U.S. to cut funds for water testing at beaches

[n2doc]

By Tony Barboza, Los Angeles Times
February 15, 2012, 8:23 p.m.
Health testing at beaches in California and across the nation is at risk of being cut under a plan to eliminate federal funds for monitoring whether the water is too contaminated to swim in.

Citing the "difficult financial climate," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in its budget request this week that it would do away with $10 million in grants it gives each year to state and local agencies in coastal and Great Lakes states to test for tainted water.

"While beach monitoring continues to be important to protect human health and especially sensitive individuals," the EPA said in an emailed statement, "states and local governments now have the technical expertise and procedures to continue beach monitoring without federal support."

But state and local officials have struggled to pay for health testing along California's busy coastline in recent years, and water quality advocates worry that swimmers and surfers will be at even greater risk of getting sick if the federal funds evaporate.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0216-beach-testing-20120216,0,7019192.story

10 million. Wonder how many seconds of AFPAK war that is equivalent to?

[Selatius]

1. As somebody who lives here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, I'm disappointed to hear this.

BP did not clean up all of that oil. Millions of gallons of that oil is still there. The only difference is, it is now at the bottom of the ocean because they sprayed so many millions of gallons of toxic dispersants on top of the toxic crude oil. Tar balls are still washing up on the barrier islands in the Gulf, indicating there's still a large presence of crude oil.

BP has no financial incentive to clean out that oil. The amount of oil retrieved determines the size of the fine the EPA levies on BP. Of course they're not going to want to get the maximum amount.

It's a kick in the teeth again. We didn't have the necessary federal manpower to rescue the poor and sick and elderly prior to the landfall of Katrina, and apparently we don't have the resources to monitor the fucking water. We had to pick up the slack ourselves because the guard units were in Iraq hunting WMDs, and there were many bodies, and now apparently we're left to monitor the water by ourselves without help.

[Magoo48]

2. Really bad news for Cali as well.

[Vinca]

3. It'll be reversed after a few little kids die after playing in the water.

Apparently these are some of the regulations creating "uncertainty" in the business community.

[Justice wanted]

4. Of course we are going to cut funding for testing beach water BECAUSE Profit for bid us from

actually Protecting our citizens from something that could kill them