PENSACOLA, Florida (16 Feb 2006) -- The Oriskany is going down, and this time there don't appear to be any barriers in the way. The 888-foot aircraft carrier likely will be towed back to Pensacola in early March from Beaumont, Texas, where it rode out the 2005 hurricane season. It will be sunk before the 2006 hurricane season begins in June, said Pat Dolan, deputy director of communications for the Naval Sea Systems Command. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday announced that it had given the state and the U.S. Navy the much-anticipated permission to sink the ship about 23 miles off the Pensacola coast. The EPA has determined that the 700 pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, left on board, primarily in the Oriskany's electrical wiring, don't pose an unreasonable risk to human or marine life. Studies have shown PCBs cause cancer. Projected sink dates have slipped by, since September 2004, as the EPA has evaluated the potential danger of sinking the PCBs along with the carrier, which was used in the Vietnam and Korean wars. The telephones in dive shops began ringing the minute divers picked up on the news that the world's largest artificial reef project finally is moving ahead. "It's about time," said Eilene Beard, co-owner of the Scuba Shack in downtown Pensacola. "The Oriskany is the Mount Everest of diving," said diver Bryan Clark, 43, of Pensacola. "There is nothing remotely like it in the world. We are going to be the center of the diving universe for some time to come." | | The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it had given the state and the U.S. Navy the much-anticipated permission to sink the ship about 23 miles off the Pensacola coast. Retired Vice Adm. Jack Fetterman, who has pushed to have the Oriskany sunk here, described his mood Wednesday as "euphoric." "I just think it is a tremendous event for Pensacola," he said. A 2004 Florida State University study estimated Escambia County will see $92 million a year in economic benefits from an artificial reef. The total cost to sink the Oriskany, including environmental remediation and preparation, towing, risk studies and port fees is estimated at $19 million, Dolan said. SOURCE - Pensacola News Journal |
