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was not their task. But it is the first order task which faces all of 
us now. 
Tt has been our experience that organization should be adapted to 
the job to be done and we sincerely feel that it would be advantageous 
for all concerned to give primary attention at this time to the program 
substance of the report. Issues relating to organization can then be 
taken up in the context of agreed-upon programs and priorities. I 
would like to mention a few of the program areas of greatest concern 
to the Department of Transportation. 
Of all the recommendations made by the Commission, those per- 
taining to coastal zone management and Great Lakes restoration were 
of the highest order of importance to the Nation. Most of our people 
live near water, salt or fresh. Most of our pressing national problems 
are rooted in the congestion of people and the conflict of needs which 
congestion brings. 
‘We agree with the Commission’s view that management of the 
coastal zone is a State matter, with the Federal role limited to grants 
and providing national policy direction. There are, of course, certain 
national considerations such as navigation and commerce which should 
continue to transcend State authority. An early and authoritative con- 
sultation with the States on how best to develop and redevelop the 
coastal zone is certainly in order. The Department would be-pleased to 
participate in such consultations. 
Our increased emphasis on pollution prevention, detection, and con- 
trol, our development of a National Navigation Plan, our increasing 
port safety and law enforcement work are but a part of what needs to 
be done. 
Certainly, in any ordering of priorities, the abatement of the pollu- 
tion of our waters and our atmosphere rank as major national goals. 
The Great Lakes are in a particularly precarious position and the 
recommendation of the Commission for a pilot program should cer- 
tainly be considered as one step in addressing this problem. 
Another matter that is of major national importance is the determi- 
nation of a regime for the deep ocean floor. I do not have to recapitu- 
late the events which have led to the present activities of the Seabeds 
Committee of the General Assembly. It is important to recognize that 
any regime which is agreed upon will have a great impact, not only 
upon the development of marine resources, but upon the other uses 
of the oceans. 
Since a major use of the oceans is and will continue to be marine 
transportation, it is essential that the regime developed not be incom- 
patible with this use. The world knows very little of what resources 
are recoverable from the oceans. We fear that precipitous decisions 
based only upon fond hopes as to what the oceans might contain would 
do major harm. Our first need is for a timely inventory of these 
resources. 
Tn view of the considerable international interest in the seabeds— 
which has to a large degree been engendered by an as yet unsupported 
appraisal of the ocean’s resource potential—it is essential that we 
proceed now to develop the factual base from which an intelligent and 
workable regime can be derived. 
The Commission very strongly emphasized the need for a better 
understanding of oceanic and atmospheric interrelationships. Among 
