II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 522

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

of beaches and coastal recreation water, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 3, 1999

Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. TORRICELLI, Mrs. BOXER, Mr.

LIEBERMAN, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public

Works

A BILL

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

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 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

8 (1) the beaches and coastal recreation water of

9 the United States are valuable public resources that
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1 are used for recreation by millions of people annu2 ally;

3 (2) the beaches of coastal States host many

4 out-of-State and international visitors;

5 (3) tourism in coastal zones generates billions

6 of dollars annually;

7 (4) increased population and urbanization of

8 watershed areas have contributed to the decline in

9 the environmental quality of coastal water;

10 (5) pollution in coastal water is not restricted

11 by State or other political boundaries;

12 (6) coastal States have different methods of

13 testing and parameters for evaluating the quality of

14 coastal recreation water, resulting in the provision of

15 varying degrees of protection to the public;

16 (7) the adoption of consistent criteria by coastal

17 States would enhance public health and safety, in18 cluding the adoption of consistent criteria for—

19 (A) testing and evaluating the quality of

20 coastal recreation water; and

21 (B) the posting of signs at beaches notify22 ing the public during periods when the water

23 quality criteria for public safety are not met;

24 and
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1 (8) while the adoption of consistent criteria

2 would enhance public health and safety, the failure

3 to meet consistent criteria should be addressed as

4 part of a watershed approach to effectively identify

5 and eliminate sources of pollution.

6 (b) PURPOSES.—The purpose of this Act is to amend

7 the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251

8 et seq.) to require uniform criteria and procedures for

9 testing, monitoring, and notifying users of public coastal

10 recreation water and beaches—

11 (1) to protect public safety; and

12 (2) to improve environmental quality.

13 SEC. 3. BEACH AND COASTAL RECREATION WATER QUAL14 ITY.

15 The Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.

16 1251 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end:

17 ‘‘TITLE VII—BEACH AND COAST18 AL RECREATION WATER

19 QUALITY

20 ‘‘SEC. 701. DEFINITIONS.

21 ‘‘In this title:

22 ‘‘(1) COASTAL RECREATION WATER.—The term

23 ‘coastal recreation water’ means water adjacent to

24 public beaches of the Great Lakes and of marine

25 coastal water (including bays, lagoon mouths, and
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1 coastal estuaries within the tidal zone) used by the

2 public for—

3 ‘‘(A) swimming;

4 ‘‘(B) bathing;

5 ‘‘(C) surfing; or

6 ‘‘(D) other similar body contact purposes.

7 ‘‘(2) FLOATABLE MATERIALS.—The term ‘float8 able materials’ means any foreign matter that may

9 float or remain suspended in water, including—

10 ‘‘(A) plastic;

11 ‘‘(B) aluminum cans;

12 ‘‘(C) wood;

13 ‘‘(D) bottles;

14 ‘‘(E) paper products; and

15 ‘‘(F) fishing gear.

16 ‘‘SEC. 702. ADOPTION OF COASTAL RECREATIONAL WATER

17 QUALITY CRITERIA BY STATES.

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years and 180

19 days after the date of enactment of this title, each State

20 shall adopt water quality criteria for coastal recreation

21 water that, at a minimum, are consistent with the criteria

22 published by the Administrator under section 304(a)(1).

23 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT OF CRITERIA.—Water quality

24 criteria described in subsection (a) shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) be developed and promulgated in accord2 ance with section 303(c);

3 ‘‘(2) be incorporated into all appropriate pro4 grams into which a State would incorporate other

5 water quality criteria adopted under section 303(c);

6 and

7 ‘‘(3) not later than 3 years after the date of

8 publication of revisions by the Administrator under

9 section 703(b), be revised by the State.

10 ‘‘(c) FAILURE OF STATES TO ADOPT CRITERIA.—If,

11 not later than 3 years and 180 days after the date of en12 actment of this title, a State has not complied with sub13 section (a), the water quality criteria issued by the Admin14 istrator under section 304(a)(1) shall—

15 ‘‘(1) become the effective water quality criteria

16 for coastal recreational water for that State; and

17 ‘‘(2) be considered to have been promulgated by

18 the Administrator under section 303(c)(4).

19 ‘‘SEC. 703. REVISIONS TO WATER QUALITY CRITERIA.

20 ‘‘(a) STUDIES.—Not later than 3 years after the date

21 of enactment of this title, and after consultation with ap22 propriate Federal, State, and local officials (including local

23 health officials) and other interested persons, the Adminis24 trator shall conduct, in cooperation with the Under Sec-
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1 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, studies

2 to provide new information for use in developing—

3 ‘‘(1) a more complete list of potential human

4 health risks from inhalation, ingestion, or body con5 tact with coastal recreation water, including effects

6 on the upper respiratory system;

7 ‘‘(2) appropriate and effective indicators for im8 proving direct detection of the presence of pathogens

9 found harmful to human health in coastal rec10 reational water;

11 ‘‘(3) appropriate, accurate, and expeditious

12 methods (including predictive models) for detecting

13 the presence of pathogens in coastal recreation water

14 that are harmful to human health; and

15 ‘‘(4) guidance for the State-to-State application

16 of the criteria issued under subsection (b) to account

17 for the diversity of geographic and aquatic condi18 tions throughout the United States.

19 ‘‘(b) REVISED CRITERIA.—Not later than 5 years

20 after the date of enactment of this title, based on the re21 sults of the studies conducted under subsection (a), the

22 Administrator, after consultation with appropriate Fed23 eral, State, and local officials (including local health offi24 cials) and other interested parties, shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) issue revised water quality criteria for

2 pathogens in coastal recreation water that are harm3 ful to human health, including a revised list of indi4 cators and testing methods; and

5 ‘‘(2) not less than once every 5 years thereafter,

6 review and revise the water quality criteria.

7 ‘‘SEC. 704. COASTAL BEACH WATER QUALITY MONITORING.

8 ‘‘(a) MONITORING.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year and

10 180 days after the date of enactment of this title,

11 the Administrator shall promulgate regulations re12 quiring monitoring by the States of public coastal

13 recreation water and beaches for—

14 ‘‘(A) compliance with applicable water

15 quality criteria; and

16 ‘‘(B) maintenance of public safety.

17 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS OF REQUIREMENTS.—Monitor18 ing requirements established under this section shall

19 specify, at a minimum—

20 ‘‘(A) available monitoring methods to be

21 used by States;

22 ‘‘(B) the frequency and location of mon23 itoring based on—

24 ‘‘(i) the periods of recreational use of

25 coastal recreation water and beaches;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the extent and degree of rec2 reational use during the periods described

3 in clause (i);

4 ‘‘(iii) the proximity of coastal recre5 ation water to known or identified point

6 and nonpoint sources of pollution; and

7 ‘‘(iv) the relationship between the use

8 of public recreation water and beaches to

9 storm events;

10 ‘‘(C) methods for—

11 ‘‘(i) detecting levels of pathogens that

12 are harmful to human health; and

13 ‘‘(ii) identifying short-term increases

14 in pathogens that are harmful to human

15 health in coastal recreation water, includ16 ing the relationship of short-term increases

17 in pathogens to storm events; and

18 ‘‘(D) conditions and procedures under

19 which discrete areas of coastal recreation water

20 may be exempted by the Administrator from

21 the monitoring requirements under this sub22 section, if the Administrator determines that an

23 exemption will not—
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1 ‘‘(i) impair compliance with the appli2 cable water quality criteria for that water;

3 and

4 ‘‘(ii) compromise public safety.

5 ‘‘(b) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Regulations promulgated

7 under subsection (a) shall require States to provide

8 prompt notification of a failure or the likelihood of

9 a failure to meet applicable water quality criteria for

10 State coastal recreation water, to—

11 ‘‘(A) local governments;

12 ‘‘(B) the public; and

13 ‘‘(C) the Administrator.

14 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION INCLUDED IN NOTIFICA15 TION.—Notification under this subsection shall re16 quire, at a minimum—

17 ‘‘(A) the prompt communication of the oc18 currence, nature, extent, and location of, and

19 substances (including pathogens) involved in, a

20 failure or immediate likelihood of a failure to

21 meet water quality criteria, to a designated offi22 cial of a local government having jurisdiction

23 over land adjoining the coastal recreation water

24 for which the failure or imminent failure to

25 meet water quality criteria is identified; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the posting of signs, during the pe2 riod in which water quality criteria are not met

3 continues, that are sufficient to give notice to

4 the public—

5 ‘‘(i) of a failure to meet applicable

6 water quality criteria for the water; and

7 ‘‘(ii) the potential risks associated

8 with water contact activities in the water.

9 ‘‘(c) REVIEW AND REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—Pe10 riodically, but not less than once every 5 years, the Admin11 istrator shall review and make any necessary revisions to

12 regulations promulgated under this section.

13 ‘‘(d) STATE IMPLEMENTATION.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years and

15 180 days after the date of enactment of this title,

16 each State shall implement a monitoring and notifi17 cation program that conforms to the regulations pro18 mulgated under subsections (a) and (b).

19 ‘‘(2) REVISION OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 2

20 years after the date of publication of any revisions

21 by the Administrator under subsection (c), each

22 State shall revise the program established under

23 paragraph (1) to incorporate the revisions.

24 ‘‘(e) GUIDANCE; DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBIL25 ITY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year and

2 180 days after the date of enactment of this title,

3 the Administrator shall issue guidance

4 establishing—

5 ‘‘(A) core performance measures for test6 ing, monitoring, and notification programs

7 under this section; and

8 ‘‘(B) the delegation of testing, monitoring,

9 and notification programs under this section to

10 local government authorities.

11 ‘‘(2) DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITY TO

12 LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—If a responsibility described

13 in paragraph (1)(B) is delegated by a State to a

14 local government authority, or is delegated to a local

15 government authority before the date of enactment

16 of this section, State resources, including grants

17 made under section 706, shall be made available to

18 the delegated authority for the purpose of imple19 menting the delegated program in a manner that is

20 consistent with the guidance issued by the Adminis21 trator.

22 ‘‘(f) FLOATABLE MATERIALS MONITORING; TECH23 NICAL ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 1 year and 180 days

24 after the date of enactment of this title, the Administrator

25 shall—
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1 ‘‘(1) provide technical assistance for uniform

2 assessment and monitoring procedures for floatable

3 materials in coastal recreation water; and

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

5 presence of floatable material shall constitute a

6 threat to public health and safety.

7 ‘‘(g) OCCURRENCE DATABASE.—The Administrator

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

9 by electronic and other means—

10 ‘‘(1) a national coastal recreation water pollu11 tion occurrence database using reliable information,

12 including the information reported under subsection

13 (b); and

14 ‘‘(2) a listing of communities conforming to the

15 regulations promulgated under subsections (a) and

16 (b).

17 ‘‘SEC. 705. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

18 ‘‘Not later than 4 years after the date of the enact19 ment of this title and periodically thereafter, the Adminis20 trator shall submit to Congress a report that contains—

21 ‘‘(1) recommendations concerning the need for

22 additional water quality criteria and other actions

23 that are necessary to improve the quality of coastal

24 recreation water; and
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1 ‘‘(2) an evaluation of State efforts to implement

2 this title.

3 ‘‘SEC. 706. GRANTS TO STATES.

4 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Administrator may make grants

5 to States for use in meeting the requirements of sections

6 702 and 704.

7 ‘‘(b) COST SHARING.—For each fiscal year, the total

8 amount of funds provided through grants to a State under

9 this section shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost to the

10 State of implementing requirements described in sub11 section (a).

12 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE STATE.—Effective beginning 3 years

13 and 180 days after the date of enactment of this title,

14 the Administrator may make a grant to a State under this

15 section only if the State demonstrates to the satisfaction

16 of the Administrator the implementation of the State mon17 itoring and notification program under section 704 of this

18 title.

19 ‘‘SEC. 707. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 There is authorized to be appropriated—

21 ‘‘(1) for use in making grants to States under

22 section 706, $9,000,000 for each of fiscal years

23 2000 through 2004; and
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1 ‘‘(2) for carrying out the other provisions of

2 this title, $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000

3 through 2004.’’.

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