26 1 sonable regulations to control any activities permitted within 2 the designated marine sanctuary, and no permit, license, or 3 other authorization issued pursuant to any other authority 4 shall be valid unless the Secretary shall certify that the per5 mitted activity is consistent with the purposes of this title 6 and can be carried out within the regulations promulgated 7 under this section. 8 "SEC. 403. (a) Whoever violates any regulations issued 9 pursuant to this title shall be liable to a civil penalty of not 10 more than $50,000 for each such violation, to be assessed by 11 the Secretary. Each day of a continuing violation shall con12 stitute a separate violation. 13 "(b) No penalty shall be assessed under this section 14 until the person charged has been given notice and an oppor15 tunity to be heard. Upon failure of the offending party to pay an assessed penalty, the Attorney General, at the request of 17 the Secretary, shall commence action in the appropriate dis18 trict court of the United States to collect the penalty and to 19 seek such other relief as may be appropriate. 20 "(c) A vessel used in the violation of a regulation 21 issued pursuant to this title shall be liable in rem for any 22 civil penalty assessed for such violation and may be pro23 ceeded against in any district court of the United States 24 having jurisdiction thereof 27 1 "(d) The district courts of the United States shall have 2 jurisdiction to restrain a violation of the regulations issued 3 pursuant to this title, and to grant such other relief as may 4 be appropriate. Actions shall be brought by the Attorney 5 General in the name of the United States, either on his own 6 initiative or at the request of the Secretary. 7 "SEC. 404. For the purposes of this title, the terms 8 'coastal and estuarine zone', 'coastal State', 'Secretary', 9 'estuary', and 'estuarine sanctuary' shall have the same mean10 ings as specified in section 304 of title III of this Act. H.R. 9229-ANALYSIS The bill is based on the language of H.R. 2493 with the following additions: Sec. 306. (b) The language after "Secretary" was added. (c)—Paragraph (8) was added to be sure State plans must provide for procedures for establishing "Marine sanctuaries". Sec. 312.-Subsections (b) and (c) were added to authorize the Secretary to extend, as necessary, the areas of "estuarine sanctuaries" established in state jurisdictions, beyond state jurisdiction. Sec. 313.-New section provides for a Federal plan to complement State management plans. The Federal plan will cover the contiguous zone outside of state jurisdiction. Sec. 316. Adds a penalty section. Title IV-New. It provides the mechanism to establish marine sanctuaries to preserve or restore certain areas beyond state jurisdiction for their conservation, recreational, ecological, or esthetic values. Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: By letter of June 21, 1971, you requested our comments on H.R. 9229, 92d Congress, which would amend the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966, as amended, by adding titles III and IV which, if enacted, would be cited as the "National Coastal and Estuarine Zone Management Act of 1971" and the "Marine Sanctuary Act of 1971," respectively. We have no special information as to the advantages or disadvantages of the proposed legislation and, therefore, make no comments as to its merit. However, we have the following suggestions concerning specific provisions of the bill. Section 304 (b), page 5, defines coastal and estuarine zone as extending seaward to the outer limit of the United States territorial sea. The International convention on the Continental Shelf recognizes the sovereign rights of the coastal nation to explore the shelf and exploit its natural resources. Therefore, the committee may wish to consider redefining the coastal and estuarine zone to include the continental shelf which the Convention defines as "the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea, to a depth of 200 meters, or, beyond that limit, to where the depth of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural resources of the said areas" and "the seabed and subsoil of similar submarine areas adjacent to the coast of islands.” Section 304 (c), page 5, defines "Coastal State" as including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. We assume it is not intended to include the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the District of Columbia, and the Panama Canal Zone. Section 305 (a), page 6, of the bill authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to make annual grants to any coastal State in the development of a management plan and program for the land and water resources of the coastal and estuarine zone, provided that no such grant shall be made under this subsection until the Secretary finds that the coastal State is adequately and expeditiously developing such management plan and program. This provision appears to preclude grants to States which have not yet started to develop a management plan and program. The committee may wish to consider language changes which would allow States which have not started to develop a management plan and program to receive grants for the purpose of developing a management plan and program. Section 306 (a), page 7, of the bill authorizes the Secretary to make annual grants to any coastal State for not more than 66% per centum of the costs of administering the coastal State's management plan and program. Section 306 (c) (4), page 8, of this bill states that the Governor shall designate a single agency to receive and administer the grants for implementing the management plan and program. It is not clear whether the grants issued under this section are intended to cover the costs of administering the management plan and program or if these grants are solely intended as operating grants for the implementation of the management plan and program. The committee may wish to clarify this language. Section 306 (c) (2), page 8, requires the coastal State to make provisions for public notice and to hold public hearings on the development of the management plan and program. All required public hearings under this title must be announced at least 30 days before they take place and all relevant materials, documents and studies must be readily available to the public for study at least 30 days in advance of the actual hearing or hearings. The committee may wish to increase the number of days notice for public hearings in order that the public may have advance notice that relevant studies and documents are to be available at least 30 days in advance of the hearings. This would give the public the benefit of the full 30 days to examine the relevant documents. Section 307(a), page 12, should be clarified as it is now unclear whether it provides that States must adequately consider the views of principally affected Federal agencies prior to submitting their plans to the Secretary or whether the Secretary must adequately consider the views of principally affected Federal agencies prior to his approval of the States' plans. In either case, the committee may wish to set a specific time limit within which principally affected Federal agencies must submit their views. Section 310, page 17, authorizes the Secretary to enter into agreements with coastal States to underwrite, by guaranty thereof, bond issues or loans for the purpose of land acquisition or land and water development and restoration projects. We believe that the bill should prescribe the terms and conditions of the bond issues or loans that may be guaranteed by the Secretary and the rights of the Federal Government in the case of default. Section 310 also states that the aggregate principal amount of guaranteed bonds and loans outstanding at any time may not exceed $140 million. We believe that the bill should further specify an aggregate amount of such guaranteed bond issues or loans available to each State. We also note that the bill does not identify the source of the Federal funds that would be needed in the event of any defaults. Section 311, page 17, authorizes the Secretary to establish a coastal and estuarine zone management advisory committee composed of not more than 15 persons designated by the Secretary. The section does not (1) specify the term of service of the members, and (2) provide for the designation of a chairman. The committee may wish to provide for (1) the term or terms of service and (2) the selection of a chairman. It is suggested that section 316, page 22, be preceded by the caption "Penalties." The committee may wish to provide captions for the sections in title IV of the bill other than section 401. Section 402 (d), page 25, states that the Secretary shall submit a report annually to the Congress setting forth a comprehensive review of his actions under the authority under this section. The committee may wish to set a specific date for the submission of this report. Sincerely yours, ROBERT F. VIELLER, Acting Comptroller General of the United States. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, July 30, 1971. Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This letter is in response to your request of June 21, 1971, for a report on H.R. 9229, a bill "To establish a national policy and develop a national program for the management, beneficial use, protection, and development of the land and water resources of the Nation's coastal and estuarine zones, and for other purposes." H.R. 9229 would authorize the Secretary of Commerce to make grants to any coastal State for the purpose of assisting in the development of a comprehensive management program for the land and water resources of the coastal zone. The bill would also provide for the designation of certain areas as marine sanctuaries for the purpose of preserving or restoring their conservation, recreational, ecological, or esthetic values. The views of this Department on the bill are those expressed in a report to your Committee on June 8, 1971, on H.R. 2493 and H.R. 3615, bills which would provide authority similar to that in H.R. 9229. For your convenience a copy of that report is enclosed. We are advised by the Office of Management and Budget that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. Sincerely, ELLIOT L. RICHARDSON, Secretary. Hon. EDWARD A. GARMATZ, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D.C., June 23, 1971. Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: We respond to your request of June 21 for our comment on H.R. 9229, a bill "To establish a national policy and develop a national program for the management, beneficial use, protection and development of the land and water resources of the Nation's coastal and estuarine zones, and for other purposes". By letter of June 11, we furnished comment on H.R. 2492, H.R. 2493 and H.R. 3615, all similar to H.R. 9229 in that they would authorize assistance to the States in their establishment of coastal zone management plans and programs. H.R. 9229 is also similar to S. 582, coastal zone legislation now pending before the Senate Committee on Commerce. H.R. 9229 would amend the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966 by adding new Titles III, the "National Coastal and Estuarine Zone Management Act of 1971", and IV, the "Marine Sanctuary Act of 1971". The bill would (1) authorize annual grants not to exceed 66% percent of a State's costs in developing its coastal zone management program, provided that no single grant exceed $600,000, and a like percentage for costs of administering the program; (2) authorize a program of bond and loan guarantees to facilitate land acquisition, land and water development, and restoration projects; (3) authorize cost-sharing for the acquisition, development and operation of not more than 15 estuarine sanctuaries; and (4) provide for designation by the Secretary of Commerce of marine sanctuaries within areas of the high seas outside the coastal and estuarine zone and "superjacent to the subsoil and seabed of the Continental Shelf". "Marine sanctuary" is not defined, nor is there provided a distinction between "marine sanctuary" and "estuarine sanctuary", which, under terms of section 312(b), might also be established "seaward beyond the coastal and estuarine zone". Our earlier comments are generally applicable to those provisions of H.R. 9229 which would provide for land use management within the coastal zone. We strongly recommend the enactment of H.R. 4332, this Administration's proposal for assistance to the States in their development of comprehensive plans for effective management of all the Nation's lands and waters. As we noted in the earlier report, the National Land Use Policy Act of 1971 (H.R. 4332) is intended to broaden the coverage of coastal zone legislation submitted during the last Congress, while still giving priority attention to those areas of the country which are particularly sensitive to development pressures. The marine sanctuary concept proposed in H.R. 9229 as a new Title IV of the Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966 is deserving of careful study, and of treatment in a separate bill. It would be inappropriate, we believe, to embark upon the Federal regulatory scheme required by sections 412 (f) and 413 within the context of legislation designed to assist the coastal States in the exercise of their land management responsibilities. Further, absent clarification, the proposed Title IV is in conflict with the mineral leasing provisions of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331-1343). The Office of Management and Budget has advised that there is no objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of the Administration's program. Sincerely yours, HARRISON LOESCH, Assistant Secretary of the Interior. |