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The federal Coastal Zone Management Act gives states the primary role in managing their coastal zone. In 1976, Washington was the first state to receive federal approval of a Coastal Zone Management Program by preparing a document describing the state's coastal resources and how they're managed.

The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 provides the basis for protecting, restoring, and responsibly developing our nation's diverse coastal communities and resources.

The Coastal Act guides how the land along the coast of California is developed, or protected from development. It emphasizes the importance of the public being able to access the coast, and the preservation of sensitive coastal and marine habitat and biodiversity.

It was authorized in 1977 under SC's Coastal Tidelands and Wetlands Act (CTWA) with the goal of achieving balance between the appropriate use, development, and conservation of coastal resources in the best interest of all citizens of the state.

The Coastal Zone Management (CZM) is based on two sets of principle- firstly agreed international norms, which were set out in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; and secondly based on bio-physical nature of the coastal zone.

Congress enacted the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) to protect the coastal environment from growing demands associated with residential, recreational, commercial, and industrial uses (e.g., State and Federal offshore oil and gas development).