571 



11 



■each of our three Annual Eeports. In our Third Annual Eeport, dated 

 28 June 1974, NACOA recommended that : 



"The National Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 be amended to 

 include the encouragement and support of the research, development, 

 and advisory services by the States needed to provide a basis for care- 

 ful, long-enduring decisions on coastal zone matters. 



"The level of funding under the Coastal Zone Management Act sup- 

 porting matching grants for management be increased to $20 million 

 for fiscal year 1975 and the full $30 million for fiscal year 1976 au- 

 thorized in the legislation. 



"The Sea Grant program, with its current useful emphasis on 

 coastal zone activities, be funded to its authorized level. 



"The Estuarine Sanctuaries program be extended in time, and fund- 

 ing raised to a level consistent with Congressional intent to provide an 

 estuarine sanctuary in each of the identified zoogeographic regions." 



We believe that the recent Administration policy decision to accel- 

 erate the development of the oil and gas resources of the Outer Conti- 

 nental Shelf underscores the importance of these recommendations. 

 Accordingly, we are happy to see that S. 3922 addresses many of them, 

 though we remain concerned about the adequacy of the essential re- 

 search and development and advisory service programs that are im- 

 plicit in the Act. 



The National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere has 

 already expressed support for a similar bill, H.R. 16215 in the House, 

 in a letter to the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oceanography of 

 the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, dated 24 Sep- 

 tember 1974, and I am happy to indicate our support for S. 3922 as 

 progress in the right direction. 

 Sincerely yours, 



Wn.LiAM A. Neerenberg, Chaimnan. 



