NEW YORK -- An annual study from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) shows US beaches still are on a ten-year polluting trend. Although the number of beach closings were down slightly in 1999 from 1998, the total number reported is much higher than in previous years.
Echoing a recent voluntary survey by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the NRDC study reported more than 6,160 closings and advisories at U.S. coastal, bay and Great Lakes beaches because of polluted beach waters last year, a 50 percent increase over 1997.
The number of beach closings and advisories actually fell from 1998 to 1999, as a result of unusually high El Niño-related pollution problems in 1998 and widespread drought in 1999. Over the past decade, however, beach closings and advisories have risen steadily, showing that serious water pollution, largely caused by sewage and storm drain discharges, is persistent at U.S. beaches.
Several new programs are in the works to try to combat these problems. A new EPA runoff rule signed July 11 will create an elaborate reporting and cleanup program in which states help monitor the conditions of their water bodies and work with the EPA to set their own TMDLs, or total maximum daily loads. The rule, which has attracted further controversy and legal action, would take effect Oct. 1, 2001.
President Clinton on Aug. 7 signed the Oceans Act of 2000, which sets up a commission to recommend environmental and economic policy on US oceans. The act, which takes effect Jan. 20, 2001, will draw from the advice of 16 members, including representatives of state and local government, academia, ocean-related industries, and the conservation and scientific communities.
As a result of its findings, NRDC pushed for national legislation to ensure consistent health standards for beach water along with mandatory comprehensive monitoring and public notification programs.
As part of this recommendation, controls on all sources of beach water pollution should be tightened, NRDC said, including sewage overflows, polluted runoff, and urban stormwater. Congressional funding of the Clean Water Action Plan proposed by the Clinton administration would enable the EPA and the states to do a better job of cleaning up pollution sources in addition to monitoring the effects of beach pollution, the report said.
Individuals can also help clean up beach pollution. Simple measures such as conserving water, redirecting runoff from roofs and driveways to lawns and gardens, using natural fertilizers such as compost for gardens, maintaining septic systems, and properly disposing of household toxic materials, used motor oil and boating wastes can reduce the amount of pollution in coastal waters.
Part of the rise in closures and advisories is attributable to an increase in beach monitoring by state and local authorities. NRDC's annual watchdog report helped spur the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency to create the BEACH Program, designed to encourage states to monitor beach water quality and notify the public about possible health risks from pollution.
Since NRDC's first beach report, in 1991, monitoring programs have been initiated or expanded at beaches in at least nine states, and at least 27 local agencies in eight states have adopted the EPA's recommended health standards for swimmer safety.
Beach Buddies and Beach Bums
Each year, the NRDC report lists Beach Bums (beaches or entire states that lack regular monitoring and proper public notification), and Beach Buddies(beaches or states that monitor regularly, use the EPA's health standards, and notify the public when those standards are exceeded).
1999 Beach Buddies
These beaches monitor their beach water at least once a week, use EPA's recommended bacteria standard, always close or issue an advisory if the EPA standard is exceeded, and have few, if any, advisories or closings, said the NRDC.
- East Haven Town Beach, East Haven, Conn.
- North Beach, Assateague Island National Seashore, Md.
- Oceanside, Assateague Island National Seashore, Md.
- Revere Beach, Revere, Mass.
- Short Beach, Winthrop, Mass.
1999 Beach Bums
These states either have no regular monitoring of ocean or bay beach water for swimmer safety, or despite some monitoring, do not have adequate closure or public notification procedures to protect the public when health standards are exceeded, said the NRDC.
- Louisiana: limited monitoring, no public notification program
- Oregon: no regular monitoring, no public notification program
- Texas: limited monitoring, no public notification program
- Washington: limited monitoring, no public notification program
Two states, California and Florida, have passed laws calling for regular beach monitoring and adequate health standards, and a similar bill is pending in Massachusetts. Moreover, President Clinton directed the Interior Department to improve beach water quality monitoring and to work with the EPA to strengthen water quality standards nationwide.
Only California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania comprehensively monitor most or all of their beaches and notify the public. But even those states that regularly test beach water may not close the beaches. Some towns and counties in California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Virginia and Wisconsin do not always close beaches when water quality standards are violated. Most towns and counties in Hawaii, Rhode Island and South Carolina issue advisories and closures inconsistently.
The report was based on TESTING THE WATERS 2000: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches, an August 2000 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council. For more information and an interactive map of the beaches mentioned in the report, visit http://www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/nttw.asp.
For information on EPA's BEACH Watch and on new stormwater regulations, visit EPA's web site at http://www.epa.gov/ost/beaches.
