179 



Many of the coastal states have not adopted the 1986 EPA 

 criteria, and continue to use EPA's earlier guidance. Approximately 

 21 coastal and Great Lakes states still use fecal coliform, two 

 states (California and Massachusetts) use fecal coliform and total 

 coliform, and three states (Maine, Delaware, and Hawaii) use 

 enterococci for testing recreational waters. 



1993 NRDC Beach Closings Report 



On June 30, 1993 the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) 

 released it's third annual report on beach closings in the U.S. 

 This report provides data on ocean and bay beach closings and 

 advisories for 1992 for 22 coastal states. For the first time, this 

 report also contains national data on beach attendance, the costs of 

 beach monitoring, and the income generated from beach tourism. 

 Among the findings of the NRDC report are: 



- In 1992 there were more than 2,600 instances of beaches being 

 closed or advisories posted. 



- High levels of bacteria were responsible for the majority of 

 the closings. 



- There were more than 160 million visitors to U.S. beaches in 

 1992, generating billions of dollars for local economies. 



Selected portions of the NRDC report are included as Appendix 1. 



FLOATABLES 



Floatables in the marine environment come from several sources, 

 notably combined sewer overflows, migration from inland estuaries, 

 runoff from upland landfills, illegal dumping from commercial and 

 recreational vessels, and ocean disposal of wood piers. EPA, in 

 conjunction with the Center for Marine Conservation, sponsor annual 

 nationwide beach cleanups. EPA is also initiating the development 

 of a guidance document for determining beach closures due to beach 

 debris or medical wastes. 



CMC Annual Beach Cleanup Report 



The Center for Marine Conservation (CMC) has organized beach 

 cleanups since 1986. These events have grown to international 

 stature involving over 145,000 volunteers in 35 states and 12 

 foreign countries. In addition to clearing beaches of marine 

 debris, the cleanups provide valuable data on the quantity and types 

 of debris which pollute the ocean. Each year CMC publishes a report 

 on the findings of its volunteers, outlining trends in marine debris 

 amount, distribution, content. Some important findings of the most 

 recent report (1991) were: 



- Over 4,315 miles of U.S. beaches were cleaned, netting 2.9 

 million pounds of marine debris equaling more than 650 pounds/mile. 

 This was down from 715 pounds/mile in 1990. Overall, 5.2 million 

 items were collected in 1991. 



