PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — The first of at least 30 abandoned, derelict boats that have been a blight on the Anacostia River for decades is likely to be removed sometime this winter, according to Anacostia Riverkeeper Trey Sherard.
The Riverkeeper has been contracted by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to direct the work to remove the boats and other large junk items from the river such as shopping carts, scooters and picnic tables.
The $500,000 in funding comes after a federal environmental grant from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to the Council of Governments.
Many of the abandoned boats have sunk at their piers and have been sitting on the river bottom for years, according to Sherard.
Marinas and private clubs where many of the boats are located do not own the boats, do not have legal title to them, and cannot afford the high cost of removing them, Sherard said.
Frequently the owners have died and heirs do not have the resources to remove the boats either, the Riverkeeper explained.
Unlike junk cars which have a minimum scrap value for the metal, derelict boats are a significant financial liability.
“Fiberglass is a really nasty material, and there's even a problem finding which landfills will even accept a big chunk of fiberglass like that,” Sherard said.
He added that junk boats frequently come with additional clean up costs because of residual fuel, oil and fluids that may be on board.
Sherard estimates the Riverkeeper will spend as much as $25,000 to remove some of the boats which will have to be refloated or lifted out of the river with cranes and barges.
The work will include the time consuming paperwork needed to gain legal title to the boats.
"They're junk. But they are somebody's junk," Sherard observed.
After the first removal expected this winter, the project will take at least two years to complete the Riverkeeper said.