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BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
AGENDA REQUEST
DATE: April 1, 2014
TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board
FROM: John Hofstad
SUBJECT: State Water Artificial Reef Permits
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
BCC DISTRICT: All
STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Okaloosa County Artificial Reef Program (OCARP) has
received conditional approval of permits for four artificial reef deployment areas in State waters.
These permits must be approved by the Board and submitted to US Army Corp of Engineers
(Corps) District Engineer for final approval. The signature by the District Engineer validates the
permits.
BACKGROUND: Nearly three years ago, OCARP prepared and submitted joint permit
applications for four artificial reef deployment areas; Fish Haven 13, Fish Haven 14, Fish Haven
15 and Fish Haven 16, to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and
Corps. The FDEP permit approvals were granted just over a month after their respective
submission dates but the Corps approvals were not granted until the week of March 10, 2014.
The FDEP permits expire 5 years after approval and the Corps permits have 10 year durations. If
necessary, the FDEP permits can be extended if the deployment area construction is not
completed within 5 years.
Each of the four Fish Haven deployment area permits include 9 proposed reef sites and will be
built out utilizing funding from Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC) grants, Okaloosa County
Tourist Development Department and Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA).
Materials for the reefs include prefabricated reef modules and donated materials from the US Air
Force, City of Fort Walton Beach and Mid-Bay Bridge Authority.
Construction of reefs within Fish Havens 13-16 is slated to commence in the summer of 2014
with the 2013 FWC Supplemental Grant project. This project utilizes US Air Force material to
construct reefs at the center points of the newly permitted deployment areas.
OPTIONS: Approve/Disapprove
RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends the Board authorize the Chairman to sign the
permits.
RECOMMENDED BY:
APPROVED BY:
Ernie Padgett, County Administrator