10. Insular. Larger islands, sometimes with precipitous mountains; considerable wave action; frequently with endemic species; larger island groups primarily with tropical biota.

11. Great Lakes. Great Lakes of North America; bluff-dune or rocky, glaciated shoreline; limited wetlands; freshwater only; biota a mixture of boreal and temperate species with anadromous species and some marine invaders.

(b) Various sub-categories will be developed and utilized as appropriate.

§ 921.5 Multiple use.

(a) While the primary purpose of estuarine sanctuaries is to provide longterm protection for natural areas so that they may be used for scientific and educational purposes, multiple use of estuarine sanctuaries will be encouraged to the extent that such use is compatible with this primary sanctuary purpose. The capacity of a given sanctuary to accommodate additional uses, and the kinds and intensity of such use, will be determined on a case by case basis. While it is anticipated that compatible uses may generally inIclude activities such as low intensity recreation, fishing, hunting, and wildlife observation, it is recognized that the exclusive use of an area for scientific or educational purposes may provide the optimum benefit to coastal zone management and resource use and may on occasion be necessary.

(b) There shall be no effort to balance or optimize uses of an estuarine sanctuary on economic or other bases. All additional uses of the sanctuary are clearly secondary to the primary purpose and uses, which are long-term maintenance of the ecosystem for scientific and educational uses. Non-compatible uses, including those uses which would cause significant short or long-term ecological change or would otherwise detract from or restrict the use of the sanctuary as a natural field laboratory, will be prohibited.

§ 921.6 Relationship to other provisions of the act and to inarine sanctuaries. (a) The estuarine sanctuary program must interact with the overall coastal management program in two ways: (1) the intended research use of the sanctuary should provide relevant data and conclusions of assistance to

zone

coastal zone management decisionmaking, and (2) when developed, the State's coastal zone management program must recognize and be designed to protect the estuarine sanctuary; appropriate land and water use regulations and planning considerations must apply to adjacent lands. Although estuarine sanctuaries should be incorporated into the State coastal zone management program, their designation need not await the development and approval of the management program where operation of the estuarine sanctuary would aid in the development of a program.

(b) The estuarine sanctuarics program will be conducted in close cooperation with the marine sanctuaries program (Title III of the Marine Protection, Research Act of 1972, Pub. L. 92-532, which is also administered by the Office of Coastal Zone Management, NOAA), which recognizes that certain areas of the ocean waters, as far seaward as the outer edge of the Continental Shelf, or other coastal waters where the tide ebbs and flows, or of the Great Lakes and their connecting waters, need to be preserved or restored for their conservation, recreational, ecologic or esthetic values. It is anticipated that the Secretary on occasion may establish marine sanctuaries to complement the designation by States of estuarine sanctuaries, where this may be mutually beneficial.

Subpart B-Application for Grants

§ 921.10 General.

Section 312 authorizes Federal grants to coastal States so that the States may establish sanctuaries according to regulations promulgated by the Secretary. Coastal States may file applications for grants with the Director, Office of Coastal Zone Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, Rockville, Maryland 20852. That agency which has been certified to the Office of Coastal Zone Management as the entity responsible for administration of the State coastal zone management program may either submit an application directly, or must endorse and ap

prove applications submitted by other agencies within the State.

§ 921.11 Application for initial acquisition, development and operation grants.

(a) Grants may be awarded on a matching basis to cover the costs of acquisition, development and operation of estuarine sanctuaries. States may use donations of land or money to satisfy all or part of the matching cost requirements.

(b) In general, lands acquired pursuant to this section, including State owned lands but not State owned submerged lands or bay bottoms, that occur within the proposed sanctuary boundary are legitimate costs and their fair market value may be includted as match. However, the value of lands donated to or by the State for inclusion in the sanctuary may only be used to match other costs of land ac=quisition. In the event that lands already exist in a protected status, their I value cannot be used as match for sanctuary development and operation grants, which will require their own =matching funds.

(c) Development and operation costs may include the administrative expenses necessary to minitor the sanctuary, to ensure its continued viability and to protect the integrity of the ecosystem. Research will not normally be -funded by Section 312 grants. It is an$ticipated that other sources of Feder

al, State and private funds will be available for research in estuarine sanctuaries.

(d) Initial applications should contain the following information:

(1) Description of the proposed sanctuary include location, boundaries, size and cost of acquisition, operation and development. A map should be included, as well as an aerial photograph, if I available.

(2) Classification of the proposed sanctuary according to the biogeographic scheme set forth in § 921.4.

(3) Description of the major physical, geographic and biological characteristics and resources of the proposed sanctuary.

(4) Identification of ownership patterns; proportion of land already in the public domain.

(5) Description of intended research uses, potential research organizations or agencies and benefits to the overall coastal zone management program.

(6) Demonstration of necessary authority to acquire or control and manage the sanctuary.

(7) Description of proposed management techniques, including the management agency, principles and proposed budget including both State and Federal shares.

(8) Description of existing and potential uses of and conflicts within the area if it were not declared an estuarine sanctuary; potential use, use restrictions and conflicts if the sanctuary is established.

(i) Assessment of the environmental and socio-economic impacts of declaring the area an estuarine sanctuary, including the economic impact of such a designation on the surrounding community and its tax base.

(9) Description of planned or anticipated land and water use and controls for contiguous lands surrounding the proposed sanctuary (including if appropriate an analysis of the desirability of creating a marine sanctuary in adjacent areas).

(10) List of protected sites, either within the estuarine sanctuaries program or within other Federal, State or private programs, which are located in the same regional or biogeographic classification.

(i) It is essential that the opportunity be provided for public involvement and input in the development of the sanctuary proposal and application. Where the application is controversial or where controversial issues are addressed, the State should provide adequate means to ensure that all interested parties have the opportunity to present their views. This may be in the form of an adequately advertised public hearing.

(ii) During the development of an estuarine sanctuary application, all landowners within the proposed boundaries should be informed in writing of the proposed grant application.

(iii) The application should indicate the manner in which the State solicited the views of all interested parties prior to the actual submission of the application.

(e) In order to develop a truly representative scheme of estuarine sanctuaries, the States should attempt to coordinate their activities. This will help to minimize the possibility of similar estuarine types being proposed for designation in the same region. The application should indicate the extent to which neighboring States were consulted.

(f) Discussion, including cost and feasibility, of alternative methods for acquisition, control and protection of the area to provide similar uses. Use of the marine sanctuary authority and funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act should be specifically addressed.

§ 921.12 Application for subsequent development and operation grants.

(a) Although the initial grant application for creation of an estuarine sanctuary should include initial development and operation costs, subsequent applications may be submitted following acquisition and establishment of an estuarine sanctuary for additional development and operation funds. As indicated in § 921.11, these costs may include administrative costs necessary to monitor the sanctuary and to protect the integrity of the ecosystem. Extensive management programs, capital expenses, or research will not normally be funded by section 312 grants.

(b) After the creation of an estuarine sanctuary established under this program, applications for such development and operation grants should include at least the following information:

(1) Identification of the boundary. (2) Specifications of the management program, including managing agency and techniques.

(3) Detailed budget.

(4) Discussion of recent and projected use of the sanctuary.

(5) Perceived threats to the integrity of the sanctuary.

§ 921.13 Federally owned lands.

(a) Where federally owned lands are a part of or adjacent to the area proposed for designation as an estuarine sanctuary, or where the control of land and water uses on such lands is

necessary to protect the natural system within the sanctuary, the State should contact the Federal agency maintaining control of the land to request cooperation in providing coordinated management policies. Such lands and State request, and the Federal agency response, should be identified and conveyed to the Office of Coastal Zone Management.

(b) Where such proposed use or control of federally owned lands would not conflict with the Federal use of their lands, such cooperation and coordination is encouraged to the maximum extent feasible.

(c) Section 312 grants may not be awarded to federal agencies for creation of estuarine sanctuaries in Federally owned lands; however, a similar status may be provided on a voluntary basis for Federally owned lands under the provisions of the Federal Committee on Ecological Preserves program.

§ 921.14 Application time schedule and procedure.

(a) Effective January 1, 1975, the review and selection of estuarine sanctuary applications will be conducted on a twice yearly basis. All applications received between January 1 and June 30 of any year will be considered together beginning July 1 of that year; applications received between July 1 and December 31 will be considered together beginning January 1 of the following year.

(b) All applications received during any application period will be subject to simultaneous review and consideration. At the end of each application period, a suitable number of applications, based on the level of funding available, will be selected for further review and processing. Unless sufficiently distinguished as major subcategories, no more than one application from each biogeographic category will be selected for final processing during each review period. Normally, the applications selected will be processed and the grants awarded within 6 months from the end of the application period, that is before the next review period begins. Applications which are not selected for processing may be resubmitted for consideration during the next review period.

(c) At least ninety (90) days prior to submission of an application under this section, an applicant state must notify in writing the OCZM, appropriate state and regional A-95 clearinghouses, and other states within the same biogeographic category (see Table 1) of its intention to file an application for an estuarine sanctuary grant. Such notification should include at least the identification of the state agency applying for the grant; the geographic location of the proposed sanctuary and its boundaries; proposed objectives of the sanctuary, including intended research uses; estimated cost of sanctuary; and estimated date for submission of application. Copies of the A-95 notifications to the state and regional clearinghouse would be considered sufficient and desirable notification to OCZM and to the other states.

Subpart C-Selection Criteria

§ 921.20 Criteria for selection.

Applications for grants to establish estuarine sanctuaries will be reviewed and judged on criteria including:

(a) Benefit to the coastal zone management program. Applications should demonstrate the benefit of the proposal to the development or operations of the overall coastal zone management program, including how well the proposal fits into the national program of representative estuarine types; the national or regional benefits; and the usefulness in research.

(b) The ecological characteristics of the ecosystem, including its biological productivity, diversity and representativeness. Extent of alteration of the natural system, its ability to remain a viable and healthy system in view of the present and possible development of external stresses.

(c) Size and choice of boundaries. To the extent feasible, estuarine sanctuaries should approximate a natural ecological unit. The minimal acceptable size will vary greatly and will depend on the nature of the ecosystem.

(d) Cost. Although the Act limits the Federal share of the cost for each sanctuary to $2,000,000, it is anticipated that in practice the average grant will be substantially less than this.

(e) Enhancement of non-competitive

uses.

(f) Proximity and access to existing research facilities.

(g) Availability of suitable alternative sites already protected which might be capable of providing the same use or benefit. Unnecessary duplication of existing activities under other programs should be avoided. However, estuarine sanctuaries might be established adjacent to existing preserved lands where mutual enhancement or benefit of each might occur.

(h) Conflict with existing or potential competing uses.

(i) Compatibility with existing or proposed land and water use in contiguous areas.

If the initial review demonstrates the feasibility of the application, an envi

ronmental impact statement will be prepared by the Office of Coastal Zone Management in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and implementing CEQ guidelines.

§ 921.21 Public participation.

Public participation will be an essential factor in the selection of estuarine sanctuaries. In addition to the participation during the application development process (§ 921.11(e)), public participation will be ensured at the Federal level by the NEPA process and by public hearings where desirable subsequent to NEPA. Such public hearings shall be held by the Office of Coastal Zone Management in the area to be affected by the proposed sanctuary no sooner than 30 days after it issues a draft environmental impact statement on the sanctuary proposal. It will be the responsibility of the Office of Coastal Zone Management, with the assistance of the applicant State, to issue adequate public notice of its intention to hold a public hearing. Such public notice shall be distributed widely, especially in the area of the proposed sanctuary; affected property owners and those agencies, organizations or individuals with an identified interest in the area or estuarine sanctuary program shall be notified of the public hearing. The public notice shall contain the name, address and phone number of the appropriate Federal and State officials to contact for additional information about the proposal.

Subpart D-Operation

§ 921.30 General.

Management of estuarine sanctuaries shall be the responsibility of the applicant State or its agent. However, the research uses and management program must be in conformance with these guidelines and regulations, and others implemented by the provisions of individual grants. It is suggested that prior to the grant award, representatives of the proposed sanctuary management team and the Office of Coastal Zone Management meet to discuss management policy and standards. It is anticipated that the grant provisions will vary with individual cir

cumstances and will be mutually agreed to by the applicant and the granting agency. As a minimum, the grant document for each sanctuary shall:

(a) Define the intended research purposes of the estuarine sanctuary.

(b) Define permitted, compatible, restricted and prohibited uses of the sanctuary.

(c) Include a provision for monitoring the uses of the sanctuary, to ensure compliance with the intended uses.

(d) Ensure ready access to land use of the sanctuary by scientists, students and the general public as desirable and permissible for coordinated research and education uses, as well as for other compatible purposes.

(e) Ensure public availability and reasonable distribution of research results for timely use in the development of coastal zone management programs.

(f) Provide a basis for annual review of the status of the sanctuary, its value to the coastal zone program.

(g) Specify how the integrity of the system which the sanctuary represents will be maintained.

(h) Provide adequate authority and intent to enforce management policy and use restrictions.

§ 921.31 Changes in the sanctuary boundary, management policy or research program.

(a) The approved sanctuary boundaries; management policy, including permissible and prohibited uses; and research program may only be changed after public notice and the opportunity of public review and participation such as outlined in § 921.21. (b) Individuals or organizations which are concerned about possible improper use or restriction of use of estuarine sanctuaries may petition the State management agency and the Office of Coastal Zone Management directly for review of the management program.

§ 921.32 Program review.

It is anticipated that reports will be required from the applicant State on a regular basis, no more frequently than annually, on the status of each estuar