Good News: Oakland Estuary Cleanup Action Plan

Good news has reemerged on the Oakland/Alameda Estuary. After several successful steps cleaning up ADVs (Abandoned and Derelict Vessels) in late 2023 and early 2024, the enforcement lapsed and conditions relapsed. The good news is in an email Brock de Lappe received from USCG Commander Dave Herndon, Chief of Response Operations at UCSG San Francisco. The email outlines an updated plan for Estuary cleanup to occur over the next couple of months.

As we wrote in a recent ‘Lectronic Latitude, Oakland’s budget problems had caused the elimination of funding to Estuary patrols, resulting in an increase in both anchor-outs and possibly related crime along the Alameda shoreline. This was a huge disappointment, since in 2023/24, about 15-20 derelict vessels had been removed, and it wasn’t long before the problem returned.

The good news is that the Coast Guard and the Oakland Police Department now have funding to renew patrols and are planning to conduct public outreach and awareness to alert occupants of vessels anchored in the Estuary about an upcoming operation to tag and remove ADVs.

They will be letting vessel occupants know what resources are available to them and how to access them. Following that, the patrols will be pulling alongside or boarding vessels with the intention to tag them for removal within 10 days. The Coast Guard says they will also be advising anchor-outs of federal anchorage regulations and how to contact harbormasters.

Although this all depends on “confirmation” of funding and procedure, barring any unforeseen obstacles, the plan should be underway shortly. Hopefully the Estuary will soon return to a cleaner, safer waterway.