BUFFALO — A coordinated multi-agency response began work to address two potentially hazardous environmental threats at the Buffalo Naval Park on Monday.
While officials say they have discovered a pinhole in one of the fuel tanks aboard the USS Croaker and water incursion on the USS The Sullivans, there have been no reported impacts to wildlife from the intermittent petroleum releases.
Both vessels will be transported along Lake Erie to Donjon Shipbuilders in Erie, Pennsylvania, where dry dock repairs will take place to help save the two vessels and their historic legacy.
Officials from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the U.S. Coast Guard, the City of Buffalo, and Buffalo Naval Park began work on correcting the situation on Monday.
DEC is the lead state agency focusing on the safe removal and treatment of legacy residual fuel products that are typical of historic naval vessels, along with stabilization measures required to manage contaminated water accumulation and support vessel integrity.
“DEC is committed to protecting the Buffalo River and coordinating closely with the Coast Guard, City of Buffalo, and the Naval Park to ensure an effective and safe response at the USS Croaker and USS Sullivans,” DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said.
Operational planning and resource mobilization began last week, including staging treatment infrastructure and frac tank systems to support controlled pumping, storage, and processing of the oil-water mixture from both ships. The effort is expected to involve the management and treatment of residual fuel materials that have remained aboard the vessels for decades.
“Our priority is preventing further pollution of the Buffalo River,” Mayor Sean Ryan said. “We are committed to working with our state and federal partners to stabilize the vessels and to address the environmental concerns identified by the U.S. Coast Guard.”
The USS Croaker holds an estimated 25,000 gallons of diesel fuel and potentially 115,000 gallons of oily water onboard. The remediation plan involves pumping the oil and water from multiple onboard fuel tanks. Once offloaded, the stern of the USS Croaker is projected to rise approximately 4 feet, which will place the level of perforations in the hull above the waterline and allow the vessel’s transport. A similar project involving the USS Silversides, a Gato-class submarine and museum in Michigan, was completed successfully several months ago. The project manager from that endeavor was on-site in Buffalo today to offer technical assistance.
The USS The Sullivans holds potentially 30,000 gallons of oily water on board. A consulting naval architect will direct the progress of the work to offload the oily water in order to ensure the balance and structural integrity of the USS The Sullivans is maintained. Approximately 15 tons of water, jeopardizing the structural integrity of the vessel’s hold, is anticipated to be offloaded daily. A separate crew will work to plug leaks in the hull of the USS The Sullivans once an area is cleared. DEC is collecting the oil from the vessel and will recycle it. The recovered water will be offloaded into portable storage (frac) tanks for appropriate treatment.
President and CEO of the Buffalo Naval Park Brian Luallen said, “This work is complex and involves the management of substantial volumes of legacy petroleum materials, but it represents meaningful progress toward preparing both ships for dry dock, ensuring their stories can continue to be shared with future generations.”
The cleanup is being funded through commitments already included within the established public funding framework supporting the ships’ preservation. Using DEC contractors provides operational flexibility and allows the work to proceed on an accelerated timeline while maintaining local coordination.