Marine Fisheries Habitat Protection Act

Summary#

This bill amends the National Fishing Enhancement Act of 1984 and part of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to allow certain inactive offshore oil and gas platforms, pipelines, and related structures to be converted into artificial reefs (called "Reefing in Place"). It adds definitions (for example, Administrator = NOAA Under Secretary; Director = BSEE Principal Deputy Director) and sets a step-by-step process an applicant (usually a current or former lessee or operator) must follow to seek approval.

Key steps in the bill's process include: an applicant files a Notice of Intent to Reef; the Director (or a State or qualified third party on the Director's behalf) conducts an assessment of habitat value and compares costs; the Director, after consulting NOAA, can determine an "Eligible Structure" within 60 days of the assessment; the Director and the State program then designate a Reef Planning Area within 90 days; and the applicant may receive approval to Reef in Place up to three years after an Eligible Structure finding if conditions are met (for example, wells plugged, hazardous liquids removed, navigation markers installed if required, and liability transferred or agreed to be transferred to a State agency).

The bill includes an appeals process (applicants can appeal Director decisions within 60 days; the Director must decide appeals within 60 days) and requires an annual report by the Director describing all actions. It also adds limits on Federal removal orders for inactive structures while these reefing steps occur, with specific protected time periods (initial notice period, assessment period, pending determination, and up to three years after an Eligible Structure finding), but allows removal orders when a structure poses a substantial and imminent threat to navigation or the marine environment. The bill preserves other reefing or decommissioning options and says existing regulations for pipeline abandonment remain in effect.

What it means for you#

  • If you are an offshore operator or lessee: you can apply to leave, topple, partially remove, or otherwise convert an inactive structure into an artificial reef by following the notice, assessment, and approval steps in the bill. You must meet conditions like plugging wells and removing hazardous liquids before Reefing in Place can be approved.
  • If you are a State agency with an artificial reef program: a State may agree to accept an approved structure and assume responsibility and liability. The State may require payment from the applicant that does not exceed 50 percent of the applicant's claimed cost savings from reefing unless the applicant agrees to more.
  • If you are a member of the public, including fishers: the bill creates a formal process to convert certain offshore structures into artificial reefs and requires annual reporting and mapping of actions. The bill also keeps existing pipeline abandonment rules in place.

Expenses#

  • The bill allows a State to accept an Eligible Structure into a State program in exchange for funds that do not exceed 50 percent of the applicant's cost savings from reefing (unless the applicant agrees to more).
  • The bill does not include federal cost estimates or overall spending numbers in the provided text. No publicly available information on total federal costs or savings is provided in the bill text or metadata.

Proponents' View#

The bill's stated purpose in its title and preamble is to "promote fish habitat through the enhancement of certain offshore oil and gas platforms and pipelines as artificial reefs." Proponents therefore frame the measure as creating a clear process to assess, approve, and manage conversion of inactive offshore structures into artificial reefs, with roles for Federal agencies and State reef programs.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.