Abandoned Boats a Problem on California Delta

California state officials are trying to secure funding for cleaning up about 250 abandoned boats in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. They estimate that it would cost an average of about $500,000 each to remove larger commercial vessels.

People abandon boats without registration numbers which cannot be identified. When recovered the boats are sent to auction, where they sell for very little. Officials say the 250-boat estimate might be low, since there could be many others underneath the surface. Local authorities have used a state grant to hire contractors to haul 100 vessels in the last 10 years.

Officials say there are about 51 commercial vessels littering the riverbanks of the Delta. Some estimates put the cost of removal at about $30 million.

Assembly Bill 2441, which has passed the California state Senate, would create a fund to address the issue. The bill would shift revenues of rentals on public lands under control of the State Lands Commission to a separate account to pay for removal of the vessels. The bill has moved to the Appropriations Committee, but it is unclear if it will pass.