GLIN==> Alliance Applauds Introduction of Bill to Clean Up Great Lakes Beaches

Alliance for the Great Lakes

For Immediate Release  
Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011                                               

Contact: Joel Brammeier
773-590-6494; jbrammeier at greatlakes.org

Alliance Applauds Introduction of Bill to Clean Up Great Lakes Beaches

Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk this week joined original sponsor Sen. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey to introduce the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2011, which would pay for state and local beach health monitoring, speed public notification, and -- most importantly -- support removal of pollution that can make people sick and close beaches.

The bill, S. 1582, comes on the heels of the largest annual Great Lakes volunteer event -- the "September Adopt-a-Beach(tm) Cleanup" -- held Saturday as part of the International Coastal Cleanup. Thousands descended upon their favorite Great Lakes beaches to clean up debris and monitor water quality. With beaches serving as the economic engines of coastal communities throughout the Great Lakes, days lost to pollution are dollars lost for local businesses.

The Senate bill would amend the federal Clean Water Act to reauthorize the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health ("BEACH") Act through fiscal year 2015. Since its passage in 2000, the BEACH Act has improved public health nationwide by authorizing the U.S. EPA to award grants to develop comprehensive beach monitoring and public notification programs for state and local recreational beaches.

This bill will improve the current BEACH Act by:

*       Allowing states to spend a portion of their funding to remove pollution sources.
*       Requiring EPA to approve new rapid testing methods that will protect the public from polluted water faster.
*       Requiring further study of the impacts of nutrient overloads and long-term climate change on pollution of our  beaches.

"A day with the Great Lakes means a day at the beach for millions of people every summer," said Joel Brammeier, Alliance President and CEO. "The longer we wait to knock out these pollution sources, the more people will get sick and the more communities will lose out on the revenue that healthy beaches provide."

While the BEACH Act has been authorized at $30 million, no annual appropriation has ever exceeded $10 million. As a result, many beaches are not tested or are monitored less frequently than needed. Full funding of the act will be necessary to support the elimination of pollution and protection of public health.

###

Formed in 1970, the Alliance for the Great Lakes is the oldest independent Great Lakes citizens' organization in North America. Our mission is to: conserve and restore the world's largest freshwater resource using policy, education and local efforts, ensuring a healthy Great Lakes and clean water for generations of people and wildlife. More about the Alliance for the Great Lakes is online at www.greatlakes.org.


Susan Campbell | Communications Manager | scampbell at greatlakes.org
Alliance for the Great Lakes | www.greatlakes.org
1845 N. Farwell, Ave., | Milwaukee, WI 53202 | 414.540.0699

Protect Your Lakes at http://takeaction.greatlakes.org/subscribe



-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/glin-announce/attachments/20110922/829d59a2/attachment.html