Eyesore Cleaning Up, Corps Says

By Steve Whitworth, The Telegraph, Alton, Ill.

Mar. 26–ALTON — They’ve shaped up, so they won’t have to ship out.

That’s what the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is saying about the barge repair and salvage yard on the Mississippi River at Alton that often has been criticized as an eyesore by environmentalists. However, those critics say they still are concerned about the appearance of the operation along the Great River Road, which is a National Scenic Byway.

In January, the regulatory branch of the corps’ St. Louis District sent a letter to William Abbott of Godfrey, who owns the stretch of riverfront just west of Downtown Alton that is leased to American Boat Co. Abbott holds a permit from the corps that authorizes the mooring of a commercial marine repair, salvage and transportation facility along 900 feet of riverfront at approximately Mississippi River mile 203.7.

The letter warned Abbott that the American Boat operation was violating the terms of its permit. It noted that regulators had received complaints about the property’s appearance, prompting regulatory employees to conduct an on-site inspection Dec. 5.

The inspection confirmed the site’s failure to comply with some of the terms and conditions of its permit.

Corps officials told The Telegraph last week that they had met with American Boat Co. management and outlined the steps required to bring the operation into compliance, directing the company to take the necessary steps.

“Since that date, American Boat Company has made significant strides to return to compliance with the stipulations of the permit, including cleaning up and neatening materials and refuse and painting visible vessels,” a statement from the corps’ St. Louis District said. “They have also reduced their ‘footprint’ and are apparently continuing to try to reduce the visible presence by securing fleeting or mooring facilities for a portion of their vessels at another location.

“The Corps of Engineers is continuing to monitor progress and is working closely with American Boat Company to ensure that there is no misunderstanding or confusion concerning previous permits and what is currently required.”

Despite the corps’ statement, some environmentalists continue to express concern about conditions at the American Boat operation. The Alton-based Piasa Palisades Group of the Sierra Club has led the effort to force American Boat to clean up the property, starting with when the company got permission to occupy the riverfront in the early 1990s.

Jim Bensman, conservation chair for the group, said the site still looks messy to him.

“I drove by the other day, and they’ve got all kinds of garbage and junk piled out in front of them. That’s a violation of their permit,” he said. “It didn’t look like they were all painted to me. It looks like a lot of their stuff is just fleeted upstream and downstream. There’s no permit for that.

“But there’s no question at all, there’s definitely an improvement. This is the first time they’ve ever made an attempt to comply, so it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

“It’s good that they’re finally doing something,” Bensman said. “This is a National Scenic Byway, and they’ve never up until this point done anything to show any kind of respect for our tourism economy. They just had tourists see a junkyard.”

The corps’ letter in January cited two special conditions of the permit that inspectors found to be out of compliance. The first was the condition limiting the extent of the mooring facility and its connected floating vessels to a length of 900 feet along the Illinois riverbank; the letter said the operation’s length had been measured at 1,250 feet.

The second special condition cited by the corps involved the appearance of the mooring facility, which is supposed to be “kept in a neat, organized manner.

“All vessels should be in good operating condition or in the process of becoming fully operable,” the special condition states. “All vessels nearest to and/or visible from West Broadway street shall have the side(s) of the vessel facing West Broadway painted above the deck line. Painting shall be performed on an as-needed basis to cover up rusting and/or spalling painted surfaces. All scrap materials shall be stored in such a manner not to extend above the top of the deck of barges/vessels. All materials, parts and supplies not being used should be stored out of sight.”

The letter outlined what it termed violations of that condition.

“Several of the vessels exhibited rusting and flaking paint areas,” it said. “A vessel near the downstream end of the permitted property has vegetation growing above the deck line. A variety of parts, supplies and other materials (scrap metal, chains, tires, air conditioners, etc) were clearly visible across your property. The items were weathered, indicating prolonged exposure and lack of use.”

The letter said American Boat had been warned repeatedly about a persistent lack of “general housekeeping” at the property. The corps threatened to begin immediate proceedings to revoke the permit and seek monetary penalties if the problems were not addressed.

In its statement last week, the corps said it “neither supports nor objects to activities or development in the area but insists that any such permitted activities be carried out within limits of applicable laws and regulations.”

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