Description
Pursuant to Chapter 2023-126, section 1. (3)(a), by July 1, 2024, the Department of Environmental Protection shall develop a comprehensive coral reef restoration plan for Osborne Reef to be commenced, subject to appropriation by the Legislature, upon the completion of the cleanup and tire removal project. Upon completion of the plan, the department shall provide a report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Osborne Tire Reef, a site located off the coast of Broward County, is the location of over 1 million used tires bound for disposal that were placed predominantly between two coral reefs tracts in the 1970s for fishery enhancement purposes. Since the early 2000s, the state and its partners have embarked on restoration efforts to remove tires from the Osborne Tire Reef. More recently, the state began funding projects to remove and relocate stony coral (also known as scleractinian coral) colonies from tires to natural coral reef habitat to facilitate tire removal efforts and restore portions of Florida's Coral Reef in Broward County
