Check Your BEACH

OK, West Virginia doesn't have any beaches to speak of (although Myrtle Beach has been referred to as the state's 56th county), but you may be planning a trip to the beach this fall or next year. If so, check out the report of beach conditions that is required under the Beach Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH, get it?) which is found at Section 406(g) of the Clean Water Act. As EPA explains it,

Section 406(g) requires EPA to publish a list of discrete coastal recreation waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access that are used by the public and to update the list periodically as new information becomes available. The list specifies whether the waters are subject to a monitoring and notification program consistent with the performance criteria (National Beach Guidance and Required Performance Criteria for Grants June 2002) EPA published under CWA section 406(a). The list contains information that coastal and Great Lakes States made available to EPA as of January 31, 2008, and it replaces the previous list that EPA published on May 4, 2004. The National List of Beaches provides a national baseline of the extent of monitoring of waters adjacent to beaches or similar points of access, which will allow EPA to measure State program performance in implementing the monitoring and notification provisions of the BEACH Act.

Go here to find a hyperlink to the list of beaches. And really, all you West Virginians out there, and you know who you are, there are lots of good beaches other than Myrtle. Give them a shot!