Why Is the Army Buying 4,000 Bushels of Empty Oyster Shells for $15,000?
- Posted on July 26, 2012 at 10:52am by
Liz Klimas
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The Army is seeking empty oyster shells for a restoration project. (Photo: Flickr/Astacus)
Wednesday was the last day the Army would be taking quotes from vendors for an unusual request: empty oyster shells.
Its description of requirement simply stated “The Wilmington District of the US Army Corps of Engineers requests the procurement and delivery of oyster shells that have been shucked and air dried in accordance with the attached specifications.”
Wired has looked into the odd request and found that the Army is looking for 4,000 bushels of these empty oyster shells that could cost up to $15,000. But why? Here’s more:
[...] it turns out the shells are destined for the southeastern corner of Roanoke Island, N.C. abutting Wanchese Harbor. That’s where the Army Corps of Engineers has a marsh creation and restoration project. There’s no military value to the enterprise; it’s part of the Corps’ longstanding civil works and environmental mission.
According to Wired, the Wanchese restoration project, which spans 12 acres near the Outer Banks in North Carolina, began in 2002 and completion of the project depends on the oyster shells. It reports Ann Johnson, spokeswoman for the Wilimington, N.C., District of the Corps of Engineers, saying they will be used to “expand the existing oyster reef component of the Wanchese Marsh project to about one acre.”
Just how much is 4,000 bushels worth of empty oyster shells anyway? Johnson told Wired it would fill five dump trucks.
Featured image via Flickr/pelican
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Comments (65)
Chuck Stein
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 2:42pmHere’s the really good part: this money is counted as part of the DOD budget.
Report Post »midwesthippie
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 5:09pm…aw gee…that accounts for 15,000 of the 800,000,000,000 dollars of the GOV-MILITARY complex…
Report Post »eagle2715
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 5:38pmOr perhaps he was trying to get across the point that the “DOD budget” isn’t as cut and dry as the talking heads make it out to be?
Report Post »yougottabekidding
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 8:44pmMidwest
Report Post »Your right it’s nothing ! You pay for it.
That would reduce my tax burden for stupid stuff and out fit someone in body armor
shogun459
Posted on July 27, 2012 at 10:29amMidwesthippie
How often Has the Army Corp of Engineers been the desiding factor FOR the Environmental Movement? Well, they won’t be there for you 90% of the time after Jan.2013
The POINT you seem to miss is that the DEFENSE budget covers a MASSIVE amount of environmental projects and are about to be CUT 90%.
The Military will end All non-defense activity or they will end all defense activity. The Generals will take the first option don’t you think?
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on July 27, 2012 at 2:28pm@ Eagle
Report Post »Yup, you caught my intention
S S
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 2:37pmGuys, Check out The Fort at St. Augustine and its walls. They are solidly built with the mixture using OYSTER shells. This has lasted for years, and I believe they had just finally started refurbishing the fort just a few years ago…the walls had lasted through war and years of damaging sea air and water. Oyster shells are tough and were used for lots of construction here in Florida and other Southern seaside states.
Report Post »code green
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 3:17pmIf you go to the rural parts of the Eastern Shore in Maryland, lots of the private roads are covered with oyster shells.
Report Post »castuslonginus
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 5:36pmWhy do they have to be of a certain spec and air dried,aren’t they going back in the water? why not dredge some from the area? m,ore bureaucratic costly nonsense.
Report Post »Ramv36
Posted on July 27, 2012 at 3:03pm@castuslonginus
Air drying for a specified period destroys the larvae for certain invasive mollusk species, such as but not limited to zebra mussels. They’re trying to prevent cross-contamination between the origin and the destination areas. It’s a huge concern in any state with waterways, and you can be slapped with heavy fines, even prison time, for not thoroughly washing and air drying a boat or boat dock for the specified time when changing lake or river locations.
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 2:17pmThey could be used for a bacci ball area as well.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 2:01pmThey want to sell them to the Marines for baby who are to be future Marines to cut their teeth on. Babies who grow up to be Marines do no use pacifiers, likely. They are going to be the best that they can be too. I am U.S. Navy and the Marines (whether they admit it or not) are our ground force.
Report Post »oyster0302
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 1:34pmSomeone talking about me?
Report Post »4xeverything
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 1:44pmWere your ears ringing?
Report Post »Ted Zeppelin
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 1:07pmI’d bet Michell Obysmal spent that much on oysters on her ten-million taxpayer dollars worth of undesreving vacations. Oink, Oink
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 2:04pmThat will be the new money?
Report Post »BurntHills
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 1:06pmno doubt this is all a gov’t hoax designed to justify having the 5 truckloads of oysters that michelle obama has eaten in 3 ½ years..
Report Post »Banter
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 1:42pmLmao!
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 2:03pmThey want to make those African necklaces out of them. They are not brave enough to get the shark’s teeth.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 2:06pmYes, I guess they have eat the first dog by now and are going to eat the first oysters, then make necklaces out of the shells or encourage people use them for money.
Report Post »thegoldman
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 12:59pmEmpty oyster shells make good oyster beds !
The seed attaches itself to the empty shells in a few years you have commercial oyster beds !
Report Post »loriann12
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 1:12pmThey also paved (or used to) roads with them. My dad lived in New Orleans as a child and could run on the crushed oyster shells. Now grass hurts his feet…lol.
Report Post »RRFlyer
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 1:13pmMay be, but you can sure get them cheaper than $15,000. In oyster country they throw them away, pave roads with them, use for fill just to get rid of them
Report Post »SCREW-WINDOWS
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 2:38pmThey are also used in chicken feed supposedly it hardens the egg shells.
Report Post »BannedByHuffpo
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 12:47pmYou could probably get 4000 lbs of Chinese oyster shells for a hundred bucks.
Report Post »JimFromOK
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 12:25pmThis is nothing. The FAA just awarded a contract to Sony to refurbish 250 monitors that have been out of production for almost 30 years at a cost of $8500 each. The military recently requested 215 heavy duty extension cords that can be purchased anywhere for less than $45. They have been paying $77. Your average Joe couldn’t sell them, though. The specifications are “export controlled” and can only be viewed by certified contractors. Heaven forbid a Chinese company gets instructions on how to build extension cords that they already make by the millions. I run across things like this daily. Billions is wasted each year because contractors like GE, etc. use “special” parts instead of “off the shelf” items when making something for the govt. The manufacturer then controls the supply/price of the item and govt. engineers are either unwilling or unable to look for an alternative.
Report Post »warhorse_03826
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 12:54pmok does anyone else remember the story about bad/counterfeit chinese parts in US weapon systems??? this is why “off-the-shelf” is a BAD THING for some stuff.
I used to work Navy Supply. we were REQUIRED to buy tools from “small business” rather than craftsman or snap-on. which meant that the tools were higher price, lower quality, broke more often, and we had to replace them at our cost.
there is also the spending sprees at the end of the fiscal year. if you had money left over in the budget at the end of the year, they don’t say “good job” and put the money back into the system..they take that money OFF your next years budget because “you obviously didn’t need it”. so each year we’d buy a truckload of office supplies, winter jackets, gloves, ect anything we thought we could use as trade later in the year with other squadrons. most of it ended up in a dumpster.
Report Post »JimFromOK
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 1:42pmAll too often, parts like cable connectors, are only used in a few applications. These parts could be potentially be used in hundreds of places, reducing costs significantly. A connector that attaches to a sensor on a Chevy truck can also be used on Chevy subcompact. The only difference is the length of the wire. A connector that connects to the intercom system on a Bradley isn’t likely to work many other places. Smaller production lots means higher cost/limited availability. Patents and extensive testing required to maintain quality eliminate competition. I’ve seen connectors priced in the $1800 range used in applications that could be priced under $2-300 if there were some standardization applied. The computer you’re using right now, the car you drive, the light bulbs you use are
Report Post »much more affordable because of this standardization. FAR, DFAR, other regulations and the culture actually increase costs.
krispy01
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:58amShell game !
Report Post »SuperSuineg
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:55ami bet the GSA has them left over from the last outting
Report Post »qpwillie
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:51am@mfspradley79
@Inlandmar2
That’s some interesting information.
Thanks!
Report Post »HumbleCitizen
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:50amNot disputing the benevolence of the act my question would be; Why is the government doing what should be done by the private business market?
It’s not that I disagree on the benefit (there clearly is a benefit) but rather is this the governments job?
American prinicples and bounderies via the constitution need to be restored.
Report Post »PossumRoadkill
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 12:22pmWhat business would that be? Is there a wetland reclamation company out there that does this kind of thing for free? The money would still have to be spent on the oyster shells and the work would still have to be done. This is historically a State or Federal type of project. It’s also a good thing. We need to be more concerned about putting the Conserve back into Conservative. We should take care of our resources. I might want to fish there when it’s completed. Someone else might want to hunt ducks there. Some people might drive for miles just to bird watch. We spend money that helps the local economy and that helps the natural resources. If the Libs do it, they wall it off and nobody but the elites and scientists get to use the area. That does nothing to help the local economy or save the resource. People need to take a stake in things to believe in it. This is one of those things. Think a little deeper next time.
Report Post »3monkeysmomma
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 1:02pm@possum
You admonish humblecitizen to “think a little deeper” but its clear you’ve put NO THOUGHT WHATSOEVER into the many ways projects like these violate the tenth amendment….or is it you are simply baffled by the phrase “reserved to the states”.
Maybe if you ask nicely, humblecitizen will be kind enough to provide you with a badly needed basic american civics lesson.
Report Post »mfspradley79
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:37amThis is a really common practice although the shells are usually collected via donations. The shells help increase the oyster population as well as improve water quality.
Report Post »Inlandmar2
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:35amReally quite simple. The ACE is restoring oyster beds. New oysters grow best on old oyster shells. Before the old oyster shells can be used, they must be air dried for up to a year. This process kills any parasites or organisms that might be harmful to new oysters.
Report Post »wianno94
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 12:09pmI don‘t know why they just don’t have the GSA spend a few million dollars for fresh oysters for their training parties and just save the shells. Why pay 15K when other government agencies can waste millions?
Report Post »Ponyexpress
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:34am129 $ fuel for the airforce, green fuel for the Navy at $29 /gal. and now this,and some question reducing their budget?
Report Post »Just take a look at the Pentagon Building, does anyone wonder what those tens of tousands of people do and cost to make us “safe” Sort of like the Parthenon, and the Pyramids…all done on the backs of the people, either as slaves, or now, taxpayers.
As a veteran , I can tell you unequivocably that the military is one oft he most wasteful government organizations , except for congress, which allows it all to happen
thegreatcarnac
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:32amThey are going to make a large oyster-shell reef in the shape of obama. Obama will be able to say that oysters miraculously made his likeness underwater and that proves he is a force of nature……..lol. The only force of nature he is …..is a drought.
Report Post »Inlandmar2
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:47amOnly problem is…you won’t be able to tell the difference in the way it looks between Obama or the south end of a north bound horse.
Report Post »SamIamTwo
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:32amThat 499 dollar hammer pales in comparison, doesn’t it??…and when you watch the small stuff, you end up paying more and miss the much bigger stuff, you know the billions of dollars for cost overruns and not terminating the contract for political reasons. Oh we don’t want to put 25K civilians out of work, do we? Hell yeah we do if they can’t control their costs…the abc program was XBillion before they sent in an independent team of DoD analysts. The xyz company was overpaid way in advance of materiel received for the manufacturing floor…covered up a report and it was found….that contract was terminated late…
They hired 500 DoD buyers for the hammer, coffee pot and toilet seat. The seat is connected to the entire encapsulated restroom…you know like in a commercial airplane. The coffee pot was the same as those found in the commercial plane…but the 499 dollar hammer was real. LMAO at the fact they hired 500 buyers to watch the small stuff. And sheep said this is good…pffft 15K is nothing.
Report Post »rockinroadie99
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:20amI can‘t remember the reason and can’t put 2 and 2 together, but there is a scene from the thriller movie with Denzel Washington called “The Bone Collector” where tons of ground up oyster shells were mentioned in a building in Manhattan as part of the plot. Don’t know if it can shed any light on this subject. Maybe someone can help?
Report Post »Thighmaster
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:02amI know this isn‘t the place for my comment but it’s too important to let it go. Thousands of our military votes went uncounted in the midterm elections and the story died. I’ve emailed F&F and Eric Shawn on this but I wonder if it will only become news after the fact again. Our military should have a voice in our elections and we should demand it. Hound them before the fact.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/military-ballots-may-not-count-in-illinois/
Report Post »kickagrandma
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:27amWe lived overseas during last two presidential elections. Had our votes tracked in with help of DEA to be sure they made it to our home voting place.
Report Post »Winedude
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 12:00pmMy daughter lives overseas and she reports absolutely no problems in voting. In fact, the local registrar of voters contacted her to make sure her information was still current. I think you’re in search of a problem that barely exists.
Report Post »Thighmaster
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 12:44pmWhatever was I thinking ? Go back to your sea shells, if you hold them to your ear you can hear the ocean.
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:01amHow about some oysterity? Just buy 2,000
Report Post »3monkeysmomma
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 12:46pm*groan*
:)
Report Post »Judith222
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:01amThey’re looking for pearls, maybe? /s
Report Post »hatchetjob
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 11:24amI love raw oysters, I could eat a bushel of them right now.
Report Post »Judith222
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 10:59amThey’re looking for pearls? /s
Report Post »N37BU6
Posted on July 26, 2012 at 10:59amThey are really shelling it out these days.
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