|
FYI
- 2) BEACH Act
passes House; Introduced in Senate CQ TODAY
PRINT EDITION - ENVIRONMENT April 16,
2008 - 7:21 p.m. House Passes
Reauthorization of Law Regarding Tests for Beach Water Pollution By Avery
Palmer, CQ Staff The House
passed a bill Wednesday to reauthorize a Clinton-era law on beach water
pollution. The bill (HR
2537) passed by voice vote. It would reauthorize the Beaches Environmental
Assessment and Coastal Health Act (PL 106-284), which sets uniform criteria for
testing beach waters for bacteria and other pollutants and notifying the public
if waters are unsafe, through fiscal 2012. The bill covers beaches on the Great
Lakes as well as on the oceans. The bill
would increase from $30 million to $40 million authorized funding for grants to
states to use in monitoring and notification programs. It would expand the
number of ways that states can use these grants, including for tracking sources
of beach water pollution. The bill
further clarifies that local authorities must notify the public within 24 hours
of finding a contaminated sample. If the beach is not closed, the bill requires
posting a sign to indicate that the water is probably contaminated. Action on
Amendments The House
adopted by voice vote a manager’s amendment by Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas.
The amendment requires the EPA by 2010 to validate a "rapid testing"
methodology, which could shorten the time required to test for contaminants. The House
also adopted by voice vote an amendment by Jay Inslee, D-Wash., that requires
the EPA to study the long-term impact of climate change on the pollution of
coastal waters. The House
first took up the bill last week, but debate slowed on the floor after
Republicans decided to use the bill as a platform for debate on energy policy
and other controversial issues. The House took up the bill under a modified
open rule that allowed members more opportunities to offer amendments. Vito J.
Fossella, R-N.Y., offered an amendment to add the text of Senate-passed
legislation (HR 3373) on overhauling the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The House voted, 216-193, to sustain a ruling by the chair that the amendment
was not germane to the bill. A Senate
companion bill (S 2844), introduced by Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., and George
V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, would increase authorized funding for states to $60
million per year. |