Union Calendar No. 55

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 999

[Report No. 106–98]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

ters, and for other purposes.to improve the quality of coastal recreation waAPRIL 19, 1999

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,
IB

Union Calendar No. 55

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 999

[Report No. 106–98]

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to improve the quality

of coastal recreation waters, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 4, 1999

Mr. BILBRAY (for himself, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. GILCHREST, Mrs.

CAPPS, Mr. KUYKENDALL, and Mr. SAXTON) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

APRIL 19, 1999

Additional sponsors: Mrs. KELLY, Mr. HORN, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, Mr. SHAW,

and Mr. LOBIONDO

APRIL 19, 1999

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 4, 1999]

A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to improve the quality of coastal recreation waters, and for

other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Beaches Environmental

5 Assessment, Cleanup, and Health Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. ADOPTION OF COASTAL RECREATION WATER QUAL7 ITY CRITERIA AND STANDARDS BY STATES.

8 Section 303 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

9 (33 U.S.C. 1313) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(i) COASTAL RECREATION WATER QUALITY CRITERIA

12 AND STANDARDS.—

13 ‘‘(1) ADOPTION BY STATES.—

14 ‘‘(A) INITIAL CRITERIA AND STANDARDS.—

Not later than 31 15 ⁄2 years after the date of enact16 ment of this subsection, each State having coast17 al recreation waters shall adopt and submit to

18 the Administrator water quality criteria and

19 standards for such waters for those pathogens

20 and pathogen indicators for which the Adminis21 trator has published criteria under section

22 304(a).

23 ‘‘(B) NEW OR REVISED STANDARDS.—Not

24 later than 3 years after the date of publication

25 by the Administrator of new or revised water
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1 quality criteria under section 304(a)(9), each

2 State having coastal recreation waters shall

3 adopt and submit to the Administrator new or

4 revised water quality standards for such waters

5 for all pathogens and pathogen indicators for

6 which the Administrator publishes new or re7 vised water quality criteria.

8 ‘‘(2) FAILURE OF STATES TO ADOPT.—If a State

9 has not complied with paragraph (1)(A) by the date

10 specified in paragraph (1)(A), the Administrator

11 shall promptly prepare and publish proposed regula12 tions for the State setting forth revised or new water

13 quality standards for coastal recreation waters for the

14 pathogens and pathogen indicators subject to para15 graph (1)(A). If the Administrator prepares and pub16 lishes such regulations under subsection (c)(4)(B) be17 fore the date specified in paragraph (1)(A), the Ad18 ministrator shall promulgate any revised or new

19 standard under this paragraph not later than the

20 date specified in paragraph (1)(A).

21 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Except as expressly pro22 vided by this subsection, the requirements and proce23 dures of subsection (c) apply to this subsection.’’.
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1 SEC. 3. REVISIONS TO WATER QUALITY CRITERIA.

2 (a) STUDIES.—Section 104 of the Federal Water Pol3 lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1254) is amended by adding

4 at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(v) STUDIES CONCERNING PATHOGEN INDICATORS IN

6 COASTAL RECREATION WATERS.—Not later than 3 years

7 after the date of enactment of this subsection, and after con8 sultation and collaboration with appropriate Federal,

9 State, and local officials (including local health officials)

10 and other interested persons, the Administrator shall con11 duct, in cooperation with the heads of other Federal agen12 cies, studies to provide additional information for use in

13 developing—

14 ‘‘(1) a more complete determination of potential

15 human health risks resulting from exposure to patho16 gens in coastal recreation waters, including effects to

17 the upper respiratory system;

18 ‘‘(2) appropriate and effective indicators for im19 proving detection in a timely manner in coastal

20 recreation waters of the presence of pathogens that are

21 harmful to human health;

22 ‘‘(3) appropriate, accurate, expeditious, and cost23 effective methods (including predictive models) for de24 tecting in a timely manner in coastal recreation wa25 ters the presence of pathogens that are harmful to

26 human health; and
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1 ‘‘(4) guidance for State application of the cri2 teria for pathogens and pathogen indicators to be

3 issued under section 304(a)(9) to account for the di4 versity of geographic and aquatic conditions.’’.

5 (b) REVISED CRITERIA.—Section 304(a) of such Act

6 (33 U.S.C. 1314(a)) is amended by adding at the end the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(9) REVISED CRITERIA FOR COASTAL RECRE9 ATION WATERS.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years

11 after the date of enactment of this paragraph,

12 and after consultation and collaboration with

13 appropriate Federal, State, and local officials

14 (including local health officials), the Adminis15 trator shall issue new or revised water quality

16 criteria for pathogens and pathogen indicators

17 (including a revised list of testing methods, as

18 appropriate) based on the results of the studies

19 conducted under section 104(v) for the purpose of

20 protecting human health in coastal recreation

21 waters.

22 ‘‘(B) REVIEWS.—At least once every 5 years

23 after the date of issuance of water quality cri24 teria under this paragraph, the Administrator
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1 shall review and, as necessary, revise the water

2 quality criteria.’’.

3 SEC. 4. COASTAL RECREATION WATER QUALITY MONI4 TORING AND NOTIFICATION.

5 Title IV of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

6 (33 U.S.C. 1341–1345) is amended by adding at the end

7 the following:

8 ‘‘SEC. 406. COASTAL RECREATION WATER QUALITY MONI9 TORING AND NOTIFICATION.

10 ‘‘(a) MONITORING AND NOTIFICATION.—Not later than

11 18 months after the date of enactment of this section, after

12 consultation and collaboration with appropriate Federal,

13 State, and local officials (including local health officials),

14 and after providing public notice and an opportunity for

15 comment, the Administrator shall publish performance cri16 teria for—

17 ‘‘(1) monitoring (including specifying available

18 methods for monitoring) coastal recreation waters ad19 jacent to beaches (or other points of access) that are

20 open to the public for attainment of applicable water

21 quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indica22 tors and for protection of public safety from floatable

23 materials; and

24 ‘‘(2) promptly notifying the public, local govern25 ments, and the Administrator of any exceedance of
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1 applicable water quality standards for coastal recre2 ation waters described in paragraph (1) (or the im3 mediate likelihood of such an exceedance).

4 The performance criteria shall provide for the activities de5 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) to be carried out as nec6 essary for the protection of public health and safety.

7 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

8 GRANTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall

10 make grants to States and local governments for the

11 purpose of developing and implementing programs for

12 monitoring and notification, as provided in para13 graphs (2) and (3).

14 ‘‘(2) STATE PROGRAMS.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

16 shall make grants to a State for developing and

17 implementing a program for monitoring and no18 tification to protect public health and safety that

19 meets the performance criteria established under

20 subsection (a) for coastal recreation waters adja21 cent to beaches (or other points of access) that

22 are open to the public and are subject to the ju23 risdiction of the State.

24 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator

25 shall make grants for implementation of a pro-
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1 gram of a State under subparagraph (A) only if

2 the Administrator determines that—

3 ‘‘(i) the program has been developed

4 through a process that provides for public

5 notice and an opportunity for comment;

6 ‘‘(ii) the program meets the perform7 ance criteria under subsection (a), based on

8 a review of the program, including informa9 tion provided by the State under clause

10 (iii); and

11 ‘‘(iii) the program—

12 ‘‘(I) identifies coastal recreation

13 waters within the jurisdiction of the

14 State;

15 ‘‘(II) identifies those coastal recre16 ation waters adjacent to beaches (or

17 other points of access) that are open to

18 the public and subject to the jurisdic19 tion of the State and that are covered

20 by the program;

21 ‘‘(III) identifies those coastal

22 recreation waters covered by the pro23 gram that would be given a priority

24 for monitoring and notification if fis25 cal constraints prevent compliance at
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1 all coastal recreation waters covered by

2 the program with the performance cri3 teria established under subsection (a);

4 ‘‘(IV) identifies the process for

5 making any delegation of responsi6 bility for implementing the program to

7 local governments, the local govern8 ments, if any, to which the State has

9 delegated or intends to delegate such

10 responsibility, and the coastal recre11 ation waters covered by the program

12 that are or would be the subject of such

13 delegation;

14 ‘‘(V) specifies the frequency of

15 monitoring based on the periods of rec16 reational use of such waters and the

17 nature and extent of use during such

18 periods;

19 ‘‘(VI) specifies the frequency and

20 location of monitoring based on the

21 proximity of such waters to known

22 point and nonpoint sources of pollu23 tion and in relation to storm events;

24 ‘‘(VII) specifies which methods

25 will be used for detecting levels of
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1 pathogens and pathogen indicators

2 that are harmful to human health and

3 for identifying short-term increases in

4 pathogens and pathogen indicators

5 that are harmful to human health in

6 coastal recreation waters, including in

7 relation to storm events;

8 ‘‘(VIII) specifies measures for

9 prompt communication of the occur10 rence, nature, location, pollutants in11 volved, and extent of such an exceed12 ance (or the immediate likelihood of

13 such an exceedance) to the Adminis14 trator and a designated official of a

15 local government having jurisdiction

16 over land adjoining the coastal recre17 ation waters covered by the State pro18 gram for which an exceedance is iden19 tified; and

20 ‘‘(IX) specifies measures for post21 ing of signs at the beach (or other

22 point of access), or functionally equiva23 lent communication measures, suffi24 cient to give notice to the public of an

25 exceedance (or the immediate likelihood
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1 of an exceedance) of applicable water

2 quality criteria for pathogens and

3 pathogen indicators for such waters

4 and the potential risks associated with

5 water contact activities in such waters.

6 ‘‘(3) LOCAL PROGRAMS.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator

8 shall make a grant to a local government for de9 veloping and implementing a program for moni10 toring and notification to protect public health

11 and safety that meets the performance criteria

12 established under subsection (a) for coastal recre13 ation waters adjacent to beaches (or other points

14 of access) that are open to the public and subject

15 to the jurisdiction of the local government.

16 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator

17 shall make grants for implementation of a local

18 government program under subparagraph (A)

19 only if the Administrator determines that—

20 ‘‘(i) the State in which the local gov21 ernment is located did not submit a grant

22 application meeting the requirements of

23 paragraph (2)(B) within one year following

24 the date of publication of performance cri25 teria under subsection (a);
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1 ‘‘(ii) the local government program has

2 been developed through a process that pro3 vides for public notice and an opportunity

4 for comment;

5 ‘‘(iii) the local government program

6 meets the performance criteria under sub7 section (a), based on a review of the local

8 government program, including information

9 provided by the local government under

10 paragraph (2)(B)(iii); and

11 ‘‘(iv) the local government program ad12 dresses the matters identified in paragraph

13 (2)(B)(iii) with respect to such waters.

14 ‘‘(4) LIST OF WATERS.—Following receipt of a

15 grant under this subsection, a State or local govern16 ment shall apply the prioritization established by the

17 State or local government under paragraph

18 (2)(B)(iii)(III) and promptly submit to the

19 Administrator—

20 ‘‘(A) a list of discrete areas of coastal recre21 ation waters that are subject to the program for

22 monitoring and notification for which the grant

23 is provided where the performance criteria under

24 subsection (a) will be met; and
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1 ‘‘(B) a list of discrete areas of coastal recre2 ation waters that are subject to the program for

3 monitoring and notification for which the grant

4 is provided where fiscal constraints will prevent

5 compliance with the performance criteria under

6 subsection (a).

7 ‘‘(5) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the

8 cost of developing and implementing a monitoring

9 and notification program under this subsection shall

10 be not less than 50 percent nor more than 100 per11 cent, as determined by the Administrator. The non12 Federal share of such cost may be met through in13 kind contributions.

14 ‘‘(6) DELEGATION.—If a State delegates respon15 sibility for monitoring and notification under this

16 subsection to a local government, the State shall make

17 a portion of any grant received by the State under

18 paragraph (2) available to the local government in an

19 amount commensurate with the responsibilities dele20 gated.

21 ‘‘(c) INFORMATION DATABASE.—The Administrator

22 shall establish, maintain, and make available to the public

23 by electronic and other means a national coastal recreation

24 water pollution occurrence database that provides informa25 tion on exceedances of applicable water quality standards
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1 for pathogens and pathogen indicators for coastal recreation

2 waters using information reported to the Administrator

3 pursuant to a monitoring and notification program that

4 meets the performance criteria established under subsection

5 (a). The Administrator may include in the database infor6 mation made available to the Administrator from other

7 coastal water quality monitoring programs determined to

8 be reliable by the Administrator. The database may provide

9 information through electronic links to other databases de10 termined to be reliable by the Administrator.

11 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Administrator

12 shall provide technical assistance to States and local gov13 ernments for the development of assessment and monitoring

14 procedures for floatable materials to protect public health

15 and safety in coastal recreation waters.

16 ‘‘(e) LIST OF WATERS.—Beginning not later than 18

17 months after the date of publication of performance criteria

18 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall maintain a

19 list of discrete areas of coastal recreation waters adjacent

20 to beaches (or other points of access) that are open to the

21 public and are not subject to a program for monitoring and

22 notification meeting the performance criteria established

23 under subsection (a) based on information made available

24 to the Administrator. The list also shall identify discrete

25 areas of coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches (or
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1 other points of access) that are open to the public and are

2 subject to a monitoring and notification program meeting

3 the performance criteria established under subsection (a).

4 The Administrator shall make the list available to the pub5 lic through publication in the Federal Register and through

6 electronic media. The Administrator shall update the list

7 at least annually.

8 ‘‘(f) EPA IMPLEMENTATION.—After the last day of the

9 3-year period beginning on the date the Administrator

10 identifies a discrete area of coastal recreation waters adja11 cent to beaches (or other points of access) that are open to

12 the public and are not subject to a monitoring and notifica13 tion program meeting the performance criteria established

14 under subsection (a), the Administrator shall conduct such

15 a monitoring and notification program for the discrete area

16 using the funds appropriated for grants under subsection

17 (b), including salaries, expenses, and travel. The Adminis18 trator’s duties under this paragraph shall be limited to the

19 activities that can be performed using such funds.

20 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

21 authorized to be appropriated for making grants to States

22 and local governments under subsection (b), including im23 plementation of monitoring and notification programs by

24 the Administrator under subsection (f), $30,000,000 for

25 each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004.’’.
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1 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

2 Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

3 (33 U.S.C. 1362) is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing:

5 ‘‘(21) COASTAL RECREATION WATERS.—The term

6 ‘coastal recreation waters’ means the Great Lakes and

7 marine coastal waters, including estuaries, used by

8 the public for swimming, bathing, surfing, or other

9 similar water contact activities.

10 ‘‘(22) FLOATABLE MATERIALS.—The term ‘float11 able materials’ means any foreign matter that may

12 float or remain suspended in the water column and

13 includes plastic, aluminum cans, wood products, bot14 tles, and paper products.

15 ‘‘(23) PATHOGEN INDICATORS.—The term ‘patho16 gen indicators’ means substances that indicate the po17 tential for human infectious disease.’’.

18 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after the

20 date of enactment of this Act, and within the succeeding

21 4-year period and periodically thereafter, the Adminis22 trator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall trans23 mit to Congress a report including—

24 (1) recommendations concerning the need for ad25 ditional water quality criteria for pathogens and
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1 other actions needed to improve the quality of coastal

2 recreation waters;

3 (2) an evaluation of Federal, State, and local ef4 forts to implement this Act, including the amend5 ments made by this Act; and

6 (3) recommendations on improvements to meth7 odologies and techniques for monitoring of coastal

8 recreation waters.

9 (b) COORDINATION.—The Administrator may coordi10 nate the report under this section with other reporting re11 quirements under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act.

12 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 There are authorized to be appropriated for carrying

14 out the provisions of this Act (including amendments made

15 by this Act) for which amounts are not otherwise specifi16 cally authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

17 necessary for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004.