What is the
Coastal Zone Management Program?
The U.S. Congress passed the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) in 1972. The CZMA encouraged coastal states to develop, implement and enforce management program that achieve the wise use of coastal resources. Unlike other national environmental laws, participation in the federal Coastal Zone Management Program is voluntary. To encourage state participation, incentives include grant programs and expanded state powers in coastal areas. Since 60% of Alaska’s land is in federal ownership, the opportunity to influence federal decision-making was a powerful incentive for an Alaskan voice.
What is the Coastal Impact Assistance Program?
The Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) provides federal grant funds derived from federal offshore lease revenues to oil producing states for conservation, protection, or restoration of coastal areas including wetlands; mitigation of damage to fish, wildlife, or natural resources; planning assistance and the administrative costs of complying with these objectives; implementation of a federally-approved marine, coastal, or comprehensive conservation management plan; and mitigation of the impact of outer Continental Shelf activities through funding of onshore infrastructure projects and public service needs.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, by Resolution 2009-18, approved 19 projects for funding through the federal CIAP. These grant projects accounted for an additional $1.7 million dollars of non-borough expenditures. The following is a list of current CIAP grant projects the coastal zone coordinator manages:
- Adopt-A-Stream Educational Program
- Aerial Photography/Satellite Imagery Acquisition
- Beluga Slough Trail Improvements
- Crooked Creek State Rec Area Restoration
- Floodplain Development Survey
- Habitat Protection Education and Code Revision
- Kachemak Drive Bluff Erosion
- Kenai River Near Bank Turbidity Study
- Planning and Administration
- Recreation Area Sanitation
- River Debris Removal
- Seward Weather and Ocean Observing System