709 



The authorization of $5 million for interstate compacts or regional 

 agreements among States to help solve major Federal-State problems 

 and conflicts and for coordination of coastal zone programs ; 



The provision of $50 million annually for acquisition of lands to 

 provide protection of and access to public beaches and for island 

 preservation ; 



An increase in the Federal sliare for coastal zone program develop- 

 ment and management from two-thirds to 80 percent ; and 



An increase in the authorization for program development grants 

 and for the management of approved programs. 



State officials in Massachusetts, as in other coastal States, face a 

 formidable task in establishing mechanisms for planning for the on- 

 shore impacts of offshore development. In my own State efforts are 

 underway to plan for future growth and development in the coastal 

 zone taking into account the physical capability of the land, the eco- 

 nomic potential of our own State and of the New England region, and 

 the social goals of the people in our area. Planning will be required 

 to identify sites or areas that meet environmental economic and social 

 criteria for facilities related to offshore development. Regional needs 

 ■for the siting of offshore related facilities will also be considered, and 

 tradeoffs between and among the States w411 probably be required. 

 Methods wnll have to be developed within each State for evaluating 

 the siting of offshore related facilities, in relationship to all other uses. 



In addition to siting problems, Massachusetts and New England 

 must take into account relevant policies, resource capabilities and legal 

 and institutional mechanisms. Critical environmental areas that must 

 be protected from such activities will have to be identified. All the 

 work will have to be integrated, not only within each coastal zone pro- 

 gram, but also within tlie context of all State natural resource man- 

 agement programs. 



In Massachusetts this planning process is already well underway. 

 "We have an Energy Facility Siting Council, established in 1973 and 

 expanded last year, with powers to regulate location of electric power- 

 plants and liquefied natural gas storage sites. The New England River 

 Basins Commission has recommended that the Council be further 

 expanded to include control over locations of any refinery operations, 

 and that other States set up similar agencies. The New England 

 Regional Commission is conducting a survey of potential sites which 

 will at least offer a frame of reference for discussion toward a unified 

 approach to siting. Lt. Gov. Thomas O'Neill, in coordination with the 

 New England Commission has convened a conference of all relevant 

 State officials to discuss the issue of offshore development on George's 

 Bank. A Cabinet level task force has ]>een established to oversee the 

 issues pertaining to the potential development of Georges Bank. 



The planning process, and the subsequent implementation of an 

 approved plan, is an expensive and complex process. States like ^lassa- 

 chusetts urgently need the additional resources which will be pro- 

 vided by the Coastal Zone ]\Ianagement Act amendments before us 

 today. 



The provisio7is of the pending amendments will help us in clarifying 

 some of those impacts on land use and the coastal zone. The amend- 

 ments to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, wliich have l>een 

 ordered reported by the Senate Interior Committee and which will be 

 before the Senator shortly, will assist in remedying present inado- 



