Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer on Monday vowed to use his power and the federal budget to ensure the future of the USS The Sullivans on Buffalo’s waterfront.
“Today I am putting out an SOS across the federal government: Save Our Sullivans,” Schumer said during a news conference at the Buffalo and Erie County Naval & Military Park where crews are continuing to work to save the World War II-era ship. “I’m fully committed to having all hands on deck in getting the maximum amount of federal dollars we have.”
The historic ship’s hull was breached last week. In addition to listing to one side, diesel and hydraulic and lube oils — that would have been present during the operation of the ship and may still be onboard — began spilling into the water.
Divers trying to prevent the contaminants from damaging the ecology or Lake Erie have been skimming inside the vessel, pulling out thousands of gallons of the pollutants.
“White the cleanup efforts have already begun, this is going to be an expense, and it shouldn’t be the city or county or, of course, the park that have to pay for this. The good news here is that we got … $1 billion for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative,” Schumer said. “Some of that money can be used to clean up the oil and the spills and get things back in tip top shape here. Because that’s going to be an expense that we’ll have to deal with.”
No new information was released on cleanup efforts.
“Removing contaminants in a safe and responsible manner is the order of the day,” said Paul Marzello, park president and CEO.
TNT, an international salvage company, arrived in Buffalo on Sunday night and will provide detailed information on a salvage plan for the U.S. Coast Guard to approve, said Capt. Lexia Littlejohn, commander of the Coast Guard Buffalo sector.
Schumer also offered to funnel congressionally directed spending, sometimes called earmarks, to the project.
“As majority leader, I have some clout with earmarks, and … I will do everything I can to get as big an earmark as we can get to help with The Sullivans,” he said.
Schumer noted that there is $500 million in the federal budget for the National Maritime Heritage Grant program. There is a limit to how much each heritage area can receive, Schumer said. “But I am going to in the defense bill of this year, get a much higher amount and have a good chunk of that earmarked for our naval park.”
The Sullivans is a floating tribute to a working-class family that lost all five of its sons aboard the USS Juneau during World War II when it was struck by a Japanese torpedo in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the deaths of 687 men.
Park officials discovered around 9 or 10 p.m. Wednesday that the ship was taking on water in the shallow waters of Buffalo’s Inner Harbor.
The hull was breach aft of midship, on the starboard side of the vessel, which is listing to one side. Officials still do not know the cause of the problem and have said the World War II-era destroyer is stable but not completely out of danger from sinking.
Industrial-sized pumps worked throughout Thursday night and reached a point of “equilibrium,” in that they were pumping out as much water as was leaking into the vessel.
The U.S. Coast Guard estimated Thursday afternoon there were more than 3 million gallons of water inside the ship.
Efforts to pump water out of the ship were temporarily halted Friday because the contaminants were leaking from The Sullivans into the harbor.
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