[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 15, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 15CFR923.31]

[Page 203-204]
 
                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE
 
CHAPTER IX--NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 
                               OF COMMERCE
 
PART 923--COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM REGULATIONS--Table of Contents
 
                          Subpart D--Boundaries
 
Sec. 923.31  Inland boundary.

    (a) The inland boundary of a State's coastal zone must include:
    (1) Those areas the management of which is necessary to control uses 
which have direct and significant impacts on coastal waters, or are 
likely to be affected by or vulnerable to sea level rise, pursuant to 
section 923.11 of these regulations.
    (2) Those special management areas identified pursuant to 
Sec. 923.21;
    (3) Waters under saline influence--waters containing a significant 
quantity of seawater, as defined by and uniformly applied by the State;
    (4) Salt marshes and wetlands--Areas subject to regular inundation 
of tidal salt (or Great Lakes) waters which contain marsh flora typical 
of the region;
    (5) Beaches--The area affected by wave action directly from the sea. 
Examples are sandy beaches and rocky areas usually to the vegetation 
line;
    (6) Transitional and intertidal areas-Areas subject to coastal storm 
surge, and areas containing vegetation that is salt tolerant and 
survives because of conditions associated with proximity to coastal 
waters. Transitional and intertidal areas also include dunes and rocky 
shores to the point of upland vegetation;
    (7) Islands--Bodies of land surrounded by water on all sides. 
Islands must be included in their entirety, except when uses of interior 
portions of islands do not cause direct and significant impacts.
    (8) The inland boundary must be presented in a manner that is clear 
and exact enough to permit determination of whether property or an 
activity is located within the management area. States must be able to 
advise interested parties whether they are subject to the terms of the 
management program within, at a maximum, 30 days of receipt of an 
inquiry. An inland coastal

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zone boundary defined in terms of political jurisdiction (e.g., county, 
township or municipal lines) cultural features (e.g., highways, 
railroads), planning areas (e.g., regional agency jurisdictions, census 
enumeration districts), or a uniform setback line is acceptable so long 
as it includes the areas indentified.
    (b) The inland boundary of a State's coastal zone may include:
    (1) Watersheds--A state may determine some uses within entire 
watersheds which have direct and significant impact on coastal waters or 
are likely to be affected by or vulnerable to sea level rise. In such 
cases it may be appropriate to define the coastal zone as including 
these watersheds.
    (2) Areas of tidal influence that extend further inland than waters 
under saline influence; particularly in estuaries, deltas and rivers 
where uses inland could have direct and significant impacts on coastal 
waters or areas that are likely to be affected by or vulnerable to sea 
level rise.
    (3) Indian lands not held in trust by the Federal Government.
    (c) In many urban areas or where the shoreline has been modified 
extensively, natural system relationships between land and water may be 
extremely difficult, if not, impossible, to define in terms of direct 
and significant impacts. Two activities that States should consider as 
causing direct and significant impacts on coastal waters in urban areas 
are sewage discharges and urban runoff. In addition, States should 
consider dependency of uses on water access and visual relationships as 
factors appropriate for the determination of the inland boundary in 
highly urbanized areas.