357 



upon by any department of the Government, investigate, examine, ex- 

 periment, and report upon any subject of science or art, the actual 

 expense of such investigations, examinations, experiments, and reports 

 to be paid from appropriations which may be made for the purpose, but 

 the Academy shall receive no compensation whatever for any service 

 to the Government of the United States." 



The NAS and the NAE contribute to the development of knowledge 

 of the Nation's estuaries through their respective Committee on 

 Oceanography (NASCO) and Committee on Ocean Engineering 

 (NAECOE). The most recent contribution of the NASCO and 

 NAECOE, acting in concert, has been the conduct, at the request and 

 under the sponsorship of the Federal Water Pollution Control Admin- 

 istration, of a meeting : "Coastal Waste Management," held in June 

 1969. This session is described elsewhere in this report ; the final result- 

 ant document will be published by the Academies early in 1970. The 

 purpose of this meeting was to examine the following questions : 



(1) Wliat is known about the impact of wastes on the oceans? 



(2) What is known about the magnitude of the impact the ma- 

 rine environment can tolerate ? 



(3) What is our present capability to predict future impact of 

 wastes on the coastal ocean environment ? 



(4) What investigations should be undertaken in order to im- 

 prove our ability to handle the above questions? 



The National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of 

 Engineering have a history of significant contributions to knowledge 

 necessary to develop a sound system of management for the estuaries 

 and will continue to offer valuable guidance in the future by bringing 

 together in appropriate groups the most competent scientists and 

 engineers in the country to deal broadly with scientific and engineering 

 problems in estuaries and to exchange information in the furtherance 

 of research. 



CATEGORY 4 : PLANNING, COORDINATING, AND LICENSING PROGRAMS 



These are the Government agencies whose functions lie generally in 

 the field of planning, coordinating, or licensing. Their activities as they 

 relate to or affect the estuarine zone are briefly described. 



The Water Resources Council 



The Water Resources Council, established in the Water Resources 

 Planning Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-90) awards planning grants to 

 the States for their comprehensive planning in the development of 

 water and related land resources, including estuarine resources. This 

 planning considers that the Nation's estuaries and coastal areas are 

 mseparably related to their watersheds and to the rivers which supply 

 them with fresh water. These watershed relationships determine the 

 characteristics of estuaries and coastal areas and influence their use- 



