19 



ments and by allowing the administrator of EPA to exempt certain 

 coastal recreation waters from the requirements. 



NO A A believes that the bill's requirements for development of 

 uniform methods of testing and monitoring beach environmental 

 quality should be a part of the comprehensive water quality assess- 

 ment and monitoring program which NOAA and EPA are directed 

 to develop pursuant to the recently enacted National Coastal Moni- 

 toring Act, or NCMA, Title V of the NOAA Authorization Act of 

 1992. The NCMA specifically directs that EPA and NOAA should 

 establish monitoring guidelines and protocols to survey water qual- 

 ity in coastal and Great Lakes waters. Thus, the requirement in 

 H.R. 31 for development and issuance of beach water quality moni- 

 toring methods is already mandated by the NCMA, and we believe 

 should be developed in coordination with this larger monitoring 

 program. 



Setting standards for floatables is also needed. In addition to 

 public health and aesthetic concerns, over a million marine ani- 

 mals are killed yearly by marine debris and vessel damage attrib- 

 uted to marine debris has been costly to repair and poses a real 

 threat to mariner safety. 



1991 beach cleanup data show that most types of ocean-based 

 marine debris are declining. By contrast, land-based wastes, includ- 

 ing sewage associated waste, although accounting for a very small 

 portion of total wastes, are increasing. Therefore, NOAA supports 

 the development of standards for monitoring floatables in coastal 

 recreational waters as part of a comprehensive national coastal 

 monitoring program. 



H.R. 31 calls for the participation of State coastal zone manage- 

 ment programs to provide technical assistance to local govern- 

 ments in reducing floatables in coastal recreational waters. The bill 

 would amend Section 306A of the Coastal Zone Management Act to 

 make the reduction of floatable materials and the acquisition of 

 beach cleanup equipment eligible uses of Federal financial assist- 

 ance under that section. 



NOAA opposes this amendment. Section 306A should remain fo- 

 cused on providing limited funding for low-cost construction, urban 

 waterfront revitalization, public access projects, and acquisition of 

 natural areas. In addition, the CZMA already provides an impor- 

 tant role for State coastal management programs in controlling 

 floatables through the management of adjacent land uses and 

 through their sponsorship of beach cleanup, adopt-a-beach, and 

 public education programs around the country. 



The Coastal Zone Act Reauthorization Amendments of 1990, 

 known as CZARA, expand the role of State CZM programs to ad- 

 dress both coastal pollution and marine debris. 



First, it recognizes marine debris abatement as one of eight na- 

 tional coastal zone enhancement objectives. States are eligible for 

 competitive coastal zone enhancement grants to "reduce marine 

 debris entering the Nation's coastal and ocean environment by 

 managing uses and activities that contribute to the entry of such 

 debris. " 



NOAA guidance for this new program encourages State CZM 

 programs to provide technical assistance to local governments, 

 manage adjacent land uses to reduce debris, encourage public par- 



