Posted by Jake on April 09, 2004 at 08:55:11:
In Reply to: Re: Sinking the Oriskany. How about us. posted by deckman on April 08, 2004 at 13:18:34:
If you are interested in doing this, why don't you get in touch with San Diego Oceans Foundation, the group that coordinated the emplacement of the Canadian destroyer a few years ago. They have lots of experience with this, including some pretty inane hoops they had to jump through before the Coastal Commission. Be prepared for a battle from the enviros who see any artificial reef emplacement (other than those that benefit surfers, like Pratts Reef or Oil Piers)as an erosion of state policy that will eventually allow the reefing of offshore rigs.
Some of the criteria that the Navy uses in deciding who gets what is whether or not the state or receiving entity has an artificial reef management program and what the projected environmental consequences might be. Because of a lack of hard bottom habitat in the nearshore Gulf of Mexico (except for a few limestone outcroppings near Pensacola) most counties that want to foster dive tourism and recreation have a very active artificial reef program at the county-level. California can't even keep the artificial reef office staffed at DFG at the State level. San Diego came close when it petitioned the Coastal Commission for an underwater marine park and recreation area around wreck alley and the Coastal Commission told them to go to hell. Also given the rhetoric that surrounds platforms as reefs in the Channel (rig to refuse as Assemblyperson Hanna-Beth Jackson puts it) good luck winning the environmental arguement. There was an excellent article on that in the Santa Barbara paper a week or so ago.