Coral Reef Tire Removal Project to Resume

DATE: July 27, 2009
CONTACT: Pat Quinn, Broward County Natural Resources
Planning and Management Division
PHONE: 954-519-1218

Federal, State and Broward County officials are set to begin the third year of a monumental project to remove hundreds of thousands of tires from Osborne Reef off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. The Broward County Natural Resources Planning and Management Division, with Port Everglades and the Parks and Recreation Division, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and U.S. Army and Navy divers are partners in this massive coral reef restoration effort.

In the 1970s, two million tires were placed in Broward's coastal waters by private organizations attempting to create an artificial reef. Unfortunately, the artificial reef never developed. Instead the tires loosened and moved, damaging the nearby natural corals. Today these tires are estimated to cover more than 36 acres. This year, divers hope to remove more than 45,000 tires over a six-week period (equivalent to 30 tractor-trailer loads), to reach a three-year total of nearly 100,000.

This coral reef restoration project is unique in several ways. Divers provided by the United States Army and Navy will gather and bundle the tires which are then buoyed to the surface. While the divers work to clean up the environment, the tire retrieval project also serves as military training exercise. The Army is also providing a 175-foot ship termed a landing craft utility (LCU) which accommodates a crane used to transfer the tire bundles from the water's surface to on-board tractor-trailer units. Full trailers are regularly off-loaded at Port Everglades and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection manages the recycling of the waste tires. The Broward County Natural Resources Planning and Management Division is the local partner providing project coordination and oversight. Port Everglades provides dockage and vessel support during the entire mission and the Parks and Recreation Division provides logistical support.

This multi-agency partnership to achieve coral reef restoration has brought critical resources to Broward County and support for an environmental project that has been long overdue. Broward County is pleased to welcome its State and Federal partners in another year of collaboration and environmental restoration. For more information about the Coral Reef Tire Removal Project, call Pat Quinn at 954-519-1218
Posted by Jim at 7:40 AM 0 comments
Labels: Army Divers, Broward County Natural Resources, LCU, Navy Divers, Tire Removal