A Proposal to Evaluate Multi-Purpose Offshore Industrial-Port Islands for the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts

On the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States there is need to develop heavy industry, electric power generating facilities, deep water ports for bulk commodities, and alternate methods to dispose of solid wastes. Population pressures in many coastal areas make the problem more acute. One method to accommodate such needs is to construct one or more large multi-purpose offshore industrial-port islands on the continental shelf. The objective of this project is to complete a conceptual design study of such islands. The work is divided into six distinct tasks which will result in five separate but interrelated reports. The six tasks are: 1. To evaluate the general characteristics of industrial-port offshore islands. 2. To design and evaluate a specific industrial-port island for the upper Mid-Atlantic region, 3. To design and evaluate a specific industrial-port island for the Gulf Coast region, 4. To identify major research problems and promising research approaches connected with building and operating industrial-port islands. 5. To revise the Task 1 report in light of insights gained in completing task 2, 3, and 4, and 6. To define and record any "new" concepts for islands which emerge from work on other tasks. Briefings will be held after each study milestone to inform state, regional, and national interests of progress and to solicit constructive reactions.