&EFA
    United States
    Environmental Protection
    Agency
               EPA's  BEACH  Report:
               Grand Portage 2012 Swimming  Season
              September 2013
                       EPA 820-F-13-021
  Introduction
  The Beaches Environmental Assessment and
  Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000 authorizes
  EPA to provide grants to coastal and Great Lakes
  states, territories, and eligible tribes to monitor
  their coastal beaches for bacteria that indicate the
  possible presence of disease-causing pathogens
  and to notify the public when there is a potential
  risk to public health. The BEACH Act requires that
  recipients of those grants report their coastal beach
  monitoring and notification data to EPA. This fact
  sheet highlights the data submitted to EPA by the
  Grand Portage Band of the Chippewa for the 2012
  swimming season.


  2012 Swimming Season
  Monitoring and Notification
  Actions
  The Grand Portage Band monitored ten coastal
  beaches during the 2012 swimming season
  (Figure 1 and Table 1). When monitoring results
  at swimming beaches show that levels of specific
  indicator bacteria in the water exceed applicable
  water quality standards, Grand Portage Band
  officials issue a beach advisory, warning people of
  possible risks of swimming.

  How many beaches had notification actions?
  In 2012, of the ten coastal beaches  that the Grand
  Portage Band monitored, nine (90 percent) had
  at least one notification  action (Figure 2). Several
  widespread heavy storms during the swimming
  season, including record rainfall totals on June 19
  and 20, 2012, caused the tribe to close their beaches
  more often than usual.
 Figure 1. Grand Portage Reservation
                          Grand Portage
                           Band of the
                             Chippewa
Table 1.  Number of monitored and
        unmonitored coastal beaches
        for 2012
               Total               Not
             Beaches  Monitored  Monitored
 GRAND PORTAGE
                10
                        10

-------
   Figure 2: Percent of beaches with one or
            more notification actions
   Figure 4: Percent of beach days open
            and safe for swimming
                2010 I   I 20%
                2009 d 10%
   Figure 3: Duration of beach notification
            actions in 2012
                            8-30 days
     3-7 days
       68%
How many notification actions were issued and
how long did they last?
The Grand Portage Band issued 25 notification
actions during the 2012 swimming season. The
Grand Portage Band lifts an action when follow-
up monitoring indicates that water quality
complies with applicable standards. In most cases
(92 percent) water quality returned to normal and
beaches were deemed safe for swimming within a
week (Figure 3).

What percentage of days were beaches under
a notification action?
EPA calculates the total available beach days and
the number of beach days with notification actions
       2012

       2011

       2010

       2009
                                                             • To the Beach)
|§To the Beach)
                                                             • To the Beach)
87.7%

96.8%

98.1%

99.4%
to better track trends over time. Total available
beach days are determined by multiplying the
length of the beach season by the number of
beaches in the state. For 2012 EPA calculated
that 1,210 beach days were associated with the
swimming seasons of the ten monitored Grand
Portage Band beaches. The Grand Portage Band
reported notification actions on 149 days, meaning
that beaches were open and safe for swimming
about 88 percent of the time (Figure 4). The
unusual amount of rain in 2012 was the primary
cause of the decrease.


For  More Information
For information about the Grand Portage Band of
the Chippewa beach program contact:
Margaret Watkins
Environmental Department
Tel: 218-475-2415
e-mail: Watkins@boreal.org

For general information about beaches visit:
http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/beaches/.
For information about a specific beach visit:
http://watersgeo.epa.gov/beacon2/.

-------