BEACL
State and Local Beach Health Innovations and Success Stories
Winter 2005
EPA-823-N-05-001
Beach Currents is designed to promote communication among state, tribal, and local public health officials
about beach protection activities. This second edition features the first National Beaches Conference and Great
Lakes' beach programs. We encourage all beach management professionals to submit articles sharing their
successes and challenges. To submit an article or to get more information about the EPA Beaches Program, call
202-566-0444 or send an e-mail to ost-beaches@epa.gov.
EPA Declares First National Beaches
Conference a Glowing Success
The National Beach Program's first
national meeting for state and local beach
managers from across the country was held
on October 13-15, 2004, in San Diego,
California. The conference was considered
a glowing success by all who attended.
In attendance were representatives of all
but three of the 36 Beach Act states and
territories, at least two inland states, and
Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
Attendees recognized the progress in devel-
oping state beach programs four years after
passage of the BEACH Act in 2000. They also
recognized significant technological advances
in developing rapid methods for microbial
analysis and microbial source tracking tech-
niques. Several examples presented at the
conference confirmed innovative program
development in states where beach programs
did not exist before Congress passed the
BEACH Act.
Each state is finding creative ways of working
through their unique combination of state
and local laws and existing beach monitor-
ing programs. For example, in Maine, where
beach monitoring has historically been done
at the local level, the new state beach manager
regularly approaches localities and invites
them to participate in the state beach moni-
toring program. Participation is not manda-
tory; however, the majority of the localities
see the benefit of being part of the state beach
program. The state beach manager in Maine
is also working with a marketing company to
- continued on page 2
In this issue...
EPA Declares First National Beaches Conference a Glowing
Success 1
Storm Water Monitoring Enhances Local Beach Programs
in Ohio 3
Great Lakes Beach Association Annual Conference 5
National Study Looks at Beach-goers' Risk of Waterborne
Illness . . .5
EPA Finalizes Rule to Improve Health at the Nation's
Beaches 6
Junk or Jewels: Hidden Rewards of Beach Monitoring 7
Calendar of Events 8
News from EPA Regions and HQ's Beach Program 10
Surf Zone 11
Announcements. . . .12
-------
EPA Declares First National Beaches Conference a Glowing Success (continued from page 1)
develop outreach materi-
als to increase public
awareness about:
• water quality at
beaches,
• potential health risks,
• the advantages of
monitoring for fecal
indicators, and
• public notification
when counts are high.
Maryland has a long history of
beach monitoring at the local
level, sometimes including
regular monitoring and posting. In the past
few years the Maryland state beach manager
has developed a program in which state and
local public health officials share resources.
The result is increased credibility in the
monitoring and notification approach and
better consistency in health protection for the
beach-going public.
The BEACH Act requires public notifica-
tion when bacterial indicator counts are
higher than the water quality criteria limit.
This can have serious economic impacts for
the surrounding community. Dr. Linwood
Pendleton from the University of California
at Los Angeles School of Public Health pre-
sented research showing analysis of costs of
beach closures and costs of illness.
EPA's Office of Research and Development
presented results of epidemiology studies,
including development of rapid methods.
They have conducted epidemiological
studies for the past two years at four Great
Lakes beaches. Results from the Mission
Bay Epidemiology study, conducted by the
Southern California Coastal Water Research
Project were also presented.
A panel discussion on the second day of the
conference was designed to promote frank
and open discussion of beach monitoring and
beach program issues. The questions were ad-
dressed by panel members all with different
areas of expertise and experience relating to
federal and state environmental policy, beach
water quality, health, and monitoring. After
the panel members addressed the questions,
the questions were then put out to confer-
ence attendees for discussion and questions
to the panel. Panel members were Denise
Keehner, Division Director for the Standard
and Health Protection Division at the US
EPA; Dr. Shannon Briggs, beach manager for
the state of Michigan; Monica Mazur from
the Orange County California Health Care
Agency; Mark Gold from Heal the Bay; and
Dr. Rachel Noble, faculty at the University of
North Carolina Marine Science Program.
The two questions posed to the panel were:
1. After everything that you have heard
here, what are the areas of the EPA
beach program that need the largest
improvement given existing technologies?
How can federal, state, and local programs
work together most effectively?
- continued on page 3
Beach Currents Winter 2005
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EPA Declares First National Beaches Conference a Glowing Success (continued from page 2)
2. We've heard about new technological
developments—what is the role of EPA in
the development of these technologies and
where should their priorities be placed?
State beach managers were able to meet and
network with other state beach managers
from across the country, and to hear about
ongoing research related to beach monitoring.
Researchers were able to hear about research
needs from the people who are making daily
decisions on beach water quality. Several
states presented examples of how beach moni-
toring lead to identifying sources of sewage
contamination, which lead to putting a stop
to the source and resulted in a cleaner beach.
Proceedings from the conference will be
available on CD in February and will include
text of the panel discussion, and questions
and answers after the presentations.
Storm Water Monitoring
Enhances Local Beach Program in Ohio
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH)
has administered a Bathing Beach Water
Quality Program since the mid-1970s. It's a
cooperative effort among the ODH, the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources, public and
private organizations along the Lake Erie
shoreline, and local health departments with
beaches in their jurisdictions. The ODH en-
courages local health departments to develop
their own monitoring programs, but such
programs are not mandatory. The ODH's
program also provides an incentive for de-
veloping predictive models to assess water
quality, adding preemptive warning systems
for public notification, and identifying and
eliminating potential sources of pollution.
In May 1993, the Cuyahoga County Board of
Health (CCBH) adopted regulations requiring
a Bathing Beach Water Quality Program to
protect the public from health risks associated
with swimming in bathing waters. Cuyahoga
County is along the Lake Erie shoreline in
northeast Ohio. At the beginning of the pro-
gram, sanitary surveys were conducted on all
known bathing beaches. These surveys looked
at factors that could harm the health and safety
of bathers. A key component of these surveys
was identifying potential sources of pollution,
such as storm drains (outfalls), sewage sys-
tems, wastewater treatment plants, industrial
outlets, animal enclosures, and erosion areas.
Located in Parma, Ohio, and within the
Cleveland Metropolitan Area, the CCBH
is responsible for two public beaches and
13 private beaches. The beaches are scat-
tered throughout the county, along inland
lakes and along the Lake Erie shoreline.
The CCBH samples the public beaches four
days a week and the private beaches once or
twice a month. They collect water samples
from Memorial Day through Labor Day and
analyze them for the presence of Esherichia
coli bacteria. The CCBH also routinely col-
lects effluent samples from any storm sewer
outfalls on or near the beaches and tests the
samples for E. coli bacteria that might affect
beach water quality.
The CCBH received BEACH Act funds from
the ODH in 2003 to reevaluate its program to
meet the objectives of the BEACH Act. Their
overall goal was to develop a comprehensive,
risk-based bathing beach monitoring and
public notification program. To help classify
the beaches, they identified shoreline storm
sewer outfalls and streams in the vicinity
of the beaches. Twenty locations (11 storm
sewer outfalls and nine streams) accessible
for sampling were identified, and they sam-
pled these locations once a week for E. coli
bacteria during the 2003 recreation season.
continued on page 4
Beach Currents Winter 2005
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Storm Water Monitoring Enhances Local Beach Program in Ohio (continued from page 3)
The sampling results revealed that 16 of
the 20 locations had significant potential to
affect beach water quality. It is important
to note that several significant storms
occurred during the 2003 recreation season,
which might have contributed to elevated
bacteria levels. Nonetheless, they identified
elevated concentrations of E. coll at most
of the sampling locations even during dry
weather conditions. They will provide the
data to the municipalities where samples
were taken. The CCBH expects that the
municipalities will participate in investigating
potential sources of pollution that might be
contributing to elevated bacterial levels.
Urban areas often have antiquated sewer
infrastructures, including both storm sewer
and sanitary sewer systems. These systems
Eight apartment buildings constructed in the
1950s were connected to the storm sewer rather
than the sanitary sewer, causing raw sewage
to flow into a local creek. The CCBH discovered
this problem during a routine stream
assessment...
were often designed to overflow during heavy
rains to prevent basement flooding. Sanitary
sewer bypasses can also occur when there is
a blockage in the system, allowing the release
of sewage into the storm sewer system. Older
communities in urban areas are also prone to
individual home and business cross-connec-
tions, where sanitary lines are connected to a
storm sewer. An example of this was recently
observed in the Cleveland Metropolitan Area.
Eight apartment buildings constructed in
the 1950s were connected to the storm sewer
rather than the sanitary sewer, causing raw
sewage to flow into a local creek. The CCBH
discovered this problem during a routine
stream assessment on Big Creek, a tributary
to the Cuyahoga River. Raw sewage was flow-
ing into Big Creek from a storm sewer outfall.
They collected fecal coliform samples from
several upstream storm sewer manholes in
an attempt to isolate the area from which the
sewage was originating. They also conducted
dye testing on the apartment buildings and
local businesses to identify the exact source
of the problem. The CCBH determined that
permits had been obtained several years ago
to connect the properties to a sanitary sewer,
but either the connections were not made
or proper connections and inspections were
not conducted. The problem was resolved
through a cooperative effort between city and
county officials to upgrade the sewer system
to allow for proper connections. These prop-
erties have since been properly connected to
a sanitary sewer, and the flow of sewage to
Big Creek has ceased.
In addition, storm lines such as downspouts
and sump pumps are often connected to a
sanitary sewer. In these situations, heavy
rains can lead overload local wastewater
treatment plants, sometimes resulting in the
release of partially treated sewage into local
waterways. Storm water can therefore have
tremendous impacts on beach water quality.
The CCBH also used Beach Act funds to
improve public notification by disseminating
beach water quality data. Beginning with the
2003 recreation season, Cleveland's primary
newspaper, The Plain Dealer, published a
weekly beach report (see below). Because of
their large audience, The Plain Dealer pub-
lished water quality data for all the northeast
Ohio Lake Erie public beaches, encompassing
four counties.
Another event impacting beach water quality
was the Blackout of 2003, which affected most
of the state of Ohio. On August 14, 2003, a
power outage resulted in the release of sew-
age into the waters that flow to Lake Erie
from wastewater treatment plants. Several
municipal sanitary lift stations stopped
continued on page 5
Beach Currents Winter 2005
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Storm Water Monitoring Enhances Local Beach Program in Ohio (continued from page 4)
operating, releasing even more sewage. Many
Lake Erie beaches were closed as a precaution
due to expected elevated bacteria levels. The
beaches were later opened and operated under
water quality advisories until bacteria levels
returned to the recommended standards.
For more information on the Cuyahoga
County Board of Health's Bathing Beach
Water Quality Program please contact Jill
Lis, R.S., Program Manager, Division of
Environmental Health, (216) 201-2001, x
1240, jlis@ccbh.net, www.ccbh.net.
Great Lakes Beach Association Annual Conference
The Great Lakes Beach Association Annual
Conference took place in Parma, Ohio on
November 30 and December 1, 2004. There
were 102 registered participants. All great lake
states were represented. Participants included
staff from local health departments, universi-
ties, state agencies (environmental quality,
parks and recreation, community health,
and natural resources), and federal agencies
(US EPA, USGS), students and vendors.
Presentations and posters included a sum-
mary of the national conference, updates
from state beach programs, redevelopment
efforts along urban shorelines, epidemiol-
ogy studies on the great lakes, comparison
results of microbial source tracking methods,
remediation of urban run off, forecasting/
modeling, lake and watershed surveys of
water borne pathogens including algal toxins
and cryptosporidium, updates of rapid test
methods, and effects of shore slope and
groundwater interactions.
The Great Lakes Beach Association
will meet again in Green Bay,
Wisconsin on November 2 and 3,
2005. Conference presentations
will be on the web page soon
http ://www.great-lakes .net/
glba/2004conf erence.html
National Study Looks at Beach-goers'
Risk of Waterborne Illness
The National Epidemiological and Environ-
mental Assessment of Recreational (NEEAR)
Water Study Team just completed its second
season of data collection. Next year, they
expect to select a marine beach, signaling the
end of the freshwater portion of the study.
Swimming in water of poor quality can cause
stomach, respiratory, eye and ear illnesses.
The NEEAR Water Study was designed to as-
sess the risks of waterborne illness to beach-
goers and test a new generation of water
quality tests that produce faster results. The
new water quality tests will give results in
two hours or less (rather than the standard 24
hours), allowing beach managers to test the
water in the morning and make reliable fast
decisions about the information they should
provide about beach waters before visitors
go to the beach. The goals of the study are to
prevent swimming-related illnesses and im-
prove the quality of the water for recreation.
Thus far, the team has been highly success-
ful in collecting epidemiological and water
quality information. To date, the study was
conducted at four Great Lakes Beaches (West
Beach, Indiana; Huntington Beach, Ohio;
Washington Park, Indiana; and Silver Beach,
Michigan). Volunteers were recruited in the
beach areas and asked to provide information
continued on page 6
Beach Currents Winter 2005
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National Study Looks at Beach-goers Risk ofWaterborne Illness (continued from page 5)
about their activities and health status after
beach visits.
The NEEAR Water Study is collaborative
research between the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, and local public
health organizations. You can find more
information on the study at the NEEAR Web
site at www.epa.gov/nheerl/neear/.
EPA Finalizes Rule to Improve Health at the
Nation's Beaches
On November 8, 2004, EPA Administrator
Mike Leavitt signed a final regulation that
helps improve the health of the Nation's
beaches on coastal and Great Lakes
waters. The final rule established more
protective health-based federal bacteria
standards for states and territories border-
ing Great Lakes or ocean waters that have
not yet adopted standards as required by
the BEACH Act of 2000. These federal
water quality standards are part of the
Administration's Clean Beaches Plan,
which also includes grants to states and
territories for beach monitoring and
public notification programs, technical
guidance, and scientific studies.
Of the 35 states and territories that have
coastal or Great Lakes recreational waters,
EPA found that 14 have adopted water qual-
ity standards that are as protective of health
as EPA's recommended criteria for all their
coastal recreation waters, five have adopted
the criteria for some of their coastal recre-
ation waters, 13 states are in the process
adopting the criteria, and three have not
begun the process. Although the agency es-
tablished federal standards through this final
rule, any state that adopts its own standards
that are as protective as EPA's and receives
approval will be removed from the federal
requirements.
EPA will continue to grant funding to all eli-
gible states and territories regardless of their
status under this action. The agency is com-
mitted to ensuring continued monitoring of
the Nation's beaches and public notification
of beach closures and advisories. EPA has
provided about $32 million in grants to help
states implement this monitoring program.
You can find more information about the new
criteria and the rule at www.epa.gov/water-
science/beaches/bacteria-rule-final-fs.htm.
Beach Currents Winter 2005
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Junk or Jewels: Hidden Rewards of Beach Monitoring
It's never easy to walk up a sand dune. Even
elite runners "feel the burn" as their feet sink
into the sand with each step. We walk up
Mount Baldy every day, and when we reach
the beach, we collect our water samples. We
could call ourselves the "samplers," or "the
ones who do the dirty work," or even the
"beach glass collectors." It's 6:30 in the morn-
ing. The sun pokes over the horizon. The lake
water glistens as the waves slowly rumble. We
heave up the infamous Mount Baldy and wit-
ness nature's wonders as we reach the peak.
For two intense months in the summer of
2004, we sampled six sites along Mount
Baldy and Central Beaches in Porter County,
Indiana. Sure, it was a great summer job—out
at the beach every day! Eventually, we could
count the number of steps between Mount
Baldy 1 and 2. We knew exactly when the guy
on the four-wheeler would drive by to pick
up the trash. It didn't take too long for the
repetition to eat at us, and we needed a way
to spice up the sampling. After all, we walked
between 2 and 3 miles daily on the beach to
collect these samples. By the Fourth of July,
Alissa had a plan: Collect the beach glass.
Beach glass ... sounds like trash. Trash? Quite
possibly. Beach glass is simply that— pieces
of glass found on the beach. The "acceptable"
pieces are those worn down by the sand so
much that they are smooth to the touch. To
Stacey, our hard-core environmentalist, we
were doing the National Park Service a favor
collecting the beach glass. To Alissa, Jessica,
and me, it was a contest to see who could
collect the prettiest pieces or the most pieces
or the very rare blue pieces. If the edges were
sharp, however, Alissa would instruct us to
throw the piece back into the lake, in hopes
that it would come out a week later, sanded
down and smooth.
By far, the clear pieces are the most abun-
dant. The beach glass is mostly, we figure,
pieces of beer or pop bottles thrown down
somewhere north of us in Lake Michigan,
only to land by our feet on Central Beach. At
the southern tip of Lake Michigan, we were
fortunate enough to collect the discarded
glass from probably anywhere north of us on
the shoreline.
Now what? We had a huge bag full of beach
glass sitting in the lab. Alissa and I proposed
putting it in a jar and passing it back and
forth when we visited each other at college.
Stacey was a little more creative. She sug-
gested purchasing wire, thin leather rope,
and a few metal pieces. The end result would
be beach glass necklaces. Thus, one Friday
the four of us went on a mission to find
beach glass necklace supplies. We were suc-
cessful, and after careful consideration and
some trial and error, we ended up with at
least a dozen different beach glass necklaces.
Hopefully, all the data compiled from
our water sampling will give our bosses,
Richard Whitman and Meredith Nevers, new
thoughts and ideas regarding the relationship
between water chemistry and E. coll counts.
In the summer of 2004, we collected more
than 6 water samples and 25 conductivity
measurements a day. We also assembled a
fantastic beach glass collection, made some
nifty necklaces, and in our own way helped
clean up the shores of Lake Michigan. Our
necklaces not only remind us of the sampling
of the summer of 2004 but also symbolize
the friendships the four of us formed along
the shore in those 2 months.
Cassie Peller, United States Geological Survey
Porter, Indiana
For my sampling buddies Alissa Bishel,
Stacey Byers, and Jessica Hardesty
Beach Currents Winter 2005
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Calendar of Events
January 24-27, 2005
International Conference on Remediation of
Contaminated Sediments
New Orleans, LA
This meeting will focus on ecological and human
health risk assessments, sediment stability,
evaluating the effectiveness of remedies, defining
what constitutes a successful remedy, and how to
manage cleanups in ports and harbors. Sponsored
by Battelle. Contact Joan Purvis at 800-783-63338 or
info@confgroupinc.com for more information.
February 1-3, 2005
Surface Water Monitoring and Standards
(SWiMS) Meeting
Chicago, IL
The SWiMS meeting is an annual State/Tribal/EPA
technical coordinators meeting aimed at sharing
monitoring successes and challenges, learning about
the most up-to-date scientific information, and
discussing programmatic issues. The meeting will
cover a wide range of current topics including such
topics as nutrient criteria, modeling and other
predictive tools, sediment in water quality
management, use of biological data, wetlands
monitoring and assessment, and others. It will be
held at the Allerton Crowne-Plaza Hotel. Contact
Holly Arrigoni at arrigoni.holly@epa.gov or visit the
website http://www.epa.gov/region5/water/wqb/
swims.htm for more information.
February 7
Workshop for Southern Communities Crowne
Plaza Hotel
Warwick, Rl
February 11
Workshop for Northern Communities Urban
Forestry Ctr.
Portsmouth, NH
NEIWPCC and EPA New England are co-hosting
two workshops to provide tools and guidance for
beach managers, state and local health officials,
public works departments, park managers, town
managers, and elected officials interested in
reducing and preventing beach closures. These
workshops are part of the Clean New England
Beaches Initiative and will provide tools and
guidance for state and local governments interested
in reducing beach closures. Representatives from
both marine and freshwater beach communities are
encouraged to attend. Speakers will be from state
and local communities who have experience in
reducing beach closures. For additional information,
contact Susy King at NEIWPCC, 978-323-7929,
sking@neiwpcc.org
February 15-18, 2005
Major Accomplishments And Future Directions In
Public Health Microbiology Workshop
Columbus, OH
This workshop, sponsored by the Office of Water
Quality, National Water-Quality Assessment
Program, and the USGS Ohio District will include
presentations and discussions regarding USGS
activities with public health microbiology related to
research, source tracking, and monitoring. The
deadline for meeting and hotel registration is
January 8, 2005. Visit the following website for
information on the workshop preliminary agenda,
accommodations, and the workshop registration
form: http://water.usgs.gov/owq/meetings/
microbiology/index.html. For those interested, a
short course titled, "Microbiological Sampling And
Analysis Laboratory Hands-On Session" will be
given on February 15. The short course includes 1
day of lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on
activities. For more information, contact Donna
Francy (dsfrancy@usgs.gov) or Becca Bushon
(rnbushon@usgs.gov).
March 9-11, 2005
2005 American Shore and Beach Preservation
Association Summit
Washington, DC
The American Shore and Beach Preservation
Association will bring beach movers and shakers
together with federal policy makers at its March 9-11
2005 Summit in Washington, DC, to focus on
"Defending America's Embattled Coastal Resources."
The summit, timed to coincide with the start of the
federal appropriations process, will include a full
day of lobbying and learning on Capitol Hill, as well
as working sessions with Members of Congress,
Corps officials and key federal staffers at the
Washington Court Hotel (the summit headquarters).
The Capitol Hill sessions will include a working
lunch with members of the Congressional Coastal
Caucus, as well as an awards reception in the
Capitol that evening. For more information visit the
ASBPA Web site at www.asbpa.org. A limited
number of rooms are available at the Washington
Court, so those interested in staying on-site should
call (800) 321-3010 or (202) 628-2100 before the
early-registration deadline of February 4.
June 9-11, 2005
2005 Great Lakes Conference and IJC Biennial
Meeting on Water Quality
Kingston, Ontario
This International Joint Commission meeting will
focus on the current science and issues regarding
Beach Currents Winter 2005
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Calendar of Events
the health of the Great Lakes and include breakout
sessions and specific in-depth discussions a wide
range of topics fundamental to the review of the
Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and its
future. Contact Jennifer Day at 519-257-6733 or
dayj@windsor.ijc.org for more information.
July 18-21, 2005
StormCon '05
Orlando, FL
The 4th Annual North American Surface Water
Quality Conference and Exposition, this event will
feature a focused series of forty workshops designed
specifically to provide the information needed to
solve a community's surface water quality problems.
Contact Steve Di Giorgi at (805) 682-1300, ext. 129 or
stevedg@forester.net for more information.
July 17-22, 2005
Coastal Zone '05
New Orleans, LA
Sponsored by NOAA Coastal Services Center,
Coastal Zone is the premier conference for the
world's coastal resource managers. The 14th
installment of the biennial conference series focuses
on balancing the issues and interests of land and
sea. With over 1,000 participants expected from all
over the world, this conference promises to provide
valuable tools, lessons learned, and new ideas to
help address the coastal management issues we're all
facing. This conference will be held at the New
Orleans Marriott. Contact Jan Kucklick at Jan.
Kucklick@noaa.gov or (843) 740-1279 for more
information.
October 31-November 2, 2005
2005 Sustainable Beaches Conference
St. Petersburg, FL
The Clean Beaches Council is hosting this
conference at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and
Golf Club. This Conference will bring together a
diverse group of stakeholders, professionals, and
officials involved in beach management. Visit www.
cleanbeaches.org or call (202) 682-9507 for more
information and to submit ideas for sessions,
presentations, and pre-conference workshops.
November 2-3, 2005
2005 Great Lakes Beach Association Annual
Conference
Green Bay, Wl
The Great Lakes Beach Association (GLBA) is
presently made up of members from Ohio,
Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Environment
Canada and several mid-west universities and non-
government agencies. Local, county and state public
health, regulatory agencies, coordinating agencies,
researchers and environmental groups are among
the groups involved. Their mission is the pursuit of
healthy beach water conditions in the Great Lakes
area. An annual conference is held to conduct
business and share new information in four major
categories: investigative, modeling, methodology,
and information systems. Information on the 2005
conference will be posted on the GLBA web site
http://www.great-lakes.net/glba.
July 19-22, 2005
The 2005 Watershed Management Conference
Williamsburg, VA
This conference will bring together a diverse group
of attendees, each with a critical stake in watershed
management. Topics ranging in scope from state-of-
the-art computer modeling, to field monitoring, to
watershed science, to governmental policy and
regulation all have a home at Watershed
Management 2005. Send an E-mail to conf@asce.org
for more information.
Beach Currents Winter 2005
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10
News from EPA Regions and
HQ's Beach Program
Beach Grants
EPA expects beach grant funding for beach
monitoring and notification programs, simi-
lar to previous years, to be available in 2005.
We expect to publish the Federal Register
Notice in February or March. Eligible states
include those bordering the Great Lakes,
and tribes. These grants are designed to help
meet the requirements under the Beaches
Environmental Assessment and Coastal
Health (BEACH) Act of 2000. This is the fifth
year in a row that this money is being made
available since the passage of the BEACH
Act. The funding is an integral part of the
Administration's Clean Beach Plan.
The amount of funds available for eligible
coastal states and territories is based on the
length of beach season, the miles of beach,
and the number of people who use that
beach. Grants will also be available for eli-
gible Indian tribes who apply.
These funds are designed to ensure that the
public is better protected when traveling to
beaches across the country. EPA estimates
that Americans take a total of 910 million
trips to and spend about $44 million at
coastal areas each year.
National List of Beaches Provides
Snapshot of Beaches
EPA has provided federal grant funds since
2001 to help states and territories develop and
implement their beach programs. One BEACH
Act grant condition is that states, tribes, and
territories must identify their coastal recre-
ation waters and report on monitoring activi-
ties at those beaches. States submitted their
lists to EPA by December 31, 2003. EPA used
the state lists to compile the first National List
of Beaches, and made it available to the public
in April 2004. The National List of Beaches
is a picture of the extent of beach monitoring
across the country. It will help EPA find bet-
ter ways to implement the BEACH Act. The
List also provides information to the public
about beaches in their state.
This List is a snapshot at the time of publish-
ing. It will be updated as more beaches are
monitored. EPA will ask for updated informa-
tion from the states and will publish notices
in the Federal Register of all revisions.
You can see the National List of Beaches on
EPA's web site at http://www.epa.gov/water-
science/beaches/list/list-of-beaches.pdf. For
more information contact your EPA Regional
beach program representative (http://www.
epa.gov/beaches/plan/whereyoulive_region.
html) or Beth LeaMond at 202-566-0444 (lea-
mond.beth@epa.gov).
BEACON Database to be Launched
Memorial Day 2005
In the first years of EPA's Beach Program,
states submitted beach data through
the National Health Protection Survey
of Beaches. The Beaches Environmental
Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act
requires EPA to make a national coastal rec-
reation water pollution occurrence database
containing state-reported beach monitor-
ing and notification data available to the
public electronically. EPA created the BEach
Advisory and Closing Online Notification
(BEACON) Internet application to make state
beach advisory and closing data available to
the public.
EPA will announce the availability of BEACON
on Memorial Day 2005. EPA expects many
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Beach Currents Winter 2005
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11
News from EPA Regions and HQ's Reach Program (continued from page 10)
visits to this site as the beach-going public
prepares to go to the beach. EPA points the
public and press to this site for finding infor-
mation about their beaches of interest.
Using BEACON, the public can view infor-
mation by looking at a national map and
selecting a state or by typing in the name
of a specific beach. Visit http://oaspub.epa.
gov/beacon/beacon_national_page.main to
see how this process works.
Beach Info Listserve
"Beachinfo" listserve provides a forum for
discussing various recreational beach pro-
gram issues. To become a member, send an
email to beachinfo-subscribe®
lists.epa.gov.
Resources for Local Beach Health Information
The following resources are just a few that report local beach water quality conditions.
Several resources will lye highlighted in each issue.
Earth 911
A partnership effort between Earth 911, Oceana, and participating states and communities
provide specific information generated and uploaded directly by local government agencies
regarding the most recent water quality conditions at local beaches. Through their Web site,
you can also sign up to receive an email containing information on your beaches current con-
ditions, news, events and activities. www.earfh977.org/WaferQua/ify/index.asp
Oceans.us
EPA is one of nine Federal agencies participating in the development of an Integrated Ocean
Observing System (IOOS). Reducing public health risks is one of the seven goals of this initia-
tive. For more info, see www.ocean.us. The Beaches Program plans to pursue collaboration
with IOOS activities that focus on coastal water quality.
Beach Currents Winter 2005
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12
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Announcements
NEEAR
This is just a notification that the Federal Register FRL-7787-1 for Water Quality Indicators and/or Rapid
Measurement Technology will be available on the NEEAR Water Study Website
http://www.epa.gov/nheerl/neear/.
ERA Launches New Topical Website on Beaches
The Agency is implementing a new approach to making it easier for people to find information on EPA's
web site. We are organizing the information around topics rather than programs or organizations. One of
the first new topic-based sites brings together the Agency's information on beaches. Take some time to visit
EPA's new beaches website at www.epa.gov/beaches to help you plan a trip to the beach, learn about beach
conditions, and see what EPA is doing to clean and protect our Nation's beaches. We are also working on
topic-based sites for water quality standards, cruise ship water discharges, floating debris, private drinking
wells, and septic systems.
The material in this document has been subjected to Agency technical and policy review and approved for publication as an EPA report. The
views expressed by individual authors, however, are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Beach Currents Winter 2005
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