WITH STATE WATER pollution regulators rightly threatening to sue, it's time for the U.S. Maritime Administration to clean up the toxics shedding from the scores of mothballed ships in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet. The federal agency's stonewalling has gone on for far too long.

Last week, in response to the state Regional Water Quality Control Board's notice of intent to sue, Maritime Administration spokeswoman Shannon Russell said the board's announcement of pending legal action came as a surprise. She said the administration was "incredibly disappointed" by the threat.

Surprised? Disappointed? Come on. How long does the administration expect Californians to ignore the toxic pollution fouling its waters? How long should we wait while the federal agency drags its bureaucratic feet?

There are about 73 ships floating in the bay east of the Benicia Bridge. Of those, about 54 are slated to be destroyed. It's been more than two years since MediaNews investigative reporter Thomas Peele first reported on the deteriorating conditions of the Suisun fleet along with accompaning photos of paint peeling from the ships' hulls, decks and super structures.

In June 2006, a month after the first newspaper reports, the administration's ship operations division in San Francisco commissioned a report examining the environmental effects of the decaying vessels. But when the report was completed in February 2007,

The report found that more than 21 tons of paint containing concentrations of metals that qualified as hazardous waste under California law had fallen from 40 ships. We're talking about, for example, copper, lead, zinc and barium. The report estimated another 65 tons of paint remained on the vessels and could enter the environment.

Then in June 2007, Sean Connaughton, head of the Maritime Administration, promised to clean up the vessels. But, now, 14 months later, no progress has been made.

In the meantime, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Arc Ecology and San Francisco Baykeeper sued the federal agency. And last week, the water quality control board issued its notice of intent to sue. The state regulators pointed out that Congress has been calling on the Maritime administration to remove and dispose of obsolete ships since 1994.

This standoff has gone on for far too long. Perhaps Connaughton and Transportation Secretary Mary Peters are just trying to play out the clock until a new administration takes office next year. That would be disappointing — but not surprising. After all, the Bush administration has hardly been a model of environmental stewardship. Sound harsh? Well, show us we're wrong. Clean up the ships.