2012 -- S 2871

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LC02356

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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2012

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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL

MANAGEMENT TO ESTABLISH A RHODE ISLAND ARTIFICIAL REEF PROGRAM

     Introduced By: Senator John J. Tassoni

     Date Introduced: April 12, 2012

     Referred To: Senate Environment & Agriculture

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     WHEREAS, In the past, the United States has used unneeded ships as targets for military

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exercises known as sinking exercises; and

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     WHEREAS, Now the United States has devised an alternative means of disposing of

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obsolete ex-military vessels that allows the vessels to serve in a productive capacity for fifty years

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past their intended use; and

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     WHEREAS, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 allows

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appropriate obsolete ships to be donated for use as artificial reefs, which not only promotes

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marine life and fishing, but also relieves pressure on natural ocean bottom features and reefs; and

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     WHEREAS, The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) will coordinate the

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federal agency solicitation and application for obtaining the vessels for use as artificial reefs; and

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     WHEREAS, The donation and transfer application for all ex-military and MARAD ships

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available for use as artificial reefs may be submitted only by states, commonwealths, and

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territories and possessions of the United States, or municipal corporations or political

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subdivisions thereof; and

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     WHEREAS, The placements in Florida waters of the U.S.S. Spiegel Grove in 2002 and

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the U.S.S Oriskany in 2006, and the U.S.S. General Hoyt S. Vandenberg in 2009 have already

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provided substantial economic and ecologic benefit to the state, communities, and businesses in

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the proximity of the placements; and

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     WHEREAS, Each state within the United States with active Reefing Programs using ex-

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military, MARAD, and other ships available for use as artificial reefs, formally reports marked

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increases in permanent job creation and increased tax revenues through ecotourism, global media

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attention, television productions, documentaries, and supporting industries; and

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     WHEREAS, Since 1984, the New Jersey Bureau of Marine Fisheries has been involved

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in an intensive program of artificial reef construction and biological monitoring, which includes

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15 artificial reef sites. This network of artificial reefs provides a hard substrate for fish, shellfish

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and crustaceans, fishing grounds for anglers, and underwater structures for scuba divers; and

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     WHEREAS, Rhode Island has defined Marine recreation in the Ocean Special Area

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Management Plan (SAMP), a collection of locations open to the public in Rhode Island and that

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includes four themes: Marine Recreation in the SAMP area; Cruise Ship Tourism, Recreational

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Activities Adjacent to the SAMP area; Cruise Ship Tourism, Recreational Activities Adjacent to

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the SAMP area; and Economic and Non-Market Value of Recreation and Tourism in the SAMP

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area. This resolution would add a new, fifth theme to the Ocean Special Area Management Plan,

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a vessel Artificial Reef theme; and

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     WHEREAS, The program provides a practical option for disposing of obsolete vessels in

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a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner that can continue to promote ecotourism

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associated with recreational diving and fishing in Rhode Island; now therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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respectfully requests the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to

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adopt regulations regarding the placement of vessels in state waters to form artificial reefs and

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development of a pilot program for the preparation and deployment of a specified obsolete vessel

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in Rhode Island waters to serve as a model for the development of procedures for the placement

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of such vessels in Rhode Island waters; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate respectfully requests the DEM to establish a pilot program

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for the preparation and deployment of obsolete ex-military, MARAD, or other vessels in the

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waters of Block Island Sound and shall, by January 1, 2014, and each year thereafter for a period

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of five years, provide to the governor, the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of

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representatives an annual report on the success and outcomes, funding, and recommendations as

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to whether the pilot program shall be continued, terminated, or expanded; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Governor and the Director of the Rhode

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Island Department of Environmental Management.

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LC02356

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