Managing the Coastal Zone 



NACOA supported the Coastal Zone Management legislation enacted October 

 1972 for two principal reasons. First, the legislation provided strong coupling 

 between the technical and scientific expertise and the management functions 

 needed for the coastal zone. Second, the legislation closely matched, supported, 

 and could be expected to further coastal zone management in many states. But 

 the Act was neither funded in FY '73 nor included in the budget requests for 

 FY '74. In this chapter, NACOA discusses the consequences of delaying imple- 

 mentation on various matters of high national priority, finds them to be costly, 

 and recommends a substantive start in funding existing legislation. 



Introduction 



In the United States, as in other developing nations of the world, aware- 

 ness of the importance and vulnerability of the coastal zone is increasing. 

 The Commission on Marine Science, Engineering and Resources (The 

 Stratton Commission) established clearly the aesthetic, social, economic, 

 and environmental problems pertaining to this complex, dynamic, and yet 

 fragile area and recommended a national program. Many other political, 

 industrial, private, and scientific bodies have reinforced these conclusions — 

 recommending positive action. NACOA in 1972 strongly urged enactment 

 of legislation establishing such a program. In late 1972, Congress passed 

 and the President signed into law P.L. 92-583, the National Coastal Zone 

 Management Act. Subsequently, the Secretary' of Commerce established an 

 office within NOAA to administer the Act. Progress, eagerly sought by 

 many, seemed finally under way. 



Unfortunately, though the National Coastal Zone Management Act had 

 been duly enacted, complete with authorization of expenditures, no ap- 

 propriation was sought in a supplemental FY '73 request or in the budget 

 request for FY '74. The program, presently sustained only by meager 

 caretaker funds squeezed from the beleaguered budget of NOAA, has 

 been suppressed to a very low level. 



24 



