development and conduct of waterborne commerce. Coastal harbor improvements include 

 channels and anchorages for both deep-draft and shallow-draft shipping, harbors to provide 

 refuge for small craft, and breakwaters and jetties to provide protection against wave action. 

 Shallow-draft navigation includes commercial fishing, recreational boating, and barge traffic. 

 Improvements of inland waterways consist of deepening, widening and canaUzation where 

 locks and dams are required. In addition, the Corps has the responsibility for administering 

 the Federal laws relating to the protection and preservation of the navigable waters of the 

 United States. These responsibilities include granting permits for structures, not including 

 bridges, in navigable waters; estabUshing regulations for use of navigable waterways; removal 

 of wrecks and other obstructions to navigation, and preventing pollution. Procedures and 

 guidance on permit application can be obtained from the nearest U.S. Army, Corps of 

 Engineers District Office. 



The Corps is also authorized to study, and if economically justified, to aid in the 

 construction of public small-boat harbors and other navigation improvements. This 

 construction is limited to the waterway system of the harbor, namely breakwaters, jetties, 

 general navigation channels, turning basins, and anchorage areas. Under present law, such 

 Federal participation in a small-craft harbor project may be obtained in three different 

 ways, depending on the estimated cost to the Federal Government: (a) if the Federal share 

 of the project is less than $1 million, the project can be approved and funds allocated by the 

 Secretary of the Army acting through the Chief of Engineers (Section 107, 1960 River and 

 Harbors Act, as amended in the 1970 Act), (b) Section 201 of PubUc Law 89-298, 1965, 

 authorizes the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to construct 

 projects with a Federal share of less than $10 million without specific Congressional 

 authorization, if there is little or no controversy over the project, and if approved by 

 resolutions of the PubUc Works Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, on 

 the basis of reports submitted to Congress, and (c) projects in which the Federal share 

 exceeds $10 million must be approved individually by Congress, and then after review and 

 approval by the Appropriation Committees of the Senate and House Committees, be 

 individually funded. The Federal financial share for construction of these general-navigation 

 features, according to present Congressional policy, varies from 100 percent for features 

 serving commercial navigation to 50 percent for purely recreational features. Construction 

 costs for combined harbors are usually prorated according to relative economic benefits. 



Because of background knowledge developed through numerous small-craft harbor 

 studies, the U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers may also be of assistance to any public agency in 

 assessing the need for a new harbor at any given site and in providing advice on permit 

 procedures, even though the project may not quahfy for Federal participation. 



(2) U.S. Coast Guard. This Federal agency is responsible for the regulation of boating 

 and the control of boating safety in all Federal waters. The Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 

 increased the U.S. Coast Guard's responsibility and authority in this field. Initially, the U.S. 

 Coast Guard bore the entire burden of regulation in coastal waters, but the Federal Boating 



220 



