NOAA Awards More than $3.1 Million to California Coastal Commission

NOAA AWARDS MORE THAN $3.1 MILLION TO
CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a grant totaling $3.15 million to the California Coastal Commission. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department.

This grant will provide funding for a project which provides the means to ensure effective ocean and coastal management in developing and implementing policies to better manage marine and coastal resources in the state of California. In addition, this award will provide funding to the California Coastal Commission to continue implementation of the State’s federally approved coastal zone management program, including state program administration and implementation; coordination of state and federal agency programs; public outreach; special projects and the Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program.

“This grant enables NOAA and the Bush Administration to actively support and help create programs that reinforce our commitment to the environment through local initiatives, such as coastal protection and management in California,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “We are proud to sponsor programs, such as the Coastal Zone Management Program, which allow states to manage their coastal resources.”

NOAA’s Coastal Management Program is a federal-state partnership dedicated to comprehensive management of the nation’s coastal resources, ensuring their protection for future generations, while balancing competing national economic, cultural and environmental interests. The Coastal Zone Management Program (CZMP) is authorized by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 and administered at the federal level by the Coastal Programs Division (CPD) within NOAA.

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. NOAA goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for the past 33 years.

The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To learn more about NOAA, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.