 |
In 1972, Congress approved the Coastal Zone Management Act creating
the National Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program. The CZMP is a federal-state partnership
for protecting, restoring, and responsibly developing the nation's important and diverse
coastal communities and resources. This is the mission of the National CZM Program and its 34
state and territory-based Coastal Management Programs.
Through the responsibilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) described in the CZMA, the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource
Management (OCRM) works with the coastal and Great Lakes states and U.S. island territories
to develop and carry out coastal management programs. Under the programs, states and territories
agree to work toward balancing the conservation and development of coastal resources using state
and territorial management authorities, thereby providing for the sustainable development of the nation's coasts.
OCRM approved California's Coastal Management Program (CCMP) in 1976.
Three state agencies share the responsibility for carrying out the California
Coastal Management Program: the California Coastal Commission (Coastal Commission),
the Bay Conservation
and Development Commission (BCDC), and the State Coastal Conservancy (SCC).
The Coastal Commission is the lead agency responsible for carrying out California’s
federally-approved coastal management program (the CCMP).
With an approved program, these state agencies are eligible to receive
federal funding for coastal management. Federal approval also confers to the
CCMP an unparalleled right to negotiate with federal agencies to ensure that
projects that affect the coastal zone are consistent with the CCMP.
This authority is called federal consistency review.
|
|
|
The Bay Conservation and Development Commission
In 1965, the California legislature created the San Francisco Bay Conservation
and Development Commission (BCDC) to protect San Francisco Bay. The McAteer-Petris Act of 1969 made BCDC
a permanent state agency, resulting in the first state coastal management program in the country
and the world. The legislature further enhanced the Bay's management program with the 1976 Suisun Marsh
Preservation Act, which ensured protection of California's largest remaining wetland and directed BCDC
to carry out a protection plan. These two acts, like the Coastal Act, are also an integral part of the
state's coastal management program.
BCDC's enabling legislation focuses on:
- Limiting fill of the Bay
- Increasing public access to and along the Bay
- Providing for water-oriented uses such as ports, airports,
water-related industry, wildlife refuges, and recreation.
The State Coastal Conservancy
The California State Coastal Conservancy (SCC), created in 1976, develops
and executes programs to protect, restore, and enhance resources in the coastal zone and San
Francisco Bay. The SCC complements the regulatory activities of the CCC and BCDC with its
authority to acquire land, design and implement resource restoration and enhancement programs,
and resolve coastal land use conflicts.
The Conservancy's work is concentrated in the following areas:
- Land acquisition
- Public access
- Resource restoration
- Resource enhancement
- Urban waterfront improvement and restoration
- Land use conservation and site reservation
- Agricultural land preservation
- Non-profit support.
|
|
