Whitman Announces $10 Million For States To Protect Public Health At Beaches

4/4/2003

From: John Millett of the EPA, 202-564-7842 Email: millett.john@epa.gov

WASHINGTON, April 4 -- EPA Administrator Christie Whitman today announced nearly $10 million in grants available to eligible states and territories to protect public health at the nation's beaches. The funds are targeted to improve monitoring the quality of water at beaches and notifying the public of beach warnings or closings.

"EPA is continuing its mission to ensure safer, purer water, to protect public health, and to provide assistance to states, territories, and local health agencies to better monitor beach water quality and notify the public when there may be a problem. With this money we hope to reduce the risk of exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in the water while people enjoy America's incredible water resources," Whitman said.

According to EPA's 2002 Beach Survey, more than a quarter of the reported beaches (about 672) issued at least one swimming advisory or closure in the summer of 2001. Most of these advisories were due to elevated bacteria levels primarily from sewage overflows or storm water runoff. EPA's annual National Beach Survey, which provides the results of a voluntary survey on swimming conditions from the previous summer at nearly 2,500 beaches nationwide, will be released later this spring.

Available to 35 eligible states and territories, the $10 million in beach grants vary from $149,025 to $544,552. The grants are based on criteria including the length of beach season, the miles of beaches and the number of people using those beaches.

State and local monitoring and notification programs often differ across the country and provide varying levels of swimmer protection. These grant funds are designed to ensure that the public receives better protection when traveling to various beaches across the country. EPA estimates that Americans make a total of 910 million trips to coastal areas each year, spending about $44 billion.

EPA is helping states set recreational water quality standards, based on EPA-established criteria and helping states provide better monitoring and information to the public. EPA also funds research and provides technical support to states.

The funds are available under a federal law passed by Congress in 2000, the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act). The new law established a national program for monitoring beach water quality and notifying the public of unsafe conditions.

--- If all 35 eligible states and territories apply and meet the performance criteria, the distribution of the $ 9.935 million in funds for year 2003 will be:

ATTACHED CHART: Listing of State or Territory and year 2003 allocation.

Alabama: $261,514 Alaska: $149,025 American Samoa: $300,364 California: $532,164 Connecticut: $223,921 Delaware: $210,299 Florida: $544,552 Georgia: $287,442 Guam: $300,860 Hawaii: $322,897 Illinois: $245,043 Indiana: $204,963 Louisiana: $380,052 Maine: $257,766 Maryland: $273,429 Massachusetts: $257,453 Michigan: $283,360 Minnesota: $203,309 Mississippi: $256,481 New Hampshire: $203,594 New Jersey: $282,586 New York: $359,215 North Carolina: $305,007 Northern Mariana: $301,648 Ohio: $224,227 Oregon: $229,757 Pennsylvania: $223,012 Puerto Rico: $328,757 Rhode Island: $212,340 South Carolina: $298,726 Texas: $387,508 U.S. Virgin Islands: $301,483 Virginia: $281,693 Washington: $274,585 Wisconsin: $225,970

Additional beach information, including information for states and territories interested in applying for the grants, is available on EPA's BEACH WATCH Web site: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches.