ABSTRACT

The usual reason for denial of an artificial reef permit application is an adverse impact on navigation. Back in 1978, the American Institute of Merchant Shipping, after numerous complaints about fishing reefs interfering with navigation, requested the Corps establish nationwide guidelines for artificial reefs. If a general permit is issued by the district, a reef could be built without applying for a Department of the Army permit, provided certain conditions are met. The Corps of Engineers receives in the neighborhood of 20,000 permit applications per year, varying in complexity and magnitude from small private piers to large marinas; from a bulkhead and fill of several cubic yards to projects as large as the Westway Highway project in New York. The Corps of Engineers is a decentralized agency, with the district engineer having the authority to manage the regulatory program within his geographical area.