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RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDED 

 ROLE OF THE STATES IN THE COMPREHENSIVE 

 NATIONAL ESTUARINE AND COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 



The States, in our Federal system of government, occupy a strategic pos- 

 ition in the management of the Nation's estuarine and coastal resources. 

 As holders of residual sovereignty, they possess ample authority to 

 manage these resources as they see fit, subject only to limitations 

 imposed upon them by the Constitution, by the Congress acting pursuant 

 to constitutionally authorized powers, and by their own constitutions. 

 Moreover, even in those areas in which the Federal Government exercises 

 exclusive or primary authority, the nature of our political process 

 gives State officials substantial power to influence the objectives and 

 exercise of Federal policies. 



The strategic State position is also a direct result of the on-scene 

 nature of the State function — the interface between the forces of 

 politics, business, and peoole and their respective ambitions for putting 

 to use the storehouse of available estuarine and coastal resources. It 

 is in the State Capitols that many of the major decisions will be made 

 that will determine the success of a national estuarine and coastal 

 management program. 



The State Responsibilities 



Seven aspects of the States' possession of this residual sovereignty 

 which relate more specifically to the management of estuarine and coastal 

 resources, help underscore the States' strategic and primary 



