Thank you anglers for reading this-
If you have had the opportunity to fish or walk along the southern coast (from the break wall at East Matunuck state beach past Green Hill Beach) over the past week, you are well aware of our newly littered shoreline. What many of us know as clean, pristine beaches has quickly turned into a stronghold for 30 years worth of trash. Last spring, we (the RI Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation) had expressed concerns about the quality and composition of the sediment that was proposed to be dredged from Point Judith Harbor and deposited offshore (a few hundred yards off of Roy Carpenter’s Beach) as beach replenishment. We were assured by the Army Corps of Engineers and the CRMC that the dredged sediment had core tested clean (no toxins). How could the “experts” in charge with whatever ? huge amount of combined years of experience in this field fail to see what is clearly visible on any given day from Skips Dock. Take a look from Skips Dock across the harbor and what lies before you is a port that never rests. 24-7-365 the port never sleeps. With production and progress also comes waste. Commercial and recreational vessels, parking lots that are overflowing in the summer and constantly used by the fishing industry, fisherman, dock workers, state employees, tourists, beach goers, clam cake eaters, bars, restaurants, gift shops etc. We are all responsible for what goes in the water. If something goes into the water it has to have great monetary value before anyone is going to dive off of the dock, bulkhead or boat deck it came from to go get it back.
Unfortunately a lot of “stuff” was thrown intentionally into the water because people were too occupied to walk to a dumpster. Thankfully today most people who spend anytime near and around the water know that it is not a place for their waste. 30 years of “stuff” that made its way to the bottom is now coming back to haunt us in Matunuck. Aluminum cans (with the old school pull tabs), crushed lobster pots, fishing line and nets, rubber boots and foul weather gear, car tires (old school boat fenders), filet knives, twine knives, scrap metal, circuit boards, all kinds of plastics, oily rags, fuel water and oil filters, lobster claw bands (by the thousands), and countless other pieces of trash, debris etc. Forget all of the painting, grinding, scraping, sanding and welding. Forget the fish guts, fish heads, fish frames and scales. Forget the coffee cups and cigarette butts. Some “stuff” washing up requires eco-depot hazardous waste collection.
Dredging is nasty. The stuff coming up smells, it is covered in stinky black gooey gross mud. It would be nasty and gross to have to pick through the bottom or skip from the top anything out of the dredge barge scow. Who would want that nasty thankless job? No one. And that no one is doing that job right now as I write and as you read this. They continue to dredge and continue to dump with out any care for what will today or tomorrow wash ashore. Yes, we understand there are tolerances in large projects but this is unacceptable. Yes, they have said they will pick up the trash that has washes up.
Last Thursday the 25th at 11:00 am the CRMC, the ACOE, the DEM, the US Coast Guard, Save the Bay, the Surfrider Foundation, Matunuck residents, SK and RI tax payers, Channel 10 News, the Providence Journal, the Narragansett Times just to name a few…all unanimously agreed on one thing and that was “we have a major problem here”. The key word here is “major”! It was one of those days and situations that you had to see with your own two eyes to believe. Hey, missed your chance last week? No problem just wait till the surf comes up.
Because it’s the south shore it seems that the problem may not be such a big deal to the powers that be. If this was washing up on the Narragansett Town Beach this project would have been shut down last Thursday when the truth came to the surface (in the shore break, on the beach and in the sand). It took a few weeks for enough “stuff” to wash up before anyone took real notice. We have had no real storms or sea swells to speak of since they started dumping. This is the last thing the south coast needed. Enough beatings already have gone down between the oil spill and beach erosion problems. One good gale, one big storm is all it will take. It will turn up all the crap that is now spread all around the seafloor and dump it right on what was once a clean stretch of coastline.
The dredge project is a little more than 1/3 done. The damage is done. We are trying to prevent this problem from getting any worse. Any solid waste that is coming up in the dredge must be screened out before it can be dumped offshore. The beach must be returned to the clean condition it was in before they started dumping. The dredging company must continue to clean the beach for as long as trash and waste keep washing ashore. A fine should be issued and money from it can go towards education and awareness so no one will ever have to go through this ever again anywhere in the world. How about a showing a little respect to all of us who work so hard to keep our coastlines clear and clean all year long in the form of a written apology? If not to us then write it to the beach and ocean. It is what lies beneath that is scary. Under the sand, under the seaweed, under the surf and under foot.
This Thursday Feb. the 1st (yes tomorrow) at 6:00 pm the Rhode Island Chapter Surfrider
Foundation is holding an open forum to allow the public to discuss the
issue of solid waste washing up along our southern shores due to the Point
Judith Pond dredging project. This is the opportunity for you, as a
concerned citizen, to voice your concerns and possible ideas about this
project.
WHO: All parties concerned or involved are invited from A-Z. If you live in the Ocean State and you love the ocean you should attend this meeting. A strong turn out will send a strong message to the ACOE and the CRMC that we the people of RI truly care about the health and life of our beaches and ocean.
WHAT: Public open forum to discuss the issue of trash washing up on the
Southern shores of Rhode Island
WHEN: Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 6 p.m.
WHERE: URI Bay Campus, Coastal Institute, Auditorium
DIRECTIONS: http://www.gso.uri.edu/aboutGSO/directions.html
Please feel free to forward this email to any and all who are concerned
about the trash washing up on our beaches. Your attendance and input is
highly appreciated. I know this is short notice so please call anyone you know who may this important message. Please contact your favorite elected public official and request their attendance. Remind that they are in place to serve you for a good reason, you voted for them!
Thank you and we hope to see you there.
RI Chapter Surfrider Foundation
Ted A. Sorlien
Active Member of the RI Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation
tedsurfs@cox.net
1-451-2688 cell
1-401-792-3348 home
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