# 114-hr-4136: Beach Act of 2015

114-hr-4136, Beach Act of 2015, is a 114th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Pallone, Frank [D-NJ-6] (D-NJ); status Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. (as of 2025-11-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4136
- As of: 2025-11-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 114-hr-4136
- Congress: 114
- Title: Beach Act of 2015
- Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
- Introduced: 2015-11-30
- Sponsor: Rep. Pallone, Frank [D-NJ-6] (D-NJ)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2025-11-18

## Summary

Beach Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise and reauthorize through FY2020 a grant program for monitoring, and notifying the public of, any pathogens in coastal recreation waters bordering public beaches. The bill reauthorizes through FY2018 the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000. The bill establishes requirements with respect to: (1) using rapid testing methods to detect unsafe levels of pathogens or pathogen indicators in those waters, and (2) notifying governmental agencies when pathogens exceed water quality standards. Those methods must provide testing results within four hours of receiving a sample. Communication with governments must occur within two hours of the receipt of the results of water quality samples. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must assess state and local compliance with coastal recreation water quality monitoring and notification legal requirements and grant conditions. The bill limits federal support of grants to non-compliant state or local governments. The Government Accountability Office must review the EPA's compliance assessments and corrective actions. States with coastal recreation waters must adopt the most protective water quality criteria and standards practicable for pathogens. The EPA must: (1) update the national list of beaches that are used by the public regardless of the presence of a lifeguard within 12 months and biennially thereafter (currently, periodically); (2) study the long-term impact of climate change on pathogenic contamination of coastal recreation waters; and (3) study the impacts of excess nutrients on coastal recreation waters.

## Cosponsors (1)

- LOIS CAPPS (D-CA), 2015-11-30T00:00:00.000Z

## Related bills

- 114-hr-6121: Climate Resiliency, Security, and Source Water Protection Act
- 114-hr-6116: Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 2016
- 114-hr-5621: To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to American major league…
- 114-hr-5373: LGBT Data Inclusion Act
- 114-hr-5292: Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016
- 114-hr-5207: Freedom of Religion Act of 2016

## Sources
- [114-hr-4136 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/4136)

## Related
- [114-hr-6121: Climate Resiliency, Security, and Source Water Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-6121)
- [114-hr-6116: Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 2016](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-6116)
- [114-hr-5621: To posthumously award a Congressional Gold Medal to Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Dob…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5621)
- [114-hr-5373: LGBT Data Inclusion Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5373)
- [114-hr-5292: Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5292)
- [114-hr-5207: Freedom of Religion Act of 2016](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-5207)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/114-hr-4136 (as of 2025-11-18).