THE NATIONAL ESTUARINE
POLLUTION STUDY
VOLUME
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
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THE NATIONAL ESTUARINE
POLLUTION STUDY
Volume I
A Report to the Congress
U. S. Department of the Interior • Federal Water Pollution Control Administration
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TABLE OF CONTENTS - VOLUME I i
PART I. Introduction 1-1
PART II. Summary and Conclusions 11-1
PART III. Recommendations — The Proposed
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Part I
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1-1
This place without all question is the most pleasant and
healthful place m all this country arid must convenient for habi-
tation
It aboundeth with all manner of fish The Indians in one
night will catch thirty sturgeons in a place where the river is
not above twelve fathoms broad. And as for deer, buffaloes,
bears, turkeys, the woods do stuarni with them, and the sot I is
exceedingly fertile.
From the journal of Capt.
Henry Fleele, the first white
man to sail the Potomac
River, Washington, D. C ,
1632
Man has had a long and intimate association with the sea. It
has borne his commerce and brought food to his nets; Its tides
and storms have shaped the coast where his great cities have
grown; the broad estuaries have provided safe harbors for his
ships; and the rhythm of its tides has taught him the mathematics
and science with which he now reaches for the stars.
Throughout recorded history the sea and its estuaries have
been used as a limitless resource; now, however, the impact of
man on his environment has taxed the resources of many estutrine
zones to the limit of endurance and reached into the depths of
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For three hundred years the estuarine zones of this continent
have provided the harbors through which a grownrm nation's con-
feree noved and around which ureat centers of pooulation and
industry developed. The fisheries of the estuaries and neigh-
boring oceans yielded a variety of staple and exotic foods to
feed the burgeoning population, while the adjacent farmlands
benefited fror: equitable tei'ineratures and seepage of water
throughout the estuarine zones.
These three hundred years of unrestrained exploitation have
seen the world of the estuarine zone evolve i>to three distinct
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There is first the natural eco-
system, a dynamic biophysical
environment of land, water, and
life, which follows a steady
evolutionary pattern of its own,
except when man has changed it.
Its elements taken together com-
prise the total ecology of the
estuary.
The second is the socio-economic
environment, the user's world, a
system of social and economic
pressures directed toward exploit-
ation of the natural environment,
either by ignoring what happens
to it, modifying it deliberately,
or using it in its natural state.
Thirdly, there is the institu-
tional environment. This is the
realm of law, a system composed
of those devices man has created
in the form of law and organiza-
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Increasinq use and misuse of the Nation's estuaries have created
and intensified many problems. Once productive shell fisheries
have been completely smothered by sedimentation or closed by
pollution; once deep and beautiful harbors are silted up and
unnavlgable, except for carefully marked dredged channels; pas-
sage of anadromous fish is blocked by polluted estuarine zones;
thermal discharges affect entire ecosystems; diversion of rivers
has caused salt water intrusion into ground water; and untreated
or inadequately treated municipal and industrial waste discharges
have damaged fisheries, added to siltation, and made many areas
unsuitable for the increasing recreational use the present soci-
ety demands.
There was little awareness of the danger to future generations
as long as the ability of the natural environment to absorb the
effects of the socio-economic environment seemed unlimited, and
the problems of pollution and environmental damage were isolated.
But now, in the second half of the 20th century, the entire
Nation must face the results of those three hundred years of
exploitation and weld the three estuarine environments into a
national program to preserve, study, use, and develop the estua-
rine zone. Action is needed now. The purpose of this Study is
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1-5
THE STUDY DIRECTIVE
The Congress, 1n passing the Clean Water Restoration Act of
1966 (Public Law 89-753), Section 5(g), directed the Secretary
of the Interior to study the problems surrounding pollution of
the estuarlne zone, and to make recommendations to the Congress
for an effective national estuarlne management program 1n v/hich
the Federal, State, and local governments, as well as public and
private interests, will have clearly defined responsibilities.
The recommended program was to be based on a careful evaluation
of existing relationships among the three estuarine environments;
the effects of pollution on uses, and also the effects of demo-
graphic and use trends on pollution of the natural environment
were to be considered.
All existing pertinent information was to be assembled, coordina-
ted, and organized to serve as a factual base for the study, and
additional investigations and surveys were to be carried out to
supplement existing information. The study was to be conducted
in cooperation with other Federal agencies, State and local gov-
ernments, and other institutions and individuals. Everyone with
an interest in the estuarine zone was to be consulted.
The report was to include not only the recommendations for a
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estuaries 1n the economic and social environment and the effects
of pollution on the natural ecosystem. A discussion of the
major economic, social, and ecological trends was to show what
the future might hold; and recommendations were to be made for
research and study to acquire basic knowledge needed to manage
future trends.
EXTENT OF THE ESTUARINE ZONE
The geographical scope of this study was stated in the Clean
Water Restoration Act in this manner: "... the term 'estu-
i
arine zones' means an environmental system consisting of an
estuary and those transitional areas which are consistently
influenced or affected by water from an estuary such as, but
not limited to, salt marshes, coastal and intertidal areas,
bays, harbors, lagoons, inshore waters, and channels, and the
term 'estuary' means all or part of the mouth of a navigable
or Interstate river or stream or other body of water having
unimpaired natural connection with open sea and within which
the sea water is measurably diluted with fresh water derived
from land drainage."
Explicitly Included in these definitions is all of the strip
of land and water where the continent and the islands meet
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are no embayments and where there 1s no land runoff. Yet even
these have already felt the Impact of the expanding socio-econ-
omic environment, as the recent oil well blowout off Santa
Barbara, Calif., demonstrated.
Implicit 1n the study directive 1s the charge to develop a pro-
gram to protect the Nation's coastal land and water resources
from the impact of pollution, and other disruptive pressures of
the expanding social and economic environment, in the coastal
region of the Nation. The Investigations of this study and the
recommendations presented in this report therefore Include con-
sideration of man's impact on the entire coastal environment,
whether it occurs in a bay, or marsh, or along an ocean beach.
The term "estuarine zone", as used in this report, refers to the
geographic zone including the coastal counties between the land-
ward limit of tidal influence and the three-mile limit to seaward.
Nevertheless, the true limits of the estuarine zone differ for
each of the three major environmental systems that make up the
estuarine environment. The dissimilarity between the definition
and the actual zone of influence of the estuarine zone constitutes
one of the major problems a national estuarine management program
faces.
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of tidal influence to the measurable seaward effect of fresh
water runoff. This may vary in width from a few yards off
some parts of the California coast to fifty miles off the
Mississippi Delta.
The geographic range of the social and economic estuarlne envi-
ronment, the user's world, depends solely on man's ability and
need to get to and use the estuarlne environment. In terms of
direct use, everything between the head of navigation landward
and in sight of land seaward would be included.
The limits of the estuarlne institutional environment are those
of the political subdivisions that Include parts of the estua-
rine zone. This includes the 274 coastal counties, the 24
coastal States, the Territories, the District of Columbia, a
variety of interstate compacts and commissions, and the Federal
Government.
The landward and seaward limits of the estuarine zone used in
this study were set for the purposes of collecting and analy-
zing Information pertinent to the study. The limits do not
suggest that this zone can be isolated from either the upland
rivers or the ocean, nor that this zone can be managed effec-
tively without recognizing the problems in these and other
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THE NATIONAL ESTUARINE POLLUTION STUDY
The Congressional assianment to the Secretary of the Interior
was delegated to the Federal Water Pollution Control Administra-
tion. The Administration established an Office of Cstuaririe
Studies {now the Estuarine and Oceanographic Proorams Branch)
to carry out the study as directed by the Conoress.
Immediate steps wrre taken to insure that all interested parties
could participate actively. Representatives of each Bureau
chief in the Department of the Interior formed an hoc Estua-
rine Advisory Committee, which was later formalized into an
advisory grouo to the Office of Marine Resources. Each Federal
Executive uepartment Head and each coastal State or Territorial
Governor designated a representative to coordinate their partic-
ipation. National scientific, cultural, and user organizations
were invited to participate, and 30 public meetings were held
throughout the estuarine zone to obtain the views of individual
citizens. Numerous consultations were held with groups and
individuals expressing interest:
All of these groups and individuals were asked to assist by
providing information and opinion about the value, use, and pol-
lution of the estuarine resource. The Federal Water Pollution
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agencies in collecting information, anJ other Feieral aqencies
provided information collected by or through then. Some ?2
contracts were negotiated to obtain particular types of informa-
tion and to prepare case studies of specific estuarine systems.
To organize and coordinate the vast a.nount of quantitative infor-
mation, an automated information storage and retrieval system,
tne National Estuarine Inventory, was developed. The list of
information to be included in the Inventory was developed with
the cooperation of all Department of the Interior agencies and
represents a consensus of what the department reqards as the
basic information necessary for effective estuarine management.
The recommended national inanaqement program (Part III), prob-
ably the sincile most inportant result of tiie stjdy, was reviewed
at tv/o staqes by the coastal States and all concerned ^eral
aqencies. The Department of Interior aqencies have reviewed
not only the recommended proqram, hut ?lso the discussions of
supporting material leadinq to thp recommended national Droqram.
(Parts II, IV, V, and VI).
ORGANIZATION OF TIE REPORT
The report is organized to ooint out the relationsnip of the
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within the estuarine zone, and also to point out that technical
management is a different matter from institutional management,
even though there is a strong dependence between them.
Part II, "Summary and Conclusions," presents a summary of infor-
mation (presented in more detail in Parts IV and VI) leading
to the recommended national program.
Part III, "Recommendations--The Proposed Program," presents in
full the recommendations for a comprehensive national proqram of
estuarine management (presented in more detail in Part V), tying
together the needs of the biophysical environment, the demands of
the socio-economic environment, and the responsibilities of the
institutional environment.
Part IV, "The Importance of the Estuarine Zone," discusses the
biophysical and socio-economic environments of the estuarine
zone, shows the interaction of the two environments, and points
out how the demands of the one will affect the other if present
trends in development continue without effective control by the
institutional environment. The emphasis here is on technical
management problems.
Part V, "Development of the Comprehensive National Program," dis-
cusses the institutional environment as it presently exists,
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role each should play to achieve effective management. The emphasis
here is on institutional management problems in the estuarine zone.
Part VI, "The Development of Data nn the Estuarine Zone", discusses
the present state of knowledge about all three of the major estuar-
ine environments, and presents a program of studies and research
efforts designed to close up knowledge gaps and provide the basis
for sound technical management through rational institutional
management.
Part VII, "Collection of Supporting Information", describes in gen-
eral terms the mass of reference materials from which the inform-
ation in this Report was derived. These materials cor.sist of several
thousands of documents, including transcripts of estuarine public
meetings, profiles of Federal and State agencies, the Study's con-
tractors' reports, and published reports in the scientific literature
which relate to estuarine resources.
In-text citations to published material, referenced in the following
volumes of this Report, are indicated by a number in parentheses,
such as (V-1-1), which refers to the References list at the end of
the appropriate chapter. Lil.ewise, figures and tables are referred
to in text by a number, such as Figure V.l.l, or Table V.l.l.
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In essence the report presents a technical analysis of the estuarine
zone, identification of scientific knowledge gaps, jnd an inventory
of the available knowledge, all of which form thp basis for the
recommended comprehensive management program for the Nation's
estuarine resources.
This recommended national program is based on institutional manage-
ment with multiple long-term use as a coi.uvon denominator. Formation
of the organizations to accomplish this and the active implementa-
tion of these reconmendations will permit maximum use of the entire
estuarine zone while preserving 1t for the benefit of future
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Part II
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II-l
The estuarine zone is an ecosystem. That is, it is an environment
of land, water, and air inhabited by nlants and animals that have
specific relationships to each other. This particular ecosystem
is the interface between land and ocean, and one of its key compo-
nents is human society.
The social and economic environment that forms human society must
be regulated by man-made laws intended to provide justice to each
individual and part of the socioeconomic environment. The biological
and physical environment of the estuarine zone, in contrast, obeys
natural laws which are equally connlex and are less flexible than -
man-made laws. The welfare of American society now demands that
man-made laws be extended to regulate the imoact of man on the bio-
physical environment so that the national estuarine zone can be
preserved, developed, and used for the continuinq benefit of the
citizens of the United States.
To aoply man-made laws and regulations to the natural estuarine
environment, it 1s necessarv first to understand what natural
conditions qovern that environment, and then to understand how the
socioeconomic and biophysical environments affect each other. Only
then can there be developed an institutional environment which can
effectively weld all three environments into one smoothly functioning
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THE BIOPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
Laws regulating the socioeconomic environment exist at several
levels of governmental authority. The Constitution presents
general guiding principles, State constitutions operate within this
framework while establishing a more detailed body of law designed
to satisfy the needs of the statewide socioeconomic environment,
and local ordinances regulate in detail the activities carried out
in specific locations.
The biophysical environment is also subject to a hierarchy of
laws, regulations, and conditions. The general guiding principles
are those fundamental natural laws which govern all life on the
earth; at the interfacial zone between land and sea the effects of
these laws appear as universal dominating environmental factors.
The structure of the coastline, formed and modified in obedience
to these general conditions, imposes a second level of natural law
which exerts its primary effects on water movement in the estuarlne
zone; and, within each structural form exists a host of organisms
living according to specific natural ordinances which govern their
relationships.
Dominating Environmental Factors
The natural estuarine environment 1s based on the conversion of
radiant solar energy into other forms of energy with the assistance
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is accomplished by an intricate array of prey--predator relationships
among living organisms, from the microscopic living creatures which
convert solar energy directly and are eaten by other organisms, to
the fish and wildlife which are the ultimate life forms in the manless
estuarine environment.
Solar radiation and gravitational forces control the natural environ-
ment through a complex series of mechanisms. In the estuarine zone
this control exhibits itself through seven major environmental factors
that exist throughout the estuarine zone.
(1) Continental Shelf. The submerged land next to the
continent slopes gently to ? depth of about 6fi0 feet, then
it drops more rapidly to form the deep ocean basins. This
fringe of slightly sloping submerged land, which along
much of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts would appear quite
flat to the naked eye, is called the "continental shelf;"
its width and general configuration along the U. S. coast-
line affects the force with which ocean waves strike the
shore and consequently the manner and deqree of shoreline
erosion and accretion (Fiqure IV.1.1).
(2) Ocean Currents. The major ocean currents passing
near or impinging on the continent exert strong, if
subtle, effects on the estuarine zone through their
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FIGURE IV.1.1 MAJOR OCEAN CURRENTS AFFECTING THE UNITED STATES
Labrador
Current
Current
California
Current
Stream
Continental Shelf | |
i| ft fk an i -- - - — t ^ n Aj m —
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and through their nutrients, which qovern the nature
and productivity of offshore and estuarine fisheries.
The cold Labrador Current water from Maine to Virginia,
warm Gulf Stream water along the South Atlantic and Gulf
coasts, and the California Current along the Pacific
coast all have noticeable effects on coastal land and
water (Figure IV.l .1).
(3) Coastline Slope. The configuration of the coastline
Itself, even though subject to additional molding by the
flow of rivers to the sea, 1s closely related to the
shape and structure of the continental shelf. A wide
continental shelf 1s generally associated with lowland
next to the coast, while a narrow shelf is associated with
mountainous terrain. These associations throughout the
estuarine zone of the United States have produced estuarine
systems characteristic of particular regions. Glaciation
in New England, Washington, and Alaska; old mountain
ranges and a sedimentary coastal plain from New Jersey to
Texas; and the young, steep ranges of the Pacific coast
are all continental features having different impacts on
the estuarine zone.
(4) River Flow. The estuarine zone is also shaped through
erosion and sediment transport by fresh water making its
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rivers carrying water from land runoff to the sea. These
waterways range from the Mississippi River, which drains
41 percent of the conterminous land mass of the United
States, down to tiny trickles across a beach. The volumes
of water and sediment moved reflect not only the total
amount of precipitation and its annual cycle, but also
the sizes and slopes of drainage basins and the types of
soil over which the rivers flow.
(5) Sedimentation. The general outlines of many estuaries,
lagoons, and embayments in the estuarine zone were formed
by erosion from land runoff durinq the last ice age when
sea levels were much lower than they are now. As the sea
level rose, the drowned river mouths became zones of
mixing, sediment deposition, and erosion where the rivers
and tidal currents met. These erosion and sedimentation
processes molded the estuarine zone Into its present shape
and continue to change it.
(6) Climate. Solar enerqy striking the earth sets up
complex cycles of water and energy flow from the oceans to
the sky and the land and back again. That part of the
energy cycle occurring in the atmosphere gives rise to the
various combinations of weather phenomena which make up
local climates. Land, sea, and sky are mutually dependent
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rents play their indirect roles in modifying the climates
of the estuarine zone.
(7) Tide. The tide stands alone as a controlling force
and symbol of the estuarine environment. The combination
of tidal action and river flow gives rise to that unique
phenomenon called an "estuarine circulation pattern," which
means the fresh water flows in one direction in one layer
and the salt water flows in the opposite direction in
another layer with various deqrees of mixing at the inter-
face between them. This type of circulation pattern is of
great importance in some of the estuaries along the
Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and to a large extent governs
the capacity of such estuaries to rid themselves of waste
materials.
The Biophysical Estuarine Regions
Each estuarine system along the coastline is affected to some extent
by all of these dominating environmental factors. In some cases
the dominance of one particular factor is readily apparent. It is
much more often the case that the competing environmental factors are
so evenly balanced that none can be said to dominate and the estua-
rine zone appears to be composed of a bewildering variety of unique
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Yet, the dominating environmental factors listed above form a set
of natural guiding principles which govern the general characteristics
of the estuarine zone of the United States, and the occurrence of
various combinations of these environmental factors permits the
grouping of the national estuarine system into 10 geographical zones,
each governed by a different combination of environmental conditions
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Figure IV. 1.19
BIOPHYSICAL RE6IONS OF THE UNITED STATES
ALASKA
GULF OF MEXICO
PUERTO RICO
VIRGIN IS.
ALASKA
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Characteristics of the Biophysical Regions
North Atlantic Estuarine Region: Canadian border to Cape Cod.
Cool, fertile waters with a large tidal range strike a steep,
Indented coast with deep water close Inshore, but protected
from the full force of the ocean waves by a wide continental
shelf. Moderate precipitation with heavy snowfall leads to
heavy spring river runoff which dominates local circulation.
Natural erosion and sedimentation are not severe problems, and
the evolution of drowned river valley estuaries is in an early
stage in this region.
Middle Atlantic Estuarine Region: Cape Cod tp Cape Hatteras,
exclusive of Chesapeake Bay.
A wide, gently sloping continental shelf with a smooth shoreline
is cut by the entrances of several major river systems carrying
moderate amounts of sediments. The same cool, fertile waters
as in the North Atlantic estuarine region wash this coastline
but with a smaller tidal range. The evolution of drowned river
valleys into coastal marshes is in a secondary stage in the
larger estuarine systems, with sand spits and barrier islands
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Chesapeake Bay Estuarine Region: All of the Chesapeake Bay system
from Cape Charles and Cape Henry Island.
Isolation from direct oceanic effects in much of the qreatly
branched system, the many subsystems with major river flows, and
the reduced concentration of the ocean salt throughout the Bay and
its tributaries make this a unique estuarine system. This is a
drowned river valley with numerous similar tributary systems in
various stages of evolution.
South Atlantic Estuarine Region: Cape Hatteras to Fort Lauderdale,
Florida,(about 26° North Latitude).
The generally wide continental shelf is brushed by the warm waters
of the well-defined Gulf Stream. The low-lying coastal plain
terminates in barrier islands and marshes in which large amounts of
sediments are being continually deposited by moderate-sized rivers
fed by heavy summer rainfall. Many of the drowned river valley
estuaries have evolved all the way to coastal marshes. Tidal
ranges are small to moderate, dependinq on local conditions.
Carribean Estuarine Region: Fort Lauderdale to Cape Romano (the
Florida peninsula south of 26° North Latitude), plus Puerto Rico
and the Virgin Islands.
High temperatures, heavy rainfall, and warm ocean currents along
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estuarine environments throughout this region. Coral reefs and
mangrove swamps are the typical coastal features of south Florida,
while the islands are mountainous and are fringed with coral reefs
and beaches. Tidal ranges are small.
Gulf Coast Estuarine Reoion; Cape Romano to the Mexican border.
A wide continental shelf extends all the way around this large
embayment, in which warm tropical waters are moved gently by weak
currents and small tidal ranges. Heavy rainfall over most of the
area brings sediments from the broad coastal plain to be deposited
in the estuarine zone. Most of the drowned river valleys have
evolved to a point Intermediate between those of the Middle and
South Atlantic Regions-- barrier islands are extensive and have
large shallow bays behind them.
The Mississippi, carrying drainage from 41 percent of the conter-
minous land mass of the United States, forms one of the major deltas
of the world and 1s unique among the estuarine systems of the
United States, both in its size and 1n the extent to which 1t has
built out over the continental shelf.
Pacific Southwest Estuarine Region: Mexican border to Cape
Mendocino.
Because of the narrow continental shelf, periodic upwelling of deep
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brings cool, fertile water near the coast for several months of
the year. The coastline has a typical beach and bluff configuration
with only a few shallow embayments and the unique earthquake-born
valley of San Francisco Bay, which, in the delta formed by the
confluence of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers, shows what
erosion and sedimentation might have done along the southwest
coast if rainfall were greater in that area of easily erodable
mountains.
Pacific Northwest Estuarine Region; Cape Mendocino to the Canadian
border.
The continental shelf and coastal configurations are similar to
those of the Pacific Southwest, but ocean water temperatures are
lower here; the movement of the California current away from the
coast is not as pronounced, and heavier rainfall has resulted in
some major rivers cutting through the coastal mountains to form
deeply embayed estuarine systems. Extensive erosion and sedi-
mentation have caused wide tidal flats, bars, and shoals to be
typical of these systems.
The straits of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound, which were glacier-
formed, do not have as severe sedimentation as exists along the
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Alaska Estuarine Region: All of Alaska including the Aleutian
and Bering Sea Islands.
The dominant factors in this region are temperature and precipit-
ation. Water temperatures are near freezing, and much of the
precipitation falls as snow. The continental shelf is wide all
through the region, and tide ranges are very large. The southeast
and south coasts have active glaclatlon and consist primarily of
glac1er-cut embayments and fjords; the west and north coasts are
much flatter and have been modified to some extent by sediments
eroded from the Interior, including glacial silt, and by the grinding
action of pack ice during winter.
Pacific Islands Region: The Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa,
and Guam.
This region consists of tropical ocean Islands of volcanic origin.
Dominating factors are lack of a continental shelf, full exposure
to oceanic conditions, and pleasantly warm temperatures. Coral
reefs and beach and bluff configurations are typical.
The Land and the Water
Within the general domination of broad-scale environmental factors
are smaller scale governing conditions that, through their effects
on water movement and circulation, determine what kind of local
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The Land
The shape of the land along the land-sea interface goes far toward
determining what water movement and circulation patterns exist in
particular local areas and, consequently, how fast a particular
estuarine system will rid itself of pollutants. Within the general
compass of the estuarine regions discussed in the preceding section
there are different structural types which define patterns of water
movement typical of particular structures, no matter what the
external environment may be.
Alaska presents the qreatest variety of estuarine form and structure
of any of the estuarine regions. Nearly all kinds of systems
typical of other regions are found there. In addition, Alaska has
the only glaciated coast and most of the fjords found in the United
States.
Characteristic of the North Atlantic region is a very irreqular,
hilly coastline with deep water close inshore and long, narrow
embayments with open access to the sea. Estuarine systems within
the Chesapeake Bay region consist of a group of branched rivers
entering the Chesapeake Bay itself, which is in turn the former
valley of the Susquehanna River.
In the Middle Atlantic region the estuarine zone consists primarily
of a few large drowned river valley embayments (e.g., New York
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barrier beach systems receiving only coastal fresh-water runoff.
The estuarine zone of the Gulf region, on the other hand, consists
mainly of moderate-sized embayments with barrier beaches and
extensive marshes, but receiving river flow from upland drainage
areas and representing an Intermediate state in the evolution of
drowned river valleys Into coastal marshes.
The South Atlantic region has two dominant types of estuarine
structure. From Cape Hatteras to about Jacksonville, Florida,
there 1s a general input of upland river drainage to the estuarine
zone and the estuarine systems are typical drownea river valleys
1n the later stages of evolution represented by barrier beaches
or coastal marshes backed by extensive swamps. South of Jackson-
ville fresh-water runoff comes primarily from local coastal drain-
age, and there are uniform and extensive barrier island beaches
with long narrow embayments behind them having continuous but
generally narrow strips of marsh along the embayments. This
structure fades into the extensive swamplands of the Everglades
farther down the Florida Peninsula.
Both the Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest regions have few
estuaries. The estuarine systems of the Northwest Pacific Region
tend to be the mouths of rivers which have cut their way through
coastal mountain ranges, either of their own accord or aided by
glaciers as in the case of Puget Sound. Shallow coastal embayments
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estuarine systems of the Southwest, except for San Francisco Bay,
which receives fresh water runoff from much of central California.
Estuarine systems of the islands, both Atlantic and Pacific,
are few and consist mostly of embayments without major river
inflows.
The estuarine zone can be classified according to its local
morpholoqy into ten major categories, several of which exist in
each of the estuarine biophysical regions. Within each of these
categories, the similarities in structure reflect similarities in
water movement, water quality, and ecology which make it possible
to apply lessons learned in managing an estuarine system in one
region to similar estuarine systems in other reqions. The
morphological categories are:
1.1 Smooth shoreline without Inlets
1.2 Smooth shoreline with inlets
1.3 Smooth shoreline with small embayments
2.1 Indented shoreline without islands
2.2 Indented shoreline with islands
3 Marshy shoreline
4 Unrestricted river entrance
5.1 Embayment with only coastal drainage
5.2 Embayment with continuous upland river inflow
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Unrestricted river entrances and embayments dominate the
estuarine zone and are rather evenly distributed throuqhout all the
regions, with the common type of estuarine system being a coastal
embayment with drainage from only the local coastal area. Many
of these latter embayments have large marsh areas, but the Middle
Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Gulf are the regions in which marshes
are the predominant feature in some parts of the estuarine zone.
The Water
The unique nature of water movement and circulation patterns 1n
the estuarine zone are the result of the meeting and mixing of fresh
river water and salty ocean water of slightly greater density under
the oscillating influence of the tide. There may be additional
complicating factors such as temperature and wind action, but the
resulting circulation nearly always reflects the interaction of
river flow and estuary shape with the tidal flow of the ocean water.
General water movement patterns are predictable for each category
of estuarine shape.
It is where moderately large rivers and streams meet the sea that
the unique estuarine circulation patterns occur most frequently.
Large fresh water flows in well-defined channels tend to slide
over the top of the denser sea water without rapid mixing. Water
movement in such cases exhibits various degrees of stratification.
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11-19
more mixing occurs and other forces come into play. Embaynient
shape, bottom configuration and material, and the effects of tne
tarth's rotation all may play a role. In some estuarine systems
of this type, the degree of stratification may change witn cnanges
in river flow, temperature, wind, or other transient conditions.
Estuarine water quality is the product of both land arid water.
From the land, erosion ana solution in river water bring suspended
and dissolved minerals, while decaying vegetation adds dissolved
salts, but negligible quantities of organic matter.
In the estuarine zone tnese two different solutions meet and mix.
Salt concentrations range from that of the oceans to the almost
unmeasurable amounts present in some rivers. Mere little
stratification exists, sea salt dominates mineral concentrations
in estuarine waters, in stratified systems, however, the small
amounts of minerals entering in the fresh water may ue as important
in some parts of the estuarine zone as the much larger concentrations
from the sea are in otners.
Tne Life
The governance of tne dominating environmental factors, as modified
by estuarine shape and water quality, result in an input of energy
into individual estuarine systems, and it is in the variety and
diversity of estuarine life that the input of energy to the
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11-20
energy comes directly, as in solar radiation stimulating photo-
synthesis, or whether 1t comes indirect'y, as with tidal flows
or wind and rain pounding on the shoreline, its absorption and
conversion to other forms of energy (such as fooc) are essential
steps in the continuation of life in the water, in the marshes,
and on the land.
Energy input from gravitational forces, as illustrated by tidal
action and river flow, depends primarily on local or regional
conditions, but direct energy input from solar radiation depends
largely on latitude, the tropics receiving much r.iore energy per
acre than the arctic. The relative amounts of energy enterlnq an
estuarine system govern the kinds of life found there, and natural
ecosystems show systematic variations related to the sources and
amounts of energy received.
Estuarine zones with strong mechanical energy inputs from waves,
currents, tides, or river flows develop similar ecosystems no
matter whether in the tropics or the arctic. Where, however, such
energy inputs do not dominate the Input of radiant solar energy,
natural communities develop compositions typical of Tropical,
Temperate, or Artie latitudes.
Tropical systems are subject to unvarying warm temperatures; light
energy input is both greater and more regular than in other
latitudes. Within this general group there are the sparse popu-
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11-21
teeming and colorful populations of coral reefs; and the mangroves
and the submerged grasslands associated with shallow, nutrient-
laden water. Only the southern part of Florida and the islands
are of this type.
Arctic systems are subject to wide fluctuations of sunlight and
temperature but ice is the key factor. Ecological systems develop
in, on, and under the ice and in the fjords associated with glaciers.
Only a small part of Alaska includes estuarine systems of this type.
Temperate systems are subject to moderate solar energy inputs,
temperatures which cnange regularly with the seasons, and generally
larger tide ranges and more wave action than either tropic or
arctic systems. Host of the estuarine systems of the United States
lie in the temperate zone, and the balancing of solar energy input
against mechanical energy input in this zone leads to a great
variety of ecosystem types, even within small geographic areas.
The grouping of ecosystems outlined here describes a limited range
of recurring variation of chemical and physical properties to
which certain forms of life have adapted and on which they are now
dependent.
The basic environmental needs for all living plants and animals in
such zones are zones of salinity consistently fluctuating over a
limited range of concentration; solar energy; water temperature
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11-22
propagation, growth, and survival; and, for some life forms,
bottom conditions suitable to their unique needs.
The dependence of fish and shellfish on the estuarine zone is
governed by particular environmental requirements for reproduction,
protection, food supply, or a combination of these. Estuarine
dependent species are of three types:
1. Species Restricted to Estuaries
Among the relatively few species of fish and shellfish
that complete their entire life cycle in the estuarine
zone is the Atlantic (American) oyster. It will die
after long exposure to freshwater although it can stand
limited periods of such exposure and can thrive in
relatively high salinity water. The spotted sea trout
occupies the estuary for all its life purposes and only
occasionally leaves the estuary under unusual extremes
of salinity and temperature.
2. Anadromous and Catadromous Species
Anadromous species pass through the estuarine zone on
their journey from the sea to the freshwater environment
where they spawn. Some species, such as the Pacific
salmon, die after spawning and others, such as the
striped bass, live to return to the estuarine zone and
the sea. The young of all anadromous species spend
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11-23
they were spawned, but all eventually miqrate to the
estuaries and then the sea.
There are few truly catadromous species that mature in
the fresh or brackish water environments, and then
migrate to higher salinity waters of the estuary of the
adjacent sea to spawn. The American eel and the Blue
crab are examples of this type.
3. Migratory Estuarine Species
The great majority of estuarine dependent species fall
under this classification. Some use the brackish and
freshwater areas of the estuarine zone for reproduction;
some as a source of food; some for shelter, either as
adults or young; and some for all these reasons. They
all have 1n common the basic need for both estuarine and
ocean environments at some point 1n their life cycle.
This group Includes the great majority of f1sh and
shellfish of direct Importance to man, such as shrimp,
menhaden, flounders, and red drum. j(F1aure IV. 1. 38)
Estuarine wildlife can be classified Into four categories: (1) fur
bearlnq animals, (2) game waterfowl, (3) ornamental shore birds,
and (4) the common wildlife that can tolerate human presence.
The primary fur bearers are the fur seal in Alaska, nutria in the
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11-24
Figure IV.1.38
TYPICAL LIFE HISTORY
OF THE GULF OF MEXICO SHRIMP
MMMppp
GULF OF
MEXICO
d
Source- W.C-Guest, The Texos Shrimp Fishery, 1958.
0 Shrimp Eggs
b Nauplius Larva
C Protozoa
d Mysis
e Postmysis
f Juvenile Shrimp
g Adolescent Shrimp
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II-
New Jersey, the Virginia muskrat in the Central Atlantic States,
and the Louisiana muskrat in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
and Texas. Secondary in importance are the raccoon, mink, and
otter.
The dependence of waterfowl on the estuarine zone is both complex
and incompletely understood. The primary sport species, such as
mallards and canvasbacks, have been successfully adapted to man-
made changes in their environment, particularly those changes not
affecting the nesting sites.
The ornamental shore and sea birds are a particularly aesthetic
attraction amonq the national fauna. These birds are generally
more dependent upon estuarine conditions than the more mobile
waterfowl and, in addition, have demonstrated a considerably
greater sensitivity to the overall encroachment of man. These
birds include whooping cranes, pelicans, bald eagles, egrets,
ibis, and many others.
Governing Subdivisions of The Biophysical Environment
Solar energy and gravitational energy are the basis for
everything that happens naturally in the estuarine zone. This
discussion of the biophysical environment has been concerned
primarily with the environmental conditions surrounding the trans-
formation of these energies into forms useful in living processes
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11-26
the biophysical environment were used in this discussion.
Differences in the external environment divided the estuarine zone
of the United States naturally into ten geographic regions, each
subject to a particular governing combination of the external
influences of tide, ocean currents, wave action, sedimentation,
and climate. This subdivision Into estuarine biophysical regions
gave broad ranges of conditions in each region, but the importance
of local coastal conditions 1n governing energy flows via water
movement paved the way for a subdivision of the estuarine zone
according to ten morphological groups having similarities 1n water
movement, circulation, and the ability to rid themselves of wastes.
A subdivision according to ecological communities was'also based
primarily on geographical location, but again coastal conditions
made 1t necessary to Identify small ecosystems governed by
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11 - ?7
THE SOCIOECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
The socioeconomic environment of the estuarine zone is the direct
result of its value as a means of sustenance, a place to live,
a source of enjoyment, and a route of transportation. The laws
regulating man's activities in this zone are historically intended
to protect and serve individual and group interest 1n dealing
with each other. Only recently has it become apparent that the
laws protecting man from himself must be extended to protect the
natural environment from man.
This extension of the institutional environment must recognize
not only the realities of how the biophysical environment operates,
but it must also recognize the need of human society for the
estuarine zone and its value to civilization both as an essential
part of his ecosystem and as an exploitable resource.
Population and Industrial Development in the Estuarine Zone
The importance of the estuarine zone of the United States to the
national community is shown most clearly by the numbers of people
that use it. Population concentration in the coastal counties
began when the first European colonist arrived. This concentra-
tion brought about the development of a corresponding amount of
manufacturing industry in the estuarine zone, while the great
harbors gave the estuarine zone its dominating position as the
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II-2P
Long before the settlement of Plymouth, British, French, and
Spanish fishermen were exploring the North Atlantic fishery resources
including those in the Gulf of Maine and alonq Georges Rank; after
colonization of New England, the fisheries were the sustaininq
industry that provided the economic foundation for growth and
development. The estuaries were also the entry portal for the
Immigrants that came to this Nation looking for the land of
opportunity.
As the population grew, the relative importance of the fishery
progressively declined as economic growth in other industries
outstripped the demand for seafood as a staple diet item. The
growth of Industrial and population centers in the estuarine zone
closely paralleled the growth of the rest of the Nation, with the
estuarine zone becoming relatively more important in international
commerce and less important 1n agricultural food production than the
Interior of the country.
The coastal counties contain only 15 percent of the land area
of the United States, but within this area is concentrated 33
percent of the Nation's population, with about four-fifths of 1t
living 1n primarily urban areas which form about ten percent of
the total estuarine zone area. Another 13 percent of the estuarine
land area is farmland, but this accounts for only four percent
of the total agricultural land of the Nation. The estuarine zone,
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11-20
country, and supports only one-fourth as much agriculture per unit
area.
In those regions lying between Cape Hatteras, N.C., and Canada
as well as 1n the Pacific Southwest, over 90 percent of the population
lives 1n urban areas; over much of the Atlantic estuarine zone
stretches the great northeastern megalopolis with population densities
averaging over 1,000 persons per square mile. The remainder of the
estuarine zone of the United States exhibits a pattern of major centers
of population clustered around natural harbors and separated by
stretches of coastline which are either empty and inaccessible or
beginning to be sprinkled with private residence1: and resort communi-
ties in the vicinities of population centers.
The coastal counties have within their borders 40 percent of all
manufacturing plants 1n the United States. The fixture of manufactur-
ing types in the estuarine zone is the same as the national composition
with only minor exceptions, such as the concentration of the apparel
manufacturing industry in the Middle Atlantic region, particularly 1n
the New York area. Distribution of manufacturino types amona the
biophysical regions shows regional differences related to historical
development as well as raw material and market availability.
Over half of all plants in the coastal counties and one-fifth of all
manufacturing plants in the United States are located in the Middle
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11-30
of the Nation's industrial orowth and is still onp of the najor mar-
ket areas. The °acific Southwest is th" maior industrial center of
the Pacific coast and is developed as intensively as the iiddlc
Atlantic region. Some industrial development in other reoions tends
to follow historical or oresent raw material availability. Leather
product Dlants are clustered in the North Atlantic reciion, and lum-
ber manufacturinn plants are most Dlentiful in the Pacific Northwest.
Food processing plants, however, follow closely the distribution of
population.
While much of the industrial development located 1n coastal counties
affects the estuarlne zone indirectiv throuqh use of adjacent land,
some of the water-usinq industries have an imnact on the estuarine
zone far beyond their numbers. The naner, chemical, petroleum, and
primary metals industries are the maior water us^rs anonq manufactu-
ring establishments and are distributed universally throuohout the
estuarlne zone.
Use of the Fstuarine 7one
Many of the uses catalonued in this reoort occur onlv because the
historical orowth of the country makes the estuarine zone the place
where the people and the industry are. Onlv commercial navination
and commercial fishinq are uses which are primarily associated with
the estuarine zone rather than other parts of man's environment.
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11-31
associated with civilization wherever 1t exists; 1n the estuarlne
zone they may have different values, different emohasls, or different
Impact on the biophysical environment.
The great unique use of the estuarlne zone, which makes It of pri-
mary Importance to man and his civilization, 1s Its nlace 1n the
life cycle of many animals which aid 1n convertlnq solar energy Into
more usable forms. While no life form can be singled out as Irrepla-
ceable, the kinds of life which need the estuarlne zone to survive
represent essential links 1n the energy conversion chain upon which
man depends for survival. Many of the human uses of the estuarine
zone depend directly or Indirectly on the existence of the estuarine
zone as a healthy habitat.
Fishing
The Important fish species are those souqht by either the sports
fisherman or the commercial fisherman. Practically all of the
sports f1sh species are dependent upon the estuarine zone for one
or more phases of their life development, and approximately 65
percent of all commercial fish species are estuarine-dependent.
In 1967 United States fishermen received $438 million dollars for
approximately 4.06 billion pounds of commercial fish and shellfish.
It has been estimated that two-thirds of the total value, or
approximately $300 million dollars, can be considered for estuarine-
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11-32
value derived from the estuarine fishery for it does not include
the value of fish harvested hv fnreiqn vessels off the United States
coast. Five of the six leading species by weight, renresentinq over
one-half of the United States commercial fish tonnaoe in 19c7, are
estuarine-dependent.
Recreation
The demand for outdoor recreation has increased siqnificantly over
the past decade. The trend toward hiaher personal income and more
leisure time has made it possible for a oreater Dercentaqe of the
poDulace to seek new outlets. Companies manufacturing equipment
for outdoor recreation have sprung up by the hundrp^s.
The advertisinc industry has camnaianed viqorouslv to sell the pub-
lic on the need for recreation, and service facilities to support
the recreationalist are Hossominq in all narts of the cnuntrv.
There are a wide variety of lane1 and water recreational activities
available in the estuarine zone and nanv estuarine systems are
intensively used for recreational Pursuits. The unioue combination
of available resources in close proximity to laroe population centers
offers an unparalleled recreational opportunity for manv people who
could not afford to travel far from their homes.
Each type of recreational activity has a certain sensitivity to the
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11-33
Clusters of activities that require similar environmental conditions
but differ 1n environmental Quality needs can be grouped as follows:
1) sw1mm1nq and associated shore activities, 1nclud1nq plcnlclng and
camping; 2) sports fishing from shore or small boat; 3) boat-centered
activities, such as cruising or water ski 1nq; and 4) aesthetic
appreciation of the total environment.
Transportation and National Defense
The Nation's estuaries provide the physical, social, and economic
conditions required for an effective system of water terminals servinq
International trade and coastal shipping. Accordlnq to a 1966 inven-
tory of ports and terminals by the Maritime Administration, there
were 1,626 marine terminal facilities providing deep water berths in
132 ports on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts. The signifi-
cance of these oorts and terminal facilities is indicated by the
1965 statistics which show that these ports handled 346,315,000 tons
of foreign trade cargo which was 78 percent of the U.S. foreign trade
total. In addition, the port facilities handled 332.1 million tons
1n coastal cargo and 288.2 million tons in local shipplnq.
The estuarine ports also serve as essential elements of the national
defense system. The deen water terminals exert a significant
influence on the location of defense Installations as well as of the
industrial comolexes necessary for logistical suPDort of the defense
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11-34
1s the total number of shins in commission. During the Fiscal Year
1967 this number was 931 with a planned increase to 960 in the Fiscal
Year 1969.
The use of the harbors for waterborne transDortation is competitive
in that it mav cause other uses to be foregone. Heavy shio traffic
interferes with pleasure boatinq and related activities. Maintenance
of the ship channels mav alter the ecolociy and the surface area
occupied by the larne vessels may well interfere vith safe pleasure
boating.
Water transportation is not the only tvne of transDortation considera-
tion for estuaries. Since a ma.ior percentage of larne cities are
located on estuarine systems, there 1s considerable pressure to
develop fill areas for airports which then utilize the lona overwater
approaches to keen the let noise awav from developed areas. The
water areas offer a barrier to land travel that must be overcome with
causeways or bridge type structures which can interfere with naviga-
tion or cause haMtat damage. On the other hand, peripheral roads
offer some of the more scenic routes availahle and are frequently the
only undeveloped area on which roads can be built.
Municipal and ^ndustri_aj_'.later Supply
The water in the estuary can serve as a source of bot!i domestic and
industrial water suooly; but utilization of estuarine water for
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11-35
brackish water 1s unpotable and treatment costs to render 1t potable
are extremely high. The brackish estuarlne water 1s also a poor
source for Industrial Drocess water. Here again a hinh degree of
purity 1s normally required in the process water and the cost of
removing the dissolved salts 1s prohibitive.
Estuarlne waters are used extensively, however, as a source of
Industrial coollna water. For this use the most important considera-
tions are the quantity and the ambient temperature. Mater tempera-
tures are generally well below the maximum for economical cooling,
and since the ocean is connected to one side of the estuary, the
quantity is no problem. Cooling water 1s required by both the
manufacturing Industry and electric power generation Dlants; the
greatest use 1s in the thermal electric olants.
The distribution of cooling water use parallels population and
industrial development in the coastal counties, even thouqh elec-
trical power can be transported economically over many miles. The
greatest concentrations of coollnq water use are in the Middle
Atlantic and Pacific Southwest Regions; fortunately these reqions
both have moderate water temperatures which make possible efficient
use of the available cooling water.
There are, however, M nuclear power plants built or scheduled for
completion by 1976. All of these are in the meqawatt range, with
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11-36
While the bulk of these will be in the cooler oarts of the nation,
12 will he in the South Atlantic, Gulf, and Caribbean Regions where
water temneratures are hiqh, greater volumes must be used to achieve
nroDer coolinq, and the increase in water t.emoerature through the
power nlant mav be sufficient to cause environmental danane.
Waste D_isposal
The concentration of nqpulation and industrial development in the
estuarine zone has led naturally to the use of estuarine waters for
removal of the waste materials of nnn's civilization from his
immediate vicinity. It is unlikely that cities were built on the
coastline with any conscious consideration of the use of the estua-
rine environment for waste disnosal, yet it has hannened th*t this
use has become ona of the ma.ior uses of estuarine waters and the
associated land. Virtually all of the cities and industries in the
coastal counties disnose of wastes either direct.lv or indirectly
Into the estuarine zone.
Linuid waste dlscharqes to estuarine systems include domestic waste
products, Industrial waste materials of all deqrees of chemical
comDlexlty and sonhisticatlon, used coollno water with Its thermal
load, and storm runoff. These wastes affect the estuarine environ-
ment 1n different ways and can eliminate other uses.
L1au1d wastes are not the only concern. The use of the estuarine
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11-37
debris getting Into the water; water leaching through these dumps
has a pollutional Impact on the estuarlne water. Spoil disposal
from dredging activities 1s another form of solid waste material
that contributes to estuarlne degradation, and solid materials
entering the estuary 1n the form of debris from storm runoff can
be significant 1n terms of damaging beneficial uses.
Waste disposal 1s a highly significant and universal use of the
estuarlne resource and 1t 1s likely to remain so. Along with the
many other socioeconomic uses of the estuarlne environment, it must
be managed so that 1t does not damage the biophysical environment.
Exploitation of Mineral Resources
Minerals within the water, on the bottom, and under the bottom are
a valuable part of the estuarlne resource and are being exploited
widely.
Sub-bottom mining operations are limited to the recovery of sulfur,
petroleum, and natural gas, with the major operations occurring in
Louisiana, Texas, California, and Alaska. These operations exist
both 1n the estuaries and out on the continental shelves with the
governing criterion for locating being the location of reserves.
Recovery of minerals from submerged estuarlne zone bottoms by sur-
face mining, I.e., dredging, 1s primarily directed toward sand,
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universal throughout coastal areas wherever suitable deposits and
a market exist.
Oyster shell 1s an extremely useful construction material 1n the
Gulf of Mexico biophysical region. Twenty of the twenty-two million
tons of annual U.S. production are 1n the Gulf States with Texas
and Louisiana producing the vast majority of 1t.
Phosphate rock 1s an Important estuarlne mineral resource; about
75 percent of the total U.S. production 1s 1n the estuarlne zone
of Florida and North Carolina, particularly around Tampa Bay and
Pamlico Sound.
Aquaculture
The great f1sh and shellfish resources of United States coastal waters
have adequately supplied the seafood demands of the increasing popu-
lation for over three hundred years. Now, however, the demands for
some products 1s so great that the normal fishing grounds and fisher-
ies are 1n great danger of being exhausted, both from overfishing
and from the Indirect effects of man's encroachment Into the estua-
rlne environment. To supply future needs of some f1sh products new
approaches toward commercial fishing are needed, both 1n harvesting
the natural growth and 1n controlling the entire fishery. Aquacul-
ture 1s defined as the rearing of aquatic organisms, both plants and
animals, under controlled conditions using the techniques of plant
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that are highly sophisticated where man exercises control over the
principal environmental factors affecting the cultured species, and
others that are very simple with only minimal control or manipulation
of the habitat and the cultured animal.
Shoreline Development
The use or development of estuarlne water either governs or depends
on land or shoreline use.
Commercial development of the shoreline Includes loading terminals,
docks and shipyards, airports. Industrial plants, and the smaller
municipal and local piers. Recreational facilities Include marinas,
beaches, parks, fishing piers, and vacation cottages, motels and
hotels. Although the motels and hotels are a commercial venture,
their prime purpose 1s to support the recreationist. Residential
development of waterfront property 1n many communities places on the
shoreline Intensive housing development accompanied by boat docks,
fishing and swimming piers, and private beaches. Commercial and
personal transportation requires airports, highways, and commercial
port facilities.
Structures built to protect or conserve the shoreline Include bulk-
heads to hold the shore 1n place, dikes to prevent flooding and to
extend reclaimed land, jetties to provide a protective barrier
between the sea and ship channels, and groins along beach areas to
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The Social and Economic Values of Estuarlne Use
All uses have value, both Individually and as part of the develop-
ment and use of the entire estuarlne resource for the benefit of
the present and future national community. The Importance and total
value of any estuarlne system He not 1n the measure of economic
value for any particular use, but 1n multiplicity of use related
to the needs of people who live there or otherwise depend on the
estuarlne resource.
F1sh and Wildlife Habitat
The value of the estuarlne zone as fish and wildlife habitat both
depends on and augments Its value for other uses, particularly
recreation and commercial fishing.
There 1s, in addition to these, the basic Incalculable value of the
estuarlne habitat as a link 1n the essential energy-conversion
chain which permits man to survive at all.
The trapping of fur bearers 1n the marshes of the Gulf and Atlantic
represents one of the few economic values directly attributable to
estuarine habitat. Louisiana 1s the major producer; in the 1965-
1966 season total sales were 4.6 million dollars out of the Nation's
-------
Commercial Fishing
An entire complex of commerce and Industry can rest upon one primary
producing Industry such as commercial fishing. Each time the basic
product changes hands 1t generates economic activity and gains 1n
value until by the time 1t reaches the ultimate consumer, Its price
may be many times what the fisherman was paid for 1t. The effect
of such "value multiplier" factors will be such as to make the
actual values of specific commercial fisheries several times the
landed values.
Thus, the 438 million dollars received by United States fishermen in
1967 probably represents a total Input to estuarine zone economic
activity of over one billion dollars; exactly how much 1t is Impossi-
ble to say. Case studies assign multiplier values of about three
and four to commercial fishery landing values, but the magnitudes
of such multipliers depend on the structure of the local economy as
well as on other factors and generalities are likely to be misleading.
The relationship of the estuarine zone and commercial fishing cannot
be expressed by any simple economic Index. The Importance of
commercial fishing 1n the estuarine zone 1s related economically
not only to estuarine habitat, but also to transportation, commerce,
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IM?
Recreation
Each kind of recreational use has its own economic impact.
Recreational boating supports a large boatbuilding, marina, and
boat repair Industry. Sport fishing supports not only a certain
part of the boating industries, but also a very specialized industry
manufacturing and selUnq fishing tackle. For example, the 1965
Survey of Flshlnn and Hunting shows that salt-water anglers spent
$800 million dollars in that year. Sightseeing and swimminq support
motel and restaurant services in the favored areas, as do other over-
night recreational activities.
Attempts at the quantification of overall recreational economic
values are not yet well-developed. The user-day recreation benefits
approach has been used 1n some federal waterway and reservoir projects,
but has been used in the estuarine system only in an analysis of
fisheries and recreation in San Francisco Bay. Net benefits for
qeneral recreation activities, by this method, range from $0.50 to
$1.50 per day. Specific forms of recreation may have higher values.
Applying such a figure to the population of the coastal counties
suggests that the value of the recreational resource of the estuarine
zone is about 300 million dollars if each person has about five days
of recreational use. Such an estimate would include only local use
and no multiplier values and might therefore be regarded as minimum
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The major problems in defining the economic values of recreation in
the estuarine zone lie in the facts that recreation itself is not an
easily defined commodity nor can it be isolated from other economic
activities such as transportation, food and lodging services, and
equipment manufacturing.
Commercial Navigation and Nationa 1 Defense
Estimates of the economic value of commercial navigation are based
on the direct revenue to the port of handling a ton of cargo,
generally $16 to $20. Such estimates lead to a total value of the
estuarine resource of $4.7 billion annually for cargo revenues alone,
without multiplier values. An additional economic value of $10
billion annually in salaries and wages has been estimated for eleven
major ports.
These estimates do not show the impact of commercial navigation on
land transportation, shoreline development, or the manufacturing
industries. Without the deep, safe harbors commercial navigation
could not exist on a large scale, and without commercial navigation
the great cities around these harbors would not have developed.
Deep-water harbors are essential elements of the national defense
system. Furthermore, the location of these deep-water ports has
influenced the location of other defense installations as well as
the industrial complexes necessary for the loqistical support of the
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11-44
The cost of the national defense effort 1n the estuarine zone for
1967 is estimated at about $900 million, exclusive of pay and allow-
ances for shore-based Navy and Marine Corps personnel. The economic
impact of national defense activity overlaps Into all other estuarine
zone uses because of the massive payrolls associated with 1t. This
Impact 1s centered 1n the areas with major defense Installations.
Waste Disposal
The waters of the estuarine zone have received wastes from the people
and industries on their shores ever since the first cities were
founded. The economic benefit in the use of estuarine waters for
waste disposal has been fully utilized by nearly all industries and
communities 1n the estuarine zone, and only the tremendous capacity
of estuarine waters to absorb and remove waste materials has kept
the estuarine zone from suffering severe damage from such waste dis-
charges.
No overall estimate of the value of this use of the estuarine
resource is possible because the level of treatment necessary in any
particular case depends on many local factors.
While the use of estuarine waters for waste disposal may not be
aesthetically appealing it is an existing estuarine use with which
other uses must compete, and 1t should be considered along with them
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Examples of Socioeconomic Environments in the Estuarine Zone
Almost all estuarine systems have either a multiplicity of uses at
the present time or such uses are available in the system. Estuaries
presently support such varied uses as military berthing and associated
activities, commercial port facilities, shipping channels, industrial
uses, commercial fisheries, sport fishing, recreation, wildlife
habitat, and purely aesthetic purposes. In most estuaries one or
two of the uses predominate while the others take minor roles.
Narragansett Bay is an ideal example of an estuary that has developed
in an unbalanced fashion. That is, the economic value of the estuary
at the present time is largely associated with the industrial, military,
and transportation uses of its waters. Other uses are, of course,
made of the estuary but their economic significance is dwarfed by
the tremendous magnitude of the military and commercial uses. How-
ever, it must be remembered that this economic measure is merely an
indicator of the value of the waters and is not in any way related
to the right or necessity of polluting such waters in the process of
achieving this value. In fact, the only time that such an economic
measure would be used would be for comparing one total use of the
estuary to another total use. Of course, it is seldom that questions
are so broad as to cover either/or propositions for the entire
activity. Rather, the questions usually revolve around such things
as the benefits to be derived from reducing pollution caused by users
of the estuary compared with the costs of achievinn the reduction in
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Franklin County, Florida, is dependent upon pollution-free waters
in Apalachicola Bay for its economic existence. The unpolluted
waters of the Bay provide the seafood caught by local commercial
fishermen and processed at shore-based installations. Additional
income for the area results from tourism engendered by the Bay's
waters.
Both tourism and commercial fishing are prime potential sources of
income to any estuarine system. In the case of Apalachicola Bay,
these happen to be the major sources of income because of the nature
of the estuary and its location which prevent its development as a
commercial shipping facility.
The San Diego economy, although heavily dependent upon the military
and shipping activities in the Bay, has diversified to the exte
that it is no longer completely dependent upon such uses of the Bay.
At the same time there has been a growing demand for recreational
uses of the Bay. Evidence of the local resident's interest in the
Bay for recreation, tourism, and commercial uses can be found in
their willingness to invest substantial sums of money in facilities
to prevent pollution of the Bay by municipal wastes.
Mission Bay, a separate estuary in the San Diego area, is an example
of the recreational potential to be found in an estuarine system. How-
ever, this special study points up the fact that the best use of an
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development program with adequate investments are necessary to
achieve optimal use of an estuary.
Measures of Overall Value and Importance
The discussions of values of individual uses and the case studies of
specific estuarine systems present a confusing picture of the
relationship of estuarine uses to economic indicators.
Estimates of the direct gross economic benefit of the estuarine zone
to the residents of the coastal counties can be made. The estimates
of economic activity generated by the presence of Narragansett Bay
in Rhode Island give a conservative annual economic benefit of $920
per capita, $420 of which is personal income. Average personal income
for all of the coastal counties is, according to Bureau of the Census
figures, $500 per capita greater than the average for the remainder
of the country. The total economic activity generated by this addi-
tional personal income then amounts to about $1,100 per person, using
the Narragansett Bay multiplier values.
The total direct economic benefit of the estuarine zone to the
residents of the coastal counties is then about 60 billion dollars
in terms of additional economic activity stimulated by the presence
of estuarine systems. This is not a measure of the total economic
activity of the estuarine zone, but only of the "value added" to the
total economic activity of the coastal counties by the presence of
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Such gross means can give only an order-of-magnitude estimate of
even the direct economic value of the estuarine zone and cannot
possibly reflect either indirect benefits or the social importance
of the estuarine zone, much less its ecological value.
Valid criteria for evaluating the importance of the estuarine environ-
ment or the value of individual estuarine uses, to a community must,
however, go beyond the reach of economic approximation and recognize
the fundamental relationship between man and his environment. Where-
ever there are people the environment will be exploited to satisfy
the needs and desires of man and his civilization.
Increasing environmental pressures from demoqraphic and commercial
development are paralleled in the same community by the increasinn
desire for greater recreational use. That these can be compatible
is clearly shown by the San Diego Bay example. Such community
reactions as in San Diego and 1n San Francisco demonstrate that, while
people need commercial development and use, they want a safe and
enjoyable environment at the same time.
Social and Economic Trends 1n the Estuarine Zone
At the present time, the major uses of estuaries, 1n terms of gross
monetary return are: military use, shipplnq, and industrial activi-
ties. These uses are, of course, historical and do not necessarily
reflect the uses that would be made of the estuary under today's
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water use at the same time. In other words, historical use has brought
about the present use imbalance in many estuarine systems. However,
given the opportunity to develop, other uses might attain equal
importance economically while contributing important social benefits.
Estuaries at the present time represent underdeveloped natural
resources that are important to the social as well as the economic
well-being of the Nation. Based on present trends and demands, there
1s little doubt that there will be a tremendous need for estuarine
uses other than for military, shipping, and Industrial uses. That 1s,
if the facilities are available for recreation, sports, or aesthetic
enjoyment, they will be used and used to great advantage from an
economic standpoint as well as a social standpoint.
If normal circumstances prevail, the Nation's population and general
high standard of living will continue to increase in the coming decades.
A moderate estimate projects a doubling of the national population by
the turn of the century, with a significant proportion of that growth
occurring in urban areas.
The population will be made up of a large proportion of youth and young
persons of working ages, with only a moderate increase in the elderly
through the end of the century. Personal income will rise dramatically.
Estimates of leisure time vary considerably, but all authorities agree
that the work week will shorten, from a conservative estimate of 35
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Association has projected that in 1990, ten per cent, and in 2000,
twenty per cent of the men between the ages of 25 and 54 will be
granted a one-year leave every seven years.
Urban and particularly suburban growth will expand greatly both to
accommodate the growing population and to provide amenities that it
increasingly demands: single family dwellings, recreational areas,
transportation facilities, industrial developments, and so on. These
demands will place rapidly increasing burdens on the Nation's
resources and its environment. These burdens, in turn, will tax the
ability of decision-makers and the Nation's population to cope with
the complexity and insistence of the problems generated by a post-
industrial, urbanized society.
Information provided by this analysis of national population and
economic trends gives only the grossest indication of the activities
and expected pressures of population and economic activity on all of
the Nation's environment. Analysis of these indicators can only pro-
vide a general indication of the magnitude of the demands which will
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POLLUTION: THE IMPACT OF HUMAN SOCIETY ON THE ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENT
Man has always used the biophysical environment as he needed it for
survival and thrown back into it his waste products and anything
else he did not need. As long as civilization was limited to small
towns and villages the impact of such treatment on the estuarine
environment was not noticeable and apparently insignificant. With
the development of a civilization based on a complex socioeconomic
environment, however, his impact on the natural environment has
increased until now the most accurate term to exDress the relation-
ship of man to his biophysical environment is "pollution."
"Pollution" is the degradation of the biophysical environment by
man's activities, it is no longer limited to the discharge of
sewage and industrial wastes, but now induces direct or indirect
damage to the environment by physical, chemical, or biological
modi fication.
Environmental degradation is the result of often minute changes
in water quality, water circulation, or other conditions wnich are
part of the biophysical estuarine environment. There are brightly
colored or otherwise visible waste materials which have obvious
pollutional implications, but by far the deadliest pollutants are
those which are invisible and often unsuspected until the damage
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and sensitive tests and, even then, the presence of some highly
dangerous materials or conditions can only be inferred by indirect
evidence.
Materials and Conditions which Degrade the Environment
One of the major constituents of municipal and many industrial
wastes is decomposable organic material. Such materials consist
primarily of carbohydrates from plants and paper, proteins from
animal matter, and miscellaneous fats and oils. The decomposable
organics are not necessarily detrimental by themselves but exert
a secondary effect by reducing dissolved oxygen in the water. The
level of dissolved oxygen is one direct Index ot the healthiness of
the system. High levels are generally Indicative of a healthy
system which will support a diverse biota and multiple use. The
lower the concentration of dissolved oxygen becomes, the sicker the
system 1s, and the less desirable 1t 1s for habitat or use.
Another class of materials, primarily organic, that can have
considerable impact on the estuarine ecosystem are the flesh-tainting
substances. Generally these materials are contained 1n industrial
waste effluents and they result 1n offensive tastes, odors and
colors of fish and shellfish.
The salts of heavy metals are fairly soluble and stable in solution.
Consequently, they will persist for extended lengths of time. Many
of these are highly toxic to the aquatic biota, and since many marine
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within their cell structure, the presence of these metals in small
concentrations can have deleterious effects.
Aquatic life forms require trace amounts of some minerals and
vitamins for growth and reproduction. Elimination of such materials
from the environment or their reduction below minimum levels can
limit the growth and reproduction of some biota. Conversely, an
oversupply of all necessary trace mineral_salts and vitamins ran
stimulate growth, providing satisfactory conditions of temperature,
salinity, and dissolved oxygen also exist. An oversupply of inorganic
nutrient salts, such as those of nitrogen and phosphorus, may tie
associated with drastic shifts in the composition of the aquatic
community.
One of the many unfavorable effects of municipal and some industrial
wastes is the contamination of the receivino environment with bacteria,
viruses and other orqanisms of public health significance. Pathogenic
organisms, especially those from the intestines of warm blooded
animals frequently persist for sufficient periods of time and distance
to pose a threat to the health and well-being of unsuspecting water
users. Secondary chances of exposure to these organisms exist throuqh
the contamination of shellfish which can be harvested for food.
Among the waste products that are frequently introduced into the
estuarine environment are some directly toxic to marine organisms.
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subtle long-term interference with growth and reproduction processes.
The end result is to create a biological desert in which no organism
can survive. Tne pesticide group is of particular concern in the
estuarine zone. Estuaries are the terminus for most of the major
river systems, and as such they tend to concentrate the waterborne
materials carried in by the large terrestrial drainage systems. The
biological magnification capability of estuarine animals significantly
increases the hazard and destructive potential of any contributed
pesticides. The ultimate damage is to stress or eliminate parts of
the energy conversion chain in the estuarine environment.
The addition of large quantities of heat from industrial cooling water
constitutes a form of pollution which must be considered. T.ie entire
ecosystem may be stressed by thermal pollution. The amount of damage
is dependent on the resulting temperature of the environment and the
species composition of the biotic community. The total range of
detriments should be carefully considered on an individual case
basis before heat is released to the environment. Hsat affects the
physical properties of water, the rates at which chemical ana
biological reactions progress, and can kill living organisms.
Man's activities may affect the rate of sedimant inflow,
deposition, and outflow by purposely or inadvertently upsetting
the natural balance. If upstream erosion is increased due
to poor land management practices, the load carried in will
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increased shore erosion, removing more sediment than is contributed.
The primary pollutional problem from sediment, however, is from
increased influx and accelerated deposition. The detrimental effects
of sedimentation are reflected in an impairment of uses such as
navigation, recreation, and fish propagation.
One of the greatest threats to the estuarine ecosystem is the ever-
present chance for a catastrophic spill of oil or other hazardous
materials. The large volumes of petroleum and chemical products trans
ported through the estuarine zone by ships, barges, pipelines, tracks,
and railroads present a continuing opportunity for accidental bulk
spills. The consequences of these spills depend on the amount and
type of material released and the characteristics of the receiving
water. They may range in magnitude from tragic loss of life to little
more than economic loss for the transporter.
The effect any pollutant has on an estuarine environment depends on
where it goes, how strong it is, and how rapidly it is assimilated
or flushed out of the environment. All of these conditions depend
on water movement and circulation patterns which are in turn governed
by tne relationship of tide and river flow to estuarine shape and
size. Physical modifications such as the dredging of new or deeper
navigation channels, building of causeways or jetties, and even
construction of pier bridges can cause subtle changes in water move-
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estuarine system and result in gradual undesirable changes in the
ecosystem in addition to direct habitat damage.
Sources of Pollution
Nearly all of man's activities can result in environmental degrada-
tion. Pollutants and polluting conditions are very rarely unique to
a particular use or specific activity, but may result from man's
existence in the estuarine zone as well as his use of it. The major
sources of pollution are these:
(1) Those sources associated with the extent of development
of the estuarine zone, including waste discharges from
municipalities and industries, and land runoff from these
as well as agriculture;
(2) Those sources associated with particular activities of
great pollutional significance, specifically dredging and
filling, watercraft operation, underwater mining, and heated
effluent discharges;
(3) External sources having impact derived through flow
regulation and upstream water quality.
Over eight billion gallons of municipal wastes are discharged daily
into the waters of the estuarine zone. While most of this volume is
domestic sewage, many municipal waste discharges also contain signif-
icant amounts of industrial wastes, which may add to the variability
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have four important effects on receiving water quality: depletion
of dissolved oxygen, arid introduction of pathogenic organisms, settle-
able material, and inorganic nutrients.
Sewage treatment reduces and alters the impact of municipal waste
on the environment. Primary treatment with chlorination will remove
part of the decomposable organic material, nearly all of the settle-
able and suspended solids, and almost eliminate the Dossibility cT
pathogens in the effluent. Secondary treatment can almost eliminate
decomposable organic material, and some special processes can eliminate
certain kinds of dissolved salts. About one half the municipal wastes
discharged to estuarine waters receive secondary treatment, with the
most extensive use of secondary treatment being in the Chesapeake Bay
estuarine region.
Associated with the major metropolitan developments are large numbers
of industrial complexes with their attendant waste products. Many of
these industrial wastes, especially from the chemical industry, are of
such a complicated nature that it is difficult both to identify them
and to assess their effects on the receiving streams. Only 4,000 of
the more than 200,000 manufacturing plants in the coastal states
account for 97 percent of the total liquid wastes discharged. Of
the nearly 22 billion gallons of industrial wastes discharged
only 29 percent receive any kind of waste treatment.
Intensification of use of the estuarine zone has resulted in many
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areas have been filled to create more land area for residential and
commercial use; channels have been dredged and maintained to permit
safer and better navigation; and harbor facilities have been dredged
and bridges and causeways have been built. All of this activity has
had impact on the coastal zone ecosystem, but the activities having
the most impact on water quality are dredging and fi11ing. The po-
tential for pollution of the system exists in both filling and dredg-
ing; both can introduce foreign materials into the water, destroy
aquatic habitat, and alter physical circulation patterns.
The primary source of thermal pollution is from industrial cooling
water effluents. Power plants are the major users of cooling water
in the estuarine zone, and power generation capacity has approximately
doubled each decade during this century. The impact of this growth
on the estuarine areas is evidenced by the fact that, in 1950, 22
percent of the power plants were in the coastal zone; it is antici-
pated that over 30 percent of the plants will be located there in
the late 1970's.
Estuarine areas are also very important highways of commerce, and
thousands of commercial vessels, foreign and domestic, from ocean
liners to barges, traverse the coastal waterways each year. Added
to this are many of the 1,500 Federal vessels and many nearly eight
million recreational vessels. All of these watercraft carry people
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Mining from the estuary floor causes alteration of the estuarine
shape and water circulation characteristics, with a secondary effect
being the turbidity problems associated with material removal.
Mining of sand and aravel from the estuarine floor are universal
while oyster shell dredging 1n any great quantity 1s restricted to
the Gulf coast. These operations remove part of the estuarine floor
with a concomitant destruction of habitat and life. There are also
great amounts of susoended and settleable solids frequently released
into the water, from which they are redeposited in other places.
The water quality of estuarine areas is dependent not only on direct
waste sources but also on the quality of the inflowing streams and
runoff enterinq the system. Tributary influent quality is generally
a qood index of the type and intensity of land use surrounding and
upstream from estuarine systems, and can be a major cause of ecological
stress within the system. The corralex interactions between fresh and
salt water may maqnify the effects of pollutants carried into the
tidal regime, resulting in quality anomalies completely alien to
either fresh or oceanic environments.
Extent of Pollution Effects
Environmental damage from human activities manifests itself in
changes in water quality and in chanqes in the living communities.
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sources of pollution mentioned earlier. One key to the degree of
environmental impact is measurement of alteration in water quality.
Extensive data have been collected on a few of the estuaries with
the most severe problems, and limited information is available on
other estuarine systems to outline the emergence, or document the
existence, of water quality problems.
Examples of estuarine systems that show definite documented water
quality degradation as a result of human activities are these:
Penobscot Bay, Boston Harbor, Moriches Bay, New York Harbor,
Raritan Bay, Delaware Estuary, Baltimore Harbor, Potomac River,
James River, Charleston Harbor, Savannah River, Riscayne Bay, San
Juan Harbor (P.R.), Tampa Bay, Pensacola Ray, Mississippi River,
Galveston Bay, Laguna Madre, San Dieqo Bay, Los Angeles Harbor, San
Francisco Bay, Columbia River, Puget Sound, Silver Bay (Alaska),
and Hilo Harbor (Hawaii).
Pollutional damage to estuarine ecosystems may be sudden and
dramatic as fish or other aquatic life forms suddenly dying, or
it may be so gradual as not to be noticed for many years. Many
studies of different aspects of estuarine biology have been made,
but there are only a few cases in which comprehensive ecoloqical
studies have been made of pollutional effects.
All of the 25 estuarine systems listed above also show some
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the United States there is not sufficient information to decide
whether there is no ecological damage, or whether there is just no
easily identifiable pollution problem present.
The complex nature of pollution 1n the estuarine zone prevents the
separation of sources of pollution, kinds of pollution, and types
of environmental damage into neat compartments of cause and effect.
All of human activities in the estuarine zone can damage the environ-
ment and most of them do.
Wherever people live, work, and play in the estuarine zone the
demands of their social and economic activities place stresses on
the biophysical environment. These stresses frequently result in
degradation of that environment, perhaps not immediately or even in
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USE CONFLICTS AND DAMAGES:
MAN'S BATTLE WITH HIMSELF
AND NATURE
The consequence of damage to the biophysical environment is loss of
use either immediately or at some time in the future. Loss of use,
however, may also be associated with the appropriation of part of
the estuarine resource for one exclusive use even when no damage to
the environment itself occurs.
Institutional management must cope with the problems of responsibility
and authority in achieving maximum multiple use of the estuarine
resource. Within this comprehensive framework technical management
must resolve the problems surrounding conflicts of use, competition
for the resources of the estuarine zone, and environmental damage.
The primary objective of technical management is to achieve the best
possible combination of uses to serve the needs of society while
protecting, preserving, and enhancing the biophysical environment
for the continuing benefit of present and future generations.
The uses of the estuarine zone grew and changed in consonance with
population growth and industrial development. Not until recent
years was a concerted attempt made to understand and resolve the
conflicts that arose in the competition to use and exploit these
land and water resources. During the past three hundred years of
growth and industrial expansion with its emphasis on economic growth
and direct monetary gain, large parts of the estuarine zone were
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enterprises. The net result has been less a conflict in existing
uses tuan an exclusion of some uses.
Nearly all estuarine uses involve both land and water, either
directly or indirectly. For example, the construction of a manu-
facturing plant on the shore of an estuarine system may not involve
any direct use of the water {even for waste disposal), yet it limits
access by its occupation of the shoreline and so may interfere with
other uses. Conversely, the disposal of liquid wastes into the water
may not use any appreciable space but may make the shoreline unusable
for recreation as well as making the water itself unsafe.
The impact of one estuarine use on another may be either "prohibitive"
or "restrictive" depending on the kind of use and sometimes on the
manner in which it is carried out.
Prohibitive impacts involve permanent changes in the environment and
thereby prohibit all uses unable to cope with such changes. The
geographical range of such impacts may be from the limited area in
which they occur to an entire estuarine system, depending on the
nature and size of the change. The impact may be temporary, if it
is possible to return the environment to its original form, or it
may be permanent.
Any use or activity requiring physical modification of the shore-
line, marshes, or bottom of an estuarine system may have a
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to be prohibitive when it has any conflicting impact. Examples of
estuarine uses and activities generally having prohibitive impacts
are navigation dredging, other dredging and filling, solid waste
disposal, construction of bridges, dikes, jetties, and other
structures, shoreline development, mining from the estuarine bottom,
and flow regulation.
Some estuarine uses may restrict estuarine use for other purposes but
do not automatically exclude other uses. These are those activities
which do not require a permanent modification of the estuarine
system; they generally include those uses directly involved with the
estuarine waters and other renewable resources.
Restrictive impacts may involve damage to water quality, living
organisms, or aesthetic quality; such impacts may also result from
the exclusive appropriation of space. The key feature of uses
which cause restrictive impacts is that they may, with proper
management, be carried out simultaneously with other uses.
Any kind of municipal or industrial waste discharge may have a
restrictive impact and often does. Commercial fishing, recreation,
and water supply are the major uses restricted by pollution from
liquid waste discharges.
Some kinds of commercial fishing require the use of trawls or the
setting of traps or nets that must be left for some time. The use
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but there is no permanent appropriation of estuarine waters or
space. The major conflict is with recreation in that recreational
boating must be excluded from areas where fishing gear is near the
surface.
Where there is conflict, the scene 1s set for trade-off, i.e., a
willing substitution of one activity for another. The scene is
equally set for uncompensated damage where one user qroup precludes
the activities of a second unrelated user group but does not reim-
burse them for damage. Actual documented examples of use damages
are difficult to find. One major reason is the basic fact that has
permeated much of the discussion of economic and social values:
Many estuarine values are not quantifiable. While damages to a
commercial enterprise, such as commercial fishing, can be quantified
in terms of the economic loss, the essentially intangible values of
recreation and estuarine habitat are difficult to measure.
Recreational loss would have to be measured in terms of how many
people don't swim or go boating in the Potomac River because it is
polluted. It is far easier to find out how many people go there
even if it is polluted; even these values are hard to find.
The value of estuarine habitat is just as difficult to establish.
There are now about 5.5 million acres of important estuarine marsh
and wetland habitat remaining in the estuarine zone of the United
States. Perhaps each acre is not valuable by itself, but the total
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Use damage is not a necessary feature of civilization in the
estuarine zone, but use conflicts will continue to exist as more
and more demands are made on the natural environment. The ability
of any management authority to prevent use damage and to resolve use
conflicts depends not only upon its Institutional composition and
legal authority, but also upon the social, economic, and biophysical
characteristics of the estuarine management unit within which its
authority is exercised.
Lie analyses of social and economic values of the estuarine zone
examined concurrently with the similar analyses of use conflicts,
pollutional effects, and use damages form the basis for resolving
use conflicts through the application of technical knowledge, i.e.,
technical management.
The primary objective of technical management is to accommodate the
needed and desired uses of any estuarine management unit within that
system without overall damage to the biophysical environment. The
ability to achieve this objective depends on the boundaries of the
management unit and upon the means available for resolving both
prohibitive use conflicts and restrictive use conflicts.
The impact of the social and economic requirements of civilization
on the natural estuarine environment is the technical problem with
whicn management must deal, and effective control of this impact can
oe maintained only if both the major sources of damage and the
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An estuarine management unit, therefore, should consist not only of
the estuarine waters, bottoms, and associated marshlands; but it
should also include all of the shoreline surrounding the estuarine
waters themselves and as much of the adjoining land as is necessary
to regulate the discharge of wastes into estuarine waters.
Allocation of part of the estuarine resource for an exclusive
single-purpose use is a necessary fact of estuarine management. The
shoreline is a necessary location for shipping docks and for swimming
beaches, but they cannot both occupy the same place on the shoreline.
Similarly, frequently dredged channels and oyster beds cannot occupy
the same space at the same time. Resolution of such conflicts can
be achieved by allocation of adequate space to each use through
whatever institutional mechanism is established.
The evaluation of the effects of prohibitive uses on the estuarine
environment is probaDly the most difficult problem currently facing
technical management. The immediate and obvious effects of the
habitat loss associated with such uses can be measured and described
fairly easily, but the ultimate results of tne iiiodification of water
movement patterns and flushing characteristics can only be estimated
in general terms.
In nearly every problem associated with prohibitive use conflicts,
however, the area of primary concern is the effect on the estuarine
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knowledge mentioned above, therefore, present a critical problem 1n
present efforts to resolve prohibitive use conflicts.
A more difficult problem arises where there is involved a massive
dredge or fill operation with its concomitant immediate effect on
the ecosystem. When such modifications are a necessary or desirable
development of the environment 1t may be necessary to forego the
habitat use; however, in many cases it may be possible to create
new, equivalent habitat in a different part of the management unit,
or it might be possible to restore part of the damaged environment.
While the resolution of prohibitive use conflicts requires the
abandoning of one use in favor of another, the potential for carrying
out any modifications necessary so as to increase habitat value as
well as economic value should be a key factor in the resolution of
such problems.
Disposal of liquid wastes to the estuarine environment is the major
restrictive use impact of the socioeconomic environment. This use
conflict can be resolved completely either by treating all wastes to
such an extent that they do not interfere with any other uses or else
removing them entirely from the environment.
Technology exists to provide thorough treatment for nearly every
kind of municipal and industrial waste, and there is no reason not
to provide treatment sufficient to protect the environment from
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different wastes may vary from place to place according to local
conditions, but damage to the environment and restriction of other
uses can be prevented.
Water quality standards have been set and are now being implemented
in all the coastal states. These standards are the foundation upon
which the effective control of estuarine pollution rests, and they
provide the framework within which technical management can effectively
operate.
Estuarine waters even in busy harbors are used for recreational
purposes by those who cannot afford to go elsewhere, regardless of
whether the waters are safe for body contact or not. Also the role
of the estuarine zone as a nursery for some fish, passage for others,
and a residence for still nore is readily apparent although its
full implications in the energy conversion chain are not understood.
For these reasons the long-range achievable water quality qoal of
estuarine management should be to keen all waters safe for direct
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MANAGEMENT AND KNOWLEDGE
A great deal of technical and socioeconomic knowledqe 1s neces-
sary to support a comprehensive program of estuarlne management.
This knowledge must be supplied through mult1d1sc1pl1nary efforts.
The knowledge thus developed must Include:(1) knowledge and under-
standing of the biological, physical, and chemical factors of the
estuarlne zone, (2) knowledqe of the institutional framework gov-
erning each portion of the estuarine zone, (3) knowledge of the
demographic, social, and economic factors and their trends, (4)
establishment of goals and uses so that future studies can be
relevantly oriented, and (5) an augmentation and synthesis of all
this knowledge.
The available pertinent information on these subjects has been
gathered, orqanized, and coordinated into the National Estuarine
Inventory. This compilation revealed many areas in which informa-
tion is poor or is lacking; some can be obtained by careful, rou-
tine monitorinn of the estuarine environment. The acquisition of
other knowledqe requires an integrated, multidisciplinary research
and study proqram.
The most Important knowledge to be gained is an understanding of
the estuarine environment adequate to permit the recognition and
interpretation of interrelationships which, in turn, provides the
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in the estuarine zone. The research and study programs which will
yield this information are in the categories of:
(1) Ecology, taken to include base line information,
broad ecological studies, biology, water quality,
natural variability, and interface factors.
(2) Toxicity, taken to include bioassay needs and
methodology, sublethal effects, and mortality phen-
omena.
(3) Microbiology, taken to include the regenera-
tion of plant nutrients, biodegradation of organic
wastes, eutrophication, and pathogens.
(4) Physics and mathematics, taken to include hydrau-
lics, sedimentation, effects of structures and physical
modifications, and physical and mathematical modeling.
(5) Planning, taken to include economics, law, social
and demographic factors and trends, resource evaluation
and allocation, and the role of technical research and
study in supporting a comprehensive management program.
(6) Needs of researchers, taken to include environ-
mental modeling, methodology (both laboratory and field
techniques), data processing, training needs, and estua-
rine zone laboratories.
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their activities; results of research should be widely dissemi-
nated. The national program for estuarlne study should be developed
with strong regional emphasis based on ecology, geography, and a
commonality of problems and objectives. Planning for estuarlne use
and development must be based on broad public benefits rather than
narrow private Interests. A system of criteria by which to gauge
estuarlne quality 1s necessary. Key management roles require ade-
quately trained people 1n ecology, engineering, economics, planning,
and law. Finally, the public must be Informed of Its stake 1n the
estuary.
The Federal and State roles 1n estuarlne monitoring, research, and
study should be a joint one with their respective actions comple-
mentary. The State role 1s basically to manage its estuarlne and
coastal zone resources, coordinate the research activities of its
appropriate agencies and Institutions, and to augment and encourage
the development of new knowledge applicable to its estuaries and
coastal area. The Federal role, a residual one, is primarily to
assist the States through such means as: grants to States and to
academic institutions, organizations, and individuals to support
needed investigations; perform broad studies not of a local nature;
participate In State and local studies; coordinate Federal estuarine
and coastal zone research and study activities; and organize and
coordinate Its laboratory resources so as to coooerate with and
assist States, localities, and academic Institutions supporting
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CONCLUSIONS
The ever-increasinq and often conflicting social and economic demands
of modern human civilization are nlacinq significant pressures on the
limited estuarine resources of the United States. The delicately bal-
anced natural ecology of the estuarine zone has been subjected to over
three hundred years of exploitation and alteration: objective analysis
of the results of this use and misuse shows that nositive action 1s
needed now to oreserve, conserve, and enhance the finite resources of
the coastal zone.
Natural estuarine ecosystems are communities of living organisms exist-
ing in reasonably delicate balances determined bv definable but poorly
understood external environmental conditions. These systems exist only
in the qeoqraDhical1y and physically limited narrow interface where the
land meets the sea; where over one-third of this Nation's present pecu-
lation and industry is concentrated into 15 percent of the land area.
This society uses the resources of the estuarine zone and coastal zone
to serve not only those social and economic ournoses for which the zone
is uniquely valuable such as recreation, fishinq, and naviqation, but
also to satisfy other requirements of civilization wherever organized
human society exists. These uses include industrial, residential, and
commercial land development, exploitation of mineral resources and
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11-74
all of these activities. The economic pressures of these diverse and
often conflicting uses have often resulted In a preemption of the estu-
arlne resource for Individually profitable uses to the limitation or
exclusion of other valuable, but much less quantifiable, uses.
The natural aesthetic and habitat qualities of the estuarlne and coastal
environment enhance its value for many economic uses and also make it a
recreational resource of great commercial, as well as social, value. It
is the value of the estuarine zone as a f1sh and wildlife habitat, a
recreational resource, and an aesthetic attraction that make the estuarine
zone a unique feature of the human environment, yet it is these very values
that have been generally Ignored in satisfying the Immediate social and
economic needs of civilization. The overall value of the estuarine zone
for commerce, navigation, and transportation has been detailed in this
report to the extent that definitive economic data are available. The
values of the estuarine zone as a fish and wildlife habitat, as a recre-
ational facility, and as an aesthetic experience are probably greater
than they are for commercial exploitation but, unfortunately, we have not
yet developed the ability to adequately express these social and humanistic
values in quantitative terms.
The pressures of population growth and economic development associated
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have permitted and, indeed, encouraged dredqinq and filling operations,
resultinq in the destruction of many valuable areas of estuarine marsh
and wetlands. The complete and irreversible loss of this habitat erad-
icates not only the resident and transient wildfowl dependent upon it,
but also the life support system of the bulk of the Nation's sport and
commercial fish. True, we cannot now establish a direct quantifiable
relatlonshln describlnq the acreaoes of wetland, marsh, or estuary
necessary to support our coastal fisheries, but we do know that this
relationshin does exist and that the necessary habitat must be protec-
ted. Activities generated by these same social and economic pressures
habe degraded estuarine waters, severely damaginn not only the estuarine
ecosystem, but also the other essential human uses of the estuarine
resource.
The value of the estuarine resource to the Nation lies more in the
multinle Durposes it can serve than in the economic worth of a single
use, and it is this overridinn national value which has been minimized
or ianored. Population and economic develoDment oressures are increa-
sing more rapidly now than thev have in the past, and continuation of
present attitudes and aDnroaches toward use of the estuarine and coastal
zone can brinq only an increasing rate of damaoe to its ecology and to
the resources it sunnlies.
Properly supDorted and managed research and studies to increase present
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manaqement of the estuaries and coastal areas.
Over and above this, thouqh, must be added a stronqer and better institu-
tional environment to provide the umbrella for the inteqrated and compre-
hensive Dlanninq needed to convert the processes of loss and damaqe to
actions leading to enhanced and broadened values. The proqram for accom-
plishinq this Is presented 1n Part III that follows.
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4
Part III
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III-l
INTRODUCTION
At present, planning and development in the estuarine zone is done
on an independent piecemeal basis. The resultant losses to fish and
wildlife resources, the habitat upon which they depend, and the
impact on recreational, scenic, esthetic qualities, and water qual-
ity itself appear to be proceeding at an increasingly rapid rate.
Whole sectors of the public object, but economic and political
pressures, particularly at the local level seem to win out and the
irreparable damages to estuarine and coastal regions continue.
It is thus evident that a higher order of planning and evaluation is
needed. The planning must be both integrated and comprehensive and
in the concurrent evaluation, involve all the uses of the waters and
the adjacent lands. The impact on the total environment must be
considered and be paramount to single purpose aspects.
It is the purpose of this part of the study to recommend the program
that will provide for the necessary planning and its implementation
at the various levels of government. This was directed in the words
of Congress as follows:
"Recommendations for a comprehensive national program for
the preservation, study, use, and development of estuaries
of the Nation, and the respective responsibilities which
should be assumed by Federal, State, and local governments
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As the study proceeded It was determined quite early that the direct
relationship of the coastal areas to the estuaries made it impractical
to attempt to consider them separately. This was true because of their
close proximity, their continuous influence upon each other and because
both are affected by the same economic and social pressures, thus the
recommendations that follow apply equally to the estuarine areas proper
and to the entire coastal zone, that overall area where the continent
and the islands meet the sea.
A comprehensive program for the management of the estuarine and coastal
zonesof the Nation, must have as its primary concern the institutional
environment, i.e.,the framework which includes the forms of law, political
institutions, and organizational mechanisms, that man must use to provide
himself the capability to control, develop, and use these zones. Once
this framework 1s established it becomes more easily possible to conduct
activities designed to improve the biophysical environment and the
socioeconomic environment.
What is proposed 1s a program that recognizes the primary responsibilities
of the States in a management program for their estuarine and coastal
areas, and on the Federal side provides for the coordination of Federal
activities in these areas and for assistance to the States 1n their
management activities.
Any comprehensive national program for the estuarine and coastal zone
must provide flexibility in many ways to fit regional and local con-
ditions and situations, but regardless of variables it must establish
a guiding policy and a set of objectives. Regardless of variables, in
order to be effective the program must provide for: (1) planning and
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111-3
control, coordination and financing; and (3) the development of the
knowledge and data necessary as a basis for all action.
This report does not recommend any particular type of organization at
the State level but only what 1t must accomplish. The particular
organization, it 1s felt, will vary to fit the situation. Also,
there 1s awareness that some States have established estuarlne and
coastal management programs and that others have them in the plan-
ning stage. These programs, where known, have been studied, and
their Ideas Included herein.
THE ELEMENTS OF A COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL PROGRAM
It follows, therefore, that any program of management must contain
at least the following elements:
(1) Mutually agreed-upon policy, objectives and functions.
(2) Legislative authorization to carry out the program's
functional activities.
(3) Development of the basic knowledge necessary for
effective management.
(4) Provisions for planning and Implementation.
(5) Active administration 1n terms of regulation, control,
and coordination.
(6) Financial and manpower resources.
(7) Public awareness and acceptance.
The mutually agreed-upon policy and objectives are the basis and the
reason for this study, and is described below, as a national policy
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111 -4
The remaining elements are contained in the roles and reconmended
responsibilities to be assumed at the various levels of government.
For most activities required, there is a continuous series of con-
current Federal, State, and local jurisdictions. This is present now
under current law, and it must be assumed that the situation will
continue to exist, as many functions must be carried out at each
level of government. There is also that essential element of public
awareness, the non-governmental public and private interests, whose
support of a national program through political and social processes
can bring much progress towards better management.
It must be kept in mind that the importance of the estuarine and
coastal areas is not limited to the coastal States and communities.
The economic, social, and environmental use and well-being of the
estuarine and coastal zones of the Nation are of vital Interest to
the Inland States as well. It is for these reasons that there must be
a national program that gives adequate consideration to this breadth
of interest and which embraces well-defined roles for the Federal,
State, and local levels of government as well as for public and
private interests.
Any recommended national policy must reflect the fact that there is
strong national Interest in the effective management and protection
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(1) The pressures of population growth and economic
development, including requirements for Industrial, com-
mercial, residential development, recreation, exploitation
of mineral resources, and fossil fuels, transportation and
other navigation, waste disposal, and exploitation of fish
and other living marine resources, impose an Increasing
number of conflicting demands upon the finite resources
of the coastal zone.
(2) Estuaries, marshlands, and other parts of the coastal
zone contain extremely valuable habitat for fish and
wildlife which move beyond State boundaries; such areas
are vital to the life support of a major part of the
Nation's commercial and sport fisheries harvest; such
areas, particularly the estuaries, constitute ecological
systems which are susceptible to destruction and disruption
by man.
(3) Continued unplanned or uncoordinated development
activities in the coastal zone pose an immediate threat
of irreversible harm to the coastal zone and its resources
and a loss of the benefits it offers.
(4) The coastal zone is a valuable area for multiple
economic, recreational, and resource uses.
(5) The interest in the coastal zone extends to the
citizens of all the States, and is not limited to the
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Ill-6
Policy and Objectives of a Comprehensive National
Estuarine and Coastal Zone Management Program
The Recommended National Policy.
Achievement of the best use of the values of the estuarine and coastal
zones through a balance between: (a) multi-purpose development; (b)
conservation; and (c) preservation over both the short and long-range.
Priority consideration should be given to those resources that are
non-renewable and to maintaining those resources and uses which are
estuarlne-dependent. It shall also recognize that the primary
responsibility for management of the estuarine and coastal zones
rests with the States.
This recommended national policy recognizes the vital need in present
and future programs to:
--Encourage urban and Industrial growth and the resulting land
use in a manner to preserve the maximum of the estuarine and
coastal zone resources and to Insure the greatest number of
beneficial uses.
—Recognize that estuarlne-dependent land uses require preference
and that some uses such as residential and some industrial uses
do not need shoreline locations.
—Conserve the estuarine and coastal environment to sustain'and
enhance its nursery value, its wildlife habitat value, and its
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III-7
—Develop and make accessible the many forms of outdoor
recreation and the aesthetic values offered by the estuaries
and coastal areas.
--Reduce to an acceptable minimum the adverse effect of man's
use of the estuaries and coastal areas and accept preservation
as one means of reasonably guarantying the opportunity to
exercise future options.
£he recormiended National Policy will put in effect a comprehensive
national program for the effective management, beneficial use,
protection and development of the estuarine and coastal zone of
the iNatlon involving Federal, State,and local governments, and
public and private interests in an appropriate manner. It will
permit the optimum use of this vital resource by recognizing the
existence of competing uses and accommodating them through
appropriate management and, further, conserve these resources
in such a manner as to keep open the options for various uses
in the future and not foreclose them. This management system
will recognize the primary and constitutional role of the States
in managing their resources as well as the role of the Federal
Government in protecting the wider national Interest. The
principal goal of the national program is the use of the estuarine
and coastal zone for as many beneficial purposes as possible and,
where some uses are precluded, to achieve that mix of uses which
society, based on both short and long-range considerations, deems
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THE OBJECTIVES OF A NATIONAL PROGRAM OF MANAGEMENT
Without attempting to assign responsibilities of functions to the
various levels of government at this point, the objectives of a
comprehensive management plan are listed below. These objectives
also constitute a reasonably thorough set of guidelines for an
acceptable management plan.
(1) Equitable consideration in management decisions
of the views of all public and private interests concerned
with the use and preservation of estuarine and coastal
resources.
(2) Adequate planning, i.e., the preparation and adoption
by the appropriate government, of plans governing the
balanced development, conservation, and preservation of
coastal and estuarine resources. Elements of such a plan may
vary but ordinarily should include determinations of immediate
and long-range needs and objectives, water quality standards,
zoning of land use, and any public or private facilities,
sites, etc. What is needed is the construction of an optimum
resource utilization profile for each estuary and coastal
area based on an objective means of value identification
and appraisal. Specific uses for various parts of an
estuary or coastal area must be determined and comparative
values placed on these uses in terms of the accepted national
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—Industrial and commercial location and use
--Recreation and scenic enjoyment
—Preservation of fish and wildlife and their habitat
--Residential - both urban and suburban development
—The exploitation of mineral resources including oil,
gas, sulfur, sand and gravel, and others
—Generation of electrical power
—Water supply
--Exploitation of living resources including fish,
shellfish, other wildlife, and the pursuit of
aquaculture
--Transportation
--National defense
--Waste disposal
--Scientific research
In placing a value on the above uses, consideration must
be given to the following criteria:
(a) Multi-purpose use;
(b) Preservation of the estuarine habitat essential
to living resources;
(c) Use for estuarine dependent activities; and
(d) Conservation of non-renewable resources.
(3) Implementation, i.e., the making and execution by
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111-10
achieve for all concerned the best use of the resource.
The three broad forms of governmental regulation include:
(a) The establishment and enforcement of policies
controlling use and/or modification of estuarine and
coastal resources by public authorities through:
[1] Water quality and other standards, zoning
of land use, and official use and management
plans.
[2] Permits, licenses, etc., governing permis-
sible uses and/or modification of estuarine and
coastal resources.
(b) Promotion of established plans and policies
through various forms of incentives and assistance.
(c) Control of use by selected acquisition, development
and/or administration by government itself.
(4) Service activities to assist planning, regulation,
and the use of estuarine and coastal resources including:
(a) Funding, through grants, credit, subsidies, or
other financial inducements;
(b) Technical assistance;
(c) Research, studies, and inventories; and
(d) Information and educational programs to improve
public awareness and manpower development programs
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III-ll
(5) Participation in management by all levels of government,
with the primary management responsibility of the States
preserved and enhanced, and with existing management authority
and programs retained where these contribute to achieving the
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RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDED
ROLE OF THE STATES IN THE COMPREHENSIVE
NATIONAL ESTUARINE AND COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
The States, in our Federal system of government, occupy a strategic pos-
ition in the management of the Nation's estuarine and coastal resources.
As holders of residual sovereignty, they possess ample authority to
manage these resources as they see fit, subject only to limitations
imposed upon them by the Constitution, by the Congress acting pursuant
to constitutionally authorized powers, and by their own constitutions.
Moreover, even in those areas in which the Federal Government exercises
exclusive or primary authority, the nature of our political process
gives State officials substantial power to influence the objectives and
exercise of Federal policies.
The strategic State position is also a direct result of the on-scene
nature of the State function — the interface between the forces of
politics, business, and people and their respective ambitions for putting
to use the storehouse of available estuarine and coastal resources. It
is in the State Capitols that many of the major decisions will be made
that will determine the success of a national estuarine and coastal
management program.
The State Responsibilities
Seven aspects of the States' possession of this residual sovereignty
which relate more specifically to the management of estuarine and coastal
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responsibility. First, although the Federal role has expanded in
recent years, the States retain primary authority and responsibility
for the prevention and control of water pollution. Second, they hold
title to wholly or partially submerged lands and mineral resources in
the estuarine and coastal zone and are responsible for administering
these, through retention by the State or through their disposal or
lease, in the Dublic interest. Third, the States possess orimary
authority to decide, either directly or through their local subdivisions,
how the shoreline and related uplands in the estuarinp and coastal zones
are to be used for various purposes, i.e., trade and commerce, industry,
parks, recreation, etc. Fourth, the authority of local governments
generally in managing the water and land resources in estuaries is
determined by the States. Fifth, the exploitation of the fisheries
and other living estuarine and coastal resources is under State
control to the seaward boundary of U. S. territorial seas. Sixth,
the nature and forms of interstate cooperation in managing the
Nation's estuaries is a matter which the States largely decide. And,
finally, each State presides over the common law which governs private
relations in the development and use of estuarine and coastal resources,
and resolves the conflicting rights, interests, and privileges of its
citizens in using these resources.
The Recommended State Role
Clearly, therefore, it is upon the States that the Nation must place
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private rights and expectations, on the one hand, and the collective
or public interest, on the other. It is also upon the States that the
Nation must rely primarily for the integration of Federal service func-
tions into State programs and, even more important, for the development
of suggested reconciliations where the regulatory or service programs
of different Federal agencies in a specific estuary are in conflict.
These are the heart of this study's recommendations for sound manage-
ment of the estuarine and coastal resources.
Responsibilities inherent in this strateqic and primary role of the
States in improving management of the Nation's coastal resources are
both immediate and of a more long-range nature. The immediate role to
be played by the States includes:
(1) Vigorous implementation of water quality standards
established for each State's estuarine and coastal waters.
(2) Maximum use of the States' available existing authority
to halt or minimize further undesirable physical modifica-
tion of estuaries through dredging, filling, and drainage.
(3) Immediately establishing and maintaining, if presently
lacking, effective interstate, interagency, and State-local
coordination of estuarine and coastal management programs.
(4) Conducting an early evaluation of the impact on the
estuaries as a result of upstream water and related land
resource development and the occurrence and growth of
upstream waste discharges, taking into account the inter-
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(5) Making an immediate review of the jurisdictional
relationship between the States and the subordinate units
of government in matters dealing with the establishment and
enforcement of land-use plans, and the importance of the
relationship between land use and the quality of the
estuarine and coastal environments.
(6) Undertaking a thorough review of the present estuarine
and coastal management capabilities of the State and its
subordinate governmental units for the purpose of identify-
ing steps needed to strengthen the State's long-range
management effectiveness.
(7) Formulating and putting into operation a comprehensive
statewide program for the management of its estuarine and
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RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HEW STATE PROGRAMS AND ORGANIZATION
Effective discharge by the States of the all-important role which they
occupy in achieving comprehensive and sound management of estuarine and
coastal resources will in many instances require legislation estab-
lishing new management authority and organization.
The exact form such new authority and organization should take may well
vary from State to State. Each State's action in this regard will, as
it should, reflect its own special political and governmental tradi-
tions, the present organization of the State government, and the current
division of authority and responsibility between the State and its
local governmental units. Moreover, the estuaries themselves vary in
their nature and the uses for which each is most suited, the degree to
which the estuarine and coastal zone has been developed for various
purposes, and the dimensions and complexity of their management
problems. These differences, too, suggest that, as they seek more
effectively to manage estuarine and coastal resources, the response
from the States need not, and should not, be rigidly uniform.
Indeed the innovations and experiments which the States' responses can
be expected to produce are regarded as a positive good and are therefore
encouraged. The recommendations which follow should be viewed in that
light and also as reflecting and drawing upon the significant improve-
ments which some States already have instituted in their estuarine and
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It is recommended that each State, if it has not already done so, take
action along the following lines to improve its estuarine and coastal
management capability and effectiveness:
(1) There is a primary need to provide organizational
arrangements in the State governmental structure with
the authority and resources to administer State-level
estuarine and coastal management functions, or, alter-
natively, to coordinate State-level management activities
in the estuaries, including State-local, interstate, and
State-Federal relations. Such organizational arrangements
should be facilitated by the proposed new program of
Federal grants (outlined under Federal Role) for the
administration of the State estuarine and coastal
management programs. The State should coordinate its
own programs with the appropriate part of Federal
programs.
(2) Improve the States' long-range management capability
through such other measures as:
(a) Preparation of an official use and management
plan for each of the State's estuaries and coastal
zones, either by the State or by general or special
purpose subdivisions with State participation and
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at critical stages in the development process.
This plan should be appropriately coordinated with
Federal agencies, State agencies, local governments
and other interests; and with plans for managing
the land and water resources in the estuary's
tributary streams, metropolitan area plans, economic
development plans, etc.
(b) Instituting State-level permit requirements
for dredging, filling, or other modification of
wetlands and other estuarine and coastal resources
in areas not subject to exclusive Federal
regulation.
(c) Requiring all State and local agencies engaged
in activities which may physically or otherwise
modify estuarine or coastal resources, either
directly or through issuance of permits, licenses,
leases, etc., to comply with the approved use and
management olan for the estuary in question. In
the absence of such plan, the agency should be
required to:
[1] Give notice of the intended action and
hold a public hearing before acting, if
another governmental agency gives notice
that a substantial adverse effect on estuar-
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111-19
likely result.
[2] Minimize adverse effects on estuarine
and coastal resources and their use.
Provisions for such requirements also should
authorize denial of such permits, licenses,
etc., based on the possibility of such
adverse effects.
(d) Where necessary, initiate legislative and
judicial proceedings to resolve problems in
establishing the States' title to tidal lands,
wetlands, etc., and in regulating use of estuar-
ine and coastal lands under private ownership.
(e) Strengthening selective land acquisition and
development programs for recreation and conserva-
tion purposes.
(f) Instituting State-level authority to review
land use, zoning, and other action by local
governments and to veto if inconsistent with the
State-adopted management plan for that estuary.
(g) Augmented funding of all components of the
States' comprehensive management programs.
(h) Developing interstate agreements for the
conduct of joint or coordinated planning or other
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(i) Establishing appropriate intrastate regional
management organizations or special districts to
provide effective local implementation of the use
and management plans for intrastate estuarine and
coastal zones.
(j) Authorizing local governments to exercise tax
policies designed to facilitate the preservation
of estuarine and coastal sites which should be
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RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDED ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN THE
COMPREHENSIVE ESTUARINE AND COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
The local governments of this country are subdivisions of the States
and are created by the States for a wide varietv of purposes. These
Durposes may range from specific functions such as water supdy, sew-
age collection and treatment, port development and operation, etc.,
to general purpose units of government such as counties, cities, and
towns.
Resnonsibilities of Local Government
It is with the general ouroose units of government that the resnonsi-
bility rests for many of the day-to-day decisions that have impact on
the quality of the estuarine and coastal environment. The responsibil-
ity to control the character and location of shoreline developments
throuqh land use planning and zoning and the enforcement of zoning
requirements resides with the local governments. The responsibility
to control waste discharges and land drainage exists largely with local
/
governments. The interface between oeople and government takes place
largely at the local level. Because of these responsibilities and
relationships it is important that we be aware of the extent to which
the local governments have been effective in influencina the balance
between the destruction or misuse of the estuarine and coastal resources,
and the development of plans for their effective comorehensive manage-
ment. For the most part local governments have not made a significant
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their related land resources.
While the States have retained control of the uses of estuarine waters,
local governments have been delegated the prime responsibility for man-
aging the adjacent land areas, which in many cases has included much of
the marsh and wetland resources. The local governments, inadequately
staffed and frequently too small to encompass an entire estuarine or
coastal area, lacking funds and receiving little guidance, coordination,
and supervision from the States, often have been subjected to severe
economic and political pressures to proceed with unnlanned or limited
purDose development without an adequate aopraisal of the long-range
adverse impacts on the estuarine and coastal environment. As a result
all too many valuable estuarine and coastal resources continue to be
destroyed or greatly diminished in their usefulness.
The Recommended Role of Local Government
Despite this rather unhappy picture, the role of local government in
the management of the estuarine and coastal zones is a crucial one
because it is "on scene" and directly concerned with the people, indus-
try, the land and water.
This singularly important role in estuarine and coastal management
includes such things as waste collection, treatment and disposal, land
use planning and control, and the development of estuarine and coastal
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the development of support for regional programs for estuarine and
coastal management and the crucial function of explaininci to its citi-
zenry the importance and impact of local governmental activities upon
estuarine and coastal resources and their use.
With increased attention to coordinated planning of the estuarine zone
and its related land resources and with increased assistance and
improved supervision from the State level much more can be accomplished
at the local level of government. As this takes Dlace there should be
an expanded and increasingly effective role for the local government to
play.
This expanded role should provide for:
(1) Improvement in the collection, treatment, and
disposal of wastes.
(2) Development of local laws and ordinances for
estuarine and coastal zone preservation and manage-
ment, including control over shoreline construction
activities.
(3) Effective enforcement of local laws and regu-
lations.
(4) Comorehensive surveys of ownership, land claims,
and leases through title checks and an undated land
register to clarify land ownership.
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practices, including the development of more flexible
and imaginative approaches, such as planned unit devel-
opment, cluster zoning and subdivision control.
(6) Use of tax assessment and land valuation policies
to induce sound conservation and development practices
through such means as preferential assessment and defer-
red taxation.
(7) Providing public ownership or access to selected
estuarine and coastal areas for whatever purposes that
are necessary for sound management of estuarine and
coastal zones and related land resources.
(8) Active participation in State and Federal estuarine
and coastal management programs.
(9) Active participation in appropriate regional manage-
ment organizations, which would cover the entire estuarine
and coastal zone nroblem area. These organizations may
be multifunctional, and in urban areas, metropolitan in
character dealing with such problems as water pollution
control, port development, transportation, hurricane,
flood and erosion control, architectural preservation,
recreation, etc. The regional management organization
may have limited purpose or broad management responsibil-
ity, including regulatory power over dredging and filling,
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II1-25
power, etc.
(10) Development of public education, Information
programs, including cooDerative efforts with private
groups in order to encourage local initiative and
support for balanced use of estuarine and coastal
zones.
(11) Development of local professional and technical
training programs for employees of government agencies
and private industry to foster understanding of and
capability to resolve problems and carry out functions
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Ill-26
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE INTERESTS
If the Nation is to achieve a sound balance between the development
of its estuarine and coastal resources for all beneficial purposes
and their conservation and preservation for future use, it is essen-
tial that public and private interests in the nongovernmental sector
of our society meet their responsibilities for achieving that goal.
It is also essential that the public and private interests have an
ODportunity to exercise their responsibilities against the back-drop
of an announced national policy and in terms of announced clans for
estuarine and coastal zone management toward which they have made a
constructive contribution.
Many of this Nation's estuarine and coastal resources continue to be
endangered because of a failure to achieve in governmental programs a
proper balance between the development of these resources for all bene-
ficial purposes and their preservation and conservation. The responsi-
bility for this dire condition ultimately rests with the public and
private forces within American society that thus far have controlled
the use and management of these resources.
This means too that the reversal of short-sighted policies now in force
will not occur until there emerge within our society new conceptions of
what constitute the real public and private interest in the use of these
resources. Only as these expressions of desirable new goals and values
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Ill-27
private interests within the nongovernmental sector, will our manage-
ment of estuarine and coastal resources, both in the private sector
and by governments responding to social and political pressure, be
redirected toward sounder use and management objectives.
Responsibilities of Public Interests
From public interests--citizen groups, conservation organizations,
professional societies, the Nation's educational institutions, and
others--there is need for continuing action in three broad areas.
The first is educational activity which is the prerequisite to the
successful reversal of present short-sighted estuarine and coastal
management policies; and, further, through active and vigorous par-
icipation in the political and governmental processes, to work for
the implementation of sound estuarine and coastal zone programs at
all levels of government and in the private sector.
A second broad area of responsibility is the support of research pro-
grams of governmental bodies through nongovernmental studies leading
to improved understanding of the nature and behavior of estuarine and
coastal resources, their interrelationships, etc. Continuing studies
directed toward appraising and improving Federal, State, and local
management of the estuaries and coastal areas also are a critical need-
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111-28
The third broad area of responsibility is to support the objectives
of the national policy through public, but nongovernmental, acquisi-
tion of estuarine and coastal sites which should be preserved in their
natural state and to demonstrate new ways of achieving balanced devel-
opment, conservation, and preservation of estuarine and coastal resources.
Responsibilities of Private Interests
From private interests—ranging from the largest national industrial
corporations to the local individual developing real estate in the
estuarine and coastal zone—there is an equally important need for
action in four broad areas. These are, first, to recognize that the
public interest often is identical with the true private interest,
particularly if the latter is viewed in the perspective that includes
all other private interests and the long run; and further, to recog-
nize that where such is not the case, the private interest must be
subordinated to the larger public interest.
A second responsibility, and one private interests share with govern-
mental and other public entities, is to consider in advance the effects
of proposed actions in the estuarine and coastal zone on other uses of
estuarine and coastal resources and to minimize, wherever possible, the
advserse effects upon these other uses.
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111-29
and coastal resources for their own private purposes, private inter-
estshave the responsibility of joining in research and educational
programs aimed at broadeninn and improving the general public's under-
standing of the importance and nature of estuarine and coastal resources.
To make this possible there is need for support for research institu-
tions affiliated with academic institutions to provide to governments
at the Federal, State, and local level the knowledge necessary for man-
agement. There should be governmental and orivate participation in
such institutions and part of the States' goals should be the training
of both professional and technical personnel in the problems of the
estuarine and coastal zone.
Finally, it is the resnonsibility of the private sector to participate
in political and governmental nrocesses so as to insure the proper
recognition, both in the national program and in use and management
plans for specific estuarine and coastal areas, of legitimate private
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111-30
RESPONSIBILITIES AND RECOMMENDED ROLE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
IN THE COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL ESTUARINE AND COASTAL ZONE
MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
The responsibility for leadership In defining the policy and objectives
of a national program for the comprehensive management of the estuarlne
and coastal zones of the United States rests with the Federal Govern-
ment. It 1s also the responsibility of the Federal Government to
Implement Its portion of the announced national program; to coordinate
the activities of Its respective departments and agencies; to define
the Federal role to be established and maintained with State, Inter-
state, and local governments as well as with a wide variety of public
and private Interests; to Identify Federal jurisdictions 1n the
estuarlne and coastal zones, and to relate these jurisdictions to
those of State, Interstate, and local governments to exercise Its
jurisdictional responsibilities to prevent the destruction and misuse
of the resources of the estuarlne and coastal zones; to evaluate the
Impact of Federal and federally supported water and related land
resource projects upon the downstream estuaries and coastal areas,
especially for interstate and International river basins; to perform
the functions that are exclusively Federal 1n nature in such a manner
as to establish a leadership example for other governmental, public,
and private interests.
National Interests
These responsibilities coupled with the role that follows make up a
rather thorough and detailed picture of the national interest In the
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111-31
The Recommended Federal Role
The role described herein Includes what 1s now being carried out by
Federal agencies and that which must be done, In addition, to
discharge Federal responsibility in achieving comprehensive and
effective management of the Nation's estuaries and coastal areas.
It is important to stress that the Federal Role 1s not the primary
one 1n this regard, let alone the exclusive one. It is rather one of
sharing authority over resources over which the States exercise
primary jurisdiction. Nor is the Federal Role, in general, new,
much of 1t having developed through the years.
What is Increasingly evident, however, is that the national program
directed towards achieving the best use of estuarlne and coastal
resources requires also a strengthening of the role of the Federal
Government 1n that program.
Viewed against that backdrop, the Federal Role should be to:
(1) Provide the impetus for the Initial establishment,
and progressive improvement, of the national program by
the enactment of Federal legislation enunciating a
national policy and providing grants to States for the
development and implementation of comprehensive estuarlne
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111-32
(2) Provide continuing support and guidance to the
States through:
(a) Grants to State, interstate, and local
programs for the purposes of:
[1] Development of use and management Dlans
for specific estuaries and coastal areas.
[2] Selective acquisition and development of
estuarine and coastal sites for recreation and
preservation purposes.
[3] Research, study, and training in estuarine
and coastal problems.
[4] Inventory activities in the States'
estuarine and coastal zones.
[5] Administration of State (Including SDecial
Intrastate districts created by the State) and
Interstate management programs to Implement
State-approved management Dlans.
[6] Waste collection and treatment facilities.
[7] Support of estuarine and coastal zone
laboratories.
(b) Cooperative activities to nrepare estuarine and
coastal management plans initiated either by the
States or by a Federal agency pursuant to established
authority.
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111-33
(d) Provision of services such as navigation channels;
flood control and protective works, beach restoration,
aids to navigation, and environmental prediction,
Including weather, tides, etc.
(e) Promotion of, and guidance and support to,
cooperation among the States 1n managing Interstate
estuaries.
(f) Recommendations and advice to the States and
Interstate agencies concerning their estuarine and
coastal zones management policies.
(g) Provision of Information and education to the
public concerning estuarine and coastal resources,
programs, and problems.
(3) Complete and maintain the broad national inventory of
the estuaries and coastal areas and their resources Initi-
ated by the National Estuarine Pollution Study and the
Inventory directed by the National Estuarine Protection
Act (P.L. 90-454).
(4) Continue broad estuarine and coastal studies not of
a local nature. Examples are the National Estuarine
Pollution Study by the Department of the Interior; the
same agency's study under the National Estuarine Protection
Act of the feasibility and desirability of establishing
a nationwide system of estuarine preserves; the compre-
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II1-34
authorized In 1965; and the survey, authorized in 1968,
by the CorDS of national shoreline erosion problems.
Additional broad scientific studies 1n hydrology, living
resources, and ecology are needed; and, in particular, a
study of the means of establishing values associated with
the various uses of the estuarlne and coastal zones.
(5) Participate in local and regional studies where
appropriate to assist local and regional management.
(6) Assure appropriate Federal performance under regional
and International obligations for the management of flyways,
fisheries resources, etc.
(7) Exercise Dresently-assigned and proposed 1n S. 7
and H.R. 4148 (1f enacted), regulatory authority in the
following areas:
(a) Enforcement of water quality standards, as nec-
essary, and various other controls over pollution
includinq:
[1] 011, thermal, and radioactive pollution;
[2] Disposal of vessel wastes;
[3] Disposal of solid wastes and other refuse,
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111-35
[4] Treatment of wastes at Federal
Installations.
(b) Issuance of permits, licenses, or other controls
governinq certain permissible uses or modification of
estuarine and coastal resources Including:
[1] Permits for structures over and in
navigable waters;
[2] Regulations establishing harbor lines;
[3] Regulations restricting use of navigable
waters for various Durposes (danger zones,
flshinq qrounds, etc.); and
[4] Licenses regulating the construction and
operation of non-Federal hydroelectric and
nuclear facilities for generating electric power.
(8) Coordinate Federal estuarine and coastal management
activities and provide means for coordinating these acti-
vities with those of the States, and their subdivisions, and
Interstate agencies.
(9) In cooperation with the States, continuously monitor
developments and conditions in estuaries and coastal
areas and evaluate the effectiveness of the national
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111-36
(10) Provide adequate investigation and consideration
for the protection of estuarlne values 1n the formulation
of comprehensive river basin development programs under
the aegis of the Water Resources Council by assuring
cooperative State-Federal recognition of the Impacts of
upstream water quality and hydrology and related land
resources development upon the resources of the estuaries.
Before leaving the recommended Federal role It is Important to note
that several of the above Items are already the subject of legislation
currently being considered by Congress.
RECOMMENDATIONS CONCERNING NEW LEGISLATION
AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL
If the Federal role in the National Estuarine and Coastal Zone
Management Program is to be carried out successfully, critical needs
are new legislation authorizing a Federal program directed specifi-
cally to the problems of the estuarlne and coastal zone and provisions
for coordination of that new program with existing programs directly
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Ill-37
Accordingly, it is first recommended that there be; The enactment
of legislation establishing the comprehensive national manage-
ment program. Among its purposes, this legislation should:
(1) Specify the national policy, its broad objectives
and guidelines.
(2) Establish and fund two new programs of grants as
follows:
(a) Matching program development grants to a State
for the purpose of assisting the State in preparing
a comprehensive State program for the management of
its estuarine and coastal zones. To be eligible for
such grants the State must demonstrate that the grant
will be used to develop a comprehensive management
program meeting the requirements set forth in the
following section on operating grants.
(b) Upon approval of the State's comprehensive
management program, annual operating grants to the
State to assist in the administration of the State
program for comprehensive management of its estuarine
and coastal zones.
In the administration of such operating grants it
shall be ensured that: The Coastal State is organized
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II1-38
It shall also be ensured that the State has at least
certain specific authorities as follow:
[1] Permit authority to control dredge, fill,
and alteration of the lands and waters below
the mean hlghwater marks.
[2] Zoning authority, or authority to require
local zoning to conform with the State manage-
ment plan.
[3] The power of eminent domain as necessary for
Implementation of the plan.
The comprehensive plan of management shall be con-
sistent with the policy and objectives of the national
estuarlne and coastal zone management program and shall
Include the following:
[1] A feasible land and water use plan consistent
with existing water quality standards.
[2] Recognition of the national interests and
State and local Interests 1n the preservation,
use, and development of the estuarlne and coastal
zone.
[3] Appropriate consideration of other resources
use and management plans bearing on the use,
conservation, and management of the estuarlne
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Ill-39
The plan should be adopted only after public hearings
and consultation with all appropriate interested
parties and shall contain in addition to the above
the following:
[1] A description of the coastal State's
current programs.
[2] A program for regular review and updating
of the management plan, with procedures for
modification of it that include public hearings.
[3] Provision for adequate review of State,
local, and private projects for consistency
with the plan and for advice regarding the
consistency of Federal and federally assisted
projects with the plan.
[4] An identification of the boundaries of
the portions of the coastal State subject to
the management plan.
(c) With the approval of the Secretary, the Governors
of the respective States may designate an existing
interstate agency to receive a portion of both the
planning and operating grant to the individual States.
(d) Provide that operating grant support shall be
withdrawn when there is failure to adhere to a com-
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II1-40
(3) Authorize the Secretary of the Interior to:
(a) Administer the proposed new program of Federal
grants to States and Interstate agencies.
(b) Develop after appropriate consultation and
review the necessary rules and regulations needed to
administer the proposed new program.
(c) Conduct a continuing review of State programs
for the development, conservation, and use of the
Nation's estuaries and coastal areas.
(d) Establish advisory bodies In the Department
of the Interior to advise, consult with, and make
recoumendatlons to the Secretary on matters of policy
1n the National Estuarlne and Coastal Zone Management
Program.
(e) Cooperate with other Federal departments con-
cerned with the comprehensive management of the
estuarlne and coastal zone and to establish the
mechanisms necessary for such cooperation.
(f) The Secretary should not approve State plans
until he has solicited the views of Federal agencies
principally affected by such plans or has evidence
that such views were provided the State 1n the
development of the plan.
(4) All Federal agencies conducting or supporting activ-
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consistent with the approved plan for the area. States
and local governments submitting applications for Federal
assistance in coastal areas should indicate the views of
the appropriate State or local agency as to the relation-
ship of such activities to the approved plan for the
coastal area. Federal agencies should not approve pro-
posed projects that are inconsistent with the plan
without making investigation and finding that the pro-
posal 1s, on balance, sound. The Secretary should be
advised by the heads of other agencies of such problems
and be provided an opportunity to particiDate in any
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