Beach Monitoring and Notification Program Implementation Grants

 

To assist Coastal and Great Lakes States, Territories, and Tribes eligible under Section 518(e) of the Clean Water Act, as amended, in developing and implementing programs that monitor bacterial water quality and notify the public for coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access that are used by the public. Funding Priority - Fiscal Year 2023: EPA's funding priority is to award grants to (1) applicants whose proposals clearly demonstrate a state's, tribe's, territory's, or local government's ability to monitor coastal and Great Lakes recreational waters; notify the public of risks; manage programs; and communicate among environmental and public health agencies and the public and (2) applicants eligible to develop a program to do these actions. Funding Priority - Fiscal Year 2024: EPA's funding priority is to award grants to (1) applicants whose proposals clearly demonstrate a state's, tribe's, territory's, or local government's ability to monitor coastal and Great Lakes recreational waters; notify the public of risks; manage programs; and communicate among environmental and public health agencies and the public and (2) applicants eligible to develop a program to do these actions.

Active 66.472 Environmental Protection Agency A - Formula Grants Fiscal Year 2016 In FY 16, grants will continue to support the development and implementation of recreational water quality monitoring and notification programs or support enhancement of an existing program. FY 16 is a year when states provide schedules for the adoption of the 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria into their WQS and for implementing updated beach notification thresholds reflecting the content of the 2012 RWQC and the 2014 Beach Guidance. In FY 16, EPA awarded grants to all 35 coastal and Great Lakes states and territories and three eligible tribes that qualified for the BEACH Act Grant program. Program benefits from funding in FY 16 include: development and implementation of recreational water quality monitoring protocol (sampling design, indicator organism); decreasing swimmer exposure by improving communication outreach and education to public on swimming advisories; establishing more efficient and timely management decision process for posting swimming advisories; and constructing databases to provide government and public access to data and information.
Fiscal Year 2017 In FY 17, grants continued to support the development and implementation of recreational water quality monitoring and notification programs or support enhancement of an existing program. FY 17 is a year when states provided schedules for the adoption of the 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria into their WQS and for implementing updated beach notification thresholds reflecting the content of the 2012 RWQC and the 2014 Beach Guidance.
Fiscal Year 2018 In FY 18, grants will continue to support the development and implementation of recreational water quality monitoring and notification programs or support enhancement of an existing program.
Fiscal Year 2022 Grants continued to support the development, implementation, and enhancement of water quality monitoring and public notification programs for coastal recreational waters.
Fiscal Year 2023 Grants continue to support the development, implementation, and enhancement of water quality monitoring and public notification programs for coastal recreational waters. Clean Water Act, Section 406
Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000, Public Law 106-284 Coastal and Great Lakes States, territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands), and Tribes eligible under Section 518(e) of the Clean Water Act, as amended. The Administrator may make a grant to a local government under this subsection for implementation of a monitoring and notification program only if, after the one-year period beginning on the date of publication of performance criteria under Section 406 (a)(1), the Administrator determines that the State is not implementing a program that meets the requirements of Section 406(a)(1), regardless of whether the State has received a grant under Section 406(a)(1). Interstate agencies and intertribal consortia are not eligible for Beach grants. States, U.S. territories, Federally recognized Indian Tribal Governments, environmental and public health agencies, and local governments involved in implementing monitoring and notification programs for coastal and Great Lakes beaches. See the criteria in EPA's National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants, 2014 edition, found at https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-12/documents/national-beach-guidance-2014-report.pdf. Preapplication coordination is required. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. EPA financial assistance programs and activities subject to intergovernmental review that are subject to review under State single point of contact procedures are identified at https://www.epa.gov/grants/epa-financial-assistance-programs-subject-executive-order-12372-and-section-204. Applicants for programs or activities subject to Intergovernmental Review that are not subject to State single point of contact review must provide directly affected State, areawide, regional, and local entities at least 60 days to review their application following notification by EPA that the application has been selected for funding as provided by 40 CFR 29.8(a) and (c). Pre-application coordination with the appropriate EPA Regional Office is encouraged. The standard application forms as required by 2 CFR 200 and 1500 as applicable, must be used for this program. 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applicants, except in limited circumstances approved by the Agency, must submit all initial applications for funding through Grants.gov. Grant applications are reviewed by the appropriate EPA Regional Office, and if approved, are awarded by the Regional Administrator. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines Grants are usually approved within three months of receipt of complete application. Disputes will be resolved under 2 CFR 1500 Subpart E, as applicable. Not applicable. To be eligible for program implementation grants, applicants must meet program performance criteria outlined in National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants, 2014 Edition (EPA-823-B-14-001). The performance criteria set forth implementation grant requirements for monitoring and assessing recreation waters and promptly notifying the public of exceedances of water quality for pathogens. As a condition of receipt of a program Implementation Grant under Section 406(b) of the Clean Water Act, a State or local government program for monitoring and notification under this section shall: (1) undertake a risk-based beach evaluation and classification process; (2) formulate a tiered monitoring plan based on the classification process; (3) select methods and assessment procedures that will be used in the monitoring program; (4) submit a report to the Administrator annually detailing the results of the monitoring program; (5) in the case of a state program for monitoring and notification, the process by which the state may delegate to local governments responsibility for implementing the monitoring program; (6) develop a plan for the prompt communication of the occurrence, nature, location, pollutants involved, and extent of any exceeding of, or likelihood of exceeding, applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators; (7) take such actions as are required to notify the public of exceedances of applicable water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators; (8) submit a report annually to the Administrator detailing the results of the notification program; (9) describe the process by which the state may delegate to local governments responsibility for implementing the notification responsibilities under the grant; (10) provide schedules to the Administrator for the adoption of new or revised water quality standards for pathogens and pathogen indicators; and (11) conduct a public evaluation of the program. These grants are intended to support the implementation of recreational water monitoring and notification programs or support enhancement of an existing program. EPA encourages grantees to incorporate tools such as sanitary surveys and monitoring frequencies tailored to beach conditions while meeting other BEACH Act program requirements. Grantees should strive to implement the most efficient and timely means of communicating advisory information from public health agencies to the beachgoing public. To be eligible for implementation grants, programs must also demonstrate annually that they meet the program performance criteria listed in the National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants, 2014 Edition (EPA-823-B-14-001). Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Assistance agreement awards under this program may involve or relate to geospatial information. Geospatial information is information that identifies the geographic location and characteristics of natural or constructed features or boundaries on the earth, or applications, tools, and hardware associated with the generation, maintenance, or distribution of such information. This information may be derived from, among other things, GPS, remote sensing, mapping, charting, and surveying technologies, or statistical data. Further information regarding geospatial information may be obtained by viewing the following website: Geospatial Resources at EPA (https://www.epa.gov/geospatial). Not applicable. Grants and cooperative agreements are subject to inspections and audits by the Comptroller General of the United States, the EPA Office of Inspector General, other EPA staff, or any authorized representative of the Federal government. Reviews by the EPA Project Officer and the Grants Specialist may occur each year. Recipients must keep financial records, including all documents supporting entries on accounting records and to substantiate changes in grants, available to personnel authorized to examine EPA recipients' grants and cooperative agreements records. Recipients must maintain all records until 3 years from the date of submission of final expenditure reports as required by 2 CFR 200.334. If questions, such as those raised because of audits remain following the 3-year period, recipients must retain records until the matter is completely resolved. Statutory Formula: This program does not have a statutory formula. However, EPA awards BEACH Act grants to all eligible states, territories, and tribes who apply for funding based on an allocation formula that the Agency developed in 2002 with a supplemental allocation formula published in 2010. The allocation formula uses three factors: (1) beach season length, (2) beach miles, and (3) beach use.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. Beach grants are normally funded on a 12-month basis (yearly). However, EPA may negotiate the project period, grant continuations, and grant amendments with each applicant based on project requirements. The method of fund disbursement will be determined at the time of award. REGION 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island): Alicia Grimaldi, USEPA Region 1, 5 Post Office Square, Suite 100 (OEP06-1), Boston, MA 02109-3912; Telephone: (617) 918-1806; Fax: (617) 918-0748; e-mail: grimaldi.alicia@epa.gov REGION 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands): Helen Grebe, USEPA Region 2, 2890 Woodbridge Ave. MS220, Edison, NJ 08837-3679; Telephone: (732) 321-6797; Fax: (732) 321-6616; e-mail: grebe.helen@epa.gov REGION 3 (Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia): Denise Hakowski, USEPA Region 3, 1650 Arch Street 3WP30, Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029; Telephone: (215) 814-5726; Fax: (215) 814-2318; e-mail: hakowski.denise@epa.gov REGION 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina): Joel Hansel, USEPA Region 4, 61 Forsyth St. 15th Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303-3415; Telephone: (404) 562-9274; Fax: (404) 562-9224; e-mail: hansel.joel@epa.gov REGION 5 (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin): Peg Donnelly, USEPA Region 5, 77 West Jackson Blvd. WT-16J, Chicago, IL 60604-3507; Telephone: (312) 886-6109; Fax: (312) 886-0168; e-mail: donnelly.peggy@epa.gov REGION 6 (Louisiana, Texas): Jackson Bollinger, USEPA Region 6, 1201 Elm St. Suite 500, Mail Code: WDPQ, Dallas, TX 75270; Telephone: (214) 665-2761; Fax: (214) 665-6689; e-mail: bollinger.jackson@epa.gov REGION 9 (American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, California, Guam, Hawaii): Eric Dubinsky, USEPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne St. WTR-2, San Francisco, CA 94105; Telephone: (415) 972-3517; Fax: (415) 744-1078; e-mail: dubinsky.eric@epa.gov REGION 10 (Alaska, Oregon, Washington): Bevin Horn, USEPA Region 10, 1200 Sixth Ave. OWW-191, Seattle, WA 98101; Telephone: (206) 553-1566; Fax: (206) 553-1280; e-mail: horn.bevin@epa.gov. Lisa Larimer, Fish and Beach Team Leader
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Standards and Health Protection Division, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. (Mail Code: 4305T )
Washington, DC 20460 US
larimer.lisa@epa.gov
Phone: 202-566-1017
Fax: 202-566-0409 https://www.epa.gov/beaches 68-0103-0-1-304 (Formula Grants) FY 22$9,367,642.00; FY 23 est $10,619,000.00; FY 24 est $9,811,000.00; FY 21$10,862,800.00; FY 20$8,388,700.00; FY 19$8,948,700.00; FY 18$9,552,000.00; FY 17$9,540,300.00; FY 16$9,487,000.00; - $166,000 to $547,000/fiscal year for states and territories; average award was $272K. Tribes typically receive $50,000 each. 2 CFR 1500 (EPA Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards); 40 CFR Part 33 (Participation by Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in United States Environmental Protection Agency Programs). Fiscal Year 2016 Development and implementation of beach monitoring programs; development of databases and websites; purchase of lab equipment for water quality monitoring; construction and posting of signs on beaches; and purchase of vehicles for monitoring. Development and implementation of beach monitoring programs; development of databases and websites; purchase of lab equipment for water quality monitoring; construction and posting of signs on beaches; and purchase of vehicles for monitoring.
Fiscal Year 2018 Funding will support the implementation of beach monitoring programs; development of databases and websites; purchase of lab supplies for water quality monitoring; purchase of lab equipment to update water quality monitoring programs and construction and posting of signs on beaches.
Fiscal Year 2022 Funding supported the implementation of existing beach monitoring programs and development of new programs; development of databases, websites and apps; purchase of supplies including lab equipment for bacteriological water quality monitoring; construction and posting of signs on beaches; public notification of advisories and closures; and data submission to EPA.
Fiscal Year 2023 Funding continued to support the implementation of existing beach monitoring programs and development of new programs; development of databases, websites and apps; purchase of supplies including lab equipment for bacteriological water quality monitoring; construction and posting of signs on beaches; public notification of advisories and closures; and data submission to EPA.