Seattle, WA – The EPA has awarded over $9 million for grants to monitor the quality of beach water.
In a release, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that they have begun awarding up to $9.24 million across 39 states to develop and implement beach monitoring and notification programs.
Under the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act, EPA awards grants to eligible state, territorial, and tribal applicants to help monitor water quality at coastal and Great Lakes beaches.
When bacteria levels are too high for safe swimming, these agencies notify the public in several ways, including by signage, posting beach warnings or closing the beach.
Since 2002, state and local governments, territories, and tribes have used nearly $167 million in EPA BEACH Act grants to monitor beaches for fecal indicator bacteria, maintain and operate public notification systems, identify local pollution sources, and report results of monitoring and notification activities to EPA. Grant funding under the BEACH ACT is part of a broader EPA effort to address sources of water pollution that contribute to beach closures.
In Washington, these funds total $337,000.
In Grays Harbor, Westhaven State Park, Half Moon Bay, South Jetty, and Westport-The Groynes beaches are monitored under the BEACH grant.
EPA’s 2019 BEACH Act grant funding, should all eligibility requirements be met, will be allocated through the Pacific Northwest as follows:
Alaska: $150,000
Gretchen Pikul, [email protected] Alaska Department of the Environmental Conservation Division of Water, Nonpoint Sources Section O: 907-465-5023
Oregon: $215,000
Aaron Borisenko, [email protected] Water Quality Monitoring Manager Oregon Department of Environmental Quality O: (503) 693-5723 Tara Chetock, [email protected] Program Coordinator Oregon Health Authority Public Health Division, Environmental Public Health O: (971) 673-1496
Washington: $237,000
Julianne Ruffner [email protected] BEACH Program Coordinator – WA State Departments of Ecology & Health O:(360) 407-6154 C: (360) 480-4868
Makah Tribe: $50,000
Riley Smith, [email protected] Water Quality Specialist Environmental Division Makah Tribe O: (360) 645-3162 C: (360) 645-0366 Ray Colby, [email protected] Makah Fisheries Assistant Director O:(360) 645-2201 C: (360) 640-8201 cell
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community: $50,000
Nicole J. Casper, [email protected] Water Resources Manager Dept. of Environmental Protection Swinomish Indian Tribal Community O: (360) 466-3374 desk C: (360) 661-0683 cell
For specific information on grants under the BEACH Act, grant guidance, and contact information for state and local beach programs, see: www.epa.gov/beach-tech/beach-grants.
To check on the latest closings and advisories at particular beaches, the public should contact the relevant state, tribal, or territorial beach program listed at: www.epa.gov/beaches/state-territorial-tribal-and-epa-beach-program-contacts.