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Beaches Environmental Assessment
and Coastal Health Act of 2000 (PDF, 116K)
H. R. 999
One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,
the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand
An Act To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to improve
the quality of coastal recreation waters, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
- Sec. 1 Short Title
- Sec. 2 Adoption of Coastal Recreation Water
Quality Criteria and Standards by States
- Sec. 3 Revisions to Water Quality Criteria
- Sec. 4 Coastal Recreation Water Quality Monitoring
and Notification
- Sec. 5 Definitions
- Sec. 6 Indian Tribes
- Sec. 7 Report
- Sec. 8 Authorization of Appropriations
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Beaches Environmental
Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000''.
SEC. 2. ADOPTION OF COASTAL RECREATION WATER QUALITY CRITERIA
AND STANDARDS BY STATES.
Section 303 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33U.S.C.
1313) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(i) COASTAL RECREATION WATER QUALITY CRITERIA.—
‘‘(1) ADOPTION BY STATES.—
‘‘(A) INITIAL CRITERIA AND STANDARDS.—Not later
than 42 months after the date of the enactment of this sub-section,
each State having coastal recreation waters shall adopt and submit
to the Administrator water quality criteria and standards for
the coastal recreation waters of the State for those pathogens
and pathogen indicators for which the Administrator has published
criteria under section 304(a).
‘‘(B) NEW OR REVISED CRITERIA AND STANDARDS.—Not
later than 36 months after the date of publication by the Administrator
of new or revised water quality criteria under section 304(a)(9),
each State having coastal recreation waters shall adopt and submit
to the Administrator new or revised water quality standards for
the coastal recreation waters of the State for all pathogens and
pathogen indicators to which the new or revised water quality
criteria are applicable.
‘‘(2) FAILURE OF STATES TO ADOPT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a State fails to adopt water
quality criteria and standards in accordance with paragraph
(1)(A) that are as protective of human health as the criteria
for pathogens and pathogen indicators for coastal recreation waters
published by the Administrator, the Administrator shall promptly
propose regulations for the State setting forth revised or new
water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators
described in paragraph (1)(A) for coastal recreation waters of
the State.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If the Administrator proposes
regulations for a State described in subparagraph (A) under subsection
(c)(4)(B), the Administrator shall publish any revised or new
standard under this subsection not later than 42 months after
the date of the enactment of this
subsection.
‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—Except as expressly provided
by this subsection, the requirements and procedures of subsection
(c) apply to this subsection, including the requirement in subsection
(c)(2)(A) that the criteria protect public health and welfare.''.
SEC. 3. REVISIONS TO WATER QUALITY CRITERIA.
(a) STUDIES CONCERNING PATHOGEN INDICATORS IN COASTAL RECREATION
WATERS.—Section 104 of the Federal Water Pollution Control
Act (33 U.S.C. 1254) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(v) STUDIES CONCERNING PATHOGEN INDICATORS IN COASTAL
RECREATION WATERS.—Not later than 18 months after the date
of the enactment of this subsection, after consultation and in
cooperation with appropriate Federal, State, tribal, and local
officials (including local health officials), the Administrator
shall initiate, and, not later than 3 years after the date of
the enactment of this subsection, shall complete, in cooperation
with the heads of other Federal agencies, studies to provide additional
information for use in developing—
‘‘(1) an assessment of potential human health risks
resulting from exposure to pathogens in coastal recreation waters,
including nongastrointestinal effects;
‘‘(2) appropriate and effective indicators for improving
detection in a timely manner in coastal recreation waters of the
presence of pathogens that are harmful to human health;
‘‘(3) appropriate, accurate, expeditious, and cost-effective
methods (including predictive models) for detecting in a timely
manner in coastal recreation waters the presence of pathogens
that are harmful to human health; and
‘‘(4) guidance for State application of the criteria
for pathogens and pathogen indicators to be published under section
304(a)(9) to account for the diversity of geographic and aquatic
conditions.''.
(b) REVISED CRITERIA.—Section 304(a) of the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1314(a)) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(9) REVISED CRITERIA FOR COASTAL RECREATION WATERS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after
the date of the enactment of this paragraph, after consultation
and in cooperation with appropriate Federal, State, tribal, and
local officials (including local health officials), the Administrator
shall publish new or revised water quality
criteria for pathogens and pathogen indicators (including a revised
list of testing methods, as appropriate), based on the results
of the studies conducted under section 104(v), for the purpose
of protecting human health in coastal recre-ation waters.
‘‘(B) REVIEWS.—Not later than the date that is
5 years after the date of publication of water quality criteria
under this paragraph, and at least once every 5 years thereafter,
the Administrator shall review and, as necessary, revise the water
quality criteria.''.
SEC. 4. COASTAL RECREATION WATER QUALITY MONITORING AND NOTIFICATION.
Title IV of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1341 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 406. COASTAL RECREATION WATER QUALITY MONITORING
AND NOTIFICATION.
‘‘(a) MONITORING AND NOTIFICATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after
the date of the enactment of this section, after consultation
and in cooperation with appropriate Federal, State, tribal, and
local officials (including local health officials), and after
providing public notice and an opportunity for comment, the Administrator
shall publish performance criteria for—
‘‘(A) monitoring and assessment (including specifying
available methods for monitoring) of coastal recreation waters
adjacent to beaches or similar points of access that are used
by the public for attainment of applicable water quality standards
for pathogens and pathogen indicators;and
‘‘(B) the prompt notification of the public, local governments,
and the Administrator of any exceeding of or likelihood of exceeding
applicable water quality standards for coastal recreation waters
described in subparagraph (A).
‘‘(2) LEVEL OF PROTECTION.—The performance criteria
referred to in paragraph (1) shall provide that the activities
described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of that paragraph shall
be carried out as necessary for the protection of public health
and safety.
‘‘(b) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may make grants
to States and local governments to develop and implement programs
for monitoring and notification for coastal recreation waters
adjacent to beaches or similar points of access that are used
by the public.
‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may award a
grant to a State or a local government to implement a monitoring
and notification program if—
‘‘(i) the program is consistent with the performance
criteria published by the Administrator under subsection (a);
‘‘(ii) the State or local government prioritizes the
use of grant funds for particular coastal recreation waters based
on the use of the water and the risk to human health presented
by pathogens or pathogen indicators;
‘‘(iii) the State or local government makes available
to the Administrator the factors used to prioritize the use of
funds under clause (ii);
‘‘(iv) the State or local government provides a list
of discrete areas of coastal recreation waters that are subject
to the program for monitoring and notification for which the grant
is provided that specifies any coastal recreation waters for which
fiscal constraints will prevent consistency with the performance
criteria under subsection (a); and
‘‘(v) the public is provided an opportunity to review
the program through a process that provides for public notice
and an opportunity for comment.
‘‘(B) GRANTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—The Administrator
may make a grant to a local government under this subsection for
implementation of a monitoring and notification program only if,
after the 1-year period beginning on the date of publication of
performance criteria under subsection (a)(1), the Administrator
determines that the State is not implementing a program that meets
the requirements of this subsection, regardless of whether the
State has received a grant under this subsection.
‘‘(3) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—
‘‘(A) REPORT.—A State recipient of a grant under
this subsection shall submit to the Administrator, in such format
and at such intervals as the Administrator determines to be appropriate,
a report that describes—
‘‘(i) data collected as part of the program for monitoring
and notification as described in subsection (c); and
‘‘(ii) actions taken to notify the public when water
quality standards are exceeded.
‘‘(B) DELEGATION.—A State recipient of a grant
under this subsection shall identify each local government to
which the State has delegated or intends to delegate responsibility
for implementing a monitoring and notification program consistent
with the performance criteria published under subsection (a) (including
any coastal recreation waters for which the authority to implement
a monitoring and notification program would be subject to the
delegation).
‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, through grants
awarded under this section, may pay up to 100 percent of the costs
of developing and implementing a program for monitoring and notification
under this subsection.
‘‘(B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal share
of the costs of developing and implementing a monitoring and notification
program may be—
‘‘(i) in an amount not to exceed 50 percent, as determined
by the Administrator in consultation with State, tribal, and local
government representatives; and
‘‘(ii) provided in cash or in kind.
‘‘(c) CONTENT OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS.—
As a condition of receipt of a grant under subsection (b), a State
or local government program for monitoring and notification under
this section shall identify—
‘‘(1) lists of coastal recreation waters in the State,
including coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches or similar
points of access that are used by the public;
‘‘(2) in the case of a State program for monitoring
and notification, the process by which the State may delegate
to local governments responsibility for implementing the monitoring
and notification program;
‘‘(3) the frequency and location of monitoring and assessment
of coastal recreation waters based on—
‘‘(A) the periods of recreational use of the waters;
‘‘(B) the nature and extent of use during certain periods;
‘‘(C) the proximity of the waters to known point sources
and nonpoint sources of pollution; and
‘‘(D) any effect of storm events on the waters;
‘‘(4)(A) the methods to be used for detecting levels
of pathogens and pathogen indicators that are harmful to human
health; and
‘‘(B) the assessment procedures for identifying short-term
increases in pathogens and pathogen indicators that are harmful
to human health in coastal recreation waters (including increases
in relation to storm events);
‘‘(5) measures for prompt communication of the occurrence,
nature, location, pollutants involved, and extent of any exceeding
of, or likelihood of exceeding, applicable water quality standards
for pathogens and pathogen indicators to—
‘‘(A) the Administrator, in such form as the Administrator
determines to be appropriate; and
‘‘(B) a designated official of a local government having
jurisdiction over land adjoining the coastal recreation waters
for which the failure to meet applicable standards is identified;
‘‘(6) measures for the posting of signs at beaches or
similar points of access, or functionally equivalent communication
measures that are sufficient to give notice to the public that
the coastal recreation waters are not meeting or are not expected
to meet applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen
indicators; and
‘‘(7) measures that inform the public of the potential
risks associated with water contact activities in the coastal
recreation waters that do not meet applicable water quality standards.
‘‘(d) FEDERAL AGENCY PROGRAMS.—Not later than 3
years after the date of the enactment of this section, each Federal
agency that has jurisdiction over coastal recreation waters adjacent
to beaches or similar points of access that are used by the public
shall develop and implement, through a process that provides for
public notice and an opportunity for comment, a monitoring and
notification program for the coastal recreation waters that—
‘‘(1) protects the public health and safety;
‘‘(2) is consistent with the performance criteria published
under subsection (a);
‘‘(3) includes a completed report on the information
specified in subsection (b)(3)(A), to be submitted to the Administrator;
and
‘‘(4) addresses the matters specified in subsection
(c) .
‘‘(e) DATABASE.—The Administrator shall establish,
maintain, and make available to the public by electronic and other
means a national coastal recreation water pollution occurrence
database that provides—
‘‘(1) the data reported to the Administrator under sub-sections
(b)(3)(A)(i) and (d)(3); and
‘‘(2) other information concerning pathogens and pathogen
indicators in coastal recreation waters that—
‘‘(A) is made available to the Administrator by a State
or local government, from a coastal water quality monitoring program
of the State or local government; and
‘‘(B) the Administrator determines should be included.
‘‘(f ) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR MONITORING FLOATABLE
MATERIAL.—
The Administrator shall provide technical assistance to States
and local governments for the development of assessment and monitoring
procedures for floatable material to protect public health and
safety in coastal recreation waters.
‘‘(g) LIST OF WATERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning not later than 18 months
after the date of publication of performance criteria under subsection
(a), based on information made available to the Administrator,
the Administrator shall identify, and maintain a list of, discrete
coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches or similar points
of access that are used by the public that—
‘‘(A) specifies any waters described in this paragraph
that are subject to a monitoring and notification program consistent
with the performance criteria established under subsection (a);
and
‘‘(B) specifies any waters described in this paragraph
for which there is no monitoring and notification program (including
waters for which fiscal constraints will prevent the State or
the Administrator from performing monitoring and notification
consistent with the performance criteria established under subsection
(a)).
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY.—The Administrator shall make
the list described in paragraph (1) available to the public through—
‘‘(A) publication in the Federal Register; and
‘‘(B) electronic media.
‘‘(3) UPDATES.—The Administrator shall update the
list described in paragraph (1) periodically as new information
becomes available.
‘‘(h) EPA IMPLEMENTATION.—In the case of a State
that has no program for monitoring and notification that is consistent
with the performance criteria published under subsection (a) after
the last day of the 3-year period beginning on the date on which
the Administrator lists waters in the State under subsection
(g)(1)(B), the Administrator shall conduct a monitoring and notification
program for the listed waters based on a priority ranking established
by the Administrator using funds appropriated for grants under
subsection (i)—
‘‘(1) to conduct monitoring and notification; and
‘‘(2) for related salaries, expenses, and travel.
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is
authorized to be appropriated for making grants under subsection
(b), including implementation of monitoring and notification programs
by the Administrator under subsection (h), $30,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.''.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
Section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C.
1362) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(21) COASTAL RECREATION WATERS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘coastal recreation
waters'means—
‘‘(i) the Great Lakes; and
‘‘(ii) marine coastal waters (including coastal estuaries)
that are designated under section 303(c) by a State for use for
swimming, bathing, surfing, or similar water contact activities.
‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘coastal recreation
waters' does not include—
‘‘(i) inland waters; or
‘‘(ii) waters upstream of the mouth of a river or
stream having an unimpaired natural connection with the open sea.
‘‘(22) FLOATABLE MATERIAL.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘floatable material'
means any foreign matter that may float or remain suspended in
the water column.
‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘floatable material'
includes—
‘‘(i) plastic;
‘‘(ii) aluminum cans;
‘‘(iii) wood products;
‘‘(iv) bottles; and
‘‘(v) paper products.
‘‘(23) PATHOGEN INDICATOR.—The term ‘pathogen
indicator' means a substance that indicates the potential for
human infectious disease.''.
SEC. 6. INDIAN TRIBES.
Section 518(e) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33
U.S.C. 1377(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘and 404'' and
inserting ‘‘404, and 406''.
SEC. 7. REPORT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and every 4 years thereafter, the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency shall submit to Congress
a report that includes—
(1) recommendations concerning the need for additional water quality
criteria for pathogens and pathogen indicators and other actions
that should be taken to improve the quality of coastal recreation
waters;
(2) an evaluation of Federal, State, and local efforts to implement
this Act, including the amendments made by this Act; and
(3) recommendations on improvements to methodologies and techniques
for monitoring of coastal recreation waters.
(b) COORDINATION.—The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency may coordinate the report under this section
with other reporting requirements under the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.).
SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the provisions
of this Act, including the amendments made by this Act, for which
amounts are not otherwise specifically authorized to be appropriated,
such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2001 through
2005.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
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