‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall, in 
response to an Applicant request, conduct or 
appoint a State or qualified third-party to per-
form on its behalf, an assessment of each Inac-
tive Structure, which shall, with respect to each 
Inactive Structure include an assessment of— 
‘‘(i) in consultation with the Adminis-
trator the localized corals, fish species, and 
other marine life that use the Inactive 
Structure as a habitat; and 
‘‘(ii) the economic benefits of Reefing 
in Place, including a comparison of the 
cost to replace the Inactive Structure with 
an equivalent cubic volume, including in-
terstitial spaces, of appropriate artificial 
material if the Inactive Structure is re-
moved. 
‘‘(B) ASSESSMENT CONDUCTED BY APPLI-
CANT.—The Director may permit an Applicant 
to conduct an assessment or enter into an 
agreement with a State or qualified third-party 
to perform on its behalf, an assessment report 
for each Inactive Structure to be submitted to 
the Director, which shall, with respect to each 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:18 Oct 15, 2025
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5745.IH
H5745
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
Inactive Structure satisfy the assessment cri-
teria set forth in subparagraph (2)(A). 
‘‘(C) To the extent practicable, the assess-
ment under this subparagraph (2) must be 
completed within one year of receipt by the Di-
rector of the Notice of Intent to Reef. 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION.—Not later 
than 60 days after completion of the assessment 
conducted under subparagraph (2)(A), or receipt by 
the Director of the assessment report conducted 
under subparagraph (2)(B), the Director, after con-
sultation with the Administrator, shall make a for-
mal determination that the Inactive Structure is an 
Eligible Structure if— 
‘‘(A) there is an Established Reef Eco-
system on, under, or in the immediate vicinity 
of the Inactive Structure, or there is potential 
for a reef ecosystem on, under, or in the imme-
diate vicinity of the Inactive Structure; and 
‘‘(B) Reefing in Place of the Inactive 
Structure is appropriate based on criteria de-
scribed in the National Artificial Reef Plan (as 
amended) developed pursuant to Section 204. 
‘‘(4) 
DESIGNATION
OF
REEF
PLANNING 
AREAS.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:18 Oct 15, 2025
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5745.IH
H5745
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(A) Not later than 90 days after the Di-
rector determines an Inactive Structure is an 
Eligible Structure pursuant to paragraph (3), 
the Director, in consultation with the associated 
State Reef Program, shall designate the foot-
print of the Eligible Structure or other pro-
posed reefing location, along with any sur-
rounding area deemed necessary for Reefing in 
Place, as a Reef Planning Area. 
‘‘(B) Designation as a Reef Planning Area 
under subparagraph (4)(A) shall be made by 
the Director prior to any Reef in Place activity. 
‘‘(C) Nothing in this paragraph shall be 
construed to require the redesignation of, or 
otherwise affect, any area already serving as a 
reef permitted area or existing Artificial Reef 
site. 
‘‘(5) APPROVAL.—Not later than three years 
after the date on which the Director determines an 
Inactive Structure is an Eligible Structure, the Ap-
plicant may Reef in Place if— 
‘‘(A) with respect to the Eligible Struc-
ture— 
‘‘(i) all associated wells have been per-
manently plugged and abandoned pursuant 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:18 Oct 15, 2025
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5745.IH
H5745
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
to applicable law, including any departures 
approved by the Bureau of Safety and En-
vironmental Enforcement; 
‘‘(ii) hydrocarbons and other haz-
ardous liquids have been removed in ac-
cordance with applicable laws and regula-
tions; 
‘‘(iii) if required by law or regulation, 
the Applicant installs identifying markers 
to protect and aid navigation; 
‘‘(iv) the Applicant confirmed there is 
no outstanding responsibility or liability re-
lated to the Eligible Structure other than 
Decommissioning and related maintenance 
monitoring; and 
‘‘(v) the Applicant has transferred, or 
has an agreement to transfer, liability to a 
State agency upon completion of the 
reefing activity. 
‘‘(B) And, the Secretary of the Interior de-
termines the criteria in subparagraph 5(A) have 
been met and the Eligible Structure is reason-
ably sound and secure, upon which the Eligible 
Structure is deemed an Approved Structure. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:18 Oct 15, 2025
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5745.IH
H5745
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(6) ANNUAL
REPORT.—Not later than one 
year after the date of the enactment of this sub-
section, and annually thereafter, the Director shall 
submit to the Secretary of the Interior, the Adminis-
trator, the Committee on Natural Resources of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Natural Resources of the Senate a report summa-
rizing all actions taken in relation to an Inactive 
Structure under this Section 207 that occurred in 
the preceding twelve (12) months, including, without 
limitation, each Notice of Intent to Reef, assess-
ment, Eligible Structure determination, Reef Plan-
ning Area designation, Approved Structure deter-
mination, and appeal submitted or conducted pursu-
ant to this Section 207, which shall include a com-
prehensive map. 
‘‘(7) WITHDRAWAL.—Any Applicant may deter-
mine that it will not complete Reefing in Place at 
any time, regardless of whether or not it has, or 
prior Applicants have, completed any of the proc-
esses described in this Section 207. Any Applicant 
shall be entitled to terminate the processes com-
menced in this Section 207 upon written notice to 
the Director and remove or otherwise Decommission 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:18 Oct 15, 2025
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5745.IH
H5745
kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB