Preservation advocates and county staff clash over SS United States reef plans

Public commenters at the Okaloosa County meeting urged the board to reconsider plans to deploy the SS United States as an artificial reef, citing environmental and historic-preservation concerns.

Justin Ruby (speaker 7), chief sustainability officer for the SS United States Preservation Foundation, said the county's testing focused on PCBs but failed to account for zinc chromate and hexavalent chromium present across the vessel. "As you know, zinc chromate is a known carcinogen…with upwards of 30 tons of zinc chromate coating the vessel," Ruby told commissioners, urging broader contaminant testing before any sinking. He warned that if contaminants are not addressed the ship could create a toxic reef requiring large-scale cleanup.

Steve Perry (speaker 8), vice president of the same preservation foundation, argued the ship is an irreplaceable artifact and suggested alternatives, including federal transfer under public law, or using other large, less-historic vessels for reefing. Perry said the ship’s historic designation underscores the need to explore preservation or replacement options.

County natural-resources staff (Alex Fogg, speaker 20) said staff have been working on dive-safety issues and are in discussions with Divers Alert Network about a potential partnership that could provide five years of funding ($10,000 per year) and technical guidance toward establishing hyperbaric treatment capacity in the region. Fogg said staff are exploring options and remain engaged with federal and state regulators.

The board did not take a final policy vote on reefing at this meeting; members discussed requesting additional information such as scrap-value estimates and continued regulatory checks. Commissioners acknowledged the emotional and historic aspects of the issue and asked staff to continue coordination and to bring back further analyses.