430 



over a geographic area much larger than this region's estuaries. This 

 latter point appears less important in the case of the Potomac commis- 

 sion, because it has shown special concern with the estuarine portion 

 of the river. That concern, however, has almost solely stressed the pol- 

 lution threat. In both of these agencies, limited financial resources 

 also have curtailed the overall contribution which they can make. 



Although concerned with what clearly are estuarine waters, the au- 

 thority of the Interstate Sanitation Commission extends only to the 

 control of pollution. Also, while it technically has regulatory authority, 

 this may be more apparent than real; for it can compel a polluter to 

 take corrective action only if its order to that effect receives assent from 

 a majority of the commissioners from each member State. Thus, a 

 decision by the commission to order abatement of pollution, or to en- 

 force compliance with such an order, is really a decision by the State in 

 which the polluter is located, and the role of the interstate commission 

 can more properly be described as ministerial in nature. 



Unlike the agencies already discussed, the Delaware River Basin 

 Commission is multipurpose in nature. Moreover, in developing a more 

 comprehensive approach to water resource management, it can employ 

 a broad range of authority, including regulation and operation of its 

 own facilities. It also can exercise regulatory authority on the basis 

 of a simple majority decision by its commissioners. Federal member- 

 ship in the commission also enables it to coordinate Federal and State 

 activities in the basin. To date, however, its concern with the estuarine 

 resources of the basin appear to have been quite limited. It includes 

 adoption of water quality standards for the estuarine portion of the 

 river, the development of a 10-year fisheries research program, the 

 inclusion of certain estuarine resources under its comprehensive devel- 

 opment plan for the basin, and the preparation of plans for a broad 

 study of Delaware Bay, leading to the development of a plan for man- 

 aging its water and related land resources. This limited role pre- 

 sumably reflects a decision to give priority to the river itself. 



Although the Delaware River Basin Commission clearly has the 

 potential to develop into a more significant force for a comprehensive 

 approach to the management of the estuarine resources of that basin, 

 its role in this regard can be expected to emphasize the management of 

 estuarine water resources. This is because its authority to control land 

 use appears to be primarily advisory and recommendatory in nature. 



Compact agencies thus to date have not played an extensive or sig- 

 nificant role in managing the Nation's estuaries. With the exception 

 of the Delaware River Basin Commission, each agency has been pre- 

 dominantly concerned with a single phase of estuarine management 

 problems. In most cases, the agency's concern with estuaries also has 

 been only an incidental part of a broader mission. Finally, the role of 

 most agencies — in law or in fact — ^has been restricted primarily to serv- 

 ice to the signatory States. In other words, the States usually have 

 stopped short of giving the compact agency real decisionmaking and 

 enforcement authority on estuarine management questions and issues. 



POTENTIAL ROLE IN ESTUARINE MANAGEMENT 



What about the role of the interstate compact in the comprehensive 

 national program to manage estuaries more effectively? Can, and 

 should, the compact instrument play a significant part in this emerging 

 program ? The answer to this second question is "Yes," if two condi- 

 tions are met. 



