329 



Departmental Reports 



The following are reports from the various Federal departments 

 and agencies on coastal and estuarine management bills. As a result 

 of the hearings, H.R. 14146 was considered in executive session and 

 ordered reported, with an amendment, as a clean bill. 



Comptroller General, 



OP THE United States, 

 Washington, D.C., April 21, 1971. 

 Hon. Edward A. Garmatz, 



Chainnan, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of 

 Representatives. 



Dear ]\'Ir. Chairman : This is in reference to your letter of Febru- 

 ary 22, 1971, requesting our views on H.R. 2193, entitled "A bill to 

 assist the States in establishing coastal and estuarine zone manage- 

 ment plans and programs." 



We have no special information as to the advantages or disadvan- 

 tages of the proposed legislation and therefore, make no comments 

 as to its merit. However, we have the following suggestions concern- 

 ing specijEic provisions of the bill. 



The act which the bill proposes to amend was approved June 17, 

 1966, and is codified in 33 U.S.C. 1101 et. seq. Consequently, line 8 

 on page 1 of the bill should be changed to read "approved Jmie 17, 

 1966, as amended ( 33 U.S.C. 1101 et. seq. ) ." 



Page 6, line 3, of the bill refers to "Sec. 306." This should be changed 

 to "Sec. 305." 



Page 19, Ime 4, of the bill refers to "Sec. 313." This should be 

 changed to "Sec. 314" and the following section appropriately re- 

 numbered. 



Section 304(b) , page 5, defines coastal and estuarine zone as extend- 

 ing seaward to the outer limit of the U.S. territorial sea. The Inter- 

 national Convention on the Continental Shelf recognizes the sovereign 

 rights of the coastal nation to explore the shelf and exploit its natural 

 resources. Therefore, the committee may wish to consider redefining 

 the coastal and estuarine zone to include the Continental Shelf which 

 the Convention defines as "the seabed and subsoil of the submarine 

 areas adjacent to the coast but outside the area of the territorial sea, 

 to a depth of 200 meters, or, beyond that limit, to where the depth 

 of the superjacent waters admits of the exploitation of the natural 

 resources of the said areas" and "the seabed and subsoil of similar 

 submarine areas adjacent to the coast of islands." 



Section 304(c) , page 5, defines "coastal State" as including Puerto 

 Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the District 

 of Columbia. We assume it is not intended to include the Trust Terri- 

 tory of the Pacific Islands and the Panama Canal Zone. 



Section 305(a), page 6, of the bill authorizes the Secretary of Com- 

 merce to make amiual grants to any coastal State in the development 

 of a management plan and program for the land and water resources 

 of the coastal and estuarine zone, provided that no such grant shall be 

 made under this subsection until the Secretary finds that the coastal 



