66 



This problem, essentially an institutional and political one, should 

 be dealt with decisively. Clearly the coastal zone reflects a collection 

 of serious environmental problems. It is faced with excessive density 

 of population, constantly increasing industrialization; never-ending 

 revenue demands, and mounting waste disposal and pollution prob- 

 lems. 



Is this legislation important? I suggest we ask 151 million Amer- 

 icans (U.S. census estimate for May^l: 204,663,000 in U.S.) for a 

 staggering 75 percent of our population lives in the coastal States. 

 And over the last 30 years tlie population of the coastal coimties has 

 increased by 78 percent, compared with a national growth rate of 40 

 percent. Further, we expect the population in this area to more than 

 double again in just 50 years. So we do face an urgent need for action. 

 Obviously these large metropolitan centers demand and attract a 

 great variety of industrial and service activities. 



We are facing serious challenges in providing facilities to meet tlie 

 requirements of this surging population — such as powerplants, hous- 

 ing and transport,ation systems. To meet these needs demands vision 

 and anticipation of needs, not just reaction. 



Our coastal beaches, and increasingly our estuaries, are attracting 

 millions of Americans for all forms of recreation. But the concentra- 

 tion of recreation in our coastal zone has in most places become so 

 intense that the people who go there and the resources that take the 

 pressure are often shortchanged. And, while our coastal areas are as 

 beautiful as they are varied, these values are too often ignored, and 

 they receive inadequate consideration in the marketplace. 



Equally as important, the estuaries of America's Coastal Zone are 

 rich in vast quantities of both plant and animal life. And at least two- 

 thirds of all our Nation's commercial and sport fisheries are dependent 

 on the estuaries. In addition, wildlife and birds are critically depend- 

 ent on our estuaries, for these marshes and wetlands provide them with 

 plentiful food and shelter. 



The estuarine zone, where fresh water meets the sea, and the lands 

 above and beneath its waters form a complex ecological system. But 

 great areas of this system are being destroyed by poor planning. 



The environment of the coastal zone is threatened in two basic 

 forms : Pollution of its water and the physical alteration and destruc- 

 tion of its lands by housing, industry and transportation development. 

 The Everglades, San Francisco Bay, and Chesapeake Bay are pointed 

 examples of what manmade pressures do to these limited resources. 



Industrial and metropolitan sewage, agricultural pollution and in- 

 discriminate discharge of waste are the basic causes of this pollution. 

 Residential and industrial development, often aided by shortsighted 

 zoning practices, or even no zoning, are compounded by the dredging 

 and filling of the wetlands. 



Adding to the complexity of these problems are local land use prac- 

 tices, too often shaped by the tax structures of local governments 

 which depend on the property tax for their revenue base. Considering 

 the small revenues available to local governments in the face of their 

 many vital needs, their problem is very understandable. And many of 

 their problems result from the fact that local governments are forced 

 to depend heavily upon the development of land as their major source 

 of revenue. This creates a vicious circle resulting in unwise use of land 

 by encouraging local governments to zone just to increase revenues. 



