K-DOCK 92.9

Tsunami debris from the March 11, 2011 tsunami in Japan has started arriving on the Oregon coast. This massive chunk of dock is 66 feet long, 19 feet wide and 7 feet tall. It showed up on Agate Beach near Newport on June 4, 2012.

June 7, 2012: A team of about a dozen staff and volunteers organized by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife made quick work of removing marine organisms from the dock on the sand at Agate Beach. Workers with shovels, rakes and other tools first scraped the structure clean, then briefly used low-pressure torches to sterilize the dock. The material was bagged and hauled up the beach well above the high tide line to store it temporarily.

June 7, 2012: The marine organisms removed from the Agate Beach derelict dock were buried landward from the site. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife staff and volunteers removed about a ton and a half of plant and animal material. Oregon Parks and Recreation Department staff and a contractor excavated a hole approximately eight feet deep far above the furthest reach of high tides and storm surges. They emptied the bags into it and filled in the hole. Since the organisms require salt water to survive, this disposal method is safe and reliable. According to officials, no further action is expected at the site until a decision is made about disposing of the dock, a decision which should be made in the next couple of days. Two basic options are under review: towing it off the beach to a nearby port or harbor, or demolishing it on site and disposing of it in a landfill.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 6th, 2012 and is filed under Local News.