05/17/2026
What a upreme waste to sink it as a reef...
If interested... Contact your leaders...
Yeah, I got a soft spot for this ol' ship...
SS UNITED STATES - MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT TO BE PRESENTED AT THE UPCOMING OKALOOSA COUNTY BOARD MEETING
16 April Okaloosa County published the draft Memorandum of Agreement between the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Florida State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), and itself as part of it’s Agenda Packet (pp 313 et seq.) to be voted on 21 April at the regular Board of County Commissioners meeting. In addition to those Principals, the draft was sent 7 April to the three consulting parties: The National Trust for Historic Preservation; The N. Y. Coalition to Save the SS UNITED STATES; and the SS UNITED STATES Preservation Foundation with a request those parties submit comments by 23 April. The MOA is the result of the USACE review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of Okaloosa’s plans to reef the SSUS under its permit SAJ-1996-03565. USACE notes the following parties entitled to consulting party status declined to participate: The Seminole Tribe of Florida; the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida; the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma; the Muscogee Nation; The Alabama State Historic Preservation Office; and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
The MOA is in two sections plus boiler plate. The first - the thirteen “whereas” clauses - detail USACE findings and determinations. It’s very interesting reading, including Okaloosa transparency and the above-mentioned potential consulting parties’ declining to participate. This section concludes with the key statement “the Corps, the SHPO, and the Permittee [Okaloosa County] agree that the undertaking [reefing] shall be implemented” in accordance with the stipulations in the second section.
The second section, no less interesting, is likely to hold the Commissioners’ attention as its fourteen clauses stipulate what Okaloosa shall do and pay for prior to deployment and after. This includes paying for numerous surveys over a two-year period plus up to $1.5 mn in direct costs over the same two years. This included fixed and travelling exhibits and documenting and preserving artifacts in its possession and already transferred to Conservancy ownership. Okaloosa will be doing all the required work to guarantee the ship will be added to the Florida Panhandle Shiowreck Trail. This is a real thing and worth checking out. Perhaps the most striking provision is that Okaloosa will submit application and documentation for continued listing of the ship on the National Register of Historic Places.
Significantly, the USACE cover letter, responding to the NTHP letter of 28 March, previously published by Matt Lesiw of the N Y Coalition. Is included in the packet and leaves no doubt USACE is ready to wrap up.
Attached is the MOA as it will be presented as well as the USACE Cover Letter which until now was not permitted to be released publicly until this Agenda Packet was made public.
https://cdn.fbsbx.com/v/t59.2708-21/674559241_1469606464810327_2913474061851598383_n.pdf/County_hearing_MOA.pdf?_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=2b0e22&_nc_ohc=u-BT3q2TjlIQ7kNvwGtqdaj&_nc_oc=AdqLHhqsTEMMzTV7jCD5c1jRKLbQoXTq-9HtFrHZqbYJIcmeuJ8hMFI1fOgN6xgb5ow&_nc_zt=7&_nc_ht=cdn.fbsbx.com&_nc_gid=AZ2rzajdv3iFxGxNwUA87g&_nc_ss=7a338&oh=03_Q7cD5AEljJ-6jXge70scKCy0MGkcPgsgjKsLlGHZ-yDztj8IUA&oe=69E35F32&dl=1
(THIS DETAILED SUMMARY WAS GRACIOUSLY PROVIDED TO US VIA Charles Dragonette)
Mike Strasbaugh
Admin
