Urge the Obama Administration and the EPA to Restore Money for Beach Monitoring and Strengthen Water Quality Standards

Dear President Obama,

I urge you to restore funding for beach water quality monitoring.

Every year millions of American’s visit the coast for a swim in the ocean. Some swim or surf in the ocean hundreds of times each year.

Swimming, surfing and beach going are incredibly healthy activities as long as you wear sunscreen and you don’t get sick from polluted ocean water.

Sadly, in many areas along the coast, the ocean water is polluted from urban runoff. Last year, there were 24,091 beach closures and advisories for dirty water in the US.

Just like health safety inspections for food, we rely on water quality monitoring and reporting to ensure that the water we recreate in is safe. In 2000, when the federal BEACH Act was passed, water quality monitoring made big advancements in setting standards and funding monitoring programs to ensure your safety.

Given that tourism and recreation along our coasts generated over 70 billion dollars and supported 1.7 millions of jobs in 2004 alone, an annual expenditure of 9.9 million dollars spread across all coastal states to protect the health of beach goers is a worthwhile investment.

By defunding the EPA's Beach Grant Program you are putting American's at risk when they visit beaches because they won't be able to tell if the ocean water is safe to enter.

We urge you to restore $9.9 million Beach Grant Fund to support water quality monitoring in coastal communities around the nation.