1046 



Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to extend my special 

 thanks to Senator Holling, chairman of the Senate National Ocean 

 Policy Study, for his dedicated efforts in developing this legislation 

 and in leading the eli'ort to obtain congressional approval of a final 

 version of the bill. I have had the opportunity to work closely with 

 Senator Hollings over the last 3 years on issues relating to the man- 

 agement of our coastal and ocean resources. His leadership has been 

 a key factor in enabling the Congress to complete action on this bill, 

 and to present to the President a measure which represents a sound 

 balance between our need to identify existing petroleum resources, to 

 protect the environment and to plan for the onshore impact of off- 

 shore oil and gas exploration and development. 



I urge my colleagues to give their full support to the conference 

 report. 



Mr. TuNNEY. Mr. President, I strongly urge my colleagues to ap- 

 prove the conference report on the Coastal Zone Management Act 

 Amendments of 1976. This legislation embodies a comprehensive pro- 

 gram of Federal aid to assist State and local governments to antici- 

 pate and minimize the onshore impact of offshore energy resource de- 

 velopment. It is essential that these amendments be incorporated into 

 the law so that the Nation can aggressively pursue energy self-suffi- 

 ciency in a manner that will preserve the quality of the natural environ- 

 ment and promote efficient allocation of scarce resources. 



As you know, the Senate passed the Coastal Zone Amendments (S. 

 586) on July 16, 1976, by a vote of 73 to 15. This tally represented the 

 Senate's firm commitment to the provisions incorporated in S. 586. As 

 a conferee, I am satisfied that this conference report is an acceptable 

 compromise that preserves the important elements of S. 586. Further- 

 more, the conference report represents legislation that the administra- 

 tion should be willing to sign into law. 



My own State of California advocates prompt positive action on 

 the conference report. California will j^lay a prominent role in the 

 Nation's plans to recover, refine, and distribute offshore energy re- 

 sources. Consequently, heavy demands will be placed upon the fragile 

 environment of California's coastal region. These pressures for ex- 

 peditious industrial development are likely to conflict with alterna- 

 tive uses of the State's coastal resources. The bill Avhich has been 

 reported from conference will help all coastal States, including Cali- 

 fornia, to anticipate and adequately plan for the various onshore 

 impacts of offshore oil and gas production. 



I am pleased that my fellow conferees agreed to language that will 

 assist States to enhance public access to beaches. This issue is par- 

 ticularly important in California where an innovative effort is being 

 made to increase the accessability of coastal-related recreational ac- 

 tivities to the public. 



At the same time, I had hoped that Federal consistency require- 

 ments would be more explicitly extended to include lease sales on the 

 Outer Continental Shelf. The conference report has compromised on 

 this issue due to the threat of a Presidential veto of the entire bill. 



All things considered, the conference report on the Coastal Zone 

 Management Act Amendments of 1976 is timely and vital legislation. 

 I urge my colleagues to vote to approve the conference report. 



