Gasoline and oil released from the vessel created a sheen 10' wide by 2000' long. The sheen was migrating upstream of the vessel due to strong winds from the west. A pungent gasoline smell was detected within a 20' foot radius of the boat. 1.1.3 Preliminary Removal Assessment/Removal Site Inspection Results On September 4, 2014, at 1245 hrs, EPA arrived on scene at the Pulaski St Bridge near the Crawford Power Plant. A large sheen could be seen coming of the back of the sunken vessel that was moored to a single piling about 50ft from land. The boat was tied off and had sunk horizontally to rest flat on the bottom of the Canal. Only the top cab was visible. EPA requested access to the Crawford Power Plant property to conduct a shoreline assessment. EPA, IEPA and NRG Energy, conducted a shoreline assessment and determined that the sheen was visible the entire length of the Crawford power plant property. 2. Current Activities   2.1 Operations Section     2.1.1 Narrative On September 4, 2014, while conducting sampling in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Patrol Vessel observed a sunken vessel at Mile 318.5 in the canal east of the Pulaski bridge, on the North Bank. The reporting party from the Water Reclamation District observed sheen coming from the vessel. MWRD notified Marine Safety Unit Chicago (MSU Chicago) and the NRC of the release (NRC 1094345). The boat was determined to be in EPA jurisdiction and assumed the role as the lead response agency. At 1245 hrs, EPA arrived on-scene and conducted a preliminary assessment of the situation. The boat was 95% submerged along the right descending bank of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near the Crawford Power Plant property. The vessel was moored to a single piling located 50' from the shoreline. A large sheen was visible coming from the rear of the boat. EPA and IEPA estimated the sheen to be 10' wide by 2000' long. EPA mobilized ERRS to the site to conduct booming operations and to assist in finding the ILDNR tags on the boat. After conducting an on-water investigation with ERRS, it was determined that there were no readily identifiable markers on the vessel and that the boat would need to be salvaged. Booming operations were completed at 2000 hrs and Chicago Marine Towing was contracted to conduct the salvage operations. On September 5, Chicago Marine Towing arrived on site around 0845 hrs to conduct a preliminary assessment of the boat. ERRS removed the hard boom from around the boat but left the sorbent boom in-place during the initial phases of the salvage operation. The sorbent boom was removed by ERRS once the salvage crew began raising the boat. The vessel was fully raised at 1400 hours and EPA was able to identify the boat as a 30' Chris Craft Commander pleasure-boat named "Wette Vette" from Harwood Heights. All the ILDNR boat registration numbers had been removed or covered up. Upon inspection of the raised vessels hull, the salvage crew identified that a hose had been pulled from the seacock which caused the boat to sink. Furthermore, the boat had been stripped of all its batteries and radio communication devices. EPA was able to obtain an ILDNR from a covered up registration sticker. The registration numbers is IL 9508 HD. This number was provided to Illinois Conservation Police for further investigation. On September 8, Officer Victoria Smith and Joshua Mooi conducted a field investigation of the vessel and determined that the 2005 ILDNR ID numbers were registered to a Mr. Ray Willas.  According to Mr. Willas, the boat had been sold to Helter Real Estate in August 2004.  Paper work documenting the transaction were not provided to EPA. The investigation also revealed that a crane operator at the Canal St Marina (where the Wette Vette was towed for removal and storage) said he recognized the Wette Vette and that it had been stored in dry dock at the Goose Island Boatyard at 934 N North Branch Street.  The Manager at the Goose Island Boatyard identified Mr. Rob Royko at the person paying the dry docking fee. EPA contacted Mr. Royko on September 16 to inquire about the boat. Mr. Royko said that he was the individual responsible for the boat and that the vessel had been taken out of dry dock at the Goose Island Boatyard on August 30th to be moved to the Riverdale Marina for a boat auction.  On September 3, Mr Royko commenced towing operations when the boat experienced mechanical difficulties and it had to be tied up to a piling near the Crawford Power Plant until he could get a replacement part. OSC Hassan issued Mr. Royko a Notice of Federal interest on 09/17/14. 2.1.2 Response Actions to Date The following is a list of actions that occurred on the following dates: 09/04/2014 - Conducted a site assessment and evaluation of the boat - Mobilized ERRS to the site to conduct response actions - Contacted NRG Energy, MWRD and USCG of the vessel - ERRS deployed 300' of hard boom around the vessel to contain the release of gasoline and oil - ERRS deployed 240' of sorbent boom around the vessel to collect the fuel - Conducted an visual inspection of the submerged vessel to try locate any tags that may be used to identify the boat owner - Subcontracted with Chicago Marine Towing to conduct salvage operations 09/05/2014 - Removed hard boom from around the vessel for salvage operations - Sorbent boom was left in place to assist in collecting fuel during the initial phases of the salvage operation - ERRS, EPA, and IEPA conducted oversight of salvage operation - Vessel was raised and secured for transportation - The vessel was towed to the Canal St Marina for removal and storage - EPA logged all the identifying tags on the vessel to assist in identifying the owner - Sorbent boom was removed from the canal and bagged for disposal - A site generator ID was requested through IEPA - Contacted the Illinois Conservation Police to assist in finding the owner 09/08/2014 - A waste profile was generated for the boom disposal - Illinois Conservation Police were onsite at the Canal St Marina to conduct an investigation - The 2005 IL DNR ID number was traced to Ray Willas 09/16/2014 - ILDNR Conservation police provided EPA with contact information for Ray Willas and Rob Royko - Mr. Royko identified himself as the responsible party 09/17/2014 - Mr. Royko was issued a Federal Notice of Interest 2.1.3 Enforcement Activities, Identity of Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) Rob Royko has been identified as the responsible party A notice of federal interest has been issued to Mr. Royko 2.1.4 Progress Metrics Waste Stream Medium Quantity Manifest # Treatment Disposal   2.2 Planning Section     2.2.1 Anticipated Activities Activities for the next period are as follows: 1) Develop cost recovery package 2) Debrief with ILDNR and CID 3) Dispose of gasoline impacted soft boom 2.2.1.1 Planned Response Activities None 2.2.1.2 Next Steps - Release the boat back to Mr. Royko 2.2.2 Issues   2.3 Logistics Section     No information available at this time.   2.4 Finance Section     No information available at this time.   2.5 Other Command Staff     2.5.1 Safety Officer OSC Hassan 2.5.2 Liaison Officer N/A 2.5.3 Information Officer N/A 3. Participating Entities   3.1 Unified Command 3.2 Cooperating Agencies MWRD IEPA Illinois Conservation Police USCG 4. Personnel On Site   None 5. Definition of Terms   MWRD - Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago EPA - Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.) IEPA - Illinois Environmental Protection Agency OSC - On-Scene Coordinator USCG - United States Coast Guard MSU - Marine Safety Unit ERRS - Emergency and Rapid Response Services ILDNR - Illinois Department of Natural Resources 6. Additional sources of information   6.1 Internet location of additional information/report 6.2 Reporting Schedule As needed 7. Situational Reference Materials   No information available at this time.