444 



203) , as avwiided (33 U.S.C. 1101-1121^) , is further amended hy adding 

 at the end thereof the following new title : 



TITLE III— MANAGEMENT OF THE COASTAL ZONE 



SHORT TITLE 



Sec. 301. This title may he cited as the ^''Coastal Zone Management 

 Act of 1972'\ 



CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS 



Sec. 302. The Congress finds tliat — 



(a) There is a national interest in the effective manageinent^ hene- 

 ficial use., protection^ and development of the coastal zone ; 



(b) The coastal zo7}e is rich in a variety of natural, commercial., 

 recreational., industrial., and esthetic resowxes of immediate and po- 

 tential value to the present and future well-heing of the Nation; 



(c) The increasing and competing demands upon tlie lands and 

 waters of our coastal zone occasioned hy population growth and eco- 

 nomic development., including requirements for industry., commerce., 

 residential development., recreation., extraction of mineral resources 

 and fossil fuels., transportation and navigation., waste disposal., and 

 harvesting of fish, shellfish., and other living manjw resources., has 

 7'esulted in the loss of living marine resources., wildlife^ nutrient-rich 

 areas., permanent and adverse cluinges to ecological systems., decreas- 

 ing open space for public use., and shoreline erosion; 



{d) The coasted zone., aiul tJie fish., shellfish., other living marine 

 resources., and wildlife therein., are ecologically fragile and conse- 

 quently extremely vulnerable to destruction by man'^s alterations; 



(e) Important ecological, cultural, historic, and esthetic values of 

 the coastal zone which are essential to the well-being of all citizens as 

 being irretrievably damaged or lost; 



(/) Special natural and scenic characteristics are being damaged by 

 ill-plan'ned development that threatens these values; 



(g) In light of competing demands and the urgent need to protect 

 and to give high pnority to natural systems in the coastal zone, par- 

 ent state and local institutional an^angements for planning and re- 

 lating land and water uses in such areas are inadequate ; and, 



(h) The key to inore effective protection and. use of the land and 

 water resources of the coastal zone is to encourage the states to exercise 

 tlieir full authority over the lands and waters in the coastal zone, 

 assisting the states, in cooperation icith Federal and local governments 

 and other vitally affected i^iterests, in developing land and water for 

 programs for the coastal zone, including unified policies, criteria, 

 standards, methods, and processes for dealing icith land and water 

 use decisions of more than loccd significance. 



declaration of policy 



Sec. 303. The Congress finds and declares that it is the national pol- 

 icy (a) to preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to restore, to 

 enhance, the resources of the Nation'' s coastal zone for this and succeed- 

 ing generations, {b) to encourage and assist the states to exercise effec- 



i 



