Statement of Christy Leavitt,
Environment America Clean Water Advocate
Environment
America applauds Senator Lautenberg (NJ)
and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for voting to better
protect swimmers, surfers, and boaters at America’s beaches.
The
Committee approved the Beach Protection Act of 2008 (S. 2844), bipartisan
legislation introduced by Senator Lautenberg which expands water quality
monitoring and public notification programs to better alert beachgoers when the
water is polluted. The Beach Protection
Act increases funding for water testing, public notification, and identification
of pollution sources, and improves standards to quickly inform the public when
beach water is unsafe.
The Beach
Protection Act will go a long way in making sure a day at the beach is safe.
To protect
the health of all beachgoers, the Senate should move quickly to pass the Beach
Protection Act. The House passed
companion legislation in April.
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Environment America, a federation of state environment groups, is the new
home for U.S. PIRG’s environmental work.
