897 
[From the Offshore Technology Conference] 
The Marine Resources Program of the 
Coastal Plains Regional Commission 
By 
Joscph M, McCabe, Coastal Pinins Regional Commission 
Offshore Technology Conference on vehalf of American Institute of Mining, Metallurplenl, and 
Petroleum Engineers, Inc., The American Association of Petroleum Geologists, American Institute 
of Chemical Nngineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, The Americnn Soctety of Mechanicnt 
Engineers, The Institute of Hiectricsal and Electronics Enginecrs, Inc., Marine Technolory Sockety, 
Society of Explorntion Gcophysicists, and Society of Naval Architects & Marinn Eneineers. 
This paper was prepared for presentation at the First Annual Offshore Technology Conference to 
be held in Houston, Tex., on May 18-21, 1969. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of 
not more then 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. Such use of an abstract should contain 
conspicuous »cknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. 
Abstract 
The Coastal Plains Regional 
Commission, chartered on July 29, 1967, is 
a multi-state regional action planning com- 
mission whose purpose is to foster and induce 
orderly, accelerated economic growth in the 
Coastal Piains of North Carolina, South 
Carolina and Georgia 
Resources Program which has been developed 
by the Commission staff and the Marine Re - 
sources Advisory Committee. This paper 
explores briefly each sub-area in the program: 
Recreation, Sports fishing, Commercial fish- 
ing, Minerals and Chemicals, Transportation, 
Research and Development, and Land and Water 
Use Planning. The balance of this paper fo- 
cuses on those activities of the Commission 
| which relate to offshore mining. 
The Commission is a Federai-State 
partnership. it was established pursuant to 
Title V, Public Works and Economic Develop 
ment Act of 1965. The membership of the 
Commission is composed of a Federal Co- 
chairman, appointed by the President, and 
the Governors of the respective states, one 
of whom is State Cochairman. 
A Nation of Regions 
In 1965, the Joint Economic Committee 
| of the U. S. Congress issued a report, stating: 
"Although economic expansion benefits most of 
the Nation by providing more income and jobs, 
| it pasacs by some regions of the country." 
This paper explains the rational of 
the regional approach to economic develop- 
ment planning. It describes the Commiss- 
ion's goal and the progress which it has made 
in its six target areas: Transportation, 
Agriculture, Tourism, Training, Industrial 
Development, and Marine Resources. This 
paper describes in some detail the Marine 
In 1966, President Johnson warned "The 
cities will never solve their problems unless 
we solve the problems of the towns and smaller 
areas." 
In 1967, the Republican Coordinating 
Committee's Task Force on Job Opportunities 
