Laserfiche WebLink
<br />~ w <br /> <br />-- In line with President Nixon's reorganization plan, submitted two years <br />ago, the Senate Committee on Government Operations has received a bill to create <br />a Department of Natural Resources and Environment including the present Interior <br />Department and related functions of several other departments and agencies. <br /> <br />-- Land and Water Conservation Fund authorizations would be increased from <br />$300 million to $500 million, with $75 million earmarked for state acquisition of <br />undeveloped islands, under a bill slated for reintroduction by Sen. Jackson. <br /> <br />-- Divergent approaches to wilderness areas in the eastern half of the <br />country will be considered in the Senate. At issue is whether such areas would <br />be subject to the strong protections of the Wilderness Act of 1964. The <br />Agriculture and Forestry Committee will consider Sen. Aiken's bill (S. 22) to <br />create wild areas within the National Forest System. Interior Committee Chairman <br />Jackson will push for designation as wilderness areas under the 1964 Act, as in <br />S. 3692 from last session. <br /> <br />House Interior Committee has received a bill (H.R. 455) to prohibit <br />mineral leasing in wilderness areas. <br /> <br />Grants and loans for acquisition of open-space land under an Urban Park- <br />land Heritage Corporation are proposed in S. 12, introduced by Sen. Harrison <br />Williams. <br /> <br />-- Also introduced were bills to provide demonstration grants to Berkshire <br />County, Mass., to develop county government environmental controls, and to the <br />Army Corps of Engineers, to develop methods of combatting shoreline erosion. <br /> <br />2980 <br /> <br />FEDERAL COASTAL ZONE REGULATIONS <br />TO BE MADE PUBLIC IN FEBRUARY <br /> <br />The nation's first Federal regulations for state coastal zone management <br />programs will be made public by mid-February. <br /> <br />After a period of 60 days to allow interested parties to comment, the. <br />Commerce Department's Office of Coastal Zone Management (OCZM) expects to finalize <br />the regul&tions and put them into effect May 1. <br /> <br />They will define the requirements of state CZM programs, outline goals for <br />the first three years and establish application procedures for Federal grants to <br />run the programs. <br /> <br />OCZM is moving rapidly to make the regulations final to give the 30 coastal <br />states time to apply for fiscal 1973 grants before the June 30 deadline. <br /> <br />The grants -- <br />became law Oct. 27 <br />and administration <br /> <br />authorized by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 which <br />provide up to two-thirds of the total cost for development <br />of CZM programs. <br /> <br />To be eligible, states must broadly define permissible land and water use in <br />coastal zones, inventory critical areas and establish state and local structures <br />to regulate use, control development and resolve conflicts among competing users <br />on a continuing basis. <br /> <br />3 <br />