The Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) of 1972 (16 U.S.C. §§ 1451 et seq.)
established a voluntary national program through which U.S.
states and territories can develop and implement coastal zone management plans (USFWS
2003a). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), under the
Secretary of Commerce, administers this act.
States and territories
use coastal zone management plans “to manage and balance competing uses of and
impacts to any coastal use or resource” (NOAA 2000). A coastal zone management
plan must be given federal approval before the state or territory can implement
the plan (USFWS 2003a). The plan must include, among other things, defined
boundaries of the coastal zone, identified uses of the area that the
state/territory will regulate, a list of mechanisms that will be employed to
control the regulated uses, and guidelines for prioritizing the regulated uses.
Currently, there are 34 U.S. states and territories with federally approved
coastal zone management plans. These states and territories manage 153,500 km
(99.9%) of U.S. shoreline along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic Oceans as well
as the Great Lakes (NOAA 2003).
The CZMA also
instituted a Federal Consistency requirement, which provides Federal agencies
with restrictions concerning their behavior in relation to state and territory
managed coastal zones. Federal agency actions that affect any land or water use
or natural resource of the coastal zone (e.g., military operations, outer
continental shelf lease sales, dredging projects) must be “consistent to the
maximum extent practicable” with the enforceable policies of a state or
territory’s coastal management program (Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization
Amendments of 1990). The Federal Consistency requirement was enacted as a
mechanism to address coastal effects, to ensure adequate Federal consideration
of state and territory coastal management programs, and to avoid conflicts
between states/territories and Federal agencies by fostering early consultation
and coordination (NOAA 2000). Within each state or territory coastal zone
management plan is a list of the Federal agency activities for which Consistency
Determinations must be prepared. Under certain circumstances, the President is
authorized to exempt specific activities from the Federal Consistency
requirement if they determine that the activities are in the paramount interest
of the U.S. |
