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"Mr. LoESCH. Thank you very much. 

 [The statement follows :] 



'Statement of Harbison Loesch, Assistant Seceetaby, Public Land Manage- 

 ment, Department of Intebiob 



"Mr. Chairman and m'embers of the subcommittee, thank you for this op- 

 portunity to discuss briefly S. 582 and S. 638, similar bills whose purpose it is 

 to assist coastal States in their management of estuaries and the coastal zone. As 

 the Committee recognized in scheduling these hearings, the coastal zone issue 

 cannot be considered apart from pending proposals for a national land use 

 policy. 



In our report to the Committee, we note in some detail the specific provisions 

 of S. 582 and S. 638. They are quite similar to draft legislation supported last 

 year by the Department of the Interior and reflect a well-founded conviction 

 that effective management of land and water resources can best be promoted 

 by encouraging the States to accept broadened responsibility for land use 

 planning and management. Under S. 582 and S. 638, the Secretary of Commerce 

 would be authorized to share with coastal States their costs in the development 

 and administration of a coastal zone management program. 



Studies conducted by this Department pursuant to the Federal Water Pollu- 

 tion Control Act and the Estuary Protection Act of 1968 confirmed our fears 

 that, in the absence of effective protective measures, the finite resources of our 

 coastal and estuarine areas are threatened by population growth and economic 

 development. We observed to this Subcommittee a year ago yesterday that "what 

 is happening in the coastal zone of America represents the basic, but too often 

 ignored, conservation issue throughout the United States — the lack of wise 

 use, without abuse, of our land and water". Also recognizing that land use 

 problems are not limited to the coastal zone, the Council on Environmental 

 Quality last August expressed "a need to begin shaping a national land use 

 policy." 



Chairman Train has already spoken of this Administration's commitment 

 to a national land use policy. In his message of February 8, "Program for a 

 Better Environment", Presid'ent Nixon discussed the relationship of his land use 

 proposal to the question of coastal zone management : "This proposal", he said, 

 "will replace and expand my proposal submitted to the last Congress for coastal 

 zone management, while still giving priority attention to this area of the coun- 

 try which is especially sensitive to development pressures." 



Like S. 582 and S. 638, S. 992 would authorize cost-sharing grants both for 

 program development and program management. Our proposal differs from those 

 bills directed solely to the coastal zone, however, with respect to the scope of a 

 State's planning activity and, indeed, the number of States eligible for assist- 

 ance. The National Land Use Policy Act of 1971 would recognize, nonetheless, 

 that land iise pressures and the conflicts they cause are most intense at the 

 point where land meets water. To assure that coastal zone and estuarine man- 

 agement receive the priority attention of coastal States, S. 992 would identify 

 the coastal zones and estuaries as "areas of critical environmental concern 

 iind require that a State's land use program include a method for inventorying 

 :and designating such areas. Further, the Secretary of the Interior, charged with 

 responsibility for administration of Federal assistance, would be authorized to 

 •jnake grants for program management only if State laws affecting land use in 

 rthe coastal zone and estuaries ai-'e adequate for protection of their aesthetic and 

 <^cological values. Perhaps most important in terms of State action is the 

 provision that $100 million would be allocated over five years under regulations 

 which must take into account the nature and extent of States' coastal zone 

 and estuaries. 



As the hearings of this Subcommittee have shown, there is a great and grow- 

 ing concern for protection of the Nation's coastal zone and estuaries. That con- 

 cern, we believe, must extend to land use problems within a much broader 

 context. The Committee is no doubt aware that many of the conflicts felt at 

 water's edge have their origins further inland, and that only comprehensive 

 planning can alleviate the growing pressure. While coastal zone planning is 

 needed, we must also recognize that land use decisions cannot be made effective 

 in the absence of a State-wide policy. The States seem willing to accept this 

 challenge, and the President is committed to a more extensive policy affecting 

 land use throughout the United States. Having learned from the State's growing 



