Strategies in Other States 



The water-use plan Clark outlined for 

 Carteret County was designed to fit into 

 North Carolina's existing legal structure, but 

 other states have handled conflicts in their 

 waters differently. "We have a more 

 regulatory way of dealing with things," 

 Clark says. "In Virginia, they're taking a 

 more educational, proactive approach." 



"We have to focus on education," says 

 Hugo Valverde, environmental planner for 

 the Hampton Roads Planning District 

 Commission and graduate of Duke 

 University's Coastal Environmental 

 Management Program. "Virginia is a 

 'Dillon Rule' state, which means that a 

 locality only has powers that are expressly 



In a recent study, Michael Orbach, right, 

 surveyed shellfish-lease owners and fishers 

 to identify traditional water uses and to help 



classify water areas for possible zoning. 



given to it by statutes from the state. We 

 can't ban Jet Skis." North Carolina is also a 

 Dillon Rule state, but its General Assembly 

 traditionally has granted local governments 

 more freedom. 



"Right now we're looking at the North 

 Landing River, which drains from Virginia 

 Beach into the Currituck Sound of North 

 Carolina," says Valverde. The commission 

 hopes to get groups of water users and 

 regulators — including state and local 

 boating agencies, the Nature Conservancy, 

 wildlife refuge managers, the Coast Guard 

 and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — 

 to look at conflicts between users and to 

 come up with a memorandum of agreement 

 that provides guidelines or visions for 

 participants to follow. But 

 instead of regulating the water 

 uses, Virginia municipalities will 

 have to rely on improving their 

 educational programs. 



"Many people just don't 

 know the boating safety rules or 

 the environmental impacts of 

 what they do on the water," says 

 Valverde. "For boating education 

 and boating safety classes, we'd 

 like to add a section on environ- 

 mental impacts of boating." Such 

 revised courses might teach 

 boaters how to recognize and 

 avoid environmentally sensitive 

 areas, in addition to clarifying 

 boating regulations, no-wake 

 zones and noise laws. 



Educational programs for 

 PWC drivers are already in the 

 works. "In Virginia Beach, the 

 Virginia Marine Science 

 Museum is working on a Jet Ski 

 education program about sea 

 turtles and dolphins" so people 

 will know not to approach or 

 harass the animals, Valverde 

 says. "There's a breeding area for 

 dolphins off Virginia Beach." 



And Virginia can pass 

 water-zoning laws — they just 

 have to come from the state 

 level. In response to several 

 PWC-related accidents, 

 lawmakers from Virginia Beach 



have recently initiated legislation that allows 

 localities to limit the horsepower of PWC 

 offered for rent, says Valverde. 



Last year, the Virginia General 

 Assembly also passed laws that allowed 

 localities to establish minimum standards for 

 insurance carried by PWC rental agencies, 

 raised the minimum PWC operator age 

 from 14 to 16 and required those who are in 

 the business of renting PWC to pass a 

 boating safety course. PWC rental agencies 

 are also required to instruct renters on safe 

 boating practices. 



Virginia is one of only a few Dillon 

 Rule states; many other states, including 

 those on the West Coast, place a greater 

 emphasis on regulation as a way to reduce 

 conflict and protect and maintain their 

 coastal waters. In Washington, one of the 

 states Clark turned to for guidance in 

 developing his model water-use plan, the 

 Shoreline Management Act (SMA) covers 

 all the state's major waters, shores and 

 wetlands and establishes broad guidelines 

 for local governments to follow in develop- 

 ing their own shoreline master programs. 



Washington's SMA gives preference 

 to coastline and water uses that protect water 

 quality and the natural environment, depend 

 on proximity to the water, and preserve 

 public access to the water or increase public 

 recreational opportunities along the coast. 

 Local governments' shoreline master 

 programs are based on these guidelines but 

 may be tailored for the particular geography, 

 economy and environment of each city or 

 county. Local municipalities regulate water 

 uses, but the state reviews local programs 

 and makes permit decisions. 



Local jurisdictions that want to 

 improve their shoreline master programs or 

 increase public access may also apply for 

 money from Washington's Coastal Zone 

 Management grant program. Funds are 

 administered by the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration and by the 

 state's Department of Ecology. In the past, 

 grant monies have been used to revitalize 

 crumbling waterfronts, collect data on 

 critical wetland and estuarine habitats, and 

 sponsor educational programs about coastal 

 systems or shoreline management regula- 

 tions. 



18 EARLY SUMMER 1999 



