507 



development, including requirements for industry, commerce, residential develop- 

 ment, recreation, extraction of mineral resources and fossil fuels, transportation 

 and navigation, waste disposal, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, and other living 

 marine resources, have resulted in the loss of living marine resources, wildlife, 

 nutrient-rich areas, permanent and adverse changes to ecological systems, de- 

 creasing open space for public use, and shoreline erosion. 



"(e) That the coasfal and estuarine zone, and the fish, shellfish, other living 

 marine resources, and wildlife therein, are ecologically fragile and consequently 

 extremely vulnerable to destruction by man's alterations. 



"(f) That present land and water uses in the more populated coastal areas 

 do not adequately accommodate the diverse requirements of the coastal and 

 estuarine zone. 



"(g) That in light of competing demands and the urgent need to protect our 

 coastal and estuarine zone, the institutional framework responsible is currently 

 diffuse in focus, neglected in importance, and inadequate in regulatory authority. 



"(h) That the key to more effective use of the coastal and estuarine zone is 

 the introduction of a management system permitting conscious aud informed 

 choices among alternative uses. 



"(i) That the absence of a national policy and an integrated management and 

 planning mechanism for the coastal and estuarine zone resource has contributed 

 to the impairment of the Nation's environmental quality. 



"declaration of policy 



"Sec. 303. Congress finds and declares that it is the policy of Congress to pre- 

 serve, protect, develop, and where possible to restore, the resources of the Nation's 

 coastal and estuarine zone for this and succeeding generations. The Congress 

 declares that it is necessary to encourage and assist the coastal States to exercise 

 effectively their responsibilities over the Nation's coastal and estuarine zone 

 through the preparation and implementation of management plans and programs 

 to achieve wise use of the coastal and estuarine zone through a balance between 

 development and protection of the natural environment. Congress declares that 

 it is the duty and responsibility of all Federal agencies engaged in programs 

 affecting the coastal and estuarine zone to cooperate and participate in the pur- 

 poses of this Act. Further, it is the policy of Congress to encourage the partici- 

 pation of the public and Federal, State, and local governments in the development 

 of coastal and estuarine zone management plans and programs. 



"definitions 



"Sec. 304. For the purposes of this title — 



"(a) 'Estuary' means that part of a river or stream or other body of water 

 having unimpaired natural connection with the open sea, where the sea water is 

 measurably diluted with fresh water derived from land drainage, or with the 

 Great Lakes. 



"(b) 'Coastal and estuarine zone' means the land, waters, and lands beneath 

 the waters near the coastline (including the Great Lakes) and estuaries. For 

 purposes of identifying the objects of planning, management, and regulatory pro- 

 grams the coastal and estuarine zone extends seaward to the outer limit of the 

 United States territorial sea, and to the international boundary between the 

 United States and Canada in the Great Lakes. Within the coastal and estuarine 

 zone as defined herein are included areas and lands influenced or affected by 

 water such as, but not limited to, beaches, salt marshes, coastal and intertidal 

 areas, sounds, embayments, harbors, lagoons, in-shore waters, rivers, and 

 channels. 



"(c) 'Coastal State' means any State of the United States in or bordering on 

 the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans, gulf coast, Long Island Sound, or the 

 Great Lakes, and includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

 Samoa, and the District of Columbia. 



"(d) 'Secretary' means the Secretary of Commerce. 



"(e) 'Estuarine sanctuary' is a research area, which may include waters, lands 

 beneath such waters, and adjacent uplands, within the coastal and estuarine zone, 

 and constituting to the extent feasible a natural unit, set aside to provide scien- 

 tists the opportunity to examine over a period of time the ecological relationships 

 within estuaries. 



