1094 



States are engaged in developing the structure of their coastal manage- 

 ment programs. One State — Washington — has just recently olbtained 

 approval from the Secretary of Commerce for its program and will be 

 receiving Federal funds to administer its coastal management effort. 

 Built upon the excellent work being carried out by the States, we 

 have fashioned a bill to update the basic act and further strengthen the 

 balance which we are all seeking. 



It should be noted that the 1972 program was enacted before the full 

 thrust of our energy crisis became evident. Clearly, obtaining a greater 

 degree of energy self-sufficiency is a recognized national objective of 

 the highest importance and priority. 



Yet recent statistics indicate that we continue to move away from 

 that self-sufficiency. For example, for the week ending June 11, 1976, 

 we imported 6.23 million barrels of crude oil per day. This is the high- 

 est level of such imports ever. 



This trend must be reversed. Continued susceptibility to political 

 blackmail from foreign oil-producing nations, rising levels of infla- 

 tion caused by the high cost of energy, and a serious distortion of our 

 balance of payments are just some of the consequences of our heavy 

 dependence on the foreign energy market. 



As chairman of the House Ad Hoc Select Committee on the Outer 

 Continental Shelf — OCS — I have bcome acutely aware of the potential 

 importance of this Nation's offshore oil and gas reserves. Of all domes- 

 tic oil and gas produced, some 17 percent now comes from the Conti- 

 nental Shelf. However, the prospects are that the U.S. Continental 

 Shelf can be the largest domestic source of oil and gas between now 

 and the 1990's. 



At the same time, I have also become aware of the concerns of the 

 coastal States about the onshore impact of this offshore development. 

 Our OCS committee heard testimony from approximately one-third of 

 the Governors of the coastal States of this country. 



Not one wanted to stop our offshore efforts to develop these impor- 

 tant resources. Yet they all noted their apprehension about the popu- 

 lation explosion caused by this energy activity, the necessity for plan- 

 ning, and for new public facilities and services, and the need for 

 Federal aid to assist in balancing our environmental values and energy 

 needs. 



The bill which has come out of our conference coimnittee goes a long 

 way in meeting these requests of the coastal States. Built upon their 

 coastal management work already underway, the States will be eligible 

 to receive financial assistance, through loans, bond guarantees, and 

 grants, to address themselves to the impacts on their fragile coastal 

 areas. 



The coastal energy impact j^rogram, which is the heart of this legis- 

 lation, contains a total authorization of $1.2 billion over a 10-year 

 period ; $800 million of this is in the form of loans and Federal guaran- 

 tees of State and local bonds. Except for those cases in which the State 

 or local government, through no fault of its own, cannot pay for the 

 public facilities or public services rquired or the environmental costs 

 incurred, the Federal Government will be paid back for its investment. 

 A^Hiat we have structured is a program in which needed front-end capi- 

 tal is made available to States affected by energy activity — but a 

 program which is also fiscally responsible. 



