920 

 34 



Because of the increased demands which this portion of H.R. 3981 

 presents to the states, the Conuiiittee has agreed with the suggestion 

 that the federal percentage be increased to 80 percent. This brings 

 the matching ratio in line with other federal planning assistance 

 programs such as the 701 program of the Department of Housing 

 and Urban Development. Many states testified to the increasing diffi- 

 culty of coming up with the one-third matching share, given the 

 extreme financial hardships facing many states. Since a program 

 such as the coastal zone management effort may not appear to bring 

 immediate results, it unfortunately is the type of activity susceptible 

 of cuts in budget curtailments. The Committee feels that the ulti- 

 mate importance of coastal zone management cannot be underesti- 

 mated and wants to demonstrate its belief by providing this higher 

 federal share. 



As an aside, the increased percentage may well allow the one miss- 

 ing entity to participate. American Samoa has told officials at NOAA 

 that it is not taking part now because it is unable to raise the one-third 

 matching sum. 



It is because of the new requirements under section 305 that the 

 Committee has raised the authorization from $12 million per year to 

 $24 million. In the original version of the bill, the sum recommended 

 was $20 million. The Oceanography Subcommittee accepted Congress- 

 man Ruppe's suggestion that erosion planning be added to section 305 

 requirements. The Committee therefore increased the sum available 

 to $24 million ; while there is no "earmarking" intended of this last 

 increase of $4 million, it does give some measure of the seriousness 

 with which the Committee regards the erosion problem, particularly in 

 the Great Lakes. 



b. As stated above, the experience in a number of states in the coastal 

 zone program has been that the managers were unable to locate readily 

 qualified personnel. They found a lack of persons with the training 

 in both planning processes and the marine field. 



The Committee has remedied this situation by the Coastal Research 

 and Technical Assistance provision (new section 310). Under it, $5 

 million per year is authorized for direct 80 percent grants to the states 

 for short-term research needs and for the training needed to obtain 

 the necessary personnel. 



Another $5 million is authorized for the same basic purposes to be 

 spent by the Office of Coastal Zone Management directly. The idea 

 here is that there may be national or regional research or training 

 needs which NOAA can support, while the states would have assistance 

 in meeting their own particular needs. 



In the research area, state programs have found their needs to 

 be immediate, in view of the short time schedule they are on. For ex- 

 ample, states need answers right away to identify areas of particular 

 concern or to determine uses that directly affect the coastal waters 

 (as required by section 305). In order to obtain this information 

 through a university research program might require considerable 

 lead time for such a project to fit into the ongoing research activities. 



Therefore, the Committee concluded state program managers need 

 an independent authority to acquire the data they need on a short- 

 term basis to help them meet the requirements of the Act. This need 

 will remain even with the addition of a year and the new "prelimi- 

 nary approval" phase in section 305. 



