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* *. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency	14-P-0155
Office of Inspector General	March 31 2014
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I ^ .
^ At a Glance
Why We Did This Review
This is a quick reaction report
that addresses requirements
under the Beaches
Environmental Assessment and
Coastal Health Act of 2000
(BEACH Act). Based on a
request from the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA's) Region 2
Administrator, we are
evaluating whether programs
that the U.S. Virgin Islands
(USVI) operates meet EPA
requirements, and what steps
EPA Region 2 has taken to
ensure the programs have
achieved the intended benefits.
Region 2 provided to USVI a
grant of more than $300,000 for
weekly monitoring of USVI
beaches over fiscal years 2013
and 2014. Any issues to report
on the territory's overall
performance in the BEACH Act
or other environmental
programs will be reported
separately.
This report addresses the
following EPA themes:
•	Making a visible difference
in communities across the
country.
•	Protecting water: A
precious, limited resource.
For further information,
contact our public affairs office
at (202) 566-2391.
The full report is at:
www.epa.aov/oia/reports/2014/
20140331-14-P-0155.pdf
Quick Reaction Report: EPA Oversight Needed to
Ensure Beach Safety in U.S. Virgin Islands
The lapse in sampling of
USVI beaches created risk
that the public was
exposed to unsafe levels
of bacteria and the
environment may have
been endangered.
What We Found
In violation of its agreement under the BEACH Act
grant with the EPA, the USVI Department of
Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) did not
monitor the beaches on St. Thomas and St. John
for pathogens between February 3-16, 2014.
Under the grant, beach sampling is supposed to
occur on a weekly basis at 23 beaches on these
two islands to identify any harmful levels of
contamination in the water. In response to our draft report, Region 2 is acting to
oversee and assess the USVI beach monitoring program. Region 2 took
immediate action to address the lapse in sampling and asked the DPNR to
develop a plan for notifying the EPA if sampling ceases again. Region 2 is also
working to address the lack of a contract to conduct beach sampling.
The DPNR restarted beach sampling on February 17, 2014. The lapse in
sampling posed potential health hazards to humans and may have endangered
the environment. The DPNR issued press releases, which two USVI newspapers
printed on February 7 and 14, 2014, indicating that beaches in St. Thomas and
St. John had not been monitored the previous week. This action was consistent
with DPNR procedures for public notification. However, this may not be adequate
notice for tourists visiting the USVI, as they may not read the local newspapers.
Recommendations and Corrective Actions
We recommended that the EPA Regional Administrator, Region 2:
•	Immediately take steps to ensure that the USVI beach monitoring and public
notification meet EPA guidelines and continue.
•	Determine whether the DPNR has a sustainable beach monitoring program
in place (for example, with valid contracts for sampling and lab analysis) that
will provide continuous beach monitoring and adequate public notification.
If it is determined that the USVI beach monitoring program is not
sustainable, the EPA should manage the program according to the BEACH
Act until the DPNR can demonstrate it can meet all BEACH Act
requirements and EPA guidance.
The agency agreed with our recommendations and said actions it already has
underway achieve the purpose of the recommendations. In response to
recommendation 1, Region 2 stated it held a conference call with the DPNR to
discuss the lapse, and requested DPNR prepare a contingency plan. In response
to recommendation 2, EPA Region 2 described several areas where the region
and the DPNR are working to address the beach monitoring program deficiencies.

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