Coastal Region Law : A Preliminary Analysis
Authors: O&apos;Connor Dennis M. 
Published: October 2008

The diverse and interrelated legal problems of the coastal region require comprehensive study. For these purposes the coastal region may be defined as the areas where events on land are influenced by the presence of the ocean and where events on the ocean are influenced by the proximity of the coast. Jurisdictional problems arise from the multiple levels of government authority (federal, state, county and local) over events in the region, from the geographically bounded lower levels of government and from the often uncertain limits of authority of agencies of government. The major substantive problems of the public order of the coastal region may be categorized as: shoreline use and development; inclusive or common uses of water areas; exclusive uses (mainly of the seabed); and environmental protection of the shoreline, water quality and atmosphere. The "law" for these problems is best Viewed, not as a body of doctrine or rules divorced from the processes of utilization of the coastal region, but as the product of processes of decision of various agencies and leve1s of government applied to the conflicting claims over resource values of the region. Decisions on coastal region law are being made the subject of systematic and comprehensive study according to a general outline and framework for inquiry with Grant assistance.

INTRODUCTION

The frame of reference essential for study of the law of the coastal region is an understanding of the processes of utilization of the area and of the patterns of conflicting claims over its resource values. The interests and ocean-related activities of coastal states and nations are concentrated near the interface of land and sea; and the vast preponderance of values derived county or foregone - from ocean resource use and development are produced or neglected in near shore areas. Any survey of such ocean uses as commercial fishing, transport, cables and pipelines, man-made improvements for various purposes, research and recreation reveals the importance of the laws and policies which govern activities around the coast. The sedentary fisheries, and the extraction of minerals and oil and gas from the seabed are subject to the coastal laws of the continental shelf. Pollution has its most acute effects in the coastal region. The uses and development (or preservation) of the shoreline has numerous and varied effects on these events, and is in turn affected by the uses of the ocean. Many types of activities which may assume an increased importance in the future, such as aquaculture and ocean-bottom installations, are likely to be concentrated in the coastal region.

DELIMITATION OF THE COASTAL REGION

Different approaches are possible in delimitation of the scope of inquiry into coastal region problems. In his study prepared for the Marine Science Commission(COMSER) Professor Lewis Alexander conceives of marine regions as narrow belts of land and water extending along the coast, and defines them for the sake of simplicity as extending 50 miles inland and 50 miles seaward of the coastline. 1 According to this approach only those events on land within the zone which are relevant to the nation's "marine orientation" process are considered when examining problems of the marine region.