BLM plans to continue the accelerated lease schedule during 1976 and 

 will include sales in frontier areas off the southern Alaska and Mid- 

 Atlantic coasts that were postponed in 1975. The first of the frontier area 

 sales — off the south Alaska Coast — was conducted during mid-April 

 1976. 



The practice of advance authorization to industry for drilling test 

 wells to provide knowledge to cooperating companies in the preparation 

 of their lease-tract bids is notable in the preparations for the Atlantic 

 sale as well as for an earlier sale off Texas and the Alaska sale. Like 

 postsale authorization for OCS exploration drilling, the authorization for 

 test wells also contain stipulations that require the sharing of derived 

 data and samples with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). USGS uses 

 this material to make analyses applicable to the evaluation of environ- 

 mental impact as well as to establish fair market values for tracts to be 

 offered in later sales. Federally funded OCS environmental assessments 

 in support of the leasing program are summarized in chapter IV. 



Coastal Zone Management 



The fragility of coastal zone environments and the abuses to which 

 coastal zones had been subjected were major national concerns during 

 the late 1960's. In recent years, the situation has been compounded by 

 the prospect of large-scale tanker traffic, offshore oil drilling, the con- 

 struction of nuclear powerplants, and other activities to ease the na- 

 tional energy crisis. These conditions have led a number of States to take 

 measures to address their coastal zone problems. Coordinated Federal 

 assistance in these efforts became possible in October 1972, with the 

 enactment of the Coastal Zone Management Act. This act authorized 

 grants on a matching-funds basis to the States, for the planning, develop- 

 ment, and implementation of State coastal zone management programs. 

 The Department of Commerce (DOC) is charged with administration of 

 the act and provides guidance and funding support to the States for their 

 management activities through the Office of Coastal Zone Management 

 (OCZM), in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

 (NOAA). 



Every coastal State and territory, with the exception of American 

 Samoa, has now received grants for program development. Many of 

 these States had received second-year continuation grants during fiscal 

 year 1975, and the remainder of the States are expected to receive their 

 second-year funding grants in fiscal year 1976. The second year of 

 program development is expected to result in greater efforts to develop 

 the necessary legal framework for approvable programs. 



During fiscal year 1975, coastal zone management plans were submit- 

 ted to the OCZM by the States of Washington, Oregon, and Maine, and 



