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October 3, 2003 Contact: Bonnie Widerburg (503) 731-4180 Technical contact: Cynthia Gaines (503) 731-4012 Renewed federal grant to permit year-round beach monitoring The state’s new beach-monitoring program, administered by the state Department of Human Services (DHS), has received $229,000 in grant funding for the new federal fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. "This means we’ll be able to continue beach monitoring through next summer," said Gail Shibley, administrator of environmental health programs in DHS. The funding comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Last year DHS received $230,000 to start the program and monitor Oregon beach water for the presence of Enterococci, a bacterial microorganism found in human and animal waste. "We’re now able to monitor 52 sites through the fall, winter and spring months. This will add to the data we’ve collected since May," Shibley said. "These year-round data will provide a much more solid base for understanding the bacteriological health of our beach waters. That’s crucial, as scientific credibility is key to any advisory we issue DHS contracts with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to conduct the water testing. Water samples have been regularly collected since May at 52 Oregon beaches, selected according to national criteria, such as recreational popularity and proximity to suspected sources of fecal contamination. Shibley said DHS was able to streamline processes and conserve enough money from the original grant to allow ongoing testing during the winter. "This will help us understand the effect of changing environmental conditions, such as high rain and temperature changes, on the beach waters," she said. In addition, DHS will be talking with other state agencies, local governments and beach communities about the program and how they can be involved. Also, an advisory council will be convened, made up of coastal community leaders, scientists and state experts, to help develop public information and communication protocols, according to Shibley. "When we detect contamination at a beach, we are mandated by the federal Clean Water Act to issue an advisory, post the beach or close it. We will seek advice and assistance from the organizations that are affected by these decisions," Shibley said. Additional information about the beach program is on the Web.
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