Coastal Board Seeks More Data on Newport Tire Reef
The creator of an artificial reef made of old tires in Newport Beach was told Wednesday to return to the California Coastal Commission with more information about his controversial project.
Rodolphe Streichenberger, who created the reef in 1988, had failed to get the proper coastal permit for his experiment on the ocean bottom off Balboa Pier.
Streichenberger’s nonprofit Marine Forests Society built the reef as an example of an environmentally correct way to dispose of old tires and foster underwater life. The reef, which is also made of plastic pipe, can replenish the marine environment with hundreds of pounds of mussels, Streichenberger said.
Coastal Commission staff did not learn of the reef until 1993, according to a staff report, and has tried to get more information about it from Streichenberger, said commission official Susan M. Hansch.
On Wednesday, at the commission’s meeting in Huntington Beach, staff members told Streichenberger exactly what they needed, she said.
Streichenberger said he plans to provide the information within 45 days.
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