Sea Grant investigator 

 studies coastal act 



Twenty counties in coastal North Carolina are 

 looking to the future — and making history at the 

 same time. They are in the midst of drawing up 

 plans for their future growth, plans that are sort 

 of a blueprint for the way they'd like their lands 

 to look in coming generations. Their action marks 

 the first time in North Carolina's history that a 

 large region of the state has sought to guide its 

 growth and conserve its natural resources. 



The planning undertaken by the counties and 

 their municipalities is one in a series of actions 

 during the past year aimed at putting coastal man- 

 agement in North Carolina on sound footing. 

 Since the Coastal Area Management Act was en- 

 acted last April, a 15-member Coastal Resources 

 Commission, the agency charged with overseeing 

 implementation of the Act, has been active. Public 

 hearings to learn more about areas which should 

 be given special designation as "areas of environ- 

 mental concern" have been held. A 47-member 

 advisory board was appointed to assist in carrying 

 out coastal management. And in late January, 

 guidelines to be followed by local governments in 

 drawing up their plans were announced. 



But even though coastal management appears to 

 be getting off on sound footing today, the real 

 test is not likely to come for more than a year 

 when counties do or do not put their plans into 

 effect, according to Dr. Thomas J. Schoenbaum, 

 UNC associate professor of law. 



"I see a real danger that the plans will be drawn 

 and adopted, but allowed to quietly slip away un- 

 less the law is amended," he said in a January in- 



Counties affected by coastal act 



terview. Under the Act, the law professor ex- 

 plained, local governments are required to draw 

 up plans for growth which must be approved by 

 the state. But whether the law requires localities 

 to stick to their plans could be questioned. 



With the aim of recommending changes which 

 might make the Coastal Act or its administrative 

 guidelines more effective, Schoenbaum has begun 

 a study of the implementation of North Carolina's 

 coastal management program. His research, fund- 

 ed by UNC Sea Grant, is aimed at monitoring the 

 development of county land-and water-use plans 

 and state guidelines to determine how closely they 

 meet objectives set forth by the Act. His recom- 

 mendations will be made available to legislators 

 and other decision-makers. 



The first year of Schoenbaum's proposed two- 

 year project will involve collecting and analyzing 

 all guidelines prepared by the state, the county 

 plans and reports from public hearings on coastal 

 management. He will also keep an eye on the nam- 

 ing of interim and final areas of environmental 

 concern by the Coastal Resources Commission. 



As the law takes effect in 1976, Schoenbaum 

 plans to determine if the plans and guidelines are 

 actually being put into operation. From a series 

 of case studies, he hopes to draw conclusions on the 

 degree to which development is being controlled 

 in areas of environmental concern, the extent of 

 public participation in the planning process, the 

 degree of cooperation among federal, state and 

 local government officials and the adequacy of new 

 agencies or institutions created by the Act. 



The University of North Carolina Sea Grant Program 

 Newsletter is published monthly by the University of North 

 Carolina Sea Grant Program, 1235 Burlington Laboratories, 

 Yarborough Drive, North Carolina State University, 

 Raleigh, N. C. 27607. Vol. 2, No. 3. March, 1975. Dr. B. J. 

 Copeland, director. Dixie Berg, editor. Second-class postage 

 paid at Raleigh, N. C. 27611 



Coastal water is topic 

 of April conference 



The Southeastern Conference on Water 

 Supply and Wastewater in Coastal Areas is 

 set for April 2-4 at the Blockade Runner 

 Motor Hotel in Wrightsville Beach. 



The conference will review the state of 

 the art in coastal water supply manage- 

 ment and wastewater disposal. Some 20 

 speakers representing universities, govern- 

 ment agencies and private planning and 

 engineering organizations who have studied 

 coastal water problems are featured. 



Sponsored by the Coastal Plains Center 

 for Marine Development Services, UNC 

 Sea Grant and the UNC Water Resources 

 Research Institute, the two-day event 

 should be of interest to government offi- 

 cials, financiers and developers active in 

 coastal areas and to citizens concerned 

 about their environment. 



A $15 registration fee can be paid on 

 arrival . 



