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| The two abandoned, derelict tug boats rested on the bottom of this tributary of the Neuse River, at the foot of what is now the base of the western ramp of the Neuse River Bridge, just east of New Bern. |
My recent articles on the Neuse River Bridge project led to a conversation with Jay Mattingly, former New Bern alderman, on his role in getting two abandoned tugboats removed from Scott’s Creek. The two abandoned, derelict tug boats rested on the bottom of this tributary of the Neuse River, at the foot of what is now the base of the western ramp of the Neuse River Bridge, just east of New Bern.
Mattingly brought me his huge file of correspondence, photos, newspaper articles and summaries he amassed during the three years and five months he pursued every avenue to get the derelict tugboats removed.
Mattingly said, “It seemed to me if these were motor vehicles on a city street they would have been removed promptly by city ordinance. Why can maritime law protect scofflaws who ignore or refuse to take proper care of their vessels?”
Official records confirm the two tugs boats, the George McBlockwood and the J. Edgar Steigerwalk (aka) Snapper (built in the 1920s) were stuck in muck and mire, rusting away for more than 10 years. Sold “as is”, “where is” on Sept. 23, 1993, the tugs were considered abandoned as they were never moved by the owner. In 1994, in response to a complaint by the Neuse River Foundation, the U.S. Coast Guard ordered having the fuel pumped out of the two vessels and removal of an oil slick coming from the tugs.
In December 1995, the N.C. Department of Transportation purchased land from Weyerhaeuser Company which included the submerged land the tugboats were on to construct U.S. 17and N.C. 55 across the Neuse River.
Mattingly’s quest began July 15, 1998.
He met with Special Deputy Attorney General, N.C. Department of Justice and the Manager of the Department of Transportation (DOT) Right of Way Branch who advised, “They were well aware of the situation but DOT’s mission was to build highways and not to move boats. DOT advertised and received one bid for $258,000, then decided to reject it since the bridge project could be built without moving the boats.” The meeting ended with a referral to speak with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Assistant Chief of Operations who stated, “Since the boats were in the creek and not a hazard to navigation, they were not responsible for doing anything.”
With both avenues closed, Mattingly contacted P.A. Wojciechowski, division manager, Public Trust Submerged Lands in Morehead City who was knowledgeable on this case. Wojciechowski said he had talked to one of the partners who owned the boats but was unable to get them to remove them.
At his recommendation, Mattingly contacted the Commander and Executive Officer for the Port of Wilmington who advised, “since the pollutant fuels had been pumped out of the tugs, they were no further concern to the U.S. Coast Guard.”
Undaunted, he contacted the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Boyce Hudson, senior field officer, who investigated the site, told him the boats were there when construction began so provisions were made to work around them and they were no longer a problem to the contractors.
In August, he wrote to DOT Secretary Norris Tolson. Several days later, the N.C. Highway Administrator called and advised “DOT cannot do anything. Legally gas tax dollars can only be spent on highway projects and cannot be used to move boats.”
Secretary Tolson’s response was more of the same and encouraged Mattingly to continue to work with local authorities. A letter from then Sen. Bev Perdue suggested Craven County could authorize their removal with county funds. Mattingly’s position: since local county officials did not design, purchase the land, or contract with the bridge builders, why should the remedy fall in their jurisdiction?
At an October meeting with a subcommittee of the Coastal Resources Commission, who are responsible for protecting the estuaries in the coastal region and shoreline stabilization of Public Trust Waters, Mattingly was told, “The tugs did not come under their mandate.”
On May 21, 1999, he spoke with Rick Dove, Lower Neuse Riverkeeper who referred him to Weyerhaeuser management who in turn told him, Weyerhaeuser sold the property (real estate) where the bridge would be located to DOT and they were not involved with the tugboats.
Many phone calls and contacts later, he found out previous owners of the tugboats were Bob Piner, general manager of the Morehead Towboat Company, Charles Carver who signed the bills of sale, and Cary McIntyre who was reported to be the primary purchaser. Piner advised Mattingly he sold both boats to a man from Leland, N.C. Mattingly’s attempts to contact that person were not successful and since he had no legal authority or official status to question him, he planned to inquire what his intentions were when he bought them.
June 9 correspondence from County Attorney Jim Sugg advised, the subject was discussed at the June 7 Board of Commissioners meeting and the County Manager will pursue the matter with DOT. Although unsuccessful to date, the county was trying to find someone other than the County that was involved as the cost of removing the tugs would cost the taxpayers more than $250,000.
The Sun Journal’s first of many articles began on June 24 reporting, County officials want tug boats removed; not sure what can be done, but haven’t given up.
On the same day, Jason Goins, Legal Aide, Neuse River Foundation advised they were preparing a warning letter to the DOT Secretary, with the intent to sue unless the tugs were removed within 60 days.
In a June 28 letter to David McCoy (the new DOT Secretary), Mattingly asked him to reconsider DOT’s previous opinion. More letters and meetings with state and local officials … no replies or “nothing can be done.”N.C. Secretary McCoy held a meeting in New Bern with Marion Smith, executive director of the Neuse River Foundation (NRF), Harold Talton, chairman of the County Commissions, Bob Mattocks, Division II Board of Transportation member, and other state and city officials and DOT staff. McCoy agreed to review DOT’s position, would provide a written up-date on their position and proceed with appropriate solutions.
Part 2
The Neuse River Bridge was a three-part project and T.A. Loving Company built the $13.3 million extension improvements (widening and repairing) to the U.S. 70 Bypass over the Trent River. When the work was completed they left a fleet of rusting barges, some loaded with construction debris.
A July 20 Sun Journal article reported, “The Neuse River Foundation seeks removal of barges in the Trent River; sent letters to T.A. Loving President/CEO Samuel Hunter giving them 60 days to arrange for removal of the 10 barges. T.A. Loving’s contention was they sold the barges to a New Bern citizen who bought them at auction to sell but defaulted on the portion of the bid owed to the auction company.
More press. Raleigh News & Observer features front page story article ‘Tugs cast pall on new bridge.’”
Governor Hunt’s letter to Senator Perdue stated funding sources will be explored and will require a cooperative effort.
Letters to the Sun Journal continued to pour in…some writers suggested the tugs be preserved as art as they were beautiful relics. Others said they were ugly; clean-up should be done by the owners; DOT owned the property and the problem; it was their responsibility for clean-up.
A letter from Secretary McCoy, responding to Mattingly’s June 28 letter, stated, “Please be assured that DOT is continuing to explore avenues by which this situation can be resolved. We will keep you informed of our progress.”
On Aug. 30, DOT State Construction Engineer S. DeWitt sent a letter to the buyer of the barges notifying him the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers notified DOT they were in violation of the CAMA permit for the Trent River bridge project due to the continued existence of barges in the Trent River. DOT understood he and several others purchased the barges from T.A. Loving at auction, were the legal owners and encouraged him to contact Hunter and any prospective buyers to facilitate proper removal of the barges.
In Mattingly’s Sept. 1 letter to Governor Hunt, he related there was no action to date, the dedication for the bridge was only 17 days away and urged prompt action since the cranes would soon be moved to another site.
On Sept. 8, Secretary McCoy notified Marion Smith (NRF) that a letter from the Attorney General’s office was sent to Charles Carver (who signed the Bills of Sale for the tugboats) giving him 14 days to remove the vessels or face legal action. Carver’s attorney notified Mattingly, Carver disclaimed ownership.
A Sun Journal article reported the Craven County attorney was drafting an ordinance prohibiting boat owners from littering county waterways with derelict boats.
Although the Sept. 17, 1999, dedication ceremony was postponed due to Hurricane’s Dennis and Floyd, the new Neuse River Bridge opened to traffic on Sept. 22. On Nov. 5, dedication ceremonies were held for the new Neuse River Bridge and the new Craven County air terminal.
Year 2000
In early March, Secretary McCoy sent Mattingly a packet with copies of all correspondence he received since his July meeting in New Bern including a letter to the citizen who reportedly bought the barges advising him he had 30 days to move the barges and a brief message: We are still addressing the issue.
On March 9, the Sun Journal reported the Neuse River Foundation (NRF) was close to filing a lawsuit in Federal District Court against the owners of the rusting barges abandoned in the Trent River and the NRF believed “it was T.A. Loving’s responsibility to get the floating scrap heaps out of the river.” The Foundation planned to file the lawsuit in 10 days after divers reported their findings and once the problem with the barges was resolved they would focus on the two tugs settled at the bottom of Scotts Creek.
On March 13, DOT filed a Complaint for Declaratory Judgment against T.A. Loving Company in Craven County. DOT was still holding $250,000 in retainage and their legal staff was continuing to work toward a resolution of the removal of the construction barges.
On March 25, the Sun Journal reported the remnants/equipment owned by Traylor Brothers still remained from bridge construction and included a photo of the staging area near the BridgePointe Hotel. Traylor Brother’s project manager stated all the equipment would be removed by July. County Manger Harold Blizzard was quoted that he was looking into the matter and would talk with the county attorney about a new strategy concerning the tug boats and barges in the river.
On April 8, the Raleigh News & Observer reported on Edenton and New Bern’s efforts to remove derelict boats from the waters on the edge of both towns.
More meetings with the county manager, commissioners and T.A. Loving attorneys led to an attempt to come to an agreement to fund the cost of removing the barges and tugboats.
On June 14, the Sun Journal reported that “an agreement had been reached only on raising the barges from the river bed, taking them to Barbour Boat Works and cutting them up for scrap. The project’s cost, $66,000 would be shared by NCDOT ($20,000), T.A. Loving ($30,000) and Craven County ($16,000).”
On June 30, Representative Scott Thomas introduced a bill establishing procedures for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to bear the cost of removing vessels left unattended for more than 90 days and sue to recover that cost. The bill was passed by the Senate, signed by Governor James Hunt, and became effective July 1, 2000.
More letters to county and state officials led to numerous meetings.
The Oct. 6 Sun Journal reported, “Old tubs are being removed.” Jim Lewis, D.H. Griffin Wrecking Company, stated “prying them out of their resting places is a challenge; rigging is always the X-factor. Once the boats are free of the bottom, they’ll be raised, pumped out and floated to Barbour Boat Yard where they will be cut up and hauled to a steel recycling mill and will come back to life as something new made of steel.”
On Oct. 30, work began to remove the tugs. At first, only one of the tugs could be dislodged from the mud. The larger of the two was raised and floated over to the Barbour Boat Works yard, cut up for scrap and trucked away. The work to raise the smaller tugs ceased until they could figure out the best way to raise it from the muck and mire.
Year 2001
On July 20, after a 10 month delay, the McBlockwood was patched, pumped out, floated and towed by a barge and the contractor’s tug boat, the Huck Finn, to the former Barbour Boat Works yard and was cut up and removed as scrap metal.
Mattingly’s perseverance
On his own as a private citizen concerned the tugs would continue to pollute our river, Mattingly contacted 27 officials with state and federal agencies and elected state and local officials, along with many others over a period of three years and five months. He pushed a lot of buttons, followed every lead, was met repeatedly with “can’t, won’t or not our responsibility,” but in the end his perseverance finally paid off.
Faced with overwhelming odds and unlimited obstacles, Jay Mattingly’s relentless perseverance of every avenue was ultimately the impetus for official remedial action and our community and our two rivers are all the better for it.
Susan Moffat-Thomas is executive director of Swiss Bear Downtown Development Corporation.
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