The national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing ongoing funding through the national coastal zone management program to the state of ohio to help administer the state's…

The national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing ongoing funding through the national coastal zone management program to the state of ohio to help administer the state's federally approved coastal management program. The national coastal zone management program, under the coastal zone management act, is an important voluntary federal-state partnership that protects, restores, and responsibly develops our nation?s coastal communities and resources by balancing economic development, coastal uses, and natural resource protection. NOAA?s funding of 2,114,000 is leveraging $2,0001,000 in state funds. These funds will support jobs and provide continued assistance to the ohio coastal management program to address many important coastal issues in the state including policy coordination and analysis, coastal hazards and erosion, economic development, recreation, climate change, habitat protection and restoration, water quality, coastal shoreline change, permitting, technical assistance to local communities and enhancing public access. The coastal program will also continue implementation of the clean marinas program. The award is supporting final design completion for the remaining middle one-third of the BAY point lakefront park. Funds will also be used to purchase and place additional buoys with sensors to collect water quality information at marblehead lighthouse, sandusky BAY plaza, catawba island, huron pier, lakeside dock, south bass island and vermillion main street and fund cleveland water alliance staff time and interpretive signage. Funding will be provided for development of a comprehensive coastal geodatabase, using the digitized data. And, funding will be provided for digitizing collected data to complete the ohio coastal management program?s shore structure geographic information system inventory.