Marine Fisheries Habitat Protection Act

This bill would amend the National Fishing Enhancement Act of 1984 to create a process for leaving old offshore oil and gas platforms and pipelines in the ocean as artificial reefs instead of removing them. An operator responsible for an inactive structure could file a notice with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which would assess marine life on the structure and the costs of reefing, then decide whether the structure is eligible. Before reefing, wells would have to be plugged, hydrocarbons removed, and liability transferred to a state reef program, which could charge the operator up to 50 percent of the operator's cost savings. The bill would also bar the Interior Department from issuing or enforcing removal orders while a structure is going through this process, except where it poses a substantial and imminent threat to navigation or the marine environment.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Mike Ezell Republican sponsor
• 6 cosponsors