The temperatures are getting warmer reminding us that summer is right around the corner - and summertime means beachtime!  We got some good news for the health of our beaches yesterday from Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and 23 other members of the U.S. House of Representatives.  They introduced the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009 (H.R. 2093), which will help to protect families swimming at U.S. beaches this summer.  Beaches around the country are required to test water pollution during the summer to make sure the water is safe for swimming, but the public health standards for these tests are out-of-date.  There are two main problems: the public health tests they use aren't predictive of the full range of waterborne illnesses and the results are slow, often 24-48 hours after the sample is drawn.  As a result of a lawsuit NRDC brought last year, EPA has agreed to update their beachwater monitoring tests, but this bill would put those commitments into the law. 

H.R. 2093 proposes a fall 2012 deadline for the EPA Administrator to complete its validation of a rapid testing method, which would provide beachgoers with same day information on beachwater safety.  The bill would require health officials at beaches used most by the public to make quick decisions about beach advisories and closures and promptly let the public know if the beachwater is not safe for swimming. 

Another great feature of this bill is that it would provide funding for coastal communities to identify and correct sources of beachwater pollution.  It isn't enough just to let people know whether the beachwater is safe.  We need to make it safe.  This bill would help to do that.