&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
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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/.
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