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Union Calendar No. 302 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2537 

[Report No. 110–491] 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to beach 

monitoring, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 24, 2007 

Mr. PALLONE (for himself and Mr. BISHOP of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and 

Infrastructure 

DECEMBER 12, 2007 

Additional sponsors: Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. ISRAEL, Ms. BORDALLO, Mrs. CAPPS, 

Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. MEEKS of New York, 

Mr. MCINTYRE, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. KIRK, Mr. WAXMAN, 

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, 

Mr. KING of New York, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. FILNER, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. 

SMITH of Washington, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. WEINER, Mrs. MALONEY of 

New York, Mr. DELAHUNT, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Ms. HARMAN, Ms. LINDA T. SA ́NCHEZ of California, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of 

California, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. ACKERMAN, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. KAGEN, Mr. KLEIN

of Florida, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SESTAK, and Mr. ROTHMAN

DECEMBER 12, 2007 

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

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


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[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 May 24, 2007] 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating 

to beach monitoring, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Beach Protection Act 

5 of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WATER POLLUTION SOURCE IDENTIFICATION. 

7 (a) SOURCE TRACKING.—Section 406(b) of the Federal 

8 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1346) is amend9 ed— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

11 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(3) SOURCE IDENTIFICATION PROGRAMS.—In 

15 carrying out a monitoring and notification program, 

16 a State or local government may develop and imple17 ment a coastal recreation waters pollution source 

18 identification and tracking program for coastal recre19 ation waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of 


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1 access that are used by the public and are not meeting 

2 applicable water quality standards for pathogens and 

3 pathogen indicators.’’. 

4 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

5 406(i) of such Act (33 U.S.C. 1346(i)) is amended by strik6 ing ‘‘$30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 

7 2005’’ and inserting ‘‘$40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

8 2008 through 2012’’. 

9 SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR BEACHES ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESS10 MENT AND COASTAL HEALTH ACT. 

11 Section 8 of the Beaches Environmental Assessment 

12 and Coastal Health Act of 2000 (114 Stat. 877) is amended 

13 by striking ‘‘2005’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

14 SEC. 4. STATE REPORTS. 

15 Section 406(b)(4)(A)(ii) of the Federal Water Pollu16 tion Control Act (as redesignated by section (2)(a)(1) of this 

17 Act) is amended by inserting ‘‘and all environmental agen18 cies of the State with authority to prevent or treat sources 

19 of pollution in coastal recreation waters’’ after ‘‘public’’. 

20 SEC. 5. USE OF RAPID TESTING METHODS. 

21 (a) CONTENTS OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

22 PROGRAMS.—Section 406(c)(4)(A) of the Federal Water 

23 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1346(c)(4)(A)) is amended 

24 by inserting ‘‘, including rapid testing methods,’’ after 

25 ‘‘methods’’. 


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1 (b) REVISED CRITERIA.—Section 304(a)(9) of such Act 

2 (33 U.S.C. 1314(a)(9)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and rapid 

3 testing methods’’ after ‘‘methods’’. 

4 (c) CRITERIA FOR USE OF RAPID TESTING METH5 ODS.—Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, and after providing notice and an opportunity 

7 for public comment, the Administrator of the Environ8 mental Protection Agency shall publish criteria for the use 

9 of rapid testing methods, at coastal recreation waters adja10 cent to beaches or similar points of access that are used 

11 by the public, that will enhance the protection of public 

12 health and safety through rapid public notification of any 

13 exceeding of applicable water quality standards. In devel14 oping such criteria, the Administrator shall prioritize the 

15 use of rapid testing methods at those beaches or similar 

16 points of access that have the highest use by the public. 

17 (d) DEFINITION.—Section 502 of such Act (33 U.S.C. 

18 1362) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(25) RAPID TESTING METHOD.—The term 

20 ‘rapid testing method’ means a method of testing the 

21 water quality of coastal recreation waters for which 

22 results are available as soon as practicable and not 

23 more than 6 hours after a water quality sample is re24 ceived by the testing facility.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. NOTIFICATION OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL 

2 AGENCIES. 

3 Section 406(c)(5) of the Federal Water Pollution Con4 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1346(c)(5)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘prompt communication’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘communication, within 24 hours of the re7 ceipt of the results of a water quality sample,’’; 

8 (2) in subparagraph (A)— 

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘(i) in the case of any 

10 State in which the Administrator is admin11 istering the program under section 402,’’ before 

12 ‘‘the Administrator’’ the first place it appears; 

13 and 

14 (B) by inserting at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(ii) in the case of any State other than a 

16 State to which clause (i) applies, all agencies of 

17 the State government with authority to require 

18 the prevention or treatment of the sources of 

19 coastal recreation water pollution; and’’; 

20 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 

21 paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; and 

22 (4) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(6) measures for an annual report to the Ad25 ministrator, in such form as the Administrator deter26 mines appropriate, on the occurrence, nature, locaVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:47 Dec 12, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2537.RH H2537

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1 tion, pollutants involved, and extent of any exceeding 

2 of applicable water quality standards for pathogens 

3 and pathogen indicators;’’. 

4 SEC. 7. CONTENT OF STATE AND LOCAL PROGRAMS. 

5 Section 406(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

6 Act (33 U.S.C. 1346(c)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

8 (7) (as redesignated by section 6(3) of this Act); 

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of para10 graph (8) (as redesignated by section 6(3) of this Act) 

11 and inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(9) a publicly accessible and searchable global 

14 information system database with information up15 dated within 24 hours of its availability, organized 

16 by beach or similar point of access and with defined 

17 standards, sampling plans, monitoring protocols, 

18 sampling results, and number and cause of closures 

19 and advisory days; 

20 ‘‘(10) measures for the immediate posting of 

21 signs at beaches or similar points of access that are 

22 sufficient to give public notice following the results of 

23 any water quality sample that demonstrates an ex24 ceeding of applicable water quality standards for 

25 pathogens and pathogen indicators for the coastal 


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1 recreation waters adjacent to such beaches or similar 

2 points of access; and 

3 ‘‘(11) measures to ensure that closures or 

4 advisories are made or issued within 24 hours after 

5 the State government determines that any coastal 

6 recreation waters in the State are not meeting appli7 cable water quality standards for pathogens and 

8 pathogen indicators.’’. 

9 SEC. 8. COMPLIANCE REVIEW. 

10 Section 406(h) of the Federal Water Pollution Control 

11 Act (33 U.S.C. 1346(h)) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

13 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; 

14 (2) by moving such subparagraphs 2 ems to the 

15 right; 

16 (3) by striking ‘‘In the’’ and inserting the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the’’; and 

19 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) COMPLIANCE REVIEW.—On or before July 

21 31 of each calendar year beginning after the date of 

22 enactment of this paragraph, the Administrator 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) prepare a written assessment of com25 pliance with all statutory and regulatory reVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:47 Dec 12, 2007 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H2537.RH H2537

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1 quirements of this section for each State and 

2 local government and of compliance with condi3 tions of each grant made under this section to a 

4 State or local government; 

5 ‘‘(B) notify the State or local government of 

6 such assessment; and 

7 ‘‘(C) make each of the assessments available 

8 to the public in a searchable database on or be9 fore December 31 of such calendar year. 

10 ‘‘(3) CORRECTIVE ACTION.—Any State or local 

11 government that the Administrator notifies under 

12 paragraph (2) that it is not in compliance with any 

13 requirement or grant condition described in para14 graph (2) shall take such action as may be necessary 

15 to comply with such requirement or condition within 

16 one year of the date of the notification. If the State 

17 or local government is not in compliance with such 

18 requirement or condition within one year of such 

19 date, any grants made under subsection (b) to the 

20 State or local government, after the last day of such 

21 one-year period and while the State or local govern22 ment is not in compliance with all requirements and 

23 grant conditions described in paragraph (2), shall 

24 have a Federal share of not to exceed 50 percent. 


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1 ‘‘(4) GAO REVIEW.—Not later than December 31 

2 of the third calendar year beginning after the date of 

3 enactment of this paragraph, the Comptroller General 

4 shall conduct a review of the activities of the Admin5 istrator under paragraphs (2) and (3) during the 

6 first and second calendar years beginning after such 

7 date of enactment and submit to Congress a report on 

8 the results of such review.’’. 

9 SEC. 9. STUDY OF GRANT DISTRIBUTION FORMULA. 

10 (a) STUDY.—Not later than 30 days after the date of 

11 enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environ12 mental Protection Agency shall commence a study of the 

13 formula for the distribution of grants under section 406 of 

14 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1346) 

15 for the purpose of identifying potential revisions of such 

16 formula. 

17 (b) CONTENTS.—In conducting the study, the Admin18 istrator shall consider the base cost to States of developing 

19 and maintaining water quality monitoring and notifica20 tion programs, the States’ varied beach monitoring and no21 tification needs, including beach mileage, beach usage, and 

22 length of beach season, and other factors that the Adminis23 trator determines to be appropriate. 


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1 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study, the Ad2 ministrator shall consult with appropriate Federal, State, 

3 and local agencies. 

4 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 12 months after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit 

6 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of 

7 the House of Representatives and the Committee on Envi8 ronment and Public Works of the Senate a report on the 

9 results of the study, including any recommendation for revi10 sion of the distribution formula referred to in subsection 

11 (a). 

12 SEC. 10. PUBLICATION OF COASTAL RECREATION WATERS 

13 PATHOGEN LIST. 

14 Section 304(a)(9) of the Federal Water Pollution Con15 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1314(a)(9)) is amended by adding at 

16 the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(C) PUBLICATION OF PATHOGEN AND

18 PATHOGEN INDICATOR LIST.—Upon publication 

19 of the new or revised water quality criteria 

20 under subparagraph (A), the Administrator shall 

21 publish in the Federal Register a list of all 

22 pathogens and pathogen indicators studied under 

23 section 104(v).’’. 


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Union Calendar No. 302 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2537 

[Report No. 110

–491] 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act 

poses. relating to beach monitoring, and for other purDECEMBER 12, 2007 

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


cnoel on PRODPC60 with BILLS_CN