United States Office of Water EPA-823-F-02-001

Environmental Protection 4305 January 2002 

Agency

EPA Makes Grants Available to States to Develop

Water Quality Monitoring and Public Notification

Programs at the Nation’s Beaches

Summary

The Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) is making $10 million in grants

available to eligible states to protect

public health at the Nation’s beaches. 

These grants are available to coastal

and Great Lakes states to develop

programs to monitor water quality at

the beach and to notify the public

when water quality problems exist.

Background

Each year state, tribal, and local health and environmental protection agencies monitor the

quality of water at the Nation’s beaches. When measured bacteria levels in the water are too

high, these agencies notify the public of beach warnings or closings. State and local monitoring

and notification programs differ across the country and provide varying levels of swimmer

protection.

In an effort to improve water quality testing at the beach and public notification when water

quality problems exist, Congress passed the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal

Health Act (BEACH Act). This Act, passed on October 10, 2000, authorizes EPA to award

grants to eligible states, tribes, and territories to develop and implement beach water quality

monitoring programs at coastal and Great Lakes recreational waters near beaches. These grants

also provide support for the development and implementation of programs to reduce the risk of

exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in the water to users of the Nation=s beaches.

Funding

In fiscal year 2002, EPA expects to award approximately $10 million in grants to eligible states

and territories for beach program development. Once all applications for funding are received,

grants will be awarded to eligible states and territories. For this second year of the

Developmental Grants, EPA expects to award Grants to all eligible states and territories who

apply for funding based on an allocation formula. In developing this formula EPA consulted

with various states and the Coastal States Organization. This formula has three factors that use

readily available and verifiable data: 1) length of beach season, 2) miles of beach and 3) number 

of people that use the beaches.
Beach season length was selected as a factor since it determines the part of the year that a

government would conduct its monitoring program. The longer the beach season, the more

resources that a government would need to conduct monitoring. EPA’s information on the

length of beach season was obtained from the National Health Protection Survey of Beaches for

the states or territories that reported information. The beach season for American Samoa,

Oregon, Puerto Rico, and Northern Mariana Islands was estimated based on season reported by

nearby states and territories. The beach season for Alaska was estimated based on air and water

temperature, available information on recreation activities, and data from the 1993 National

Water Based Recreation Survey. EPA grouped the states and U.S. territories into four categories

of beach season lengths:

For beaches in: The beach season

category is:

Alaska < 3 months

Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland,

Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New

York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington,

Wisconsin

3 – 4 months

Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South

Carolina

5 – 6 months

American Samoa, California, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Northern Mariana,

Puerto Rico, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands

9 – 12 months

Miles of beach was selected as a factor because it determines the geographical extent over which

a government would conduct monitoring. The longer the miles of beaches, the more resources a

government would need to conduct monitoring. For this second year of Development Grants,

EPA is using shoreline miles as a surrogate rather that beach miles because beach miles are not

available for all beaches in for the 35 eligible states and territories. EPA discussed the

drawbacks of using this surrogate factor with states on a conference call on December 11, 2001. 

As part of the BEACH Act monitoring and notification programs, grantees will identify their

beaches; therefore in future years, EPA will be able to measure and thus use beach miles rather

than shoreline. EPA used the NOAA publication The Coastline of the United States to quantify

the shoreline miles.

Beach use was selected as a factor because it reflects the importance of beach-related tourism to

the local economy. The greater use a beach receives, the more likely a government would

conduct increased monitoring because of the larger number of people potentially exposed to

pathogens. For this second year of Development Grants, EPA is using the coastal population

that is wholly or partially within the state’s or territory’s legally defined coastal zone as a

surrogate rather than beach usage because information on beach visitors is not available for all

beaches in the 35 eligible States and Territories. EPA also discussed the drawbacks of using this

surrogate factor with states on a conference call on December 11, 2001. Participants on the call

were doubtful that EPA could develop a consistent, verifiable approach for estimating beach use

for all beaches, but could not suggest a better way to quantify this factor at present. EPA is

committed to working with the states and territories that implement BEACH Act section 406

grants to develop a better way to quantify this factor. EPA used the 1990 Census data to

quantify coastal population since the 2000 Census data are not yet available for American
Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. EPA will update this

factor when 2000 data are available for all eligible States and Territories.

The grants allocation consists of the sum of a base amount that varies with the length of

beach season and a variable amount based on the shoreline miles and coastal population: 

For the factor: The part of the allocation is:

Beach season length < 3 months:$150,000 (States and Territories with a season <3

months receive season-based funding only.)

3-4 months:$200,000

5-6 months:$250,000

>6 months: $300,000

Shoreline miles 50% of funds remaining after allotment of season-based funding. 

Coastal population 50% of funds remaining after allotment of season-based funding. 

Based on this allocation formula, the size of the Developmental Grant Award varies from

$150,000 to $530,893 if all 35 eligible States and Territories apply. EPA anticipates that all 35

eligible governments will apply. If fewer than 35 States and Territories apply for the allocated

amount, then EPA will use the allocation formula to apportion the unused grant funds to those

States and Territories applying for a grant. If all 35 eligible States and Territories apply, the

distribution of the $10 million in funds for year 2002 will be:

For the state or 

territory of:

The year 2002

allocation is:

For the state or 

territory of:

The year 2002

allocation is:

Alabama $263,142 Mississippi $258,028 

Alaska $150,000 New Hampshire $204,918 

American Samoa $302,288 New Jersey $285,719 

California $535,643 New York $366,030 

Connecticut $226,389 North Carolina $306,721

Delaware $211,339 Northern Mariana Is. $303,462 

Florida $530,893 Ohio $227,879 

Georgia $288,490 Oregon $230,342 

Guam $302,775 Pennsylvania $226,953 

Hawaii $325,149 Puerto Rico $335,862 

Illinois $248,615 Rhode Island $214,225

Indiana $206,670 South Carolina $300,253

Louisiana $383,287 Texas $387,957 

Maine $259,742 U.S. VI $303,488 

Maryland $276,068 Virginia $282,355

Massachusetts $260,691 Washington $274,034 

Michigan $287,556 Wisconsin $228,396 

Minnesota $204,631 
What is the Expected Duration of the Funding and Project Periods?

The expected funding and project period for Development Grants awarded in FY2002 is one

year. Over the next five years, EPA is authorized to issue additional funds to eligible states,

tribes, territories and local governments to support the development and implementation of

monitoring and notification programs.

Who Is Eligible to Apply?

States and territories eligible for the BEACH grants are states that have coastal and Great Lakes

recreational waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access used by the public. Under the

BEACH Act, EPA is authorized to treat tribes in a manner similar to a state. In order to receive

BEACH Act grant funds tribes must have coastal recreation waters for which water quality

standards have been established under the CWA. There are currently no Tribes that have met this

requirement. In addition, a tribe must meet the “treatment in the same manner as a state”

criteria under CWA section 518(e) to receive grant funds under Section 406 of the CWA.

The BEACH Act requires EPA to publish performance criteria for monitoring and notification of

coastal recreation waters by April 2002. EPA expects to publish performance criteria for

implementation of coastal recreation water monitoring and public notification programs in April

2002. In order to receive grants for beach program implementation, States will be required to

demonstrate how they are meeting the performance criteria. The BEACH Act authorizes EPA to

make a grant to a local government for implementation of a monitoring and notification program

only if, after the 1-year period beginning on the date of publication of performance criteria, EPA

determines that the State is not implementing a program that meets the requirements of the

statute. Since EPA expects to publish performance criteria in April 2002, EPA expects April

2003 as the earliest date for local governments to be eligible for beach grants. In April 2003, if a

state is not implementing a program that meets the requirements of the statute, then a local

government may apply for funding to help them develop and implement beach monitoring and

notification programs that are consistent with EPA performance criteria. 

How Does a State or Territory Apply for the Grant?

Eligible states and territories may obtain an application from their regional EPA beach contact. 

These contacts are listed in the Federal Register Notice of Availability for the BEACH grants. 

The Federal Register Notice will be available on EPA’s Beach Watch web site at:

http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches/.

For More Information

For more information on the BEACH grants, contact the appropriate EPA Regional beach

program representative or contact Charles Kovatch at 202-566-0399; kovatch.charles@epa.gov.