Ocean Protection Council to Weigh New Report Findings on Decommissioning Options for Offshore Platforms

At its June 24-25 meeting in Santa Barbara, the California Ocean Protection Council plans to consider the findings of a major new report that examines a range of options for California’s 27 offshore oil platforms when they are decommissioned at the end of their productive lives over the next few decades.

The options include the long-sought and much-studied preservation of the undersea rig structures as artificial reefs. The rigs already support thriving marine ecosystems and hundreds of millions of sea creatures, including many species of fish that are considered threatened or endangered and use the rigs as nursery grounds to rebuild fish populations.

The new report, released June 8 by the nonprofit Ocean Science Trust (OST), does not make policy recommendations, but is a vital second phase of the process established to guide policies related to the future of the platforms as petroleum production comes to an end. The OST was created by the California Ocean Resources Stewardship Act of 2000 to help connect California state agencies and coordinating bodies such as the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to relevant scientific research and information.

A multidisciplinary project team and a 15-member Expert Advisory Committee worked on the report for the past 12 months with special focus on ensuring that the findings would be an unbiased and credible reference for stakeholders and decision-makers.

The OST report considers a range of alternatives for the rigs, ranging from removing the upper works and the support structure down to 85 feet below the surface, to complete removal and disposal. These options were evaluated in detail. Others were “evaluated briefly,” including alternative energy and aquaculture. 

The report stresses that the artificial reefing option requires changes in state law and other legal steps, but noted precedent for rig reefing in other areas, financial incentives for both platform operators and the state. According to the researchers, the Minerals Management Service estimates the cost of completely removing the platforms is more than $1 billion. Partial removal and reefing would save hundreds of millions of dollars and provide the state with a substantial share of those savings for marine protection and conservation activities and programs for years to come.

The OST report cites environmental impacts of complete platform removal as well as the likely deaths of many millions of ocean creatures already living on or around the rigs, particularly if explosives are needed. It cites extensive studies that show the current “rig-reefs” much higher densities of important rockfish species than natural reefs and that loss of the habitat raises significant questions.

The OST report can be accessed at http://calost.org/reports/Decommissioning_Report.pdf.   

California Rigs to Reefs Bill Passes Assembly Floor

AB 2503, California Assembly Speaker John Pérez's bill to preserve platform reefs, passed out of the Assembly Floor on Wednesday, May 2 on a 73-0 vote.  

On Earth Day, Pérez Pushes Bill to Preserve Artificial Reefs

SACRAMENTO – With Californians celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day this week, Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles) is quickly moving innovative bills through the Legislature to create jobs by spurring green building upgrades. The Speaker is also authoring legislation to allow companies to preserve marine life-supporting artificial reefs resting on the underwater portion of decommissioned oil rigs and to grow the state’s carpet recycling industry by keeping waste carpet out of landfills.

“Californians know moving toward a green economy can be a win-win when done right, and I’m proud to be carrying bills that are examples of such solutions,” Pérez said. “We’re moving to leverage federal HOMESTAR resources so skilled workers can find good jobs upgrading energy efficiencies so homeowners save money, we’re making sure the State Capitol does our share to protect the environment and cut energy costs through the Capitol Sustainability Task Force, and we’re advancing the rigs-to-reef program that helps spur marine life and generate desperately needed funds to protect and enhance our valuable coastal and ocean resources. And in my own district, carpet recycling has created hundreds of good-paying green jobs. But we can create even more of these green jobs if we boost our efforts to recycle and reuse waste carpets. As we focus on our key priorities of creating jobs, fixing the budget and reforming a broken system, being able to boost our environment at the same time is definitely a win-win.”

AB 2614 would direct the California Energy Commission (CEC) to work with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a program to facilitate the federal HOMESTAR program currently being considered in the U.S. Senate. The state program would involve numerous stakeholders to provide accountability and ensure that the projected energy savings are realized.

HOMESTAR is expected to provide for 50% rebates of up to $1500 for simple energy efficiency upgrades and 50% rebates of up to $3000 for more comprehensive energy efficiency retrofits. Additionally, HOMESTAR is expected to:

• Create 168,000 jobs in skilled construction and manufacturing, two of the hardest hit sectors during the U.S. economic downturn
• Save participating homeowners an average of between $200 - $500 per year in energy costs
• Invest $6 billion in the form of consumer rebates to be matched by private investment
• Help over three million American families to retrofit their houses to increase energy efficiency and save them as much as $9.5 billion in energy costs over 10 years
• Remove the equivalent of 165,000 cars from the road or four 300 megawatt power plants form operation
• Dedicate $200 million to provide access to low interest financing
• Use a majority of manufactured goods made in the U.S., averaging well over 90 percent domestic production

AB 2670 would create the State Capitol Sustainability Task Force, whose duties would include:

• Joining the California Climate Action Registry to determine, track, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Benchmarking and monitoring building operations, such as energy and water use
• Improving waste diversion practices, such as material and electronic waste recycling, composting, and reusing materials
• Investing in energy efficiency and water conservation technologies
• Promoting environmentally preferable purchasing, such as green and recycled content products
• Incorporating renewable energy, such as photovoltaic technology into our energy supply
• Integrating sustainable practices such as double-sided copying, the use of low volatile organic compound paints, integrated pest management, and electronic distribution of certain documents
• Partnering with utility companies, water districts, labor organizations, environmental groups, federal and local government, and private industry to develop green demonstration projects
• Seeking a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or ENERGY STAR rating
• Developing public education materials on sustainability for student groups and other visitors to the State Capitol
• Finalizing the Capitol Park Master Plan

AB 2503 would establish the Rigs-to-Reefs program, allowing the underwater portion of decommissioned oil rigs to remain in place to continue serving as valuable fish habitat. AB 2503 would:

• Continue the removal of oil platforms from the seascape
• Protect ocean biodiversity, including threatened rock fish populations and millions of other sea creatures that live on these reefs
• Allow a rig to be converted to a reef only if the Department of Fish and Game finds that the conversion will result in a net environmental benefit
• Create the California Endowment for Marine Preservation, which would receive 45 percent of the cost savings from rig conversion instead of complete removal. These funds, which could amount to up to one billion dollars, could be spent by the Endowment only for ocean and marine protection projects and activities
• Reduces air and water pollution threats associated with the full removal of these rigs – some in waters as deep as 1,200 feet – which involves significant industrial equipment from around the world

AB 2398 would create incentives for carpet manufacturers to implement a carpet product stewardship program to increase the recycling and reuse of waster carpets. AB 2398 would:

• Require carpet manufacturers to prepare a carpet stewardship plan to show how they will take responsibility for collecting waste carpet instead of sending it to landfills
• Set targets of 50% collection by 2014 and 70% by 2017
• Prohibit manufacturers from selling carpet in California after 2012 unless they have prepared a plan to meet the targets

Website of Speaker John A. Pérez: www.asmdc.org/speaker

CONTACT: Shannon Murphy (916) 319-2408   

AB 2503 Passes Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee

California Assembly Speaker John Pérez's  legislation to preserve platform reefs, AB 2503, passed out of the Assembly Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee today, April 13, on a 11-0 vote.  The vote was the first step in creating a rigs-to-reefs programs in California and preserving  thriving platform reefs.
 
AB 2503 would create a rigs-to-reefs program in California that will preserve the millions of sea creatures and fish that live at platforms reefs and create an endowment that would benefit California's coastal resources for generations.
 
The Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee Analysis stated that "biological surveys conducted in southern California found the platforms tended to have higher abundances of large fishes, particularly declining but economically important species, than did most natural reefs."  The committee analysis further pointed out that  "the platforms may provide breeding, rearing and refuge habitat for fish and invertebrates. In California, 32 out of 52 federally managed rockfish species have been documented at the platforms. If the platforms are removed this fish habitat will be lost, and the attached invertebrates will be killed."
 
The full committee analysis of AB 2503  can be found here.

CEMR Launches New Website

The Coalition for Enhanced Marine Resources (CEMR) is excited to launch PreserveReefs.org, a new Web site to educate Californians about the importance of preserving our thriving marine habitat through the rigs-to-reefs program.

PreserveReefs.org will be a platform for news about upcoming events, legislation to preserve artificial reefs, such as Assembly Bill 2503, and a hub for discussions about the rigs-to-reefs program.

The Web site will be an interactive tool where marine enthusiasts can learn about the latest coalition developments through social media networks, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. Visitors can also admire the beauty of California’s offshore coastal ecosystem through a photo and video gallery.

CEMR’s new site also provides the opportunity to inform legislators of the need to protect California’s artificial reefs through an Action Center, where visitors can fax and e-mail legislative officials.

Stay tuned for more news announcements here at PreserveReefs.org and on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Join CEMR for an Ongoing Discussion of Rigs-to-Reefs

For more than a decade, the Coalition for Enhanced Marine Resources (CEMR) has been leading the effort to establish a rigs-to-reefs program in California. Why destroy – literally blow up – the fish and marine invertebrates that call the platforms home when we can preserve that life AND remove the offshore platforms from our seascape safely and permanently?

In 2010, those wishing to preserve these thriving marine habitats have a great opportunity:

• California’s platform reefs have been proven to be important habitats for fish, especially threatened species of rock fish. More than 10 years of research shows that many of the platforms are more productive for fish than natural reefs due to their large vertical structure.

• The companies operating the platforms are preparing to permanently end production on many of the platforms; a rigs-to-reefs program will provide a viable option to remove the platforms sooner rather than later.

• AB 2503 creates a mechanism that allows California to prosper from the cost savings a rigs-to-reefs decommissioning (rather than a full removal) will provide operators. Hundreds of millions of dollars would be generated for a legacy fund for marine resources.

Please join our efforts and engage in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and here at this site as we work towards rigs-to-reefs in 2010.