Cleaner Water

Clean Beaches Strategy

In April 2004, the Bush Administration announced its commitment to further protect the water quality of the nation's beaches and to ensure compliance with the Beaches, Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act of 2000. The Administration's Clean Beaches strategy includes a Clean Beaches Plan, grants to states for beach monitoring and notification programs, technical guidance, scientific studies and Federal water quality standards to backstop state and territorial efforts where necessary.

The BEACH Act of 2000 requires coastal states, including those bordering the Great Lakes, to adopt up-to-date pathogen criteria by April 10, 2004 to protect beach goers from harmful bacteria. The Act provides that, if a state fails to meet this deadline, EPA must promptly propose Federal standards to protect that state's beaches. To date, only 11 of the 35 affected states and territories have adopted up-to-date criteria for pathogens. EPA proposed revised standards for pathogens for the states and territories that have not yet done so.

In May 2004, EPA began awarding grants to states and territories to augment their monitoring of beaches and reporting to the public when the beaches are closed for health reasons. Almost $10 million in grants are available to eligible States and territories to protect public health at the Nation's beaches. The grants provide funding to monitor water quality at beaches and to notify the public of beach warnings or closings while reducing the risk of exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in the water. The grants are available to 35 eligible states and territories, and are awarded based on criteria including the length of beach season, the miles of beaches and the number of people using those beaches.

 

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Home

• Introduction

Cleaner Air

• New Protective Air Quality Standards
• Clear Skies – A Clean Air Act for the 21st Century
• Clean Air Interstate Rule
• Clean Air Nonroad Diesel Rule
• Clean Air Mercury Rule
• Cleaner Fuels and Engines
• Clean School Bus USA Program
• Cleaner Air Partnerships
• Improving New Source Review
• Improving Visibility in America’s National Parks

Addressing Global Climate Change

• Ambitious National Goal to Reduce Emissions Intensity
• Cabinet Committee on Climate Change Science and Technology Integration
• Federal Climate Science Program
• Greenhouse Gas Reduction Initiatives
• Targeted Incentives for Greenhouse Gas Sequestration
• Proposed Guidelines for Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• International Outreach and Partnerships
• President’s Initiative Against Illegal Logging
• Cleaner, More Efficient Energy Technologies
• Federal Energy and Carbon Sequestration Programs
• Tax Incentives for Renewable Energy and Hybrid and Fuel Cell Vehicles
• Natural Gas Supply
• Nuclear Energy
• Developing Cleaner Coal Technologies
• Fuel Economy Increase for Light Trucks

Cleaner Water

• Expanding and Protecting America’s Wetlands
• Cleaning Up America’s Waters
• Improving Water Quality: TMDLs
• Cleaning the Great Lakes and Controlling Invasive Species
• Cleaning Up the Hudson River
• Reducing Water Pollution from Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations
• Setting Standards for Industrial Sources
• Recognizing Clean Water Partners
• Community-Based Watershed Restoration Partnerships
• Restoring the Klamath Basin
• Rural Water Projects
• Restoring the Everglades
• Destin Dome
• Protecting Marine Ecosystems
• Protecting Coral Reefs
• National Marine Sanctuaries
• Establishing Individual Fishing Quota Systems
• Improving Our Coastal Waters
• Clean Beaches Strategy
• Water Conservation
• Water 2025: Preventing Crises and Conflict in the West

Cleaner Lands

• Reclaiming America’s Brownfields
• Redeveloping Coalfields
• Superfund
• Nuclear Waste Site Cleanup
• Cleaning Up Dangerous Abandoned Coal Mines
• Cleaning Up Leaking Underground Storage Tanks
• Hardrock Mining Rule
• Ensuring Pipeline Safety
• Promoting Recycling and Reducing Hazardous Wastes

Healthier Ecosystems

• An Historic Farm Bill – Doubling Support Conservation on America’s Farms and Ranches
• The Healthy Forests Initiative: Protecting People, Wildlife, and Ecosystems
• Stewardship Contracting
• Protecting our Trees and Forests from Invasive Species
• Interagency Wildland Fire Leadership Council
• Firewise: Helping Homeowners Prevent Catastrophic Wildfires
• National Parks – Restoring the Quality of Our Cultural, Natural, and Historic Resources
• A Commitment to Cooperative Conservation
• Drought and Fire Assistance for Natural Resources
• Protecting our National Wildlife Refuges
• Revitalizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund
• Restoring Healthy Pacific Salmon Populations
• Preserve America
• Take Pride In America
• Landowner Incentive Program
• Private Stewardship Grants Program
• New Wilderness
• Invasive Species
• Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program
• Urban Conservation Treaty for Migratory Birds
• Restoring Declining Species
• Reforestation: Planting Trees on Mined Lands

A Cleaner, Healthier World Community

• A Successful World Summit on Sustainable Development
• Methane to Markets Partnership
• International Partnership for the Hydrogen Economy (IPHE)
• Other International Energy Activities
• Eliminating Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
• U.S. – Russia Polar Bear Agreement
• Conserving Fish Stocks and Other Living Marine Resources

Healthier People

• Our Children and the Environment
• Reducing Lead Poisoning
• Emergency Reclamation Activities
• Voluntary Children’s Chemical Evaluation Program
• Asthma Research Strategy
• Promoting Food Safety Through Pesticide Management
• Pesticide Risk Assessment
• New Recreational Trails
• Innovation in Action: Performance Track
• Reducing the Generation and Use of Hazardous Substances Through Green Chemistry

President Bush’s Performance-Based FY 2005 Budget

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September 2004

•   PDF File: A Record of Progress