Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Leonard Vialpando
Department: Public Works and Environmental Services
Division: Natural Resources Division
Information
Requested Action
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MOTION TO APPROVE “Application to Request for Innovative Readiness Training Civil-Military Partnership,” for the Memphis Reef Ball Relocation-Phase III (hereinafter “Application”) to be filed by Broward County with the United States Department of Defense (“DoD”); authorize the County Administrator or her designee to execute the Application and prepare, submit, and execute any subsequent annual applications for the project and its subsequent phases for up to two years that do not impose any additional material risk or financial obligation on the County, subject to review and approval by the County Attorney’s Office; and authorize the County Administrator to take all necessary administrative and budgetary actions to implement the current Application or subsequent applications. (Commission District 6)
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Why Action is Necessary
Contracts and applications require approval by the Board of County Commissioners pursuant to Broward County Administrative Code Section 20.31.
What Action Accomplishes
Motion will allow Application to be filed for US military divers to extract artificial reef modules from the ocean bottom that are subsiding into sand and relocate the modules to a nearby location that provides less sand subsidence and more stability.
Goal Related Icon(s)
☒County Commission
☐Go Green
☐MAP Broward
Previous Action Taken
None taken.
Summary Explanation/Background
THE PUBLIC WORKS AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND THE NATURAL RESOURCES DIVISION RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE ABOVE MOTION.
This item supports the County Commission’s Goal of a “Resilient Community to ensure accessible, seamlessly integrated investments in renewable energy, sustainable practices, manufacturing, resilient infrastructure, and environmental protection.”
This motion authorizes the Application to be made with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) for the relocation of artificial reef modules from their current location offshore of Dania Beach in Broward County to a more suitable location within the artificial reef permitted area. The motion will authorize the County Administrator to submit the current Application and subsequent yearly applications for the foregoing work to be performed by the DoD. Upon acceptance by the DoD, the Application terms will become the terms of the contract for such services. As the Application is not on County forms, it does not include standard County language. It further releases the DoD from liability for injury, loss, or damages to the County connected with the project and requires the County to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the DoD for any injury, loss, or damage to third parties.
In 2000, a total of 160 modules were placed offshore in approximately 40-ft water depth across an approximate 10-acre area. Over time, the modules subsided into the sand to a large enough degree to cause concern that the modules would become completely buried. The intention of this relocation operation is to save corals and other benthic species that are growing on the exposed surfaces of the modules from being buried as the modules sink into the sand, creating a more ecologically beneficial habitat for fishes, corals and other benthic organisms, and creating a unique area for recreational divers to explore.
In late 2024, the US Army 511th Engineer Dive Detachment (EDD) assisted the County’s Marine Resources Section dive team in extracting approximately 52 of these modules from the sand and successfully moving the majority (approximately 36) to a more stable substrate a few hundred feet away. Following the 2024 operation, the 511th EDD returned in the spring of 2026 to continue extracting and relocating modules, where approximately 37 more were repositioned. These operations not only benefited the County’s Artificial Reef Program and the community but also provided essential training opportunities to increase deployment readiness for the detachment. This Application will allow the project to continue so the remaining modules can be moved to provide similar benefits. Additional applications may be made to continue the project for two years if more time is needed to move the remaining modules.
Source of Additional Information
Monica Pognon, Director, Natural Resources Division, (954) 519-1476
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
No fiscal impact.