Official Summaries

Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2025 or the BEACH Act of 2025

This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and expands an existing program of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that awards grants to states and local governments to (1) monitor the water quality of coastal recreational waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access that are used by the public; and (2) notify the public, local governments, and the EPA when the water is not safe for recreational activities.

Specifically, the bill expands the program to allow the EPA to award grants for identifying sources of contamination (i.e., pathogens) for coastal recreation waters. It also allows grants to be used for monitoring and notification of contamination in (1) shallow waters upstream from recreational waters, and (2) recreational waters on beaches.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 583 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 583

To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to grants for 
               beach monitoring, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 2025

   Mr. Joyce of Ohio (for himself, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Rouzer, and Mrs. 
    Sykes) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
             Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to grants for 
               beach monitoring, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Beaches Environmental Assessment and 
Coastal Health Act of 2025'' or the ``BEACH Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. COASTAL RECREATION WATER QUALITY MONITORING AND NOTIFICATION.

    (a) Program Development and Implementation Grants.--Section 406 of 
the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1346) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) by inserting ``, including nearby 
                        shallow upstream waters,'' after ``coastal 
                        recreation waters''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``or present on'' after 
                        ``adjacent to'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)(A)--
                            (i) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at 
                        the end;
                            (ii) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause 
                        (iii); and
                            (iii) by inserting after clause (i) the 
                        following:
                            ``(ii) in the case of a State that uses 
                        such grant to identify specific sources of 
                        contamination pursuant to paragraph (5), any 
                        data relating to such identified sources of 
                        contamination; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Identification of specific sources of 
        contamination.--A State or local government receiving a grant 
        under this subsection may use such grant to identify specific 
        sources of contamination for coastal recreation waters, 
        including nearby shallow upstream waters, adjacent to or 
        present on beaches or similar points of access that are used by 
        the public.'';
            (2) in subsection (g)(1)--
                    (A) by inserting ``, including nearby shallow 
                upstream waters,'' after ``coastal recreation waters''; 
                and
                    (B) by inserting ``or present on'' after ``adjacent 
                to''; and
            (3) in subsection (i), by striking ``$30,000,000 for each 
        of fiscal years 2001 through 2005'' and inserting ``$30,000,000 
        for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029''.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 8 of the Beaches 
Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000 (Public Law 
106-284; 114 Stat. 877) is amended by striking ``2001 through 2005'' 
and inserting ``2025 through 2029''.

SEC. 3. GUIDANCE.

    In providing guidance to States and local governments receiving 
grants under section 406 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1346), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency 
shall ensure that such guidance reflects innovations in testing 
technologies for water contamination.
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