Keeping Petaluma River traffic moving

At the urging of State Assemblyman Jared Huffman and Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, the U.S. Coast Guard recently altered its previous position on the proposed asphalt plant, stating that Dutra's barges, to be docked in the river when offloading materials, would create a "navigational hazard" to other river traffic. Oddly, the Coast Guard never once raised this supposed safety issue during the 20 years that Dutra operated its barges in a very similar fashion just up the river.

Ominously, the letter from Coast Guard Captain P.M. Gugg also stated that "other (existing) facilities that operate barges on this river block access to the navigational channel" and would be investigated for possible violations. While Coast Guard officials were careful to say it is not their intent to shut down any of the existing businesses that rely on the river for transport, Coast Guard Lt. Simone Mausz confirmed the Coast Guard is going "to investigate whether or not Jerico, Shamrock and two or three other companies could be committing anchoring violations in the navigable channel."

Family-owned Jerico Products, which employs 40 people, has used barges for many years to transport oyster shells for processing in Petaluma. Could they be guilty of violating an obscure federal maritime law that prohibits any vessel from being moored, anchored or tied to a pier "in such a manner as to extend into an adjacent channel?" It's not clear.

What is clear is that the Petaluma River has been used for the commercial transport of goods for more than150 years and there have been few if any serious collisions between barges and other vessels in recent decades to warrant this sudden bureaucratic distress over safety on the waterway connecting Petaluma with San Pablo Bay.

Then again, the barge issue is not so much a safety concern as it is the result of political pressure to block or delay Dutra's application for its new plant. The problem is that the Coast Guard cannot selectively enforce federal laws, and that could lead to a prohibition on other barge traffic on the river and the loss of business and jobs.

Also, since the dredging of the river is dependent upon a certain minimum amount of commercial tonnage being transported on its waters, there is also the possibility that the Army Corps of Engineers would stop dredging the river if businesses can no longer operate their barges. If that were to happen, it wouldn't take long for the river to collect enough silt to become impassable for all but very small boats, prohibiting larger ones from ever reaching the Petaluma Yacht Club or the turning basin.

The Petaluma River is also this community's major flood control relief valve, so its siltation would present a very real barrier to moving floodwaters downriver. The result: Greatly increased chance of flooding in central and downtown Petaluma.

It may sound like a doomsday prophecy for the river, but because of the Coast Guard's new and troubling position on barge traffic it is now a very real possibility.