[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 15, Volume 3]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 15CFR923.31]



[Page 204-205]

 

                  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 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



[[Page 205]]



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.