Advocates want ocean testing expedited
2007 Beach Protection Act requires faster testing, public notice
BY LAYLI WHYTE
Correspondent

Despite an early blooming and rather large brown tide on Memorial Day weekend, Clean Ocean Action is optimistic about the future of New Jersey's shore.

Cindy Zipf, executive director of the Sandy Hook-based ocean advocacy organization, said in an interview this week that the "funky" water that reached from Sandy Hook to south of Long Branch was caused by an early bloom of brown algae, which is harmless to humans.

"We had this early bloom because it got hot really fast," she said. "We've also had a huge amount of rain recently, and all that flooding and run-off. People put fertilizer and pesticides on their lawns, and the spring rain washes it off. There was also that spill in Yonkers, which dumped a lot of raw sewage into the water. With all of this organic matter and the added heat, the algae starts to bloom."

Zipf said that when the algae dies off, it depletes the oxygen in the water, and fish, lobsters, crabs, clams and other marine wildlife suffer and often die.

It's hard to distinguish between a harmless, though unattractive, tide of brown algae and raw sewage, she said, but that the water-pollution-testing methods used by the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection take three to four days for results to come back.

"It takes four days to find out that you shouldn't have been swimming in the ocean four days ago," she said. "It's not a great system."

That's where the 2007 Beach Protection Act comes into play.

This legislation, according to a joint press release from the offices of U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg and U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (both D-N.J.), would reauthorize the Beaches Environmental Assessment Coastal and Health (BEACH) Act, signed into law in 2000 by President Bill Clinton.

The 2007 Beach Protection Act was introduced to the public last Friday at the Avon-by-the-Sea boardwalk by Lautenberg, Pallone, Zipf, DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson, Avon Mayor Bob Mahon and John Weber of the Surfrider Foundation.

Zipf said that this 2007 reauthorization also improves the original act, mainly by requiring the DEP to use faster testing methods, methods that will take only two hours to produce results, and requiring the DEP to seek out and find any sources of pollutants that may be found in the water.

"One of the most important parts [of the legislation] is the section on accountability," she said. "If the state is not doing the right thing, they can get their funding cut."

According to Zipf, the DEP tests the ocean waters only once a week between Memorial Day and Labor Day, and that if the result is positive for pollutants above the permitted limit, a second test is done to verify the results of the first test before any beach closures take place.

"Those tests take 24 hours to get results back," she said, "which means two days before any beaches are closed, and it takes about another 24 hours before the public is actually notified. We should be able to do better than that. That's why we need this legislation. It only takes one negative test for closed beaches to reopen."

Zipf said that something should also be done about the time it takes to notify the public about closures, especially in this day of advanced technology.

"There's no reason why each community that's affected can't be notified right away," she said. "Lifeguards could be called right away and immediately clear the beaches and get people out of the water."

Zipf said the reason for retesting positive results is because it can be economically damaging for a town to have its beaches closed due to pollution.

According to the press release, "Each summer, tourism at New Jersey's beaches produces $36 billion in economic activities and provides nearly 500,000 jobs."

"The legislation also doubles from $30 million to $60 million the amount of grant money available annually to states through 2012," the release states, "and expands the scope of the grants to also include pollution source tracking and prevention efforts."

"New Jersey's beaches are a treasure and must remain clean and safe," Lautenberg said. "Clean water is essential for our economy and the health of our state. My bill six years ago was an important step in ensuring cleaner, safer beaches, and this bill will further protect our shores and our waters."

"For six years the BEACH Act has given beachgoers the peace of mind that the beaches they visit are clean," Pallone said in the release. "Today, we begin the process of strengthening this important law by requiring states to use expedited tests so beachgoers are notified about potential problems right away."

Zipf said that although she is thrilled that the rapid results tests will be implemented as soon as the bill is passed, there is no deadline for the DEP and other environmental agencies across the country to adopt them as their standard testing method.

"The bill has been introduced," she said, "but I don't know when the actual vote is supposed to take place. I'm just so proud that we have leadership here in New Jersey that is for keeping our oceans clean. Our congressional delegation are champions for the ocean, and that's really something to be proud of, especially because our ocean has been through so much."

According to Zipf, this summer is the 20-year anniversary of the beginning of a tragic chapter in the history of New Jersey's shore line. In the summers of 1987 and 1988 there were over 800 beach closures due to pollutants washing up on the shore.

"Medical waste was washing up," she said. "Dead and dying dolphins were washing up. The ocean was just puking up everything we had dumped in it over the years, and we had to deal with it again. While we still have many challenges, we have come a long way."

For more information about the work of Clean Ocean Action, visit www.cleanoceanaction.org.