760 



34 



"administrative grants"' unless the State program provides for ade- 

 quat-e consideration of the national interest in the siting of facilities 

 necessary to meet requirements other than local in nature. The Secre- 

 tary of Commerce (throuo;h NOAA) should provide guidance and 

 assistance to States under this section .305(b)(8), and under section 

 306, to enable them to know what constitutes ''adequate consideration 

 of the national interesf' in the siting; of enerjjy facilities necessary to 

 meet requirements other than local in nature. The Committee wishes 

 to emphasize, consistent with the overall intent of the Act, that this 

 new paragraph (8) requires a State to develop, and maintain a plan- 

 ning process, but does not imply intercession in specific siting de- 

 cisions. The Secretary of Commerce (tlirougji XOAA), in determining 

 wliether a coastal State has met the requirements, is restricted to 

 evaluating the adequacy of that process. 



Neither paragraph (7) nor (8) would be applicable as a require- 

 ment under the Act through fiscal year 1978, as stated in section 

 .305(d). The Committee believed that most coastal States would not 

 require this additional time but did not want to place any such State 

 at a possible disadvantage in achieving and maintaining eligibility 

 for the Coastal Zone Management Act funds as a result of these new 

 paragraphs (see also the new subsection (i) of section .306 added by 

 S. .586). 



(6) This subsection amends section .305(c) so as to increase the 

 maximum Federal share of the costs of the development phase of a 

 coastal zone management program to 80 percent from the present 66% 

 percent and further amends that subsection to extend, by 1 year, 

 the time during which a coastal State may receive such grants for 

 develo]:)ment of a program before it must have an approved program 

 in order to continue to receive grants under the act. The increase of 

 Federal participation is necessary to provide the requisite Federal 

 financial support to the coastal States to accomplish the very essential 

 development of coastal zone management programs. The need for this 

 increase is the greater burden on the coastal States brought on by 

 pressures on the coastal zone and the larger outlavs required to develop 

 a coastal manai^ement program which fulfills the basic intent of the 

 Act. S. 586, in its other amendments to the Act, reflects some of these 

 increased pressures and b\irdens. 



Tlic ;M>i(Mul)""iit which gi\os tlie coast '\1 States 4, i-athcT- than 3 years 

 to develop their program is also a reflection of the increases in the 

 complexity of developing a program consistent with the Act. It is 

 also brought on by tlie delav in funding which the Administration 

 provided for the States in the initial year of the Act. 



(7) This snl)secti()n amends sectioji 305(d) to provide, as mentioned 

 previouslv. that the new paragraphs (T) and (8) of section 305(b) 

 sliall not result in a delav of approval of, oi- finding of an incomplete. 

 l)lan mider section 305 and section 306 of the act until September .30, 

 1078, and to provide that the States shall remain eligible for grants 

 under section 305 through fiscal year 1078 for the purpose of develop- 

 ing the plan and process required by .305(b) (7) and (8), pursuant 

 to the ini])lementing regulations. 



This amendment provides additional time to the States to meet the 

 requirements of reafiilations of the Secretarv of Commerce (through 

 NOAA) issued to imi^lement 305(b) (7) and (8). The committee 



