BEACH Act Re-authorization
The BEACH Act of 2000 is the federal law that sets national standards for recreational water testing and authorizes state grants to pay for beach monitoring programs. This landmark law was first championed by the Surfrider Foundation a decade ago. Multiple attempts to reauthorize the BEACH Act have been made in the last two Congressional sessions. Proposed improvements to the bill have included increased funding for BEACH grants, modernizing the technology we rely on to protect the health of the beach-going public (including the use of rapid testing methods), and expanding the scope of the BEACH Act to include tracking and cleaning up the sources of beach water pollution. The House of Representatives has already approved reauthorization legislation twice now, but proponents of these bills have not been successful in securing a place on the agenda for the full Senate. The latest bill, The Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2011 (S. 1582) was introduced by Senator Lautenberg (NJ) during September 2011. It is very similar to its predecessors except that it does not propose an increase in funding levels. The Surfrider Foundation has issued an action alert in support of this Senate bill and hopes to see a companion bill submitted into the House of Representatives soon.
- Chapter:
- State: --
- Country: USA
- Theme: Clean Water
- Launch Date:
- Completion Date: Ongoing
