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H.R. 2093 (111th): Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009
- Introduced:
- Apr 23, 2009 (111th Congress, 2009–2010)
- Sponsor:
- Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. [D-NJ6]
- Status:
- Died (Passed House)
- See Instead:
- This bill was re-introduced as H.R. 3690 (112th) on Dec 15, 2011.
The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.
Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
7/29/2009.
Section
2
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Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to specify, in performance criteria for monitoring and assessing coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of interest (waters), available protocols for monitoring that are most likely to detect pathogenic contamination.
Authorizes states or local governments, in carrying out coastal recreation water quality monitoring and notification programs, to develop and implement a coastal recreation waters pollution source identification and tracking program for such waters that are used by the public and that are not meeting applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators.
Authorizes appropriations for grants to states and local governments for developing and implementing monitoring and notification programs for FY2010-FY2014.
Section
3
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Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000 through FY2014.
Section
4
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Requires a state recipient of a monitoring and notification program grant to report to the EPA Administrator on actions taken to notify state environmental agencies with authority to prevent or treat sources of pathogenic contamination in coastal recreation waters when water quality standards are exceeded.
Section
5
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Requires state or local government grant recipients to identify:
(1) the use of a rapid testing method to detect levels of pathogens or pathogen indicators that are harmful to human health;
(2) measures for communicating the results of a water sample concerning pollutants within 24 hours of receipt to specified officials and all state agencies with authority to require the prevention or treatment of the sources of pollution in coastal recreation waters;
(3) measures for an annual report to the Administrator on the occurrence, nature, location, pollutants involved, and extent of any exceeding of applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators;
(4) the availability of a geographic information system database that a state or local government program shall use to inform the public about coastal recreation waters, that is publicly accessible and searchable, that is updated within 24 hours of the availability of revised information, that is organized by beach, and that identifies applicable water quality standards, monitoring protocols, sampling plans and results, and the number and causes of beach closures and advisory days; and
(5) measures to ensure that closures or advisories are made within two hours after the receipt of the results of a water quality sample that exceeds applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators.
Defines "rapid testing method" as a method of testing the water quality of coastal recreation waters for which results are available as soon as practicable and not more than six hours after its commencement in the laboratory.
Requires the Administrator to:
(1) include a revised list of rapid testing methods in the publication of new or revised water quality criteria;
(2) publish with such criteria a list of pathogens and pathogen indicators studied;
(3) complete an evaluation and validation of a rapid testing method for the water quality criteria and standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators by October 15, 2012;
(4) publish guidance for the use, at coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches that are used by the public, of the rapid testing methods that will enhance the protection of public health and safety through rapid public notification of any exceeding of applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators;
(5) identify and review every five years potential rapid testing methods for existing water quality criteria for pathogens and pathogen indicators for coastal recreation waters and complete, as expeditiously as practicable, an evaluation and validation of any such method that will make results available in less time and improve the accuracy and reproducibility of results; and
(6) publish the results of such review.
Declares a national goal of developing a rapid testing method that can produce accurate and reproducible results in not more than two hours by 2017.
Section
8
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Requires: (1) a written assessment by the Administrator of state and local compliance with coastal recreation water quality monitoring and notification statutory and regulatory requirements and grant conditions; (2) corrective actions by governments not in compliance; and (3) a review by the Comptroller General of such compliance review and corrective actions.
Section
11
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Requires the Administrator to: (1) update the national list of beaches within 12 months after this Act's enactment and biennially thereafter (currently, periodically); (2) study and report to Congress on the long-term impact of climate change on pathogenic contamination of coastal recreation waters; and (3) conduct and report on a study to review the available scientific information pertaining to the impacts of excess nutrients on coastal recreation waters.
House Republican Conference Summary
The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
This summary can be found at http://www.gop.gov/bill/111/1/hr2093.
Background
This legislation intends to enable States and local governments to be better equipped to locate and identify likely sources of coastal water contamination. Science and technology related to beach monitoring and assessment have improved in recent years so that now it is possible to implement rapid testing methods quickly and provide more timely notification of unsafe conditions to the public.
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act amended the Clean Water Act to incorporate provisions to reduce the risk of illness to users of the Nation's recreational waters. It authorized the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award grants to eligible States, Territories, Tribes, and local governments to develop and implement microbiological monitoring programs of coastal recreation waters, including the Great Lakes, which are adjacent to beaches or similar points of access used by the public. BEACH Act grants also develop and implement programs to notify the public of the potential exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in these waters.
Summary
H.R. 2093 extends the authorization for grants to State and local governments provided under the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act. The bill authorizes $40 million annually in Fiscal Years 2010 through 2014 for these beach-monitoring grant programs. In 2009, EPA expects to award $9.9 million in grants to eligible States, territories and tribes for their beach water protection programs.
Under H.R. 2093, State and local programs for monitoring and notification would need to include public notification, source tracking, sanitary surveys, and prevention efforts to address identified sources of contamination by pathogens in coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches or other areas used by the public.
The bill also requires beach-monitoring State and local grant programs to use a rapid-testing method for water within one year following the date of validation of a rapid-testing method by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). H.R. 2093 requires EPA by 2012 to complete an evaluation and validation of a rapid-testing method for water quality criteria and standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators.
H.R. 2093 additionally requires local and State beach-monitoring grant recipients to communicate with federal, State, and local agencies within two hours of receipt of a water quality sample. State and local grant recipients would also be required to provide information to a geographical database to inform the public about water quality standards along coastal recreational waters and update the database within 24 hours of revised information. The bill also requires that the state and local programs ensure closures are issued within two hours after the receipt of a pathogenic water quality sample and inform the public of identified sources of pathogenic contamination.
Finally, the bill requires EPA to conduct an annual compliance review of State and local programs and report to Congress on the adverse impact of excessive nutrients on coastal recreation waters, including those caused by algae blooms.
Cost
According to CBO, H.R. 2093 would cost $175 million over five years.
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:
United States Code
The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)
- Title 33: NAVIGATION AND NAVIGABLE WATERS
- Chapter 26: WATER POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL
- Subchapter III: STANDARDS AND ENFORCEMENT
- Section 1313: Water quality standards and implementation plans
- Section 1314: Information and guidelines
- Subchapter IV: PERMITS AND LICENSES
- Section 1346: Coastal recreation water quality monitoring and notification
- Subchapter V: GENERAL PROVISIONS
- Section 1362: Definitions
Statutes at Large
The United States Statutes at Large is the compilation of all laws enacted by Congress.
- 114 Stat. 877