331 



the States' plans. In either case, the committee may wish to set a spe- 

 cific time limit within which principally affected Federal agencies must 

 submit their views. 



Sincerely yours, 



R. F. Keller, 



Acting Comptroller General 



of the United States. 



CoaiPTROLLER GeNERAL 



OP THE United States, 

 Washington, D.G., June 28, 1971. 

 Hon. Edward A. Garmatz, 



Chainnan, Gommittee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of 

 Representatives. 



Dear Mr. Chairman: By letter of May 5, 1971, you requested our 

 comments on H.E,. 2492, 92d Congress, which would amend the Marine 

 Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966, as amended, 

 to provide for the effective management of the Nation's coastal and 

 estuarine areas by adding title III which, if enacted, would be cited as 

 the ''Coastal and Estuarine Area Management Act." 



We have no information as to the advantages or disadvantages of the 

 proposed legislation and therefore we have no recommendation with 

 respect to enactment. However, we have the following comments con- 

 cerning specific provisions of the bill. 



Section 303 (c) authorizes the Administrator of the National Oceanic 

 and Atmospheric Agency to enter into agreement with any coastal 

 State to underwrite, by guarantee, bonds issued or loans obtained by 

 such State for land acquisition, water development, or restoration 

 projects undertaken by such State in connection with the implementa- 

 tion of a coastal or estuarine management plan. We believe that the 

 bill should prescribe the terms and conditions of the bond issues or 

 loans that may be guaranteed by the Administrator. We also believe 

 that an aggregate principal amount of guaranteed bonds and loans 

 that may be outstanding at any time should be stated in the bill. Fur- 

 ther, assiuning that the appropriations authorized by section 308(b) 

 relate to activities under section 303(c)(2), the bill makes no pro- 

 vision for the possibility that the liability for payments under section 

 303(c) (2) might exceed the amounts appropriated. Also it does not 

 identify the recourse or rights of the Federal Government in the event 

 of any defaults. 



Section 306(5) defines "coastal State" as any of the several States 

 which include coastal or estuarine areas within their boundaiies, the 

 District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and 

 American Samoa. We assume that it is not intended to include the 

 Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands and the Panama Canal Zone. 



Sections 303 (a) and (b) of the bill would provide the Administrator 

 with authority to make grants to any coastal authority to carry out the 

 purposes of the proposed legislation. There is no provision in the bill, 

 however, authorizing the Administrator or the Comptroller General 

 or their representatives to have access to the books and records of the 

 recipients of the Federal grants for the purpose of audit and examina- 

 tion. Such authority is provided to Federal grantor agencies and the 

 Comptroller General with respect to grant-in-aid to States pursuant 



