Heanngs 



The House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries sponsored 

 a conference on coastal zone management on October 28-29, 1969.^ In 

 these two days of hearings testimony was received from 26 witnesses 

 partitioned into seven major panels covering a national program for 

 coastal zone management, the need and nature of land use regulation, 

 interstate and intrastate problems in coastal zone management. Federal 

 and State roles in the coastal zone, the Federal focus of coastal zone 

 management, and the Federal action in the coastal zone. The testi- 

 mony revealed the existence of problems, and that remedial action 

 was necessary. The House Committee on Public Works also held 

 hearings on a specific bill, H.K. 14845,^° on December 3, 1969. Testi- 

 mony received at the House hearings further highlighted the prob- 

 lems of the coastal zone. 



The Senate Committee on Commerce held hearings covering S. 2802, 

 S. 3183 and S. 3460 on December 17, 1969; February 9, 10, 17, 18, 24, 

 26, 1970 ; ^^ March 23, 1970 ; April 2, 9, 16, 21, 1970 ; and May 4, 1970.^^ 

 In these 14 days of hearings, 52 witnesses testified and some 82 items 

 of information were received. It was indeed an information-gathering 

 series of hearings, with the problems of the inland definition of the 

 coastal zone, the differences in the Federal and State definition of the 

 coastal zone and the need for flexibility in program management 

 surfacing. 



92nd Congress Proposals 



The Administration's position on coastal zone management changed 

 at the beginning of the 92nd Congress, from one of favoring a coastal 

 zone management program under the Department of the Interior to 

 considering the broader realm of comprehensive land use planning. 

 This change was to have a significant effect upon the coastal zone 

 legislation. 



S. 582 introduced by Sen. Ernest F. Hollings on February 4, 1971 

 and S. 638 introduced by Sen. John Tower on Feb. 8, 1971 were the 

 first principal Senate coastal zone management proposals of the 92nd 

 Congress. Both were referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. 

 These bills put responsibility for the coastal zone management pro- 

 gram in the Department of Commerce's newly organized National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Both bills defined the 

 coastal zone seaward to the outer limits of the territorial sea, an area 

 in which the states had clear authority to act, and inland to the extent 

 that the land was "influenced by the water". The definition of the 

 coastal zone was thus flexible enough to allow for the various condi- 

 tions of each state. In its report of December 1, 1971, the Senate Com- 



»IT.S. Congress. House. Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. Coastal Zone 

 Management Conference. Hearings, 91st Congress, 1st Session on the Washington. D.C. 

 Conference on the Organization, Utilization and Implementation of the Coastal Zones of 

 the United States, including the Great Lakes. Oct. 28, 29, 1969. Washington, U.S. Govt. 

 Print. Off., 1969, 198 pp. 



1" U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Public Works. Coastal Zone Management. Hear- 

 ings. 91st Congress, 1st Session on H.R. 14845, Dec. 3, 1969. Washington, U.S. Govt. 

 Print. Off.. 1970, 48 pp. 



" U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce. Federal Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Organization. Hearings. 91st Congress, 1st Session, on S. 2S41 nnd S. 2S02. Dec. 17, 

 1909 and Feb. 9, 10, 17, 18, 24, 26, 1970. Part I. Washington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 

 1970. 1^771 p. 



^U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Commerce. Federal Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Organization. Hearings, 91st Congress, 1st and 2nd Session on S. 280a S. 2.39.S, S. .SllS, 

 S. 3183 and S. 3460, March 23; April 2, 9, 14, 16, 21 and May 4, 1970. Part 2. Wash- 

 ington, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1970. 77.3-1286 p. 



