The Alabama Lighthouse Association says it lost roughly $96,500 in volunteer labor, vessels, equipment and funding after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill shut down restoration work on two historic Gulf Coast lighthouses for about 14 months.
Finance chair Capt. Hal Pierce said the group’s two coastal lights — Middle Bay Lighthouse and Sand Island Lighthouse — were among the first places in the state touched by the spill. ‘The first thing hit by the oil was the Sand Island Lighthouse,’ he said. ‘When that happened, our ongoing repair and maintenance operations died for a year.’
The association normally ferried about 25 volunteers by boat to work on the structures. During the closure, many were diverted to paid mitigation work, and the group’s own boat was pressed into service. Pierce estimated the lost volunteer hours alone at as high as 3,000, valued at $31,200, on top of $26,500 in vessels, $32,500 in equipment and $6,400 in funding.
Association president Dan Dealy said the group’s status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit made its claim more difficult. ‘Our claim was denied,’ he said. The association is now considering a proposal to the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council, which distributes the state’s $599 million in RESTORE Act money with a focus on Mobile and Baldwin counties. About $160,000 in railing repairs at Middle Bay Lighthouse could be submitted for funding.
The group has also found new ways to raise money. The Alabama Historical Commission approved a wedding at Middle Bay Lighthouse, and Dealy said events such as Boy Scout gatherings, memorial services and weddings could help make up for the lost income.
Middle Bay, a hexagonal ‘screw-pile’ lighthouse first lit in 1885, and Sand Island Lighthouse, built in 1837 near the entrance to Mobile Bay, remain beloved landmarks. Pierce worries smaller groups like his will be overlooked as municipalities and large organizations submit high-dollar proposals. ‘Here we are with lighthouses in a serious state and we can’t get anything,’ he said.