&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
4305
EPA-823-F-02-001
January 2002
EPA Makes Grants Available to States to Develop
Water Quality Monitoring and Public Notification
Programs at the Nation's Beaches
Summary
The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is making $10 million in grants
available to eligible states to protect
public health at the Nation's beaches.
These grants are available to coastal
and Great Lakes states to develop
programs to monitor water quality at
the beach and to notify the public
when water quality problems exist.
Background
Each year state, tribal, and local health and environmental protection agencies monitor the
quality of water at the Nation's beaches. When measured bacteria levels in the water are too
high, these agencies notify the public of beach warnings or closings. State and local monitoring
and notification programs differ across the country and provide varying levels of swimmer
protection.
In an effort to improve water quality testing at the beach and public notification when water
quality problems exist, Congress passed the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal
Health Act (BEACH Act). This Act, passed on October 10, 2000, authorizes EPA to award
grants to eligible states, tribes, and territories to develop and implement beach water quality
monitoring programs at coastal and Great Lakes recreational waters near beaches. These grants
also provide support for the development and implementation of programs to reduce the risk of
exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in the water to users of the Nation's beaches.
Funding
In fiscal year 2002, EPA expects to award approximately $10 million in grants to eligible states
and territories for beach program development. Once all applications for funding are received,
grants will be awarded to eligible states and territories. For this second year of the
Developmental Grants, EPA expects to award Grants to all eligible states and territories who
apply for funding based on an allocation formula. In developing this formula EPA consulted
with various states and the Coastal States Organization. This formula has three factors that use
readily available and verifiable data: 1) length of beach season, 2) miles of beach and 3) number
of people that use the beaches.
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Beach season length was selected as a factor since it determines the part of the year that a
government would conduct its monitoring program. The longer the beach season, the more
resources that a government would need to conduct monitoring. EPA's information on the
length of beach season was obtained from the National Health Protection Survey of Beaches for
the states or territories that reported information. The beach season for American Samoa,
Oregon, Puerto Rico, and Northern Mariana Islands was estimated based on season reported by
nearby states and territories. The beach season for Alaska was estimated based on air and water
temperature, available information on recreation activities, and data from the 1993 National
Water Based Recreation Survey. EPA grouped the states and U.S. territories into four categories
of beach season lengths:
For beaches in:
Alaska
Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington,
Wisconsin
Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina
American Samoa, California, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana,
Puerto Rico, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands
The beach season
category is:
< 3 months
3-4 months
5-6 months
9-12 months
Miles of beach was selected as a factor because it determines the geographical extent over which
a government would conduct monitoring. The longer the miles of beaches, the more resources a
government would need to conduct monitoring. For this second year of Development Grants,
EPA is using shoreline miles as a surrogate rather that beach miles because beach miles are not
available for all beaches in for the 35 eligible states and territories. EPA discussed the
drawbacks of using this surrogate factor with states on a conference call on December 11, 2001.
As part of the BEACH Act monitoring and notification programs, grantees will identify their
beaches; therefore in future years, EPA will be able to measure and thus use beach miles rather
than shoreline. EPA used the NOAA publication The Coastline of the United States to quantify
the shoreline miles.
Beach use was selected as a factor because it reflects the importance of beach-related tourism to
the local economy. The greater use a beach receives, the more likely a government would
conduct increased monitoring because of the larger number of people potentially exposed to
pathogens. For this second year of Development Grants, EPA is using the coastal population
that is wholly or partially within the state's or territory's legally defined coastal zone as a
surrogate rather than beach usage because information on beach visitors is not available for all
beaches in the 35 eligible States and Territories. EPA also discussed the drawbacks of using this
surrogate factor with states on a conference call on December 11, 2001. Participants on the call
were doubtful that EPA could develop a consistent, verifiable approach for estimating beach use
for all beaches, but could not suggest a better way to quantify this factor at present. EPA is
committed to working with the states and territories that implement BEACH Act section 406
grants to develop a better way to quantify this factor. EPA used the 1990 Census data to
quantify coastal population since the 2000 Census data are not yet available for American
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Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. EPA will update this
factor when 2000 data are available for all eligible States and Territories.
The grants allocation consists of the sum of a base amount that varies with the length of
beach season and a variable amount based on the shoreline miles and coastal population:
For the factor:
Beach season length
Shoreline miles
Coastal population
The part of the allocation is:
< 3 months:$150,000 (States and Territories with a season <3
months receive season-based funding only.)
3-4 months: $200,000
5-6 months:$250,000
>6 months: $300,000
50% of funds remaining after allotment of season-based
50% of funds remaining after allotment of season-based
funding.
funding.
Based on this allocation formula, the size of the Developmental Grant Award varies from
$150,000 to $530,893 if all 35 eligible States and Territories apply. EPA anticipates that all 35
eligible governments will apply. If fewer than 35 States and Territories apply for the allocated
amount, then EPA will use the allocation formula to apportion the unused grant funds to those
States and Territories applying for a grant. If all 35 eligible States and Territories apply, the
distribution of the $10 million in funds for year 2002 will be:
For the state or
territory of:
Alabama
Alaska
American Samoa
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Guam
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
The year 2002
allocation is:
$263,142
$150,000
$302,288
$535,643
$226,389
$211,339
$530,893
$288,490
$302,775
$325,149
$248,615
$206,670
$383,287
$259,742
$276,068
$260,691
$287,556
$204.631
For the state or
territory of:
Mississippi
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Northern Mariana Is.
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Texas
U.S. VI
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
The year 2002
allocation is:
$258,028
$204,918
$285,719
$366,030
$306,721
$303,462
$227,879
$230,342
$226,953
$335,862
$214,225
$300,253
$387,957
$303,488
$282,355
$274,034
$228,396
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What is the Expected Duration of the Funding and Project Periods?
The expected funding and project period for Development Grants awarded in FY2002 is one
year. Over the next five years, EPA is authorized to issue additional funds to eligible states,
tribes, territories and local governments to support the development and implementation of
monitoring and notification programs.
Who Is Eligible to Apply?
States and territories eligible for the BEACH grants are states that have coastal and Great Lakes
recreational waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access used by the public. Under the
BEACH Act, EPA is authorized to treat tribes in a manner similar to a state. In order to receive
BEACH Act grant funds tribes must have coastal recreation waters for which water quality
standards have been established under the CWA. There are currently no Tribes that have met this
requirement. In addition, a tribe must meet the "treatment in the same manner as a state"
criteria under CWA section 518(e) to receive grant funds under Section 406 of the CWA.
The BEACH Act requires EPA to publish performance criteria for monitoring and notification of
coastal recreation waters by April 2002. EPA expects to publish performance criteria for
implementation of coastal recreation water monitoring and public notification programs in April
2002. In order to receive grants for beach program implementation, States will be required to
demonstrate how they are meeting the performance criteria. The BEACH Act authorizes EPA to
make a grant to a local government for implementation of a monitoring and notification program
only if, after the 1-year period beginning on the date of publication of performance criteria, EPA
determines that the State is not implementing a program that meets the requirements of the
statute. Since EPA expects to publish performance criteria in April 2002, EPA expects April
2003 as the earliest date for local governments to be eligible for beach grants. In April 2003, if a
state is not implementing a program that meets the requirements of the statute, then a local
government may apply for funding to help them develop and implement beach monitoring and
notification programs that are consistent with EPA performance criteria.
How Does a State or Territory Apply for the Grant?
Eligible states and territories may obtain an application from their regional EPA beach contact.
These contacts are listed in the Federal Register Notice of Availability for the BEACH grants.
The Federal Register Notice will be available on EPA's Beach Watch web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/waterscience^eaches/.
For More Information
For more information on the BEACH grants, contact the appropriate EPA Regional beach
program representative or contact Charles Kovatch at 202-566-0399; kovatch.charles@epa.gov.
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