Ch. 1— Summary, Issues, and Options • 35 



such as those authorized by the Coastal Zone Man- 

 agement Act. Private organizations, such as the 

 Coastal States Organization or the National Gover- 

 nors Association, could also serve as a catalyst and 

 guide to States for developing legislative concepts 

 or model seabed mining legislation. 



Congressional Options 



Option 1: Direct the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration's Office of 

 Ocean and Coastal Resource Manage- 

 ment to provide technical assistance and 

 financial support to coastal States' coastal 

 zone management programs to formulate 

 State marine minerals management legis- 

 lation through the Coastal Zone Manage- 

 ment Act, Section 309 grants program. 



Congressional Action: Issue directive through 

 the annual appropriations process. 



Option 2: Direct the Minerals Management 

 Service to provide technical assistance to 

 the States to aid in formulating marine 

 minerals legislation that could provide an 

 interface between marine minerals activ- 

 ities in the ££Z adjacent to the States' 

 territorial seas. 



Congressional Action: Issue directive through 

 the annual appropriations process. 



Option 3: Provide technical assistance and 

 funds to the coastal States to aid in for- 

 mulating marine minerals legislation 

 through seabed minng legislation enacted 

 as a "stand-alone" statute, amendments 

 to Section 8(k) of the Outer Continental 

 Shelf Lands Act, or through a new title 

 in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

 Act. 



Congressional Action: Enact stand-alone leg- 

 islation or amend the Outer Continental 

 Shelf Lands Act. 



Option 4: Rely on the individual initiative of 

 the coastal States to undertake a legisla- 

 tive effort to formulate marine minerals 

 legislation. 



Congressional Action: No action required. 



Advantages and Disadvantages 



Directives to agencies through the annual ap- 

 propriations process are often followed to the 

 minimal extent possible and only apply to the 

 expenditure of funds during the specific fiscal 

 year. Authorizing legislation is probably 

 needed to ensure a continuing, long-term 

 effort. 



