The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency helicopter begins its 20th year of ocean surveillance and water quality sampling along New York and New Jersey's ocean beaches this Memorial Day weekend. To help celebrate, EPA has asked school children in grades 3 through 8 from thousands of schools across New Jersey to help name the helicopter. EPA will select the winning entry and announce the helicopter's new name the weekend of July Fourth. Samples are analyzed for dissolved oxygen, phytoplankton, fecal coliform and enterococcus bacteria counts. The results are relayed, through the state, to local health departments for use in determining beach openings and closings.
Clean water is critical to our nation's economy.
As we know, so well here in New Jersey, beaches, rivers and lakes are the number one vacation choice for Americans. Return to top of this News Release Return to News Release Index.