Water Resources to pursue construction crane's removal from Clear Lake

CLEARLAKE PARK, Calif. – The county's Water Resources Department is preparing to begin an abatement process to remove a construction crane that fell into the lake in November and has remained there since.

Water Resources Director Scott De Leon said he plans to go to the Board of Supervisors this month and ask for permission to go forward with the removal.

He said he posted an abatement notice at the site of the sunken crane on Wednesday.

The crane, which was being used by Konocti Marine Construction to build a boat lift near Clearlake Park between Pirate's Cove and Pine Dell Resort, went into the lake on Nov. 23, De Leon said.

When the crane went down it also damaged a neighbor's boat lift, said De Leon.

Lake County Environmental Health, Water Resources, the Lake County Sheriff's Boat Patrol and Northshore Fire all responded to the incident, said De Leon, adding that his department notified Fish and Game and the California Department of Water Resources of the situation.

Also sinking at that time was a barge and push boat. De Leon said the barge was righted and the push boat removed on Dec. 21.

De Leon said there was some fuel and crank case oil in the crane. His department and Environmental Health have been working together to monitor it, but noted they've not seen a large amount of fuel.

He said he received an e-mail from a concerned citizen on Monday showing a sheen around the partly constructed boat lift's pilings, and he subsequently alerted Environmental Health. De Leon said small amounts of fuel can look larger when they hit the lake's surface and expand.

Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski said his staff has been monitoring the petroleum sheen around the crane and trying to figure out the volume of gas and oil in the fuel tanks and engine.

The goal has been to capture any fuel or oil with booms, Ruminski said.

Since the crane sank, bad weather and difficulty getting assistance from other contractors have led to the crane remaining where it is, said De Leon.

“It's going to take a bigger crane than the one that's in the water to pull it out,” he said, estimating the sunk crane is about 30 to 40 tons and is completely submerged in an area where the lake is between 40 and 50 feet deep.

Only a few contractors working in Lake County have equipment that big, De Leon said.

Since the incident De Leon said his department has worked with Martin Scheel of Konocti Marine Construction to address the sunk equipment. He said Scheil has been “very open with us” about what he can and can't do in the situation.

De Leon said he spoke with Scheel on Monday. “He said that he probably doesn't have the finances to be able to get the thing out.”

Scheel did not return calls from Lake County News seeking comment.

De Leon said the county may have to bring in a company from outside of the area to do the removal.

“It may cost $40,000 to $50,000 to get that thing out of there,” De Leon said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at [email protected] . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

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