OVERVIEW OF U.S. WATER RESOURCES PLANNING, POLICIES, AND LAWS 



THAT AFFECT COASTAL AREAS 



Gerald D. Seinwell 



Acting Director, U.S. Water Resources Council 

 Washington, D. C. 



Estuaries play a subtle yet vi- 

 tal role in our existence. They are 

 the source of many of life's ameni- 

 ties for all of us on land. And, 

 freshwater inflows play a subtle yet 

 vital role in the existence of the 

 estuary. The delicate balance of 

 fresh water and salt water breeds 

 both the bounty of the estuary and 

 the potential for its destruction. 

 The environment which is formed where 

 a river flows to the sea attracts not 

 only spawning fish, aquatic mammals 

 and shellfish, but also people. 



More than half of our Nation's 

 population lives within 50 miles of 

 the coast. Most of that population 

 is concentrated in cities which 

 thrive on or near the mouth of a 

 river--Boston on the Charles, New 

 York on the Hudson, New Orleans on 

 the Mississippi, San Francisco on the 

 Sacramento-San Joaquin. These con- 

 centrations of people place great de- 

 mands on the coastal zone. As a re- 

 sult, our industrial, agricultural, 

 commercial, and recreational needs 

 are threatening the health and pro- 

 ductivity of our estuaries. 



My purpose in coming here today 

 is not to alert you to the problems 

 surfacing in the coastal zone. Your 

 presence indicates your awareness of 

 these problems. Rather, I am here 

 to lay before you the unbeaten path 

 of U.S. law and policy which, if 

 properly implemented, might lead us 



toward the goal we recognize today 

 --the proper respect for our estua- 

 ries and their lifeblood: the fresh- 

 water inflows. 



I call the path unbeaten be- 

 cause, although the laws exist and 

 the policy has been enunciated, we 

 have yet to take our first forceful 

 step toward consideration of fresh- 

 water inflows and their recipient 

 estuaries. The first piece of legis- 

 lation to come to mind when mention 

 is made of the coastal zone is, of 

 course, the Coastal Zone Management 

 Act of 1972. Passage of that Act 

 marked congressional recognition of 

 the coastal zone as one of our Na- 

 tion's prized resources. For manage- 

 ment and protection of this resource, 

 Congress naturally looked to the 

 states — the source of local govern- 

 ment zoning power. Since locali- 

 ties derive their power to zone from 

 a state enabling act, the state re- 

 serves the right to require that each 

 locality respect the needs of the en- 

 tire state in its individual master 

 plan. 



This supervisory function is 

 what Congress sought to fund with the 

 Coastal Zone Management Act. Federal 

 funds assist the states in the devel- 

 opment and administration of manage- 

 ment programs designed to ensure that 

 the locality respects the interests 

 of the state and that, in turn, the 

 state respects the interests of the 



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