March 18, 2002 -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Christie Whitman today announced $10 million in grants available to eligible states and territories to protect public health at this nation's beaches. The funds are targeted to improve monitoring the quality of water at beaches and notifying the public of beach warnings or closings.
"Overwhelmingly, beaches are one of America's top vacation locations," Whitman said. "With this money we hope to reduce the risk of exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in the water while people enjoy our incredible water resources.
"We are committed to providing assistance to states, tribes and local health agencies to better monitor the quality of water at our beaches and notify the public when there may be a problem," Whitman continued.
State and local monitoring and notification programs often differ across the country and provide varying levels of swimmer protection. These grant funds are designed to insure that the public receives equal protection when it travels to various beaches across the country.
Available to 35 eligible states and territories, the grants vary from $150,00 to $530,893. The grants are based on criteria including the length of beach season, the miles of beaches and the number of people using those beaches.
Beach tourism is a significant economic driver for local communities. EPA estimates that Americans make a total of 910 million trips to coastal areas each year, spending about $44 billion.
Additional beach information, including information for states and territories interested in applying for the grants, is available on EPA's beach Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/beaches.
Following is a list of 2002 allocations by state or territory:
Alabama: $263,142
Alaska: $150,000
American Samoa: $302,288
California: $535,643
Connecticut: $226,389
Delaware: $211,339
Florida: $530,893
Georgia: $288,490
Guam: $302,775
Hawaii: $325,149
Illinois: $248,615
Indiana: $206,670
Louisiana: $383,287
Maine: $259,742
Maryland: $276,068
Massachusetts: $260,691
Michigan: $287,556
Minnesota: $204,631
Mississippi: $258,028
New Hampshire: $204,918
New Jersey: $285,719
New York: $366,030
North Carolina: $306,721
Northern Mariana: $303,462
Ohio: $227,879
Oregon: $230,342
Pennsylvania: $226,953
Puerto Rico: $335,862
Rhode Island: $214,225
South Carolina: $300,253
Texas: $387,957
U.S. Virgin Islands: $303,488
Virginia: $282,355
Washington: $274,034
Wisconsin: $228,396
