within 3 miles of shore remain within the licensing 
authority of the Corps of Engineers.) In assessing 
applications for deepwater port facilities, DOT is re- 
quired to give full consideration to their effect on 
other competing terminal facilities. Because of this 
requirement an expanded capability for general port 
analysis will have to be developed within DOT. 
a the next section, Federal aids to navigation and 
es SS) 
Lo, A oe Federal role in aiding and regulating 
g g 
navigation operations emerged early in the history of 
the United States. Although the central function of 
the original I Revenue Marine (the organization estab- 
lished in_1790 and the principal predecessor of the 
Coast Guard) _was-to_police the collection of tariffs 
and_duties, other early Federal initiatives were un- 
dertaken related to the provision of navigation aids, 
vessel safety, and lifesaving. Ultimately these func- 
tions and gthers were integrated into the single 
multimissior, Coast Guard. 
Even before the Revenue Marine was established, 
legislation had been passed creating a U.S. Light- 
house Service to coordinate and maintain a national 
system of marine navigational aids. Before the estab- 
lishment of the Lighthouse Service in 1789, such 
aids were maintained separately by various ports and 
individual States in support of their own trade and 
commerce. Under the 1789 law the Federal Govern- 
ment offered to assume responsibility for the opera- 
tion of such facilities, and soon all U.S. lighthouses 
had been transferred to this new Federal authority. 
Although not a legally specified function in the 
beginning, the Revenue Marine played an important 
informal role from its inception in rendering aid to 
vessels in distress. Frequently in this early period, 
Revenue Cutters figured prominently in ocean rescue 
operations. In 1836 this role was formalized when 
public vessels were specifically directed to render 
aid to persons imperiled at sea, and in 1843 this 
responsibility was expanded to include the preserva- 
tion of cargoes and property. Hence, a function per- 
formed informally in the early years grew quickly 
into one of the major formal responsibilities of the 
Revenue Marine and its successors. 
The shore-based lifesaving operations of the Fed- 
eral Government date from 1848 when an amend- 
ment to a lighthouse appropriation bill was enacted 
which provided for “. . . surfboats, rockers, car- 
ronades . . .” and other equipment to be used by 
volunteers along the New Jersey coast. Soon the sys- 
tem spread to New York, and in 1854 paid station- 
Keepers were authorized. In 1871 the Congress ap- 
propriated funds for surfmen, and; in 1897, the U.S. 
Life-Saving Service was formally organized as a sep- 
arate agency within the Treasury Department. 
With conversion from sail to steam as a major 
safety will be discussed with principal emphasis on 
programs administered by the Coast Guard. The 
fourth major Federal agency with programs that sub- 
stantially influence the development and operation 
of the U.S. port system, the Coast Guard is re 
sible for navigation, safety, and law enforcement_ac- 
tivities that extend to ine 
transportation infrastructure. 
Aids to Navigation and Safety 
marine power source in the 19th Century, a Federal 
role in assuring vessel safety began to emerge. In 
the early period of conversion, explosions were so 
common on steam-powered vessels that demands 
soon developed for some form of Federal regulation. 
In 1838, Congress responded by passing a law re- 
quiring periodic hull and machinery inspection for 
all passenger-carrying steam-powered vessels. In ad- 
dition, requirements relating to lifeboats, firefighting 
equipment, and other safety equipment were also 
imposed on such vessels. Before steamboats were 
legally authorized to carry passengers, they were re- 
quired to obtain certificates of compliance with these 
safety standards. To carry out the provisions of this 
law, inspectors were appointed by U.S. district 
judges. 
In 1852 a new law established a Steamboat In- 
spection Service and imposed further Federal stand- 
ards for passenger-carrying steam-powered vessels. 
In addition, requirements were included for the li- 
censing of steamboat pilots and engineers and oper- 
ating rules to govern vessel passing situations were 
imposed. In 1871, vessel safety requirements were 
expanded to cover non-passenger carrying vessels, 
and licensing requirements were extended to masters 
and chief mates. 
Soon after its establishment a major military re- 
sponsibility also accrued to the Revenue Marine, and 
the mixture of civil and military tasks became a 
central characteristic of the service. With the dissolu- 
tion of the remnants of the Revolutionary Navy just 
before the establishment of. the Revenue Marine, it 
was natural for the new service to assume at least an 
interim naval function until a new Navy could be 
constituted. Resistance to the establishment and 
maintenance of a national naval military force was 
strong among Congressional representatives of south- 
ern and inland districts, and it was not until 1794, 
after a long and bitter debate, that a naval construc- 
tion bill was finally passed. By this time the value 
of the Revenue Marine as an important military 
component of naval preparedness had been estab- 
lished and the dual military/civilian role of the serv- 
‘ice was retained. This mixture of military and civilian 
responsibilities has been a consistent feature of the 
Revenue Marine and the organizations that followed. 
Today the Coast Guard is considered one of the 
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