13 



a bill and kill anything that they want. So we need to act with 

 some dispatch. 



If I could just say one additional thing. Today is Ashley Evans' 

 last day with me. She is a staffer who has worked with me on this 

 bill, ocean dumping and many other measures. She is going on to 

 law school. She came to me as a Sea Grant Fellow just three years 

 ago. She has been a wonderful staffer. I want you to know that I 

 very much appreciate her work on this legislation and on all the 

 other legislation she worked on for me on this distinguished Com- 

 mittee. 



Mr. Ortiz. Very good, Mr. Hughes. I know when she comes back, 

 you will have an opening for her. 



Thank you for your testimony. 



[The statement of Mr. Hughes can be found at the end of the 

 hearing.] 



Statement of Hon. Wiluam J. Hughes, a U.S. Representative from New Jersey 



Mr. Chairman, thank you for conveying this hearing today. I am very pleased 

 that the Oceanography Subcommittee and the Environmental and Natural Re- 

 sources Subcommittee have joined today to consider H.R. 31, the Beaches Environ- 

 mental Assessment and Closure Health Act, which I introduced earlier this year. 

 This issue is of great importance to me and it is very timely to consider it now, in 

 the midst of the beach-going season. 



I would like to welcome the distinguished panel, particularly my colleagues. Sena- 

 tor Lautenberg and Senator Bradley. I appreciate your support and interest in this 

 issue and thank you for taking time from your busy schedules to attend this hearing 

 today. 



Much of the coastal pollution legislation that we consider today deals with im- 

 proving the quality of our Nation's coastal waters with an eye towards preserving 

 important habitat for the plants and animals that live there. 



My bill, however, is designed to protect human health and it does so in a simple 

 and straightforward manner. The bill would improve the quality of our coastal 

 recreation waters by establishing a uniform program for the testing and monitoring 

 of our Nation's beaches. 



The most recent Natural Resources Defense Council Beach Closing Report (June 

 30, 1993), reinforces the need for such comprehensive water quality standards. Their 

 study found that beaches were closed or advisories posted on more than 2600 occa- 

 sions in 22 coastal States last year due to elevated bacteria levels attributable pri- 

 marily to human and animal waste. Clearly, these figures emphasize that the prob- 

 lem of sewage contamination and polluted runoff into our coastal waters, and its 

 associated health risks, are persistent. 



Cleaning up existing sources of pollution, including polluted runoff, is clearly the 

 best and the most important remedy to the problem of beach water contamination. 

 In the interim, however, consistent programs to adequately protect beachgoer 

 health must be set in place. 



New Jersey has a stringent beach testing program. Some States, however, test 

 their beaches infrequently, while many do little or no testing at all. Moreover, 

 States use different standards of varying efficacy to judge the safety of coastal 

 waters. 



Clearly, it is time to replace this patchwork of testing procedures v^dth a single 

 national standard which will assure the public that beaches are tested on a regular 

 basis and that bathing waters are clean and safe. Bathers have the right to know if 

 they are swimming in safe waters whether they are in Maine, New Jersey, or Flori- 

 da. 



To address these inconsistencies, the B.E.A.C.H. bill requires EPA to establish 

 minimum water quality criteria for States to follow in adopting standards to detect 

 high concentrations of bacteria and viruses in recreational waters. 



States would be required to post advisories when water quality is poor, but will 

 have the flexibility in determining beach closures and implementing stricter stand- 

 ards. 



In order to reflect the variety of conditions of our Nation's beaches, the bill re- 

 quires EPA to issue monitoring procedures based on how frequently a beach is used, 



