I had the distinct pleasure of speaking with Debbie Lundin Boyd the CEO/Owner of RLB Contracting Inc. on Thursday after the horrible dredge fire accident this week. She was open, honest and very transparent in discussing the accident. Her company is the owner of the dredge boat the Jonathon King Boyd that was involved in the pipeline fire on April 17^th. This dredge was named after Mr. Fisher and the Boyd’s oldest son and was a special vessel. Even after sitting in the flames and extreme heat, the hull of the dredge is intact. Ms. Boyd says even if insurance declares a total loss they will rebuild the barge. Randy Boyd, her husband and business partner built this barge, and like his grandfather was a great builder. The safety investigators said the Boyd is ‘seaworthy and surprisingly well-built’ when they cleared the vessel for towing. Inspectors were surprised and pleased at the condition of the Boyd after the fire.   

The night of the fire there 190,000 gallons of diesel fuel were stored on board the Boyd. Two tank valves were open and in use and two were closed on the vessel when the pipeline caught fire after being hit by an anchoring system on the Boyd. The fuel contained in the opened tanks burned off well into Wednesday as seen in the many reports of the fire, while the two closed valves tanks remain complete and will have to be drained before rescue and repair of the vessel. Wednesday and Thursday, numerous safety examinations found no diesel fuel in the water and no leaking from the Boyd. Containment buoys and the integrity of the vessel worked to prevent a more serious disaster.  The gas from the damaged line may cause some need for cleanup and restoration as pollution investigations continue, but inspectors finally cleared the Jonathon King Boyd as safe to be towed late Wednesday night. It was towed to Port Lavaca for restoration. 

Ms. Boyd stated there were two pipelines in the designated dredge area left after an offshore well was capped in a 20-30 mile shut in or containment. TomCat East and West were both were damaged in Hurricane Harvey and the West one was removed. TomCat East remained but was not sufficiently marked and was hit in the dredge process. It was a closed line. The Jonathon King Boyd crew all evacuated without injury or incident. Ms. Boyd was proud to report that the crew will be paid in full no matter what happens in coming days. They will not miss one check or hour of work as some will work on restoration of the damaged Boyd and some will go to another active dredge site. This crew is family and the Boyd’s are grateful for everyone’s safety and plan to take care of them going forward.  

Ms. Boyd was full of praise for those involved in this accident and said the Port O’ Connor Coast Guard, Firefighters and citizens were wonderful to work with throughout. They were professional, helpful and nothing but kind. She also praised competitors and participants in the business who have been full of care and concern. Numerous calls to check on the crew came in and many have offered to lease or arrange cooperation to finish the job.  

Due to the fire, the crew will be demobilizing, removing gear and equipment from the beach and smoothing out the sand that is already deposited. Eventually, Ms. Boyd says they will return and finish the project when crew and equipment become available. The Corp of Engineers will likely continue the project at that time. Either way, our sandy beachfront is bigger and better, and I know we are all glad that there were no serious injuries or environmental complications from this incident.  

POC 6th ANNUAL CRAWFISH FEST & COOKOFF
SATURDAY, APRIL 28 at King Fisher Beach
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
7-10 am Vendor & Cooker Checkin & Setup
10 am Open to Public
11:30 am Crawfish served until sold out
12 pm Horseshoe Tournament Registration
12 pm Crawfish Eating Contest Registration at People’s Choice
12:30 pm Bloody Mary Contest Judging
1 pm Horseshoe Tournament
1-3 pm The Splendiferous
2 pm Boiled Crawfish Judging
3 pm Best Side Dish Judging
3:30 pm Crawfish Eating Contest
4 pm Final Call for Peoples Choice
4:30 pm Awards Announced
5-7 pm Jarrod Birmingham

Seadrift Mayor DeForest presents medal to Chief Bermea

Seadrift Police Chief Leonard Bermea has been named “Officer of the Year” by Seadrift City Council. Chief Bermea began his career with the Department in March of 2009 as a full-time patrolman. In 2012, he was promoted to the rank of Chief. In 2016, Chief Bermea was instrumental in bringing several burglary cases to a successful conclusion, including recovery of stolen items to local citizens.

“In 2017, Chief Bermea made above-average criminal and traffic arrests, conducted several extensive criminal investigations, and handled countless calls for service in a diligent and professional manner,” according to Police Lieutenant Louis Warren, who nominated the Chief for this honor.

Chief Bermea is well-known for his involvement in the community and his commitment to its safety and well-being.

His able department includes Officer Mike Henry, Deputy Louis Warren, and Deputy Robert Monero.
-Photo Courtesy of Ross Stapp, Port Lavaca Wave

Councilman Ranier Brigham and Mayor Elmer DeForest

and the Seadrift Police Department

Officer Mike Henry, Deputy Louis Warren, Police Chief Leonard Bermea, Deputy Robert Montero

Still attempting to recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, the City of Seadrift was hit with another major blow on March 29th. In the early morning hour, a tornado touched down, destroying 10 structures and damaging twenty-four.

A Helping Hand

Pictured above (left to right): Kathy Wilson (Rockport United Methodist Church), Leslie Machiavelli (Mayor of Point Comfort), Signy Sizer (Port Lavaca United Methodist Church).

In the wake of the tornado, Leslie Machicek, the Mayor of Point Comfort, brought three men from Point Comfort’s City Crew to
help the Seadrift City Crew and the Solid Waste Crew with recovery efforts. Kathy Wilson and her husband from Rockport United Methodist Church provided Wal-Mart gift cards for anyone in need. Signy Sizer from Port Lavaca United Methodist Church came with food for First Responders and those affected by the storm.

Well, it is just my opinion, but I think the dredging is a great thing. I was down at the beach this week and walked the whole distance from retaining wall to jetty and took lots of pictures. I stopped and talked to the foreman on the work team from RLB Construction in Port Lavaca and he was so friendly and full of information.

So, in the simplest terms, here is what I know. The Army Corp of Engineers, a US government agency dedicated to environmental sustainability, was awarded a contract to dredge the POC near-side of the channel known as the Intracoastal Waterway or ICW.

They have contracts all over, and several after our storm and hurricane season. Here, they only have a contract for the near or Port O’Connor side only at this date.
Large dredging equipment much like a huge vacuum on the big barge anchored out in the water vacuums up sludgy sand from the floor of the channel near the edge to maintain the channel depth and keep silt and scrap from washing into the channel during weather and tide changes.

This sandy mixture is pumped through large metal pipes to the POC beachfront where the contracted team from RLB moves and spreads the sandy mixture across the beach area expanding the sandy beach area and improving the existing beach front. These teams of workers are on rotating continuous shifts for at least a month and likely a bit more to complete this large project. The pumped up sand will be spread from the jetties up past the pier to in front of the retaining wall. Additional sandy beach area will result from their efforts.

The force of the sand being pumped to the beach from out in the channel can be high, so they have fenced off the area for protection. You can still safely use parts of the beach front and the park area during this work, and it is very interesting to see their progress. The only moving or mechanical equipment involved is the vacuum tubing which is monitored by two boats working in conjunction with the large barge housing the equipment.

It would be unusual for marine life to be harmed during this process. The sand may contain plant and animal life normal to the ocean bottom and may be pumped up on the beach and could cause a briny smell temporarily. Small crabs and other critters will soon adapt or relocate if they get caught in the move.

I will say that it was quite windy one day I was there and warm and calm the other; and neither day was there a bad or bothersome odor at the beach. It smelled like the ocean.

If, when the near side is done, the channel needs dredged on the far or opposite side, an additional contract will be negotiated. The noise, the orange fencing, the crew parking and buildings are all temporary and part of the process.

I found the guys working hard to finish in a timely manner and very interested in doing a great job for POC. They were very aware of our upcoming Crawfish Festival and had plans to limit their intrusion on beach use and activities in POC.

So, go by to have a look at what they are doing and get yourself a new sand pail for castle building because very soon we will have the new and improved Kingfisher Beach in Port O’Connor, Texas.

DREDGING UPDATE:

-Photo by Susan Braudaway

As this paper was about to go to press, the dredge barge struck a gas line and ignited (Tuesday night). There were no injuries and the gas line has been secured. We do not know how this will affect the completion of the dredging operation.