Pallone Announces BEACH Act Funded in Omnibus Spending Bill
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) announced that the BEACH Act is funded at $9.549 million in the omnibus spending bill, a victory for New Jersey beach goers and the state’s tourist economy. Earlier this year, Pallone led a letter to the Appropriations Committee calling for the funding of the program, despite the President’s fiscal year 2016 budget proposal zeroing out funding for the program. The program, which was established by legislation authored by Pallone and late-Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), sets national water quality standards and provides states with grants to test water quality and notify the public when conditions are unsafe. In addition to calling for funding of the program, Pallone and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) recently introduced the BEACH Act of 2015 to update the existing law.
“New Jersey’s beaches are a tremendous resource for those who come here to enjoy them, and a huge economic engine for our state,” said Congressman Pallone. “I am very pleased that our call for funding of the BEACH Act was heard. It is not only a victory for our beachgoers and economy, the recognition of the need to fund this program adds momentum to my bill with Senator Menendez to reauthorize and strengthen the existing law.”
“Our members of Congress have ensured it is safe to splash in the ocean again this summer by reinstating funding for the BEACH act, which tests the waters off our beaches,” said Cindy Zipf, Executive Director of Clean Ocean Action. “Our thanks to Congressman Pallone and other members of Congress who defended this important program. In the future, we look forward to the passage of the reauthorization of the new BEACH Act, which will bring the program into the 21st century and provide more secure funding.”
Under the BEACH Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to work with states to ensure they use the latest science to sample and test beach waters to protect the public's health. If tests come back positive for contaminants, the state is required to close the beach until it is clean. The law also helps states set up and operate comprehensive monitoring and notification programs in order to provide up-to-date information on the condition of all public beaches.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council’s annual analysis of water quality data, 10 percent of all samples exceeded EPA’s benchmark for assessing swimmer safety. Furthermore, EPA has estimated that up to 3.5 million people become sick from contact with raw sewage from sanitary sewer overflows each year.