This part of the article considers legal issues associated with compliance with grant conditions and participation in the development of coastal zone management programs. Since the assistance under the Act is in the form of conditional grants, the granting agency is, in principle, obligated to secure compliance with the grant conditions. Most of the administrative review of grantee performance occurs in the day‐to‐day work process, with the presence of congressional review acting as a prod. The Act, the implementing regulations and the grant instruments provide for mechanisms to cope with most contingencies, at least, in a general way. However, other devices should also be evaluated and adopted, if feasible. Lax enforcement of grant conditions may invite thirdparty intervention and thereby rob the granting agency of some of its initiative and control over the dispute settlement process, including litigation. The basically attractive idea of participation is developed in numerous legal guarantees, invitations and procedures. Some uncertainty remains whether the verbal structures can be translated into action approximating what was, apparently, intended. The looseness of standards for participation might be used by parties pursuing diverse objectives to impede coastal zone management activities. Some conclusions and recommendations drawn from the entire article appear at the end.