Health, Safety
& Environment
Rigs-To-Reefs
Rig structures are artificial reefs. They
provide natural habitats and ideal environments for marine life as well
as enhance fishing and recreational diving. Congress encouraged the
environmental and economic benefits of retaining selected redundant
structures by unanimously passing the National Fishing Enhancement Act
of 1984. The US Department of the Interior--Minerals Management
Service--developed their supportive policy in 1985. Still later,
Louisiana and Texas unanimously passed laws similar to the federal
statute. The first intentional artificial reef was created in 1979 when
an experimental subsea production template was relocated from offshore
Louisiana to Franklin County, Florida. Tenneco made several donations of
structures to Florida and Louisiana in the early 1980s. Companies donate
their structures to the state and may share some of their savings from
traditional removal costs. By 1998, more than 100 redundant platforms
have become reefs with a benefit to the states of $13 million.
Recognizing the pioneering efforts of
the following people and companies who contributed to the development of
this technology:
Dana W. Larsen, James "Jim"
Morrison, Villere C. Reggio, Jr., Eugene Shinn, Carl Sullivan, Michael
"Mike" Zagata
Chevron (ChevronTexaco), Exxon (ExxonMobil), Lousiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries: Artificial Reef Program, Tenneco, Texas Parks &
Wildlife Department: Artificial Reef Program, U. S. Department of the
Interior: Minerals Management Service
