Sponsors (7)
The bill makes it easier and more transparent for states and industry to convert decommissioned offshore platforms into reefs—providing habitat benefits, state funding, and regulatory predictability—while shifting long‑term costs and decision responsibility to states and constraining federal removal authority in ways that could leave hazards or raise conflict-of-interest risks.
Coastal communities, commercial and recreational fisheries, and marine ecosystems can benefit because eligible inactive offshore platforms may remain as artificial reefs (if wells are plugged and hazards removed), preserving established habitat and fisheries.
State governments can receive up to 50% of applicant cost savings and gain control over reefed structures, providing states with new funding and authority over local reef-in-place decisions.
Utilities and energy lessees gain a more predictable, applicant-driven, multi-step decommissioning process with deadlines and appeal rights, reducing regulatory uncertainty for companies planning decommissioning and investments.
State governments and their taxpayers face shifted long-term liability and ongoing maintenance costs if they accept reefed structures, potentially imposing significant and persistent fiscal and management burdens on state budgets.
The bill limits the Department of the Interior’s authority to order removal except for 'substantial and imminent' threats, narrowing federal power and potentially delaying removal in situations where risks to navigation, public safety, or security are evolving.
Extending the period (up to three-plus years) during which Interior cannot order removal could leave inactive structures in place longer, increasing the chance of navigation hazards, safety incidents, or local impacts before removal can be mandated.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows owners of certain inactive offshore oil and gas platforms, pipelines, and related infrastructure to seek permission to leave all or part of those structures in place as artificial reefs. It creates a defined, applicant-driven review process with time limits for notices, environmental and structural assessments, agency decisions, appeals, and a path for states to accept ownership and liability in exchange for funding up to specified limits. The bill also limits the Department of the Interior’s ability to order removal of an inactive structure during the statute’s notice, assessment, and review periods, and establishes appeal windows and judicial-reviewable final agency actions.
Creates a statutory process to allow leaving eligible offshore oil and gas structures in place as reefs, with timelines, appeal rights, and optional state assumption of liability tied to funding limits.
Introduced October 14, 2025 by Mike Ezell · Last progress October 14, 2025