Voinovich annouces beach protection legislation
Stephen Szucs | The Chronicle-Telegram
BAY VILLAGE — U.S. Sen. George Voinovich believes new legislation focusing on strengthening the Great Lakes will help beachfront cities like Lorain, which have seen a spike in beach advisories this year.
Voinovich, R-Ohio, held a press conference Wednesday on the sands of Huntington Beach in Bay Village to discuss his introduction of the Beach Protection Act of 2008.
The legislation, which he introduced in April, will help tackle contamination concerns head-on, he said.
“I like to call it the second battle of Lake Erie,” he said. “This legislation will go a long way in strengthening this beach act and protecting our Great Lakes — not only here, but for millions of Americans.”
A report released in July by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that Ohio ranked second among all states in the percentage of water samples that exceed accepted bacteria levels, including E. coli.
Lorain’s two public beaches — Lakeview and Century — had a whopping 91 advisories this year, compared to a combined seven last year.
Jack Kurowski, inspector of environmental health for the Lorain City Health Department, said numerous factors contributed to the high number, including a high bacterial reading on every Thursday throughout the summer —meaning the waters weren’t tested again until the following Tuesday — even though the advisory number continued going up.
“There may have only been one advisory, but the signs had to stay up,” Kurowski said. “It basically meant you were multiplying (the advisory) by four.”
Kurowski faulted the advisory’s slow testing methods, saying the delayed response often leads to lagging warnings.
“Some money needs to be put into basic science so a rapid test can be developed,” he said. “What we really need is a better method of testing.”
The reintroduced Beach Act should help to do just that, Voinovich said, by doubling authorized grant funding to states from $30 million to $60 million annually through 2012, while allowing for the first time the Environmental Protection Agency to distribute funds to state and local officials for testing and investigative programs otherwise left behind under the current Beach Act.
Voinovich said it was his goal to have the legislation passed by both the House and Senate by October.
Contact Stephen Szucs at 329-7129 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Stephen Szucs | The Chronicle-Telegram August 28th, 2008 in Top Stories. Popularity: 5% |
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