STATEMENT BY SENATOR FRANK R. LAUTENBERG
EPW HEARING ON BEACHES
THURSDAY, July 22, 1999

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding today's hearing on the coastal waters bills, especially my Beaches Environmental Assessment Closure, and Health (B.E.A.C.H.) Act of 1999.

I would like to welcome my good friend, Mayor Martin Paugliughi from Avalon, New Jersey, to Washington and thank him for agreeing to testify today on the importance of monitoring and notification programs for coastal recreational waters.

I would also like to thank Senators Boxer, Lieberman, Feinstein, Dodd, Kerry, Sarbanes and Torricelli for cosponsoring my B.E.A.C.H. Act. I'd like to also welcome Ted Danson, from American Oceans Campaign, and Chuck Fox, from EPA. thank both of them for supporting my bill.

Finally, would like to acknowledge Representative Pallone from New Jersey who has introduced the companion bill in the House.

Mr. Chairman, as you know, have introduced this bill in each Congress since 1990.

As a Senator representing a State with coastal recreational waters, I am very aware of the importance of monitoring beach waters for pathogens and bacteria and notifying the public when contaminated waters are not safe for recreational activities.

Coastal tourism generates billions of dollars every year for local communities since beaches are the top vacation destinations in the Nation. A recent survey found that tourists spend over $100 billion in the coastal portions of twelve States studied. Tourists at beaches on the Jersey shore generate more than $7 billion annually for the local economy.

The United States and coastal states could potentially lose this important source of revenue. According to a recent survey by Conde Nast Traveler magazine, 25% of people surveyed said they actually changed their travel plans because of environmental problems at their intended destination.

If recreational waters aren't properly managed, the increasing use of public beaches and coastal parks -- for swimming, wading, and surfing -- will mean greater risks to public health and to the financial stability of coastal communities.

This is an ongoing and serious public health problem. People often can't tell that the water they're swimming in is safe or unsafe. As a result, each year many people come down with illnesses -- from gastroenteritis to hepatitis -- that are especially serious for children and senior citizens.

In a recent report on beach-water quality, the Natural Resources Defense Council reported more than 7,000 closings and advisories at U.S. beaches in 1998 due to pollution problems.

And the number of beach closings and advisories may represent only a small portion of the problem.

States are still taking inconsistent approaches in monitoring water quality at public beaches and notifying the public of unhealthy conditions. As a result, one state might close a beach because of a high bacteria count while, just next door, another state might allow beach-goers to enter the same polluted water.

In fact, only nine states have adequate policies for monitoring water quality and notifying the public of problems.

Due in part to my urging, in 1997 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established its B.E.A.C.H. program to recommend appropriate monitoring criteria and public notification of beach water quality.

But EPA can't require states to adopt those recommendations. My legislation would give EPA the authority to require states to develop beach-water monitoring and public notification programs that uniformly protect public health. It also would authorize $9 million in grants to the states to carry out the requirements of this Act.

I realize there are other ways to improve water quality and warn people ate-out pollution-related health risks. think the approach in my BEACH bill is the most effective, but I am willing to work with my colleagues to develop a consensus to this serious public health problem.

Mr. Chairman, as other witnesses will tell you at this hearing, a day at the beach shouldn't be followed by a day at the doctor. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting legislation to ensure safe and healthy beaches for all American citizens.

Mr. Chairman, thank you once again for holding this hearing.