JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Neighbors in Hyde Park are raising health and safety concerns over sunken boats in the Cedar River.
Action News Jax stopped by the canal and found two boats submerged in the water.
Lloyd Thurman said the boats have been like that for at least a year.
“They were down before the hurricanes. I think the hurricanes polished them off,” Thurman said.
He said neighbors have contacted multiple agencies, but claim they are getting nowhere.
“It’s a dead-end everywhere we go,” Thurman said. “All these government agencies are playing hot potato with it.”
An employee with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection stopped by the site of the sunken boats with the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife.
An email obtained from the DEP employee said, “we determined the leakage of fuel wasn’t cleanable and will dissipate.”
Neighbors don’t accept that and want the situation resolved. They worry pieces of the boat will break off and cause someone to get hurt.
“We are the River City and this is how people treat the river, so we're trying to do better,” Thurman said.
Cox Media Group
