47 



to halt or minimize further undesirable physical modification of 

 estuaries through dredging, filling, and drainage. 



(3) Immediately establishing and maintaining, if presently 

 lacking, effective interstate, interagency, and State-local coordina- 

 tion of estuarine and coastal management pro-ams. 



(4) Conducting an early evaluation of the impact on the estu- 

 aries as a result of upstream water and related land resource de- 

 velopment and the occurrence and growth of upstream waste 

 discharges, taking into account the interstate nature of particular 

 interstate streams. 



(5) Making an immediate review of the jurisdictional relation- 

 ship between the States and the subordinate units of government 

 in matters dealing with the establishment and enforcement of 

 land-use plans, and the importance of the relationship between 

 land use and the quality of the estuarine and coastal environments. 



(6) Undertaking a thorough review of the present estuarine 

 and coastal management capabilities of the State and its sub- 

 ordinate governmental units for the purpose of identifying steps 

 needed to strengthen the State's long-range management 

 effectiveness. 



(7) Formulating and putting into operation a comprehensive 

 statewide program for the management of its estuarine and 

 coastal resources. 



Recx)mmendations for New State Programs and Organizations 



Effective discharge by the States of the all-important role which 

 they occupy in achieving comprehensive and sound management of 

 estuarine and coastal resources will in many instances re<juire legisla- 

 tion establishing new management authority and organization. 



The exact form such new authority and organization should take 

 may well vary from State to State. Each State's action in this regard 

 will, as it should, reflect its own special political and governmental 

 traditions, the present organization of the State government, and the 

 current division of authority and responsibility between the State and 

 its local governmental units. Moreover, the estuaries themselves vary 

 in their nature and the uses for which each is most suited, the degree 

 to which the estuarine and coastal zone has been developed for various 

 purposes, and the dimensions and complexity of their management 

 problems. These differences, too, suggest that, as they seek more ef- 

 fectively to manage estuarine and coastal resources, the response from 

 the States need not, and should not, be rigidly uniform. 



Indeed the innovations and experiments which the States' responses 

 can be expected to produce are regarded as a positive good and are 

 therefore encouraged. The recommendations which follow should be 

 viewed in that light and also as reflecting and drawing upon the sig- 

 nificant improvements which some States already have instituted m 

 their estuarine and coastal management programs. 



It is recommended that each 8tate^ if it has not dheaxiy done so, 

 take action along the following lines to improve its estuarme and 

 coastal management capability and effectiveness: 



(1) There is a primary need to provide organizational arrange- 

 ments in the State governmental structure with the authority and 



