Attachment A 



THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE 



Washington. D.C. 20230 



August 21, 1973 



Dr. William A. Nierenberg 



Chairman, National Advisory Committee 



on Oceans and Atmosphere 

 Washington, D.C. 20230 



Dear Dr. Nierenberg: 



The National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere 

 (NACOA) has commented extensively on the Nation's civil ocean 

 engineering program in its second annual report. It has made recom- 

 mendations for improved coordination of the Nation's ocean engineer- 

 ing activities and has suggested a number of areas for emphasis. 



I believe that ocean engineering is one of the important elements 

 in the Nation's future posture in ocean affairs. What is needed is an 

 analysis and documentation of the requirements for an ocean engineer- 

 ing effort by the civil agencies of the Federal Government. There are 

 many key questions about a civil ocean engineering program that need 

 answers, such as: 



(a) What specific ocean engineering applications should be ad- 

 dressed by a Federal program to meet national requirements 

 and what are these requirements? 



(b) What are the benefits that can be expected from Federal 

 investments in specific types of ocean engineering? 



(c) To what extent should the Federal Government engage in 

 and support civil ocean engineering activities? 



(d) How should such support be provided in those instances 

 where Federal Government effort is clearly warranted? 



(e) What should be the relative roles of private industry and the 

 Federal Government in fostering ocean engineering? 



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