The long and salty saga of the former Drakes Bay Oyster Co. site at Point Reyes National Seashore is shucking up another controversial chapter. The now-defunct oyster farm who once provided nearly 40 percent of California’s oyster supply sued the U.S. Department of the Interior back in 2013 after losing their lease to farm oysters on the Point Reyes National Seashore something that they never technically had a permanent right to do, though they were granted temporary rights back in the 1970s. That suit was ultimately denied by the U.S. Supreme Court, so Drakes Bay settled with the National Park Service, who are now cleaning up the 2,500-acre natural estuary known as Drakes Estero and restoring it to wilderness land.
That ending sounds happier than a clam, but new allegations are mucking up the waters. ABC 7's I-Team reports that a former cleanup employee is claiming unsafe working conditions at Drakes Estero, including hazardous chemicals, lack of proper safety equipment, and not providing a toilet for employees for who were simply forced to do their business right into the waters of Drakes Bay.
The employee's claims resulted in numerous OSHA citations, and also resulted in that employee promptly being fired. He additionally claims he hasn't been paid by Galindo Construction, the firm hired by National Park Service to clean up the Drakes Estero Marine Conservation Area site.
The cleanup job entails divers having to clear out the old Drakes Oyster Co. underwater oyster racks. But whistleblowing employee Matthew Zucksberger says divers were given inadequate safety gear to handle toxic chemicals in the oyster racks’ wooden pilings, and were not even provided a functioning toilet.
“I did receive grade two, grade three chemical burns on my hips and on my chest and my torso,” Zucksberger told ABC 7, adding that the lack of a toilet ensured that “all human feces and urine was going back into the estero.”
OSHA took the claims seriously enough that they cited Galindo Construction in November for seven site violations, including failure to perform site inspections, lack of safety equipment and facilities on the job site barge, and creating drowning risks for employees.
The Park Service insisted to ABC 7 that “the contractor corrected these findings immediately” and that “all methods related to the project work were permitted and approved by the regulatory agencies.”
Galindo Construction has refused to comment on the matter, but they’ve slapped a temporary restraining order on the employee who made the allegations against them.
Related: Heavy Rainstorms Caused By Climate Change Could Kill Off SF Bay's Wild Oysters For Good