PENSACOLA, Fla. (WPVI) — A Florida federal judge has dismissed the latest legal challenge seeking to prevent the SS United States from being sunk as an artificial reef off the coast of Okaloosa County.
The SS United States Preservation Foundation and co-founder Steven R. Perry filed suit this week against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Okaloosa County, arguing federal regulators failed to adequately review potential environmental impacts and historic preservation concerns before approving the project.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. A motion seeking a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction was filed Tuesday in an effort to halt the ship’s scheduled tow from Mobile, Alabama, and its planned deployment approximately 22 nautical miles southwest of Destin.
The county plans to sink the vessel in mid-November, weather permitting, after months of preparation and remediation work.
The preservation foundation contends the Army Corps approved the project without conducting a full environmental impact statement and failed to properly consider concerns about contaminants aboard the ship, including hexavalent chromium found in some coatings.
According to the lawsuit, experts consulted by the foundation raised concerns about the potential effects of contaminants on marine life, sediment and the Gulf food chain. The group argues additional testing and environmental review should be completed before the vessel is sunk.
The complaint also alleges deficiencies in the project’s historic preservation review under federal law and claims historic elements of the ship were removed while that review was ongoing.
“Proceeding with an irreversible sinking while those scientific questions remain unanswered sets a troubling precedent,” Matt Lesiw, the foundation’s secretary, said in a statement.
Okaloosa County officials have promoted the project as both an economic development opportunity and an environmental asset, saying the vessel will become a major diving attraction and a habitat for marine life.
“This is an exciting move forward to create a one-of-a-kind resource for the environment and for our tourism industry,” county officials said in a previous statement announcing plans for the reef.
The foundation said it does not oppose artificial reef projects but believes another vessel should be selected in place of the SS United States. The group has urged federal officials to consider using a decommissioned SL-7 fast sealift ship as an alternative reef.
The SS United States, launched in 1952, still holds the trans-Atlantic speed record for an ocean liner. The ship was designated for the National Register of Historic Places in 1999 and is widely regarded as one of the most important examples of American maritime engineering.
The vessel spent nearly three decades docked along Philadelphia’s Delaware River waterfront before departing last year for Alabama, where crews have been preparing it for its next role as an artificial reef.
The legal challenge came just days before the planned tow, setting up a final courtroom battle over the future of a ship long viewed by preservationists as an icon of American maritime history.
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Source: 6abc.com
