Implementation of the Beach Act of 2000: EPA and States Have Made Progress, but Additional Actions Could Improve Public Health Protection Page: 3 of 17
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Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
We are pleased to be here today to participate in your hearing on the
implementation of the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal
Health Act, known as the BEACH Act. Congress passed the BEACH Act in
2000, to improve states' beach monitoring programs and processes for
notifying the public of potential health risks from beach contamination. As
you know, waterborne pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites
can contaminate the water and sand at beaches and threaten human
health. Contact with or accidental ingestion of contaminated water can
cause vomiting, diarrhea, and other illnesses, and may be life-threatening
for susceptible populations such as children, the elderly, and those with
impaired immune systems. State and local health officials may issue health
advisories or close beaches when they believe levels of waterborne
pathogens are high enough to threaten human health. Under the Clean
Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for
publishing water quality criteria that establish thresholds at which
contamination-including waterborne pathogens-may threaten human
health.
Our testimony is based on GAO's recently issued report' on BEACH Act
implementation in the eight Great Lakes states and will cover three issues
(1) the extent to which EPA has implemented the provisions of the Act, (2)
concerns about EPA's formula for allocating BEACH Act grants, and (3)
states' experiences in developing and implementing beach monitoring and
notification programs using BEACH Act grants. Although, our testimony
and recent report addressed the Great Lakes states, published EPA data
and information presented at EPA sponsored BEACH Act conferences
suggest that the findings are applicable nationwide. In summary, we found
the following:
* EPA has implemented seven of the BEACH Act's nine requirements and
provisions, but has missed statutory deadlines for two critical
requirements. Among other things, EPA promulgated water quality
standards for the 21 states and territories that had not adopted EPA's
water quality criteria and developed a national list of beaches.
However, EPA has not (1) completed the pathogen and human health
studies that were required by 2003 or (2) published new or revised
1 Great Lakes: EPA and States Have Made Progress in Implementing the BEACHAct, but
Additional Actions Could Improve Public Health Protection, GAO-07-591 (Washington,
D.C.: May 1, 2007).GAO-07-1043T BEACH Act of 2000
Page 1
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Implementation of the Beach Act of 2000: EPA and States Have Made Progress, but Additional Actions Could Improve Public Health Protection, text, June 27, 2007; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc291787/m1/3/: accessed April 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.