Coastal Zone Law and Legal Definition
Pursuant to 50 CFR 85.11 [Title 50 -- Wildlife and Fisheries, Chapter I -- United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of The Interior], coastal zone consists of “coastal waters (including the lands therein and thereunder) and the adjacent shorelands, including islands, transitional and intertidal areas, salt marshes, wetlands, and beaches. The zone extends, in Great Lakes waters, to the international boundary between the United States and Canada and, in other areas, seaward to the outer limit of the United States territorial sea. The zone extends inland from the shorelines only to the extent necessary to control shorelands and protect coastal waters.”
