§ 1452. — Congressional declaration of policy.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC1452]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 33--COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT
Sec. 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.
(Pub. L. 89-454, title III, Sec. 303, as added Pub. L. 92-583, Oct. 27,
1972, 86 Stat. 1281; amended Pub. L. 96-464, Sec. 3, Oct. 17, 1980, 94
Stat. 2060; Pub. L. 101-508, title VI, Sec. 6203(b), Nov. 5, 1990, 104
Stat. 1388-301; Pub. L. 102-587, title II, Sec. 2205(b)(2), Nov. 4,
1992, 106 Stat. 5050.)
Amendments
1992--Par. (2). Pub. L. 102-587 made technical amendment to
directory language of Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 6203(b)(1). See 1990
Amendment note below.
1990--Par. (2). Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 6203(b)(1), as amended by Pub.
L. 102-587, substituted ``as well as the needs for compatible'' for ``as
well as to needs for''.
Par. (2)(B). Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 6203(b)(2), substituted ``likely
to be affected by or vulnerable to sea level rise, land subsidence,''
for ``of subsidence''.
Par. (2)(C) to (J). Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 6203(b)(3), redesignated
subpars. (C) to (I) as (D) to (J), respectively, and added subpar. (C).
Par. (2)(K). Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 6203(b)(4), added subpar. (K).
Par. (3). Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 6203(b)(5), inserted ``including
those areas likely to be affected by land subsidence, sea level rise, or
fluctuating water levels of the Great Lakes,'' after ``hazardous
areas,''.
Pars. (5), (6). Pub. L. 101-508, Sec. 6203(b)(6), added pars. (5)
and (6).
1980--Pub. L. 96-464, in amending section generally, expanded
declaration of policy to provide for higher level of protection for
significant natural coastal resources and inserted provisions for
special area management planning to increase predictability for
necessary coastal-dependent economic growth, improve hazard mitigation,
and improve predictability in government decisionmaking.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1455, 1455a, 1458 of this
title; title 43 section 1337.
