Thursday, October 2, 2008
CA Beaches Lose Funding for Water Quality
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has used his line-item veto power to cut all funding (approximately $1 million per year) for beach water quality monitoring throughout the state. The funding is for California’s AB 411 monitoring program, in existence since 1999 and a model for many other state programs and the federal BEACH (Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health) Act. Surfrider Foundation activists were instrumental in advocating for both the state and federal pieces of legislation. The funding for monitoring had allowed state officials to identify beaches where high levels of bacteria from unknown sources pose a risk to public health and then communicate the information with the public. Now public health and the environmental health of our beaches are left at risk.
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Labels: clean water, funds, monitoring, water quality
