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 Through an Inter-Agency Agreement with the National Oceanic and 

 Atmof pherlc Admlnietratlon (NOAA), EPA is a co-sponsor of the International 

 Beach Cleanup events and two Canter for Marine Conservation (CMC) public 

 information offices, which distribute various educational materials. EPA has 

 provided funds to CMC for a public service announcement on plastic pollution and 

 partially funded the production of a video, which was broadcast nationwide. 



The International Beach Cleanups, which occur in September every year, are 

 a volunteer-supported activity co-sponsored by EPA, NOAA and a variety of 

 national and local groups through a grant to CMC. The Clean- Ups are designed to 

 increase public awareness of ocean pollution and appreciation of coastal 

 environments. These events are becoming more international and popular each 

 year, now having the participation of all coastal states and 32 foreign countries. 

 During the last cleanup, more than 1 62,000 volunteers from the Nation and around 

 the world participated In the events. The number of volunteers along with the 

 amounts of garbage collected and the total miles of beach cleaned have 

 consequently increased since the inception of this program. The cleanup events 

 are now being expanded in some areas to include inland rivers and streams to also 

 emphasize the impacts of pollution from urban runoff and non-point sources. 



Through a separate grant to CMC, EPA also is funding a pilot project to 

 design statistical beach cleanups. This project involves local volunteer groups, 



