NEW ORLEANS -- More than four years after Hurricane Katrina, the effort to clean up storm debris from Louisiana's waterways is about the enter a new phase.
The Coast Guard and FEMA contractors are now preparing to remove "light debris" from the water. So far, the focus has remained on removing larger pieces of debris.
One example is a so-called "ghost shrimper" -- a haunted-looking, 50-foot shrimp boat that has been lodged in Chef Pass since Katrina. On Monday, contracted workers were close to grasping the boat out of the water's grip -- and out of the hair of commercial fisherman Pete Gerica.
"We've had boats, since the hurricane, that have lost wheels, shafts, put holes in them-- damn near sunk," Gerica said. "I mean, it's been a nightmare."
It has been an ongoing nightmare for fishermen, shrimpers and recreational boaters ever since Katrina's massive storm surge pushed all sorts of things into Louisiana's waterways. The steering wheel of a sunken dump truck can still be seen protruding from a waterway in New Orleans East.
"Anything from toilet seats to Toyotas are out here in the waterways," said Lee Richardson, state marine debris coordinator with the Governor's Office of Homeland Security.
Since 2007, the priority for removal focused on sunken, heavy vessels. A survey found 250 of them in 23 coastal parishes. As of now, 180 of them have been removed. Now, the effort is shifting to include light debris: like trees, small vehicles and construction debris. The Coast Guard said it found 6,624 of those in the 23 parishes and will begin to remove them in January.
While Hurricane Katrina created thousands of debris sites across Louisiana's waterways, not all of them are eligible for FEMA pick up. One example is a small boat, sunken in New Orleans East.
"It's not in a navigable waterway, it's not really in anyone's way, it doesn't interrupt drainage," Richardson. "So, there's no threat to health or safety, it doesn't endanger improved property in the area, so it really doesn't come under the eligibility of the Stafford Act."
State officials said if certain debris does not meet FEMA requirements for removal, it will be up to individual parishes to remove it from the water.
"It's an ongoing effort," Richardson said.
In the meantime, Pete Gerica hopes his boat will avoid any more run-ins with any more debris.
"I know government moves slow, but it's got to move a little faster," Gerica said. "It's a hazard."
The Coast Guard and other agencies surveyed more than 300 state waterways to find the Katrina debris sites that needed removal.
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