Bill to preserve ‘working waterfronts’

   Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, has introduced a bill that would create a grant program devoted to preserving “working waterfronts” across the country.
   “Maintaining working waterfronts preserves and creates coastal jobs, but also jobs beyond the water’s edge,” she said. “Waterfront and waterway businesses support entire economies that depend on the American tradition of marine-based trades.
   “The Keep America’s Waterfronts Working Act of 2011 will serve to maintain jobs in our communities and maintain the American tradition of coastal and waterways industry,” Pingree said.
   She explained that the bill would amend the Coastal Zone Management Act to allow each coastal state to determine “what working waterfronts are important to the people of that state, which working waterfronts are most threatened, and who should be protecting them–the state, local or regional government, or a collaborative public-private partnership.”
   In remarks provided with the introduction of the bill, H.R.3109, she said the legislation “is not designed to require states to undergo a completely new or comprehensive planning process but rather to utilize existing information, planning, and programs at state and local levels to the greatest extent possible. Finally, the bill provides technical assistance to the states to develop these plans as well as other tools to protect working waterfronts.”