BPC to Sign National Letter in Support of NOAA Coastal Zone Management Program

  • by BPC Staff
  • on March 24, 2017
  • 0 Comments

President Trump’s recently proposed budget for 2018 cuts funding to over a dozen federal agencies and departments. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, State Department, and Agriculture Department would experience the deepest reductions at 31%, 29%, and 21%, respectively. Furthermore, the proposed budget would completely eliminate funding to 19 agencies.

If the cuts in President Trump’s proposed budget are realized, there will be far-reaching effects in many parts of the country including the San Francisco Bay region. As mentioned in our blog post last week,  the budget includes eliminating $250 million in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grants and programs supporting coastal and marine management support and research.

Proposed cuts to federal agencies and departments in President Trump’s proposed 2018 budget. Source: The Washington Post

Recognizing the importance of NOAA programs, which includes climate change and ocean research, Bay Planning Coalition is signing on to a national letter developed by Coastal States Organization to support the National Coastal Zone Management Program (CZM Program) in particular. The letter calls for the continued support of the CZM program, which is administered by NOAA.

The CZM program works to protect, restore, and responsibly develop the nation’s diverse coastal communities and resources by working with coastal states and territories. Structured as a state-federal partnership, the program allows states to leverage federal funds to streamline permits, provide grants to communities, and ensure federal actions are consistent with state laws. The program’s dollar-for-dollar state match requirement for almost all federal funding resulted in states matching over $59 million in fiscal year 2016.

Learn more about the CZM program here.

Bay Planning Coalition looks forward to voicing its support for the CZM program, and will continue to monitor other potential impacts of the proposed budget as it moves ahead. Please feel free to contact us with information about how your organization or project will be directly affected so that we can build a list of examples to include in our advocacy on this issue.

The Bay Planning Coalition is a non-profit organization well known for its advocacy and credibility in the San Francisco Bay Area corporate and environmental community. When we speak about an issue, legislators and regulators listen.” – John A. Coleman CEO

 

Tags: , , ,