For immediate release January 9, 2001

Beach closures prompt new regional initiative
www.glc.org/beaches/

Ann Arbor, Mich. - Thanks to a new partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and the Great Lakes Commission, rising concern over contaminated beaches and associated public health problems are now being addressed. Nationally, the U.S. EPA is initiating the Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure and Health (BEACH) Program to strengthen U.S. beach programs and water quality standards, better inform the public, and promote scientific research to further protect the health of beachgoers. Regionally, the Great Lakes has been selected as a pilot site for a beach health survey to assess the consistency of beach closure and restriction advisories, generate a report of action items, and expedite a Great Lakes mapping effort that will connect with and enhance a national database. The result will be a better informed public, reduced health risk and the data needed to address contamination problems.

To support this effort, the Great Lakes Commission has developed a new web site on beach health at www.glc.org/beaches/. The site features interactive survey results and published reports on water monitoring activities for all U.S. coastal Great Lakes beaches. Visitors to the site can retrieve information about individual beaches, as well as the monitoring agency and the standards used to determine advisories and closures. The new site also provides links to related U.S. EPA web sites and will be updated periodically as the U.S. EPA continues to update its beach closure information.

"The beach health survey and interactive web site are tools that will prove useful to scientists, resource managers, decisionmakers and the public in improving beach health throughout the region," says Great Lakes Commission Chair Nat Robinson. "It's a win-win situation for the health of our environment and our economy, both of which are influenced by our water resources."

Each year, thousands of beach closures are reported at rivers, lakes and oceans throughout the United States due to disease-causing microorganisms. Contamination problems at many other beaches may go undetected due to inadequate monitoring, thereby placing the public at risk of waterborne illness.

The beach health survey and web site will be featured at the Great Lakes Beach Conference in Chicago, Feb. 6-8, 2001. For information about the conference, which is sponsored by U.S. EPA Region 5 and the city of Chicago, contact Cheryl Vaccarello at 866-242-3224

The Great Lakes Commission, chaired by Nathaniel E. Robinson (Wisconsin), is a nonpartisan, binational compact agency created by state and U.S. federal law and dedicated to promoting a strong economy, healthy environment and high quality of life for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region and its residents. The Commission consists of state legislators, agency officials and governors’ appointees from its eight member states. Associate membership for Ontario and Québec was established through the signing of a "Declaration of Partnership." The Commission maintains a formal Observer program involving U.S. and Canadian federal agencies, tribal authorities, binational agencies and other regional interests. The Commission offices are located in Ann Arbor, Michigan.