254 



In Cliesai^eake Baj^, an area of immediate concern to me, shoreline 

 erosion caused by development has directly affected waterborne com- 

 merce, farmers, and fishermen. Deposits of silt have reduced water 

 depths 2.5 feet over a 32-square-mile area at the north end of the bay. 

 Roughly one-half of the oyster grounds in the upper bay have been 

 destroyed or shifted downstream by sedimentation. 



In order to encourage the coastal States to protect shorelands and 

 estuarine watere, the bill authorizes the Secretary to make grants of 

 up to two-thirds of the cost of developing management programs. The 

 measure provides that management programs must specify the boun- 

 daries of the coastal zone, identify the permissible land and water uses 

 within the zone so as to preclude uses having an adveree impact, and 

 specify how control will be exerted over land and water uses within 

 the coastal zone. 



Wlien a management program has been developed and approved, the 

 bill authorizes grants of two-thirds of the cost of administering the 

 program. 



Finally, the bill authorizes grants of up to 50 percent of the cost of 

 acquisition, development, and operation of estuarine sanctuaries. These 

 provisions contemplate the creation of field laboratories for the col- 

 lection of data and the study of natural processes occurring in estuaries. 

 Such research should be of material assistance in establishing a rational 

 basis for the intelligent management of coastal and estuarine zones. 



Mr. President, I would be remiss if I failed to thank the committee, 

 and especially the distinguished Senator from South Carolina (Mr. 

 HoLLiNGs) for accepting the suggestion I offered during the commit- 

 tee's consideration of the bill to require State certification of activities 

 requiring a Federal license or permit. 



This pro^dsion parallels a requirement in the Federal Water Pollu- 

 tion Control Act that applicants needing a Federal license or permit 

 must obtain a certificate from the State water pollution control agenc^^ 

 that there is reasonable assurance that the activity in question will not 

 violate applicable water quality standards. It seems entirely reasonable 

 to have a comparable provision in this legislation to guard against 

 development that is inconsistent with a coastal zone m.anagement 

 program. 



It has been a pleasure to have been actively involved in the deve.lo]i- 

 ment of this bill. Its enactment would serve to protect and restore the 

 vast resources of the coastal zone, an objective that is deserving of the 

 highest national priority. 



Mr. President, I again commend the Senator from South Carolina 

 (Mr. HoLLiN'Gs) not only for working initially on this bill, but also 

 for having it recommitted and for bringing it back to the floor today 

 in which I consider to be a much better form than when the bill was 

 initially introduced. 



Mr. BoCxGS. Mr. President, I wish to express my support for S. 8507, 

 the National Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. This legislation 

 provides significant benefits for every coastal State. It offers these 

 States an opportunity to develop a legal framework "to preserve, pro- 

 tect, deA^elop, and, where possible, to restore the resources of the 

 Nation's coastal zone for this and succeeding generations." 



The Committee on Public "Works, on which I have the honor to 

 serve, authorized a study of pollution in the estuarine areas at the 

 time the committee reported the Clean Water Restoration Act of 196fi. 



