Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009
Latest action · Aug 7, 2009 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 23, 2009
- Passed HouseJul 29, 2009
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to specify, in performance criteria for monitoring and assessing coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of interest (waters), available protocols for monitoring that are most likely to detect pathogenic contamination.
Authorizes states or local governments, in carrying out coastal recreation water quality monitoring and notification programs, to develop and implement a coastal recreation waters pollution source identification and tracking program for such waters that are used by the public and that are not meeting applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators.
Authorizes appropriations for grants to states and local governments for developing and implementing monitoring and notification programs for FY2010-FY2014.
(Sec. 3) Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000 through FY2014.
(Sec. 4) Requires a state recipient of a monitoring and notification program grant to report to the EPA Administrator on actions taken to notify state environmental agencies with authority to prevent or treat sources of pathogenic contamination in coastal recreation waters when water quality standards are exceeded.
(Sec. 5) Requires state or local government grant recipients to identify: (1) the use of a rapid testing method to detect levels of pathogens or pathogen indicators that are harmful to human health; (2) measures for communicating the results of a water sample concerning pollutants within 24 hours of receipt to specified officials and all state agencies with authority to require the prevention or treatment of the sources of pollution in coastal recreation waters; (3) measures for an annual report to the Administrator on the occurrence, nature, location, pollutants involved, and extent of any exceeding of applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators; (4) the availability of a geographic information system database that a state or local government program shall use to inform the public about coastal recreation waters, that is publicly accessible and searchable, that is updated within 24 hours of the availability of revised information, that is organized by beach, and that identifies applicable water quality standards, monitoring protocols, sampling plans and results, and the number and causes of beach closures and advisory days; and (5) measures to ensure that closures or advisories are made within two hours after the receipt of the results of a water quality sample that exceeds applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators.
Defines "rapid testing method" as a method of testing the water quality of coastal recreation waters for which results are available as soon as practicable and not more than six hours after its commencement in the laboratory. Requires the Administrator to: (1) include a revised list of rapid testing methods in the publication of new or revised water quality criteria; (2) publish with such criteria a list of pathogens and pathogen indicators studied; (3) complete an evaluation and validation of a rapid testing method for the water quality criteria and standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators by October 15, 2012; (4) publish guidance for the use, at coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches that are used by the public, of the rapid testing methods that will enhance the protection of public health and safety through rapid public notification of any exceeding of applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators; (5) identify and review every five years potential rapid testing methods for existing water quality criteria for pathogens and pathogen indicators for coastal recreation waters and complete, as expeditiously as practicable, an evaluation and validation of any such method that will make results available in less time and improve the accuracy and reproducibility of results; and (6) publish the results of such review. Declares a national goal of developing a rapid testing method that can produce accurate and reproducible results in not more than two hours by 2017.
(Sec. 8) Requires: (1) a written assessment by the Administrator of state and local compliance with coastal recreation water quality monitoring and notification statutory and regulatory requirements and grant conditions; (2) corrective actions by governments not in compliance; and (3) a review by the Comptroller General of such compliance review and corrective actions.
(Sec. 11) Requires the Administrator to: (1) update the national list of beaches within 12 months after this Act's enactment and biennially thereafter (currently, periodically); (2) study and report to Congress on the long-term impact of climate change on pathogenic contamination of coastal recreation waters; and (3) conduct and report on a study to review the available scientific information pertaining to the impacts of excess nutrients on coastal recreation waters.
Cosponsors 27
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 23, 2009 to Jun 23, 2009; 23 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NY | Anthony D. Weiner | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| R-CA | Brian P. Bilbray | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-VI | Donna M. Christensen | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NY | Gary L. Ackerman | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-CA | George Miller | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-CA | Henry A. Waxman | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-CA | Howard L. Berman | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-CA | Jane Harman | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-PA | Joe Sestak | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NJ | John H. Adler | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NY | John J. Hall | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NY | Jose E. Serrano | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-CA | Lois Capps | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-GU | Madeleine Z. Bordallo | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| R-IL | Mark Kirk | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NC | Mike McIntyre | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NY | Nita M. Lowey | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| R-NY | Peter T. King | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-FL | Ron Klein | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NY | Steve Israel | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NJ | Steven R. Rothman | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NY | Timothy H. Bishop | Original | Apr 23, 2009 |
| D-NC | Brad Miller | May 4, 2009 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | May 4, 2009 | |
| D-PA | Kathleen A. Dahlkemper | Jun 2, 2009 | |
| D-CA | Sam Farr | Jun 23, 2009 |
Committees 2
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Referred Apr 23, 2009Markup Jun 4, 2009Reported Jul 21, 2009 |
| Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee | Referred Apr 24, 2009Discharged Jun 4, 2009 | |
| Senate | Environment and Public Works Committee | Referred Aug 7, 2009 |
Actions 17
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Aug 7, 2009Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
- Jul 30, 2009Received in the Senate.
- Jul 29, 2009Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H9038)
- Jul 29, 2009Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote. (text: CR 7/28/2009 H8928-8929)
- Jul 29, 2009Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H9038 | — | Jul 29, 2009 |
| House | Debate and remarks H8928–H8932Text printed H8928 | Eddie Bernice Johnson D-TX, Frank Pallone, Jr. D-NJ, James L. Oberstar D-MN, John Boozman R-AR, Timothy H. Bishop D-NY | Jul 28, 2009 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimates 2
- Jun 10, 2009H.R. 2093, Clean Coastal Environment Public Health Act of 2009<p>Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on June 4, 2009</p>
- Jun 10, 2009H.R. 2093, Clean Coastal Environment Public Health Act of 2009Cost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure on June 4, 2009
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R40098 | Water Quality Issues in the 111th Congress: Oversight and Implementation Archived | Report | Jan 11, 2011 |
| R41517 | Water Quality Bills in the Lame Duck Session of the 111th Congress Archived | Report | Dec 23, 2010 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 878 | Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009 | Related bill | Apr 20, 2010 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to beach monitoring, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009
- Short Titles as Passed House
- Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Environmental Protection.
- Aquatic ecology
- Climate change and greenhouse gases
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental health
- Environmental Protection
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Marine and coastal resources, fisheries
- Outdoor recreation
- Seashores and lakeshores
- Water quality
Text 4
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Aug 7, 2009Referred in Senate
- Jul 29, 2009Engrossed in House
- Jul 20, 2009Reported in House
- Apr 23, 2009Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.