552 



review of its operations with the idea of introducing any needed 

 changes to make it even more valuable in achieving wise use of the land 

 and water resources of the coastal zone for this, as well as succeeding 

 generations. In the meantime, I urge the support of all Members in 

 the enactment of this current bill to provide for the changes, the need 

 of which has already been demonstrated. 



(Mr. MosHER aslied and was given permission to revise and extends 

 his remarks.) 



Mr. MosHER. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleague, the chairman of the 

 Oceanography Subcommittee (Mr. Downing), in urging support of 

 H.R. 16215. 



On November 26, 1974, the Committee on Merchant Marine and 

 Fisheries approved H.R. 16215 with an amendment. This bill would 

 make four changes in the Coastal Zone Management Act. 



Item 1 of H.R. 16215 amends subsection (e) of section 305 of the 

 act by adding : 



And provided further, that the Secretary shall waive the application of the one 

 per centum minimum requirement as to any grant under this section, when the 

 coastal State involved requests such a waiver. 



As it is presently written, the act guarantees that no State shall 

 receive a section 305 planning grant that is smaller than 1 percent of 

 the total amount appropriated for such grants during any fiscal year. 

 As the applications for grants must justify the expenditure of the 

 planning funds, a problem has arisen for some small States, territories, 

 and possessions. Some applicants do not need an amount equal to this 

 1-percent minimum and cannot justify its expenditure or come up 

 with matching funds. 



So, rather than protecting the smaller States, as was intended, the 

 minimum grant requirement might even prevent a State from having 

 any program. Our proposed change will allow States to plan on a scale 

 suited to their needs and ability to pay. The minimum funding protec- 

 tion will be retained, as the request for a waiver would have to origi- 

 nate with the coastal State. 



Section 2 of H.R. 16215 amends subsection (b) of section 306 of the 

 act. As it presently reads, the act sets maximum and minimum grant 

 sizes for the moneys appropriated for the purposes set forth in section 

 306. During the first year when section 306 grants are awarded, the 

 10-percent limit to maximum grant size could result in considerable 

 difficulties due to the small number of States that will qualify to receive 

 grants. 



Under the present law, if only one State has it 306 program ap- 

 proved, the Congress would have to approve an appropriation 10 times 

 greater than the amount needed. H.R, 16215 would delete the 10-per- 

 cent maximum and substitute a monetary figure. In fiscal 1975, the 

 maximum would be set at $2 million. For fiscal 1976, the maximum 

 would be reased to $2.5 million. During fiscal 1977, the last year of the 

 present Coastal Zone Management Act, the maximum would go up to 

 $3 million. 



Subsection (b) of section 306 of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

 would be further amended to allow the Secretary of Commerce to 

 waive the 1-percent minimum grant level upon receipt of a State's 

 request. 



Section 3 of H.R. 16215 as amended would amend subsection (a) 

 of section 315 of the Act. It would raise the authorized level of spend- 



