987 
gation and mode} study, and the in-depth study of San Francisco 
Bay. ey 
These studies and investigations are multi-agency and multi-dis- 
ciplinary. The involved fields include topography, geology, hydrol- 
ogy, meteorology, oceanology, ecology, biology, hydraulics and 
economics. The planning of public works in the coastal] zone today is 
not simple, if indeed it ever was. Increasing sophistication demands 
increasing research effort and the knowledge gained from research 
further increases sophistication. The pattern is circular and endless. 
The Corps is heavily committed in the research area. The Coastal 
Engineering Research Center and the Waterways Experiment Sta- 
tion are respected worldwide for their contributions to knowledge of 
the coastal zone. Our Great Lakes Research Center is equally known 
and respected by users of the Great Lakes for its continuing research 
into the problem unique to those great inland waters. 
Currently, research efforts are looking into such diverse matters 
as saline intrusion, energy transfer at the air-water interface, spoil 
disposal effects, effects of construction activities on the ecology of 
the coastal zone, ice cover distribution, littoral processes, computer 
simulation of estuary behavior, wave generation, propagation, and 
attenuation, dune stabilization and many others. 
With respect to the Commission’s proposals for changes in Fed- 
eral organization in the coastal zone and on the Great Lakes, it is our 
general belief that the reorganizational proposals need to be ex- 
amined carefully in the broad context of Federal organization and 
the broad environmental and developmental context in which marine 
affairs must find their place. The Commission’s recommendations 
must be weighed carefully in the light of alternative mechanisms. I 
will illustrate this need in my remarks on the coastal zone and the 
Great Lakes. 
In the coastal zone, H.R. 13247 would have a new oceanic agency 
exercising leadership in planning, directing, conducting and sup- 
porting Federal civil activities on the waterward side. 
In our experience, for comprehensive consideration of the values and 
problems in the coastal zone, it is very desirable to have an integrated 
treatment emphasizing both landward and seaward components of this 
very complex area. The landward importance of this important geo- 
graphic area is illustrated by the fact that over 40 percent of our people 
and 12 of our 13 largest cities are located in counties which touch the 
ocean or the Great Lakes. 
The problem involves a multiplicity and diversity of resource, urban, 
economic, environmental and other people-oriented considerations. It 
seems unlikely to us that a single Federal agency can satisfactorily 
take all these factors into account. It seems to use that some type of 
interagency coordinating mechanism will be required to provide the 
necessary multidimensional, comprehensive consideration to the zone’s 
water and related land resource problems. 
One of the existing interagency mechanisms which should be eiven 
careful consideration in the necessary weighing of alternatives, is the 
Water Resources Council. 
The Council, organized under Public Law 89-90, consists of the De- 
partments of Agriculture; Army; Health, Education and Welfare; 
Interior; and Transportation; and the Federal Power Commission. 
26-563—70—pt. 231 
