610 



(b) The coastal zone is rich in a variety of natu- 

 ral, commercial, recreational, ecological industrial, 

 and esthetic resources of immediate and potential 

 value to the present and future well-being of the 

 Nation. 



(c) The increasing and competing demands upon 

 the lands and waters of our coastal zone occasioned 

 by population growth and economic development, 

 including requirements for industry, commerce, resi- 

 dential development, recreation, extraction of min- 

 eral resources and fossil fuels, transportation and 

 navigation, waste disposal, and harvesting of fish, 

 shellfish, and other living marine resources, have 

 resulted in the loss of living marine resources, wild- 

 life, nutrient-rich areas, permanent and adverse 

 changes to ecological systems, decreasing open space 

 for public use, and shoreline erosion. 



(d) The coastal zone, and the fish, shellfish, 

 other living marine resources, and wildlife therein, 

 are ecologically fragile and consequently extremely 

 vulnerable to destruction by man's alterations. 



(e^ Important ecological, cultural, historic, and 

 esthetic values in the coastal zone which are essen- 

 tial to the well-being of all citizens are being irre- 

 trievably damaged or lost. 



(f) Special natural and scenic characteristics are 

 being damaged by ill-planned development that 

 threatens these values. 



(g) In light of competing demands and the urgent 

 need to protect and to give high priority to natural 

 systems in the coastal zone, present state and local 

 institutional arrangements for planning and regu- 

 lating land and water uses in such areas are inade- 

 quate. 



(h) The key to more effective protection and use 

 of the land and water resources of the coastal zone 

 is to encourage the states to exercise their full 

 authority over the lands and waters in the coastal 

 zone by assisting the states, in cooperation with 

 Federal and local governments and other vitally 

 affected interests, in developing land and water use 

 programs for the coastal zone, including unified 

 policies, criteria, standards, methods, and processes 

 for dealing with land and water use decisions of 

 more than local significance. 



(i) The national objective of attaining a greater 

 degree of energy self-sufficiency would be ad- 

 vanced by providing Federal financial assistance to 

 meet state and local needs resulting from new or 

 expanded energy activity in or affecting the coastal 

 zone. (Pub. L. 89-454, title in, § 302, as added Pub. 

 L. 92-583, Oct. 27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1280; and amended 

 Pub. L. 94-370, § 2, July 26, 1976, 90 Stat. 1013.) 



Amendments 



1976 — Subsec. (b) Pub, L. 94-370 added "ecological". 

 Subsec. (1). Pub L. 94-370 added subsec. (i). 



§ 1452. Congressional declaration of policy. 



The Congress finds and declares that it is the 

 national policy (a) to preserve, protect, develop, 

 and where possible, to restore or enhance, the re- 

 sources of the Nation's coastal zone for this and 

 succeeding generations, (b) to encourage and assist 



the states to exercise effectively their responsibili- 

 ties in the coastal zone through the development 

 and implementation of management programs to 

 achieve wise use of the land and water resources 

 of the coastal zone giving full consideration to eco- 

 logical, cultural, historic, and esthetic values as 

 well as to needs for economic development, (c) for 

 all Federal agencies engaged in programs affecting 

 the coastal zone to cooperate and participate with 

 state and local governments and regional agencies 

 in effectuating the purposes of this chapter, and 

 (d) to encourage the participation of the public, of 

 Federal, state, and local governments and of regional 

 agencies in the development of coastal zone man- 

 agement programs. With respect to implementation 

 of such management programs, it is the national 

 policy to encourage cooperation among the various 

 state and regional agencies including establishment 

 of interstate and regional agreements, cooperative 

 procedures, and joint action particularly regarding 

 environmental problems. (Pub. L. 89-454, title III, 

 § 303, as added Pub. L. 92-583, Oct. 27, 1972, 86 

 Stat. 1281.) 



§ 1453. Definitions. 



For purposes of this chapter — 



(1) The term "coastal zone" means the coastal 

 waters (including the lands therein and there- 

 under) and the adjacent shorelands (including the 

 waters therein and thereunder) , strongly influenced 

 by each other and in proximity to the shorelines of 

 the several coastal states, and includes islands, 

 transitional and intertidal areas, salt marshes, wet- 

 lands, and beaches. The zone extends, in Great 

 Lakes waters, to the international boundary be- 

 tween the United States and Canada and, in other 

 areas, seaward to the outer limit of the United 

 States territorial sea. The zone extends inland from 

 the shorelines only to the extent necessary to con- 

 trol shorelands, the uses of which have a direct and 

 significant impact on the coastal waters. Excluded 

 from the coastal zone are lands the use of which 

 is by law subject solely to the discretion or which 

 is held in trust by the Federal Government, its ofll- 

 cers or agents. 



(2) The term "coastal waters" means (A) in the 

 Great Lakes area, the waters within the territorial 

 jurisdiction of the United States consisting of the 



Great Lakes, their connecting waters, harbors, 

 roadsteads, and estuary-type areas such as bays, 

 shallows, and marshes and (B) in other areas, 

 those waters, adjacent to the shorelines, which 

 contain a measurable quantity or percentage of 

 sea water, including, but not limited to, sounds, 

 bays, lagoons, bayous, ponds, and estuaries. 



(3) The term "coastal state" means a state of the 

 United States in, or bordering on, the Atlantic, 

 Pacific, or Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, Long 

 Island Sound, or one or more of the Great Lakes. 

 For the purposes of this chapter, the term also 

 includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, 

 and American Samoa. 



(4) The term "coastal energy activity" means any 

 of the following activities if, and to the extent that 

 (A) the conduct, support, or facilitation of such 



