Public Comment Sought for State's Draft Coastal Zone Management Act

Olympia, WA - The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) is seeking public comment on Washington’s Draft Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) Section 309 Assessment and Strategy 2011-2015. The public comment period opens September 3, 2010, and closes at 5:00pm on October 7^th.

Every five years, NOAA requires coastal states to conduct an assessment of their coastal resources and management activities within nine enhancement areas. These enhancement areas are:

• Wetlands
• Coastal hazards
• Public access
• Marine debris
• Cumulative and secondary impacts of growth
• Special area management plans
• Ocean resources
• Energy and government facility citing
• Aquaculture

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Each state must then develop strategies to address priorities identified in the assessment. Once approved, NOAA provides funding to implement Section 309 strategies that result in the development and implementation of program changes in one or more priority enhancement areas.

For more information on the public comment period, the Section 309 program, and a link to the draft document, please visit our public comment web page at: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/czm/309_public_comment.html