President Clinton signed two bills on Monday to protect the U.S. coastline and marine sanctuaries, a move that affects more than 3,000 acres in the territory.
The bills strengthen the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, which is aimed at shielding the coastal areas from severe storms and flooding, and reauthorizes the National Marine Sanctuaries Act for five years.
The coastal barriers measure prohibits the federal government from providing subsidies for development of barrier areas in the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and along the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes.
"Coastal barriers provide a multitude of services that are foundations of a strong economy and healthy environment," Clinton said in a statement.
He said fisheries and endangered species benefit from coastal barriers. They also protect the mainland from coastal storms, bearing the brunt of storm surge and hurricane-level winds.
The coastal barriers act, Clinton said, "discourages development, keeping lives out of harm's way, protecting fish and wildlife habitat, and reducing wasteful expenditures of taxpayer dollars."
Along the southeast coast, coastal barriers are valued by developers. The sites, however, are vulnerable during hurricanes and floods. As a result of past development in such areas, the federal government is paying increasing costs for damage and disaster assistance in hazardous coastal zones. Damages reoccur at many of these sites, at considerable expense to taxpayers.
In the late 1980s, Congress added 3,775 acres in the Virgin Islands to the coastal barrier protection system. Those areas include:
St. Croix: Rust Up Twist, Salt River Bay, Altona Lagoon, Cane Garden Bay, Krause Lagoon, Southgate Pond, Coakley Bay, Robin Bay, Great Pond, Long Point and Westend Saltpond.
St. John: Cinnamon Bay, Maho Bay, Francis Bay, Great Lameshur Bay, Europa Bay, Reef Bay, Fish Bay, Leinster Bay, Newfound Bay, Pond Bay, Lagoon Point, Ram Head, Kiddel Bay and Grootpan Bay.
St. Thomas: Sprat Point, Limestone Bay, Perseverance Bay, Magens Bay, Mandal Bay, Smith Bay, Vessup Bay, Great Bay, Jersey Bay and Buck Island.
The marine sanctuaries law, meanwhile, protects 13 sites around the country, including Florida's coral reefs, kelp forests off Monterey Bay and the Channel Islands, as well as nursing grounds for Hawaii's humpback whales. Clinton said the act would help to ensure a "healthy ocean environment for the next generation of swimmers and surfers, fishermen and explorers, teachers and students."
