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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1452. Congressional declaration of policy
The Congress finds and declares that it is the national policy -
(1) to preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to
restore or enhance, the resources of the Nation's coastal zone
for this and succeeding generations;
(2) to encourage and assist the states to exercise effectively
their responsibilities 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 ecological, cultural, historic, and
esthetic values as well as the needs for compatible economic
development, which programs should at least provide for -
(A) the protection of natural resources, including wetlands,
flood plains, estuaries, beaches, dunes, barrier islands, coral
reefs, and fish and wildlife and their habitat, within the
coastal zone,
(B) the management of coastal development to minimize the
loss of life and property caused by improper development in
flood-prone, storm surge, geological hazard, and erosion-prone
areas and in areas likely to be affected by or vulnerable to
sea level rise, land subsidence, and saltwater intrusion, and
by the destruction of natural protective features such as
beaches, dunes, wetlands, and barrier islands,
(C) the management of coastal development to improve,
safeguard, and restore the quality of coastal waters, and to
protect natural resources and existing uses of those waters,
(D) priority consideration being given to coastal-dependent
uses and orderly processes for siting major facilities related
to national defense, energy, fisheries development, recreation,
ports and transportation, and the location, to the maximum
extent practicable, of new commercial and industrial
developments in or adjacent to areas where such development
already exists,
(E) public access to the coasts for recreation purposes,
(F) assistance in the redevelopment of deteriorating urban
waterfronts and ports, and sensitive preservation and
restoration of historic, cultural, and esthetic coastal
features,
(G) the coordination and simplification of procedures in
order to ensure expedited governmental decisionmaking for the
management of coastal resources,
(H) continued consultation and coordination with, and the
giving of adequate consideration to the views of, affected
Federal agencies,
(I) the giving of timely and effective notification of, and
opportunities for public and local government participation in,
coastal management decisionmaking,
(J) assistance to support comprehensive planning,
conservation, and management for living marine resources,
including planning for the siting of pollution control and
aquaculture facilities within the coastal zone, and improved
coordination between State and Federal coastal zone management
agencies and State and wildlife agencies, and
(K) the study and development, in any case in which the
Secretary considers it to be appropriate, of plans for
addressing the adverse effects upon the coastal zone of land
subsidence and of sea level rise; and
(3) to encourage the preparation of special area management
plans which provide for increased specificity in protecting
significant natural resources, reasonable coastal-dependent
economic growth, improved protection of life and property in
hazardous areas, including those areas likely to be affected by
land subsidence, sea level rise, or fluctuating water levels of
the Great Lakes, and improved predictability in governmental
decisionmaking;
(4) to encourage the participation and cooperation of the
public, state and local governments, and interstate and other
regional agencies, as well as of the Federal agencies having
programs affecting the coastal zone, in carrying out the purposes
of this chapter;
(5) to encourage coordination and cooperation with and among
the appropriate Federal, State, and local agencies, and
international organizations where appropriate, in collection,
analysis, synthesis, and dissemination of coastal management
information, research results, and technical assistance, to
support State and Federal regulation of land use practices
affecting the coastal and ocean resources of the United States;
and
(6) to respond to changing circumstances affecting the coastal
environment and coastal resource management by encouraging States
to consider such issues as ocean uses potentially affecting the
coastal zone.
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