Legislation
Coastal Zone Management Act
The U.S. Congress recognized the importance of meeting the challenge of continued growth in the coastal zone by passing the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) in 1972. This act, administered by NOAA, provides for the management of the nation’s coastal resources, including the Great Lakes. The goal is to “preserve, protect, develop, and where possible, to restore or enhance the resources of the nation’s coastal zone.” The CZMA outlines three national programs, the National Coastal Zone Management Program, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, and the Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program (CELCP). The National Coastal Zone Management Program aims to balance competing land and water issues through state and territorial coastal management programs, the reserves serve as field laboratories that provide a greater understanding of estuaries and how humans impact them, and CELCP provides matching funds to state and local governments to purchase threatened coastal and estuarine lands or obtain conservation easements. Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972
CZMA by Section
- Section 302 – Congressional findings
- Section 303 – Congressional declaration of policy
- Section 304 – Definitions
- Section 305 – Management program development grants
- Section 306 – Administrative grants
- Section 306A – Coastal resource improvement program
- Section 6217 – Protecting coastal waters
- Section 307 – Coordination and cooperation
- Section 307A – Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program
- Section 308 – Coastal Zone Management Fund
- Section 309 – Coastal Zone Enhancement Grants
- Section 310 – Technical assistance
- Section 311 – Public hearings
- Section 312 – Review of performance
- Section 313 – Records and audit
- Section 314 – Walter B. Jones Excellence in Coastal Zone Management Awards
- Section 315 – National Estuarine Research Reserve System
- Section 316 – Coastal Zone Management Reports
- Section 317 – Rules and Regulations
- Section 318 – Authorization of appropriations
- Section 319 – Appeals to the Secretary
Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program
The Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program, which was established in 1990 by Section 6217 of the Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments, is jointly administered by NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The goal is to reduce polluted runoff to coastal waters. The program establishes a set of management measures for states to use in controlling runoff from six main sources: agriculture, forestry, urban areas, marinas, hydromodification (shoreline and stream channel modification), wetlands, and riparian and vegetated treatment systems. State authorities ensure implementation. All coastal and Great Lakes states and territories that participate in the National Coastal Zone Management Program are required to develop coastal nonpoint pollution control programs. Some of the land use practices recommended to reduce runoff include preserving natural vegetation, avoiding development within sensitive habitats and erosion-prone areas, and limiting impervious surfaces such as pavement, decking, and roof tops as much as possible.
Guidance Documents
Guidance Documents
- Guidance Specifying Management Measures for Sources of Nonpoint Pollution in Coastal Waters (EPA 1993)
- Program Development and Approval Guidance (NOAA and EPA 1993)
- Funding Guidance for State/Territory Expenditure of Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program Implementation Funds (NOAA 2006)
Policy Memos
- Flexibility for State Coastal Nonpoint Programs (NOAA and EPA 1995)
- Final Administrative Changes to the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program Guidance (NOAA and EPA 1998)
- Enforceable Policies and Mechanisms for State Coastal Nonpoint Source Programs (NOAA and EPA 2001)
- Policy Clarification on Overlap of 6217 Coastal Nonpoint Programs with Phase I and II Storm Water Regulations (NOAA and EPA 2002)
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA)
Provide for the conservation and development of water and related resources, to authorize the Secretary of the Army to construct various projects for improvements to rivers and harbors of the United States, and for other purposes.
WRDA
- WRDA 2007
- USACE Guidance (last update: 24 Apr 2015)
- WRDA 2000
- USACE Guidance
- WRDA 1999
- Technical Corrections
- General and Specific USACE Guidance
- WRDA 1996
- USACE Guidance
- Rivers & Harbors Act of 1968
- All other WRDAs, Flood Control Acts and Rivers and Harbors Acts
- Resources Planning Act of 1965 (amended 2000)
- Senate Bill S.601 (Water Resources Development Act of 2013)
Clean Water Act
The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating quality standards for surface waters. The basis of the CWA was enacted in 1948 and was called the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, but the Act was significantly reorganized and expanded in 1972. “Clean Water Act” became the Act’s common name with amendments in 1972.
Section 404 of the CWA regulates the placement of dredged or fill material into wetlands, lakes, streams rivers, estuaries and certain other types of waters. The goal of Section 404 is to avoid and minimize losses to wetlands and other waters and to compensate for unavoidable loss through mitigation and restoration. Section 404 is jointly implemented by EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). The Corps issues Section 404 permits and monitors compliance with the issued permits. Both the Corps and EPA are responsible for on-site investigations and enforcement of unpermitted discharges under CWA Section 404. The joint implementation of the Section 404 enforcement program is outlined in a 1989 Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the agencies.
Section 319
Marine Mammal Protection Act
The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, Amended 1994. The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) protects all marine mammals, including cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), sirenians (manatees and dugongs), sea otters, and polar bears within the waters of the United States.
MMPA
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) was signed on December 28, 1973, and provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or threatened throughout all or a significant portion of their range, and the conservation of the ecosystems on which they depend. The ESA replaced the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969. Congress has amended the ESA several times.