Reports and References

• Legislation
• Technical Reports and Reference
• Brochures and Pamphlets

Legislation

• Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000 (PDF, 116K)

Technical Reports and Reference

• List of beaches under the BEACH Act (April 30, 2004)

  • Fact Sheet
  • Federal Register Notice (May 4, 2004)
  • National List of beaches (PDF, 3MB, 157 pages)
    Please contact ost.web@epa.gov for a section 508 accessible document.

   

• National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants
• Tropical indicator workshop proceedings
  (November 14, 2003) The overall goal of this workshop was to address issues identified under the “Tropical Indicators” section of the EPA Action Plan for Beaches and Recreational Waters (EPA/600/R-98/079).
  
• EPA Status Report: Bacterial Water Quality Standards for Recreational Waters (Freshwater and Marine Waters) (June 19, 2003)
  This Status Report is to provide a brief overview of the bacterial water quality standards that have been adopted by states for their marine and fresh recreational waters in the United States. This report is based on consultations with EPA water quality standards coordinators.
• Time-Relevant Beach and Recreational Water Quality Monitoring and Reporting (October 2002)
  This handbook provides information on how to design and implement a time- relevant water quality monitoring program for beaches and other recreational waters. The handbook is intended for people who are considering developing a recreational water quality monitoring program for their community or wish to enhance their existing program.
• Assessing and Monitoring Floatable Debris
  Assessing and Monitoring Floatable Debris is designed to assist states, tribes, and local governments in developing their own assessment and monitoring programs for floatable debris in coastal recreation waters.
• DRAFT Implementation Guidance for Bacteria
  • Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Bacteria - 1986 (PDF, 370KB)
• Improved Enumeration Methods for the Recreational Water Quality Indicators: Enterococci and Escherichia coli (PDF, 349K)
• Review of Potential modeling Tools and Approaches to Support the BEACH Program (PDF, 280K) Appendices (PDF, 404K)
  This modeling report summarizes the predictive tools used by local beach-water-quality monitoring officials to determine if a health advisory or beach closure is needed. These and other EPA models are being evaluated to determine their applicability to real-time prediction of pathogen concentrations in the water at local beaches.
• Beach Action Plan
  EPA is implementing a series of key actions to ensure that beaches are safe for swimming. EPA developed the Action Plan for Beaches and Recreational Waters (Beach Action Plan) to assist state, tribal and local authorities in strengthening programs that protect users of recreational waters.
• Method 1600: Membrane Filter Test Method for Enterococci in Water (PDF, 64KB)
  This analytical method is published for use in the BEACH Program. This method is a revision of EPA's previous enterococci method issued in 1986.

• 1999 Great Lakes Maps

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Brochures and Pamphlets

• Beach Currents Newsletter - Fall 2003

• BEACH Program Document (PDF, 791K)
  This brochure gives an overview of EPA's BEACH Program. The BEACH Program is designed to strengthen U.S. beach water protection programs and water quality standards, better inform the public about water quality conditions at local beaches, and promote scientific research to further protect the health of beachgoers.
• In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, EPA presents a new edition ofthe brochure "Before You Go to the Beach..." (PDF, 325KB) (May 21, 2002)
• "Before You Go to the Beach" Brochure (PDF)
  This brochure helps you learn more about the beach water quality and how you can get involved to protect yourself from unnecessary exposure to contaminated water while at the beach.
• Fact Sheet: EPA's BEACH Watch Program: 2001 Update
  (PDF, 268KB) This Fact Sheet describes the results of the 2000 beach monitoring conducted by state and local environmental and public health officials.