Rigs-to-reefs plan may lack storybook ending

An underwater camera crew captured marine life under platform Edith about eight miles offshore Long Beach, California

January 17, 2000
Web posted at: 12:05 p.m. EST (1705 GMT)

By Margot Higgins, Environmental News Network

Oil platforms nearing retirement off the California coast may have a second life if legislation is passed preserving them as artificial reefs.

Environmentalists who oppose the rigs-to-reefs plan say the proposed legislation is premature and potentially biased.

For more than 30 years, the massive steel structures that support California's offshore oil platforms have teemed with sea life, from barnacles to starfish to sea lions to endangered rockfish.

A bill introduced by state Sen. Dede Alpert, D-Coronado, could save oil companies millions of dollars in decommissioning costs by permitting them to leave behind the underwater portion of the platforms.

The bill would require each platform owner to donate to the California Endowment for Marine Preservation at least half of the money saved through reduced decommissioning costs. A board of trustees would be set up to determine how the funds would be used.

Supporters of the legislation say the platforms are essential habitat for a large community of marine organisms. Eliminating the structures would inevitably destroy most of the sea life in the area, they claim.

An alliance of oil companies, including Chevron, have contributed to the Coalition for Enhanced Marine Resources, which is lobbying for the preservation of the artificial reefs.

"The SB 241 bill sets up a mechanism to preserve reefs on a case-by-case basis," said coalition executive director Kevin Slagle. "There's huge support for this statewide."

Platform Edith is one of 25 oil and gas production facilities installed in federal waters off the coast of California

Slagle points to the success of similar programs in other states. "There already is a precedent in the Gulf of Mexico, where several states have successfully converted the undersea portions of more than 100 decommissioned oil platforms into thriving reefs," he said.

Environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Council, Sierra Club, Surf Rider Foundation and American Oceans Campaign, say the bill would allow oil companies to avoid their legal obligation to return the sea floor to its original condition. Commercial fishermen who depend on trawling also oppose the bill.

"A landfill can be considered essential habitat for seagulls and a sewer can be considered essential habitat for rats." said Eric Cardenas, a spokesperson for Santa Barbara's Environmental Defense Council. "We have to ask, 'Is this beneficial or does it draw fish away from their naturally occurring habitat?'"

The Environmental Defense Council notes that California's Mineral Management Service has no plans to decommission any oil rigs for the next four or five years. More scientific study is needed before a decision can be made, the group says.

Studies have supported the conversion of rigs to reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. But the council points out that these findings may be irrelevant in California because gulf waters are shallow and the area harbors different geological formations.

The council also contends that language in the proposed bill is "vague." "There is no specific language regarding how much of the savings would be allocated to the fund, and the (decision-making) board might include interests toward oil production," Cardenas said. "There are already agencies in California with that kind of jurisdiction (including the California Coastal Commission). This sets up another level of bureaucracy."

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