The Best Management Practices, jointly developed by EPA and the Maritime Administration, are to serve as national guidance for federal agencies for the preparation of vessels for use as artificial reefs. Section 3516 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 provides that the BMPs are to:
- Ensure that vessels prepared for use as artificial reefs “will be environmentally sound in their use as artificial reefs”;
- “Promote consistent use of such practices nationwide”;
- “Provide a basis for estimating the costs associated with the preparation of vessels for use as artificial reefs”; and
- Include measures that will “enhance the utility of the Artificial Reefing Program of the Maritime Administration as an option for the disposal of obsolete vessels.”