8420 and consolidate their current efforts and to build comprehensive programs. II. IMPLEMENTATION A. Early Organization and Actions of NOAA Once the Coastal Zone Management Act was signed into law, an initial assessment was made of the status of coastal management programs within each of the States and territories covered by the legislation. This effort resulted in a publication, The Status of State Coastal Zone Management Efforts, May 1973. It is a compendium intended to provide State and Federal officials with an overview of the various approaches to coastal zone management currently in use by the coastal States. It provides a synopsis of each State's background in coastal zone management, the State's administrative structure for handling its coastal areas, the enabling legislation, and the State's current coastal activities. B. Implementation Steps To provide guidance to State governments on how to apply for further interpretation of the Act, as well as how to apply for program development grants and what activities would be necessary to meet the requirements of the legislation, guidelines were necessary. These guidelines were published in the Federal Register of November 29, 1973. The funding mechanisms of a number of Federal agencies were studied in order to find the simplest, workable administrative procedures. A study was undertaken to ascertain the most appropriate means of introducing coastal zone planning into State government. In addition, the Governor of each coastal State and territory was requested to designate an individual with whom the Task Force could discuss implementation of the Act. (1) The National Interest Study: The Coastal Zone Management Act contains a requirement to provide for greater than local needs in coastal programs. The Congressional findings of the Act call for encouraging the States to exercise their full authority over the lands and waters in their State coastal zone area in cooperation with Federal and local governments. However, in cases dealing with land and water use decisions of more than local significance, the Act calls for unified policies, criteria, standards, methods, and processes. In addition, the Act specifically requires that a management program, to be approved, must provide for "adequate consideration of the national interest involved in the siting of facilities necessary to meet requirements which are other than local in nature." The U. VA. A. Y process for identifying the "national interest" thus becomes a critical element in each State's coastal zone management program. Some unified concept of the national interest must be articulated to assure that coastal zone management programs of individual States respond adequately to the requirement of the Act. To get at the dual question of national interest and, in the case of the question of the definition of "facilities which are designed to meet requirements which are other than local in nature," a study is underway to ascertain those elements which comprise the national interest. (2) The Sanctuaries Study: Assistance in determining the policy options open to NOAA was sought for implementation of the estuarine sanctuaries section of the Act. This section provides grant assistance to States for the acquisition, development, and operation of estuarine sanctuaries, as well as grant assistance for Title III of the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, permitting the designation of marine sanctuaries. Both of these sanctuary programs are NOAA's responsibility. A contract was awarded to the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences to investigate the legislative history of the sanctuary provisions, identify the essential purposes and characteristics of such sanctuaries, and define alternative policy options for joint program operations. Performance of this contract culminated in a national sanctuary workshop held in Washington in late November 1973. C. Technical Assistance Tools (1) Coastal Zone Management Handbook: To assist States in beginning the development of management programs and to aid them in meeting statutory requirements, a contract was awarded to the Coastal Zone Management Institute to prepare a description of the essential coastal scientific, economic, and institutional issues and problems. These will be keyed directly to the statute and the guidelines, and should enable a State to select reasonable courses of action from a number of alternatives presented. (2) Coastal Ecology Manual: The Conservation Foundation is preparing a coastal zone ecology manual intended to present information on the environmental factors to be taken into account when considering proposals for development of coastal areas. It will describe the ecological systems of the coastal zone along with the ecological effects of various man-made disturbances. Approaches to deal with these disturbances will be suggested. D. National Conference On June 13 and 14, 1973, the Coastal Zone Management Task Force, together with four other Federal organizations (Department 1 8420 dation, and Environmental Protection Agency), the Council of State Governments, and the Coastal States Organization, sponsored a Conference on Organizing and Managing the Coastal Zone. This Conference, at Annapolis, Md., was designed to define the relationship of State and Federal Governments to the emerging national program for coastal zone management and to give State officials a sense of direction in developing their coastal programs. It brought together for the first time virtually all of the formally designated State contacts, it provided an excellent vehicle for explaining the details of the Act, and it made known individual State concerns and program activities. III. PRESENT PROGRESS It appears that at least 29 coastal States intend to apply for program development grants during fiscal year 1974. With the grant funding available in fiscal year 1974, a number of actions were initiated. These included: (1) the development of a grants processing system and the requisite administrative regulations; and (2) initiation of a process leading to the development of draft guidelines which will describe the criteria to be used in considering the approval of proposed State management programs. Administrative regulations describing the mechanics of the grant program, including an allocation formula, were made available so that the first grants to States can be processed and issued by February 1974. Guidelines describing the Federal approval process for proposed State management programs are being drafted. They will contain both the criteria for determining the adequacy of proposed State management programs and the procedures for Federal agency review of proposed State programs. These guidelines will be presented at a series of regional discussions and published in the Federal Register. The appendix contains a schedule of regional discussions on guidelines criteria. IV. FUTURE PLANS It is planned to establish a number of regional liaison "desks" in the Washington office in late spring of 1974. Liaison officers manning these desks will work directly with the coastal States in their region, assisting them in the preparation of grant applications, monitoring State activities using program grants, and acting as a clearinghouse for State technical assistance requirements. In October 1973, a Coastal Zone Management Advisory Committee was appointed to advise the Secretary of Commerce on matters of policy. An initial meeting of the Committee took place in November 1973. A second meeting was held in February 1974. U. VA. A..Y |