FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

AB 634 Questions

1. Why is the liability bill necessary?

The State Lands Commission "owns" the sea bottom from the mean high tide line to 3 miles off shore. They have indicated that they have no problem with CSTR's activities, assuming all permits and required approvals are obtained, as long as there is no additional liability put upon the State. Unlike the East and Gulf coasts, California has no wide continental shelf, so distances to deep water are short and a diver might be tempted to go out on their own. No liability waiver signed, and if they are not on a dive boat, there is no opportunity for a dive master to assess their certification and experience level. If the diver were to be injured or die, they or their survivors might try and sue, and the government entity might be the attractive target of a lawsuit. This bill has been written so it very narrowly covers only the ship-based artificial reefs, NOT other SCUBA diving on public lands.

2. What if this bill, AB 634, does not pass and become law?

It will be very much more difficult, if not impossible, to get the approval of the State Lands Commission for leases for ship-based artificial reefs without this bill. They have indicated that they want absolutely no additional real or apparent exposure of the State to any liability issues. This is also the reason they want CSTR to own the reefs and lease the sea bottom from them. CSTR expects that the jurisdictions for the few sites on granted lands (where a city, county or harbor district "owns" the sea bottom) will follow the State's lead.

3. Who will administer the dive tag fees and what will they be used for?

These fees will be used for the Coast Guard required aids to navigation and mooring buoys, and possibly leave some money for the local first responders who would have to make a rescue or recovery on a reef. It is our understanding that the State Lands Commission wants CSTR to own the reefs and lease the sea bottom from them. We believe Granted Lands jurisdictions will most likely follow State Lands lead on their leases. As the owners, we will be responsible for these expenses. We anticipate that the issue of fees will be covered in these leases. Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporations such as CSTR operate under rules of fiduciary responsibility which make the members of the Board of Directors personally liable for any misuse of funds, and CSTR is audited each year.

Site Questions

1. What is the maximum practical depth of operation for the typical sport scuba diver?

The maximum recreational SCUBA dive depth limit is 130 feet of salt water (FSW). For vessels reefed in that depth, most of the superstructure (the interesting part) will be in the 80 foot range. Technical divers can dive deeper for longer.

2. How much water must cover the ship per the relevant governmental agencies?

The Coast Guard requires up to 60 feet of clearance at mean low water near shipping channels or 45 feet in other areas.

3. What distance offshore for sinking?

The distance offshore varies at each site. Generally, depth is more the determining factor than distance.

4. Do you have to cut off some of the tower to sink it in 120 feet?

It is entirely possible that some part of the mast(s) or funnel(s) may have to be removed. We will try to avoid removing other parts of the superstructure as they provide the most complex bits of habitat for the new residents.

5. Can multiple ships be clustered to enhance a habitat?

We envision permitting an area of approximately one square mile. This will give us room to place more vessels, if appropriate, or other types of structures that might be beneficial to a reef complex.

6. How soon will we have ships down?

The timeline right now is uncertain. The ships in the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet are the subject of a lawsuit regarding their deterioration and possible contamination of San Francisco Bay with toxic substances and Non-Native Invasive Species (NNIS). We are currently looking to other sources both in the US government and possible private and even foreign sources. The first baseline studies began this fall, so we could be ready as soon as the fall of 2009, if we can get the release of a vessel.

7. Have you looked at preferred locations and where are they located?

There are several sites being considered in California – Eureka, Fort Bragg, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Ventura/Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego.

8. Does the reef displace habitat?

We will site the reef to do the minimum amount of displacement to existing bottom habitat. The reason we choose sand or sand/mud bottom is because it is relatively barren, with a minimum number of existing inhabitants to be displaced. We will also be conducting extensive bottom surveys to ascertain exactly what is there and place the reef where it will cause the minimum upset.

9. Why wouldn’t a local sink group just contact the government and do the work to sink their own ship?

MARAD and the Navy give ships ONLY to designated governments, not to individual groups. CSTR has worked for years to build the relationships with these people and local, uncoordinated approaches would be the absolute worst thing that could happen. That is aside from the fact that to try to wear that hat would mean reinventing the wheel and doing all the heavy lifting that has already been done for you. Doesn’t make a lot of sense.

10. Who will be first in getting one of these ships?

The first 2 ships to go down, one in Northern California and one in Southern California, need to be a huge success. The more local dollars and interest poured in, and the more return-on-investment, the easier it will be for us to sell the idea to other cities up and down the coast. On the other hand, there will be no shortage of ships. The government’s primary problem, which our pipeline will solve, is giving them a repeatable model and process for disposal of environmentally hazardous ships in an economic way, and that pours money back into the economy and benefits the environment.

11. I don’t want to support this if I can’t get a ship in my own backyard, or if I can’t tell you where to put it…(words to that effect)

If you want to determine where the ship will go, volunteer for your local sink group site location committee. You need to find three sites you’d be happy with and a LOT of factors go into whether it’s approved or not. However, a) you stand to benefit by cooperating with whatever site(s) in Southern and Northern California are chosen first because these set the pattern for the whole state and it doesn’t help anyone if we put a ship down in a spot that doesn’t produce tremendous results, and b) There are literally hundreds of ships to go around. There is no shortage. Get on board now and start the process.

12. Presuming that the Federal Agencies will be “know-all”, what state agencies would have to be involved in the site selection process and what will their issues be?

State agencies involved will be (at a minimum): Cal-EPA (toxics), California Department of Fish and Game
(habitat issues), State Lands Commission (they own the sea bottom in most cases), Coastal Commission
(control coastal development), possible State Parks and Recreation (impact on a nearby State Park).

13. Please name every agency of the State and Federal governments that must approve of placement of a vessel reef.

This list may not be all, but it is the best we have as of now.

Federal:

• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE)
• U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)
• National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

State:

• California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG)
• California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA)
• California State Lands Commission (CLSC)
• California Coastal Commission
• California Department of Parks and Recreation (possibly)

14. Does a city need a sea bottom grant ownership?

Not necessarily. The State Lands Commission is the “owner” of non-granted sea bottom lands from the mean high tide line to the three (3) nautical mile limit.

Cleaning Questions

1. Is cleaning/diverizing done in the local area?

Ideally, we would prefer to have all the work done locally to provide even more jobs to the local area. The problem we have, however, is that the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet (SBRF) is not only contaminated with toxic substances, it is also the home to Non-Native Invasive Species (NNIS). At the present time, the U.S. Coast Guard, Cal-EPA and the Bay Area Water Quality Control Agency have mandated that no ships will be moved from SBRF without first being cleaned of both of these problems and the waste disposed of properly.

2. Why diverize a ship – why spend that money? Why not just leave it as-is and save the money. Some people will go out of their way to hurt themselves no matter what you do.

At least four major things must be considered:

• a. We must remove all overhead wire so that when the brackets rust through and the wire drops, it won’t be there to entangle divers.
• b. Remove all doors so none can close after a diver goes in.
• c. Clear areas that are too small that could trap divers like in the boiler room of the Yukon. Videos taken before preparation show what a problem this would be.
• d. Remove bulkheads and cut enough holes in her so that you can see daylight no matter where you are. To not do so limits the ship to Tech Diving only, and would mean enormously limited utilization. There will be plenty for the Tech Divers later – stay tuned.

3. What happens to asbestos in ships?

The ships must be cleaned of friable (liable to become air-borne) asbestos. Asbestos which is still in solid form can be left in place. Asbestos is not a danger unless it becomes air-borne. Fish do not breathe air. Once the ship is reefed, the remaining asbestos is saturated and sequestered and is therefore harmless.

4. Which of the available ships have the lowest clean-up costs?

That has yet to be determined. What types of substances are aboard are dependent on when the vessel was built and what was added or taken off during her career. This will be determined during the selection process by a qualified Marine Surveyor and review of the documents pertinent to each vessel.

5. What about hydrocarbons, CFCs, PCBs, wiring (copper), electronics, munitions, invasive species in tanks and on hull, antifouling paint (TBTO)?

All of the toxic contaminants must be cleaned out/off of the vessel. CSTR looks on the EPA’s National Guidance: Best Management Practices for Preparing Vessels Intended to Create Artificial Reefs, adopted in May, 2006, as the MINIMUM acceptable standard. During the cleaning and diverizing phases of the preparation, some components, such as copper wiring, may be salvaged and sold to offset a portion of the costs. As stated above, no vessel will leave the SBRF without being cleaned of toxics and NNIS.

6. Where would the clean-up be done?

Currently, SBRF vessels are mandated to be cleaned prior to leaving the Suisun Bay area (see #1 above).

7. How and when will cumulative impact be analyzed?

CSTR plans to engage with local scientific and educational entities/experts to carry out comprehensive baseline studies of the reefing site and other nearby areas prior to the vessel being sunk. In order to know what will change, we must know what is there now. Immediately after the vessel is reefed, another baseline study will be conducted to determine the baseline for the reef in its “pristine” condition. Thereafter, continuing measurements will be conducted as the reef changes, matures and takes on its mantle of life.

Vessel Questions

1. What is the height and/or breadth of the California ship inventory?

SBRF contains vessels of all shapes and sizes, both combatants and support. CSTR has identified approximately 32 possible candidates, which range from 180 foot Coast Guard buoy tenders to 560 foot long Landing Ship Docks. Vessel heights range up to approximately 70 feet from keel to mast top, but masts and/or funnels can be cut down to meet Coast Guard clearance regulations.

2. How are the vessels sunk?

After diverizing, wherein many holes are cut into the structure of the vessel for access underwater, shaped charges of low power are used to cut through the hull and/or seawater fittings. This results in the vessel sinking quickly and settling upright on the bottom.

3. Given our balance of trade issues and energy costs in manufacture of steel, why not pursue domestic recycling on the West Coast?

Wages and worker safety costs make ship recycling costs prohibitive on the West Coast. The yard in Brownsville, TX, for example, routinely underbids California companies who have expressed an interest in ship recycling.

Use Questions

1. How many divers are there in California – US?

California has approximately 30,000 PADI certified divers (there are several other certifying companies). Approximately 10,000 of these PADI divers live north of Point Conception. PADI divers in the U.S. (2005) numbered approximately 184,000. There were approximately 920,000 PADI divers worldwide in 2005.

2. Are the current or proposed reefs closed to fishing, a protection zone-moored boats & divers?

Man-made reefs can be either take or no-take zones. CSTR has no preference. We feel that wherever a ship is reefed, it should appropriately take on the character of the bottom it rests on. If the bottom is a no-take zone now, the reef would be the same; if it is a take (fishing) zone, then the reef would take on that characteristic.

3. Are there fisherman vs. diver conflicts with multiple use areas?

Fishing and diving are not incompatible activities. Some divers are avid underwater hunters. Divers, especially those who dive on wrecks, are trained to deal with fishing line or other entanglement hazards, as it is quite common. Fishermen may avoid fishing right on the reef in order to avoid losing their gear, but will fish nearby. Also, the experience of the last 8 years in San Diego with the man-made reef Yukon has demonstrated a high level of compatibility between the two industries. Fishermen think that scuba divers scare away fish, Scuba divers don’t want to dive where hooks are.

4. Is there a mooring site or do you anchor up?

CSTR or the local sink group, as part of the management of the reef, will place and maintain mooring buoys and aids to navigation on the reef. We don’t want anchors dropped on a living reef, and boaters won’t want to chance losing an anchor.

5. How long will divers be in the area?

Generally, dive boats will be on the reef during daytime hours, although night dives are done routinely in some areas. A two-tank dive will usually take about 3 hours, consisting of two dives with a surface interval in between. Commonly, a dive charter boat will make a two-tank dive trip in the morning and another in the afternoon. They may or may not be to the same location.

6. Will they dock on weekends?

Most dive charter operations are 7 days per week.

7. Can one ship support multiple activities (sport diving, sport fishing, etc.)?

Yes, and if we find a need or see that it is beneficial, multiple vessels can be reefed to create a reef complex. These can be of various sizes and configurations to provide the best benefit for the users and the sea life. This is why we initially survey a larger area than needed for just one vessel. San Diego has an area known as “Wreck Alley” with six reefs, some of which are ships and some are other structures.

8. Can zones be set (i.e., dive zone, habitat zone, etc.)?

Those could be set by the State Department of Fish and Game.

Post-Sinking Questions

1. Who controls the reef – sets the rules/regs/maintenance/monitoring?

CSTR or the sink group will enter into a public/private partnership with the “owner” of the reef, either the State Lands Commission or a granted lands owner. CSTR/sink group will contract to maintain the aids to navigation required by the Coast Guard and the mooring buoys, which is what the dive tags will pay for.

2. When does CSTR’s job end?

Never. It is our intention that CSTR and/or its member sink groups will continue indefinitely as stewards of the ocean. We intend to be involved not only in reefing vessels, but in educating the public about the ocean environment and the impact, both good and bad, of humanity on it.

3. How much will the chips cost to visit the reefs and what dates will they be valid?

Our intention is that the tags will cost possibly between $10 and $20 per diver per year, to be renewable annually, probably on January 1.

Cost Questions

1. How much does it cost to sink a ship?

It’s a bit like asking how much does a car cost – it depends on which car and in our case, it depends on how it arrives to us. We’re hoping to get environmentally cleaned ships towed to the yard for diverization, which should save a bundle. The important thing for sink groups to keep in mind is a) they have to help CSTR statewide to get the work done so fundraising right now is a big key to us accomplishing our goals, and b) on a local level we need to get business and government really on board. Likely, you’ll need at least $1.5 Million, which is what City Council kicked in for the Vandenberg as matching funds.

2. What is this “air tax” that I heard about?

It was just one of many ideas that were being considered when we thought we had to re-fund the CDFG’s artificial reef program. We’ve been advised by CDFG that it’s not necessary – they will help us with the first ships and we have a Point of Contact for the Federal Government now to start the process.

3. Who pays for the supervision, monitoring, buoys, etc?

CSTR/sink group will pay for buoy and navigation aids maintenance out of the funds generated by the dive tags. Regulatory functions will be the responsibility of the local law enforcement authority with jurisdiction in the area. They will most likely share in the tag revenue as well.

4. What is the current average annual maintenance costs of a ship reef buoy system?

Buoy maintenance for the mooring buoys and aids to navigation on Yukon are approximately $2,000 per year.

5. What are the costs to the local city/county jurisdiction?

Should the City, County or local redevelopment agency with to support the project, we will certainly welcome whatever they wish to contribute. There are certain to be some costs associated with additional tasks as the project evolves, but we are currently seeking, public, corporate, and private grants to accomplish the initial phases.

6. The estimated $800K for reefing a ship from the RAND Report – what does this include?

Cleaning of the vessel of toxics, oils and greases, PCB containing electrical and electronic equipment and other readily removable PCB containing equipment, local towing and docking, preparation (unspecified) and other incidental overhead items, insurance, and making the vessels safe for divers (diverizing).

7. Will any regional money be used for diverizing? What is the 1/3 cost amount we need to raise at the local level?

If it is/becomes available we will be more than happy to accept it and use it. This amount will vary based on the vessel type, and what necessary local steps need to be taken for the reefing. We intend to raise these funds through corporate sponsorships and private grants.

8. Environmental monitoring, how long and how is it paid for?

We will be seeking partnerships with educational and scientific institutions to set-up a continuing monitoring program on all vessels we reef. Many California institutions have very active oceanography programs now, and we would like to see them as partners in our efforts. Systematic study of man-made reefs from inception over long term is still a new area of endeavor.

9. What could a City/County do to yield the most payback to the City/County?

To get the most benefit, the City/County can become Diver Friendly. As we get close to the date for reefing a vessel, we will be glad to help with advice on the ways that can happen. For a hotel or motel, it may be a simple as putting in a fresh water rinse tank and some gear drying racks. As the date gets close, dive related business opportunities will open up. There is good diving in California, but what we have been told by divers is that most locations lack the ONE BIG THING to draw divers to their area.

Regulatory/Liability Questions

1. Where is a City’s role in the Roadmap to Reefing?

Specifically, it isn’t spelled out. But many cities have shown that they are very accepting of new ideas that can benefit the community as well as the local environment. The citizens have listened carefully to our presentations and even when unsure, have kept an open mind in most cases. Many City officials have been willing to listen to a new idea and see how it can be a benefit for both the city and the environment.

2. How does a city take the lead to get a ship?

By being open to a “new thing” and allowing their staff to work on the process in cooperation with CSTR, to place the City in the forefront of the Ships to Reefs movement in California.

3. What can speed the regulatory process – 18-48 months is too long?

Contact your local State Assemblyman and Senator as well as the Department of Fish and Game and express your support for the project. Contact the local office of the Coastal Commission and express the same.

4. Who has liability?

Scuba diving is recognized as “an inherently hazardous activity”. Scuba divers routinely sign liability waivers holding dive shops and dive charter operators harmless for essentially everything that may happen to them from the beginning of time to infinity. This same waiver would be contained in the application for the dive tags that will be issued to permit diving on any artificial reef placed by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation and the State of California or any political subdivision thereof. The problem arises when someone who has not bought a tag dives on the reef, because not only are they violating the rules, they have not signed the waiver. We have consulted with your State legislators about this problem and they are looking at language which will address the issue by including diving on such reefs in the section of code which addresses other such inherently dangerous activities on government property.

Corporate Questions

1. What is your source of income – feds/grants/local?

Essentially, all of the above. We have received significant support from the diving industry. In the past, grants from the Federal government have come with a donated ship. In addition, CSTR will be applying for a grant from the Governor’s Ocean Protection Council. We are also actively seeking contributions from the travel/tourism industry and other entities interested in the welfare of the world’s oceans.