25 



and monitoring. First of all, we found there are over 160 million 

 visitors to ocean and bay beaches each year, which is a really stag- 

 gering number; and that the costs of this monitoring are relatively 

 reasonable, very reasonable in light of the recreational interests at 

 stake and the economic interests — New Jersey's program, $22,000, 

 Delaware's program, $35,000 annually. 



We have data in our report on New York, southern California, 

 Florida. We tried to get as much information as counties and 

 States would provide us, and we included it all in here. The aver- 

 age cost is somewhere between $1,000, $2,000 per beach mile moni- 

 tored, and we think that that is well worth the investment com- 

 pared to the stakes at risk. 



When you look at the dollars generated by coastal tourism, the 

 numbers are really staggering. It is billions of dollars per year for 

 many of the key States; and what we are saying is, to protect that 

 investment, take a small part of that and make sure that citizens 

 know that when they swim in the waters, it is healthy. 



We strongly support H.R. 31. There is a letter which is circulat- 

 ing to all the Members of this — these subcommittees — which is 

 signed by over 66 national, regional and local groups urging co- 

 sponsorship and support for H.R. 31; and we would very much urge 

 this Committee, this Subcommittee and then the full Committee, to 

 take prompt action in reporting this bill out — such action will 

 serve the interests of the American beach-going public. 



Thank you very much. 



Mr. Ortiz. Thank you for your testimony. 



[The statement of Ms. Chasis can be found at the end of the 

 hearing.] 



Mr. Ortiz. Now we will continue, last but certainly not least, we 

 will hear from Ms. Schrader. 



STATEMENT OF BETSY SCHRADER, COORDINATOR, MARINE 

 DEBRIS PROGRAM, CENTER FOR MARINE CONSERVATION 



Ms. Schrader. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Betsy 

 Schrader. I am the Marine Debris Program Director for the Center 

 for Marine Conservation. I am accompanied today by Tim Eichen- 

 berg, Counsel for the Center. We appreciate this opportunity to tes- 

 tify in support of the Beach Act. 



Our testimony today will focus primarily on the issue of floata- 

 bles, as this is the area in which we have had the most experience. 



While floatables, such as syringes and plastic tampon applica- 

 tors, found on beaches are not directly related to human health, as 

 wastes that are associated with medical waste or sewage dis- 

 charges, they are indicators of hazards to public health and safety. 



We commend the Committee and the sponsor of the legislation 

 for including the monitoring of floatables. These items can tell you 

 a great deal about the status of our beaches and surrounding 

 waters. 



Since 1988, the Center for Marine Conservation has coordinated 

 an annual International Coastal Cleanup. Last fall, more than 

 132,000 volunteers from all over the U.S. spent a day at the beach 

 picking up trash. In 1992, the Cleanup drew citizens from 30 coast- 

 al States, three U.S. territories and 31 foreign countries. In the 



