I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 31

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Coastal Zone

Management Act of 1972 to improve the quality of coastal recreation

waters, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. HUGHES (for himself, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. GALLO, Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey, Mr. PALLONE, Mrs. ROUKEMA, AND Mr. HOCHBRUECKNER) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on

Public Works and Transportation, and Merchant Marine and Fisheries

A BILL

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and

the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to improve

the quality of coastal recreation waters, 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 ‘‘Beaches Environ5 mental Assessment, Closure, and Health Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
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1 (1) the Nation’s beaches are a valuable public

2 resource used for recreation by millions of people an3 nually;

4 (2) the beaches of coastal States are hosts to

5 many out-of-State and international visitors;

6 (3) tourism in the coastal zone generates bil7 lions of dollars annually;

8 (4) increased population has contributed to the

9 decline in the environmental quality of coastal wa10 ters;

11 (5) pollution in coastal waters is not restricted

12 by State and other political boundaries;

13 (6) each coastal State has its own method of

14 testing the quality of its coastal recreation waters,

15 providing varying degrees of protection to the public;

16 and

17 (7) the adoption of standards by coastal States

18 for monitoring the quality of coastal recreation wa19 ters, and the posting of signs at beaches notifying

20 the public during periods when the standards are ex21 ceeded, would enhance public health and safety.

22 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to require

23 uniform procedures for beach testing and monitoring to

24 protect public safety and improve the environmental qual25 ity of coastal recreation waters.
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1 SEC. 3. WATER QUALITY CRITERIA AND STANDARDS.

2 (a) ISSUANCE OF CRITERIA.—Section 304(a) of the

3 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1314(a))

4 is amended by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(9) COASTAL RECREATION WATERS.—(A) The

6 Administrator, after consultation with appropriate

7 Federal and State agencies and other interested per8 sons, shall issue within 18 months after the effective

9 date of this paragraph (and review and revise from

10 time to time thereafter) water quality criteria for

11 pathogens in coastal recreation waters. Such criteria

12 shall—

13 ‘‘(i) be based on the best available sci14 entific information;

15 ‘‘(ii) be sufficient to protect public health

16 and safety in case of any reasonably anticipated

17 exposure to pollutants as a result of swimming,

18 bathing, or other body contact activities; and

19 ‘‘(iii) include specific numeric criteria cal20 culated to reflect public health risks from short21 term increases in pathogens in coastal recre22 ation waters resulting from rainfall, malfunc23 tions of wastewater treatment works, and other

24 causes.

25 ‘‘(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the term

26 ‘coastal recreation waters’ means Great Lakes and
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1 marine coastal waters commonly used by the public

2 for swimming, bathing, or other similar primary con3 tact purposes.’’.

4 (b) STANDARDS.—

5 (1) ADOPTION BY STATES.—A State shall adopt

6 water quality standards for coastal recreation waters

7 which, at a minimum, are consistent with the cri8 teria published by the Administrator under section

9 304(a)(9) of the Federal Water Pollution Control

10 Act (33 U.S.C. 1314(a)(9)), as amended by this Act,

11 not later than 3 years following the date of such

12 publication. Such water quality standards shall be

13 developed in accordance with the requirements of

14 section 303(c) of the Federal Water Pollution Con15 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(c)). A State shall incor16 porate such standards into all appropriate programs

17 into which such State would incorporate water qual18 ity standards adopted under section 303(c) of the

19 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

20 1313(c)).

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

22 has not complied with paragraph (1) by the last day

23 of the 3-year period beginning on the date of publi24 cation of criteria under section 304(a)(9) of the

25 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
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1 1314(a)(9)), as amended by this Act, the Adminis2 trator shall promulgate water quality standards for

3 coastal recreation waters for the State under appli4 cable provisions of section 303 of the Federal Water

5 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1313). The water

6 quality standards for coastal recreation waters shall

7 be consistent with the criteria published by the Ad8 ministrator under section 304(a)(9) of the Federal

9 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1314(a)(9)),

10 as amended by this Act. The State shall use the

11 standards issued by the Administrator in implement12 ing all programs for which water quality standards

13 for coastal recreation waters are used.

14 SEC. 4. COASTAL BEACH WATER QUALITY MONITORING.

15 Title IV of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act

16 (33 U.S.C. 1341–1345) is amended by adding at the end

17 thereof the following new section:

18 ‘‘SEC. 406. COASTAL BEACH WATER QUALITY MONITORING.

19 ‘‘(a) MONITORING.—Not later than 9 months after

20 the date on which the Administrator publishes revised

21 water quality criteria for coastal recreation waters under

22 section 304(a)(9), the Administrator shall publish regula23 tions specifying methods to be used by States to monitor

24 coastal recreation waters, during periods of use by the

25 public, for compliance with applicable water quality stand-
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1 ards for those waters and protection of the public safety.

2 Monitoring requirements established pursuant to this sub3 section shall, at a minimum—

4 ‘‘(1) specify the frequency of monitoring based

5 on the periods of recreational use of such waters;

6 ‘‘(2) specify the frequency of monitoring based

7 on the extent and degree of use during such periods;

8 ‘‘(3) specify the frequency of monitoring based

9 on the proximity of coastal recreation waters to pol10 lution sources;

11 ‘‘(4) specify methods for detecting short-term

12 increases in pathogens in coastal recreation waters;

13 and

14 ‘‘(5) specify the conditions and procedures

15 under which discrete areas of coastal recreation wa16 ters may be exempted by the Administrator from the

17 monitoring requirements of this subsection, if the

18 Administrator determines that an exemption will not

19 impair—

20 ‘‘(A) compliance with the applicable water

21 quality standards for those waters; and

22 ‘‘(B) protection of the public safety.

23 ‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Regulations

24 published pursuant to subsection (a) shall require States

25 to notify local governments and the public of violations
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1 of applicable water quality standards for State coastal

2 recreation waters. Notification pursuant to this subsection

3 shall include, at a minimum—

4 ‘‘(1) prompt communication of the occurrence,

5 nature, and extent of such a violation, to a des6 ignated official of a local government having juris7 diction over land adjoining the coastal recreation wa8 ters for which a violation is identified; and

9 ‘‘(2) posting of signs, for the period during

10 which the violation continues, sufficient to give no11 tice to the public of a violation of an applicable

12 water quality standard for such waters and the po13 tential risks associated with body contact recreation

14 in such waters.

15 ‘‘(c) FLOATABLE MATERIALS MONITORING PROCE16 DURES.—The Administrator shall—

17 ‘‘(1) issue guidance on uniform assessment and

18 monitoring procedures for floatable materials in

19 coastal recreation waters; and

20 ‘‘(2) specify the conditions under which the

21 presence of floatable material shall constitute a

22 threat to public health and safety.

23 ‘‘(d) DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITY.—A State

24 may delegate responsibility for monitoring and posting of
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1 coastal recreation waters pursuant to this section to local

2 government authorities.

3 ‘‘(e) REVIEW AND REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—The

4 Administrator shall review and revise regulations pub5 lished pursuant to this section periodically.

6 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec7 tion—

8 ‘‘(1) the term ‘coastal recreation waters’ means

9 Great Lakes and marine coastal waters commonly

10 used by the public for swimming, bathing, or other

11 similar body contact purposes; and

12 ‘‘(2) the term ‘floatable materials’ means any

13 matter that may float or remain suspended in the

14 water column and includes plastic, aluminum cans,

15 wood, bottles, and paper products.’’.

16 SEC. 5. STUDY TO IDENTIFY INDICATORS OF HUMAN-SPE17 CIFIC PATHOGENS IN COASTAL RECREATION

18 WATERS.

19 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator, in cooperation with

20 the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmos21 phere, shall conduct an ongoing study to provide addi22 tional information to the current base of knowledge for

23 use for developing better indicators for directly detecting

24 in coastal recreation waters the presence of bacteria and

25 viruses which are harmful to human health.
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1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the date

2 of the enactment of this Act, and periodically thereafter,

3 the Administrator shall submit to the Congress a report

4 describing the findings of the study under this section, in5 cluding—

6 (1) recommendations concerning the need for

7 additional numerical limits or conditions and other

8 actions needed to improve the quality of coastal

9 recreation waters;

10 (2) a description of the amounts and types of

11 floatable materials in coastal waters and on coastal

12 beaches and of recent trends in the amounts and

13 types of such floatable materials; and

14 (3) an evaluation of State efforts to implement

15 this Act, including the amendments made by this

16 Act.

17 SEC. 6. PARTICIPATION OF STATE COASTAL ZONE MANAGE18 MENT PROGRAMS.

19 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Each coastal zone

20 management agency of a State with an approved coastal

21 zone management program under section 306 of the

22 Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455)

23 shall provide technical assistance to local governments

24 within the State for ensuring that coastal recreation wa-
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1 ters and beaches are as free as possible from floatable ma2 terials.

3 (b) CLEAN-UP OF COASTAL RECREATION WATERS

4 AND BEACHES.—Section 306A of the Coastal Zone Man5 agement Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1455a) is amended—

6 (1) by adding at the end of subsection (b) the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(4) Reduction of floatable materials in the

9 State’s coastal recreation waters by—

10 ‘‘(A) managing adjacent land uses so that

11 floatable materials are not introduced into those

12 waters;

13 ‘‘(B) encouraging public participation in

14 reducing the amount of floatable materials that

15 enter coastal recreation waters; and

16 ‘‘(C) sponsoring clean-up events at public

17 beaches.’’;

18 (2) in subsection (c)(2)—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub20 paragraph (D);

21 (B) by striking the period at the end of

22 subparagraph (E) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

23 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (E)

24 the following:
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1 ‘‘(F) the acquisition of beach and coastal

2 recreation water clean-up equipment.’’; and

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

4 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec5 tion—

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘coastal recreation waters’ means

7 Great Lakes and marine coastal waters commonly

8 used by the public for swimming, bathing, or other

9 similar body contact purposes; and

10 ‘‘(2) the term ‘floatable materials’ means any

11 matter that may float or remain suspended in the

12 water column and includes plastic, aluminum cans,

13 wood, bottles, and paper products.’’.

14 SEC. 7. GRANTS TO STATES.

15 (a) GRANTS.—The Administrator may make grants

16 to States for use in fulfilling requirements established pur17 suant to section 3 and 4.

18 (b) COST SHARING.—The total amount of grants to

19 a State under this section for a fiscal year shall not exceed

20 50 percent of the cost to the State of implementing re21 quirements established pursuant to section 3 and 4.

22 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

23 In this Act—

24 (1) the term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad25 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;
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1 (2) the term ‘‘coastal recreation waters’’ means

2 Great Lakes and marine coastal waters commonly

3 used by the public for swimming, bathing, or other

4 similar body contact purposes; and

5 (3) the term ‘‘floatable materials’’ means any

6 matter that may float or remain suspended in the

7 water column and includes plastic, aluminum cans,

8 wood, bottles, and paper products.

9 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Admin11 istrator—

12 (1) for use in making grants to States under

13 section 7 not more than $3,000,000 for each of the

14 fiscal years 1994 and 1995; and

15 (2) for carrying out the other provisions of this

16 Act not more than $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal

17 years 1994 and 1995.

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