shall specifically identify all information that they consider not to be subject to public disclosure under the terms of Public Law 92-205 and provide reasons in support thereof. A determination as to whether or not reported information is subject to public dissemination shall be made by the Administrator. § 908.13 Address of letters.

Letters and other communications intended for the Administrator, in connection with weather modification reporting or activities, shall be addressed to: The Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Environmental Modification, Rockville, Md. 20852.

§ 908.14 Business to be transacted in writing.

All business transacted with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with regard to reports of weather modification activities should be transacted in writing. Actions of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be based exclusively on the written record.

All reports filed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration must be dated and signed by or on behalf of the person conducting or intending to conduct the weather modification activities referred to therein by such person, individually or, in the case of a person other than an individual, by a partner, officer, or other person having corresponding functions and authority. For this purpose "officer" means a president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, or comptroller. Notwithstanding the foregoing, such reports may also be signed by the duly authorized agent or attorney of the person whose activities are being reported. Proof of such authorization shall be furnished to the Admin

istrator when filing a report, unless previously furnished.

§ 908.17

Suspension or waiver of rules.

In an extraordinary situation, any requirement of these rules may be suspended or waived by the Administrator on request of the interested party, to the extent such waiver is consistent with the provisions of Public Law 92-205 and subject to such other requirements as may be imposed.

§ 908.18 Matters not specifically provided for in rules.

All matters not specifically provided for or situations not specifically addressed in these rules will be decided in accordance with the merits of each case by or under the authority of the Administrator, and such decision will be communicated in writing to all parties involved in the case.

§ 908.19

Publication of notice of proposed amendments.

Whenever required by law, and in other cases whenever practicable, notice of proposed amendments to these rules will be published in the FEDERAL REGISTER. If not published with the notice, copies of the text of proposed amendments will be furnished to any person requesting the same. All comments, suggestions, and briefs received within the time specified in the notice will be considered before adoption of the proposed amendments, which may be modified in the light thereof. Informal hearings may be held at the discretion of the Administrator.

These rules are effective November 1, 1972.

(a) Any person engaged in a weather modification activity on the effective date shall furnish the initial report required under § 908.4 within 30 days from the effective date, appropriately modified as circumstances may require.

(b). Any person intending to engage in a weather modification activity scheduled to commence less than 40 days from the effective date of these rules may furnish the required report under § 908.4 as late as 30 days following such effective date.

(c) The explanatory statement required by § 908.4 (c), pertaining to late reports, need not be submitted with the initial reports in the above cases.

(a) With the advent of the United States of America Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, operated and controlled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, a satellite environmental data collection capability will become available to meet national requirements.

(b) The environmental data collection system includes the NOAA Command and Data Acquisition (CDA) Station (Wallops, Va.) and the spacecraft which collects information from radio equipped environmental sensor platforms, and conforms to applicable standards and regulations established by NOAA and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

(c) The use of the data collection system of the operational environmental satellites operated and controlled by NOAA will be limited to the collection of environmental data in accordance with applicable ITU regulations concerning use of the allocated frequency bands. Environmental data are defined as observations and measurements of the physical, chemical, or biological properties of the oceans, rivers, lakes, solid earth, and atmosphere (including space).

(d) Users of the environmental data collection system-Government agencies, academic institutions, industry-will be responsible for the costs of the environmental sensors and platform, the radio equipment required to provide the communications link between the environ

2 Filed as part of the original document.

mental sensor platform and the satellite, and any unique equipment/communications required to receive the data at the user's facility.

(e) Design characteristics of the environmental data collection system on the spacecraft require that users conform to technical standards established by NOAA. A use agreement will be required between NOAA and the using agency. This agreement will contain, but will not be limited to, statements as to (1) the period of time the agreement in valid and procedures for canceling it, (2) conformance with ITU agreements and regulations, (3) required equipment standards, (4) standards of operation, (5) priorities for use, (6) reporting times and frequencies, (7) data formats, (8) data delivery systems and schedules, and (9) user-borne costs.

AUTHORITY: Sec. 305, Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (Pub. L. No. 92-583; 86 Stat. 1280).

SOURCE: 38 FR 33045, Nov. 29, 1973, unless otherwise noted.

§ 920.1

Subpart A--General

Policy and objectives.

(a) This part establishes guidelines on the procedures to be utilized by coastal States to obtain development grants under section 305 of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, Pub. L. 92-583, 86 Stat. 1280, and sets forth policies for the development of coastal zone management programs.

(b) Coastal zone management programs developed by the States shall comply with the policy of the Act; that is, the program must give full consideration to ecological, cultural, historic, and esthetic values, as well as to needs for economic development.

As used in this part, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated below:

(a) The term "Act" means the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, Pub. L. 92-583, 86 Stat. 1280.

(b) "Coastal zone" means the coastal waters (including the lands therein and thereunder) and the adjacent shorelands (including the waters therein and thereunder), strongly influenced by each other and in proximity to the shorelines of the several coastal States, and includes transitional and intertidal areas, salt marshes, wetlands, and beaches. The zone extends, in Great Lakes waters, to the international boundary between the United States and Canada and, in other areas, seaward to the outer limit of the U.S. territorial sea. The zone extends inland from the shorelines only to the extent necessary to control shorelands, the uses of which have a direct and significant impact on the coastal waters. Excluded from the coastal zone are lands the use of which is by law subject solely to the discretion or which is held in trust by the Federal Government, its officers or agents.

(c) "Coastal waters" means (1) those waters, adjacent to the shorelines, which contain a measurable quantity or percentage of seawater, including but not limited to, sounds, bays, lagoons, bayous, ponds, and estuaries; and (2) in the Great Lakes area, the waters within the territorial jurisdiction of the United

States consisting of the Great Lakes, their connecting waters, harbors, roadsteads, and estuary-type areas such as bays, shallows, and marshes.

(d) "Coastal State" means a State of the United States in, or bordering on, the Atlantic, Pacific, or Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, Long Island Sound, or one or more of the Great Lakes. For the purposes of these guidelines, the term also includes Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.

(e) "Estuary" means that part of a river or stream or other body of water having unimpaired connection with the open sea, where the seawater is measurably diluted with freshwater derived from land drainage. The term includes estuary-type areas of the Great Lakes.

(f) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Commerce or his designee.

(g) "Management program” includes, but is not limited to, a comprehensive statement in words, maps, illustrations, or other permanent media of communication, prepared and adopted by the State in accordance with the provisions of these guidelines, setting forth objectives, policies, and standards to guide and regulate public and private uses of lands and waters in the coastal zone.

(h) "Water use" means activities which are conducted in or on the water within the coastal zone.

(i) "Land use" means activities which are conducted in or on the shorelands within the coastal zone.

§ 920.3 Applicability of air and water pollution control requirements. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, nothing in this part shall in any way affect any requirement (a) established by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended, or the Clean Air Act, as amended, or (b) established by the Federal Government or by any State or local government pursuant to such Acts. Such requirements shall be incorporated in any program developed pursuant to these guidelines and shall be the water pollution control and air pollution control requirements applicable to such program.

Subpart B-Content of Management
Programs

followed to facilitate references to the Act. It is not required that this sequence be rigorously followed in developing the management program and in carrying out the specific tasks contained therein. It is anticipated and acceptable that the approach taken for development of programs will vary. These guidelines should not be interpreted as limiting State approaches or the contents of their management development grant applications.

(b) Section 305(b) required the inclusion of six elements in the initial development of State coastal zone management programs. These minimum requirements are set forth below with accompanying commentary that is designed to guide State responses to these key provisions of the management program development grant effort.

(c) It is anticipated that an environmental impact statement will be prepared and circulated on a State's management program prior to its approval by the Secretary of Commerce, in accordance with the terms of the National Environmental Policy Act and its associated administrative regulations. The Secretary will prepare and circulate an environmental impact statement on the basis of an environmental impact assessment and other relevant data, prepared and submitted by the individual States. § 920.11 Boundaries of the coastal zone.

Section 305 (b) (1) requires the management program to include "an identification of the boundaries of the coastal zone subject to the management program." The definition of the coastal zone in the Act recognizes that no single geographic definition will satisfy the management needs of all coastal States, because designation of the coastal zone for management purposes must take into account the diverse natural, institutional, and legal characteristics that are subject to decisions made in fulfillment of other requirements of the Act and this subpart. Determination by a State of the extent of the coastal zone of that State landward from the shoreline presents a very important conceptual and operational issue for State study, analysis, and decision. The following factors should be considered:

(a) In order to develop an orderly and effective management program, States my wish initially to delineate a planning area which generally is larger than, and

encompasses the area ultimately identified as the coastal zone. Such a two-step procedure would enable a State to undertake planning studies and policy development for a relatively broad region aimed at a later final determination of the smaller coastal zone where specific land and water use controls, regulations, and active management activities will be applied. Demographic, economic, developmental, and biophysical factors and their analysis, which will largely determine State management activities in coastal waters and the landward and seaward areas and uses affecting them, are likely to be based upon data, programs, and institutional boundaries (such as counties or areawide agencies) that encompass geographic areas larger than the coastal zone designation. Specific coastal zone programming and regulation must take into account current developmental, political, and administrative realities, as well as biophysical processes, that may be external to the restricted zone eventually selected for direct management control.

(b) The coastal zone for management purposes extends inland only "to the extent necessary to control shorelands, the uses of which have a direct and significant impact on the coastal waters." However, the States are encouraged to take early and continuing account of existing Federal and State land/water use and resource planning programs. In addition, States may wish to anticipate a national land-use policy, including its application in their State, unless the State coastal zone management program applies to the entire State. States may also wish to anticipate the desired coordination between the coastal zone and proposed land use or broad resource management programs. Examples of some related statewide policies and programs which will affect and should be considered in making determinations under the Act include: Energy policy, siting of power plants and other major water-dependent facilities, surface and subsurface mineral extraction controls, overall land and water conservation policies, and many others.

(c) Lands the use of which are by law subject solely to the discretion of, or which are held in trust by the Federal Government, its officers or agents are excluded from the coastal zone. However, section 307(c) of the Act requires

Federal agencies conducting or supporting activities in the coastal zone to conduct or support those activities in a manner which is, to the maximum extent practicable, consistent with approved State management programs. Furthermore, before the Secretary can approve a management program, he is required under section 307 (b) to consider the views of Federal agencies principally affected by the management program. States having excluded Federal lands in coastal zone must indicate the manner in which they will coordinate with Federal officials administering such lands in the development of their management program. § 920.12

Permissible land and water uses which have a direct and significant impact on coastal waters.

Section 305(b) (2) of the Act requires that the management program include "a definition of what shall constitute permissible land and water uses within the coastal zone which have a direct and significant impact on coastal water." In determining permissible uses, States should give consideration to “requirements for industry, commerce, residential development, recreation, extraction of mineral resources and fossil fuels, transportation and navigation, waste disposal, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, and other living marine resources." As stated in the declaration of congressional policy, these uses are to be managed "giving full consideration to ecological, cultural, historic, and esthetic values as well as to needs for economic development." Developing indices for determining environmental and economic impact-beneficial, benign, tolerable, adverse-is the first essential analytical and policy step needed to give substance and clarity to those uses which are "permissible." Some of the factors involved in this determination include location, magnitude, the nature of impact upon existing natural or man-made environments, economic, commercial, and other "triggering" impacts, and land and water uses of regional benefit. In responding to this requirement, therefore, the following general types of study and evaluation should be undertaken utilizing existing data and available analysis where possible:

(a) Determining criteria and measures to assess the impact of existing, projected, or proposed uses or classes of

uses on the identified coastal environments;

(b) Categorizing the nature, location, scope, and conflicts of current and anticipated coastal land and water use or classes of uses;

(c) A continuing compilation, verification, and assessment of the general characteristics, values, and interrelationships within coastal land and water environments.

In establishing permissible uses, States must also be cognizant of the requirement in section 306(c) (8) of the Act that the management program must provide "for adequate consideration of the national interest involved in the siting of facilities necessary to meet requirements which are other than local in nature." The State must have adequate processes for providing such adequate consideration.

§ 920.13 Geographic areas of particular

concern.

Section 305(b) (3) of the Act requires that the management program include "an inventory and designation of areas of particular concern.' ." The inventory and analysis of the States' total costal zone in § 920.12 should provide the basic data analysis, and criteria necessary to identify specific geographic areas of particular concern. It should be noted that geographic areas of particular concern are likely to encompass not only the more-often cited areas of significant natural value or importance, but also: (a) Transitional or intensely developed areas where reclamation, restoration, public access and other actions are especially needed; and (b) those areas especially suited for intensive use or development. In addition, immediacy of need should be a major consideration in determining particular concern. While the States will vary in their perceptions of what areas are of particular concern, criteria derived from assessing the following representative factors will assist in these designations:

(1) Areas of unique, scarce, fragile, or vulnerable natural habitat, physical feature, historical significance, cultural value, and scenic importance;

(2) Areas of high natural productivity or essential habitat for living resources, including fish, wildlife, and the various trophic levels in the food web critical to their well-being;