OCEAN CITY, MD - Members of the media are invited to join Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen L. Johnson at an announcement regarding a federal grant for monitoring water quality at Maryland's beaches.

Who

• Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., Governor

• Stephen L. Johnson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

• Kendl P. Philbrick, Secretary of the Environment

• Richard W. Meehan, Mayor of Ocean City

When

Monday, June 19, 11:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Where

Ocean City Boardwalk (in front of the Kite Loft)
Between 5th and 6th Streets
Ocean City, Maryland
* Parking is available one block away at the City Parking Lot at 4th and Baltimore Ave.

What

The Maryland Beaches Program, administered by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), is a statewide beach monitoring and notification program that develops water quality criteria to protect human health and the environment. The program works with local health departments to enhance beach water quality monitoring and improve the public notification process.

In October 2000, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act and provided funding to enhance water quality monitoring at bathing beaches located in coastal states.

Last year, a partnership between MDE, EPA, and local health departments launched a Maryland-specific webpage on www.Earth911.org, which provides information regarding the current water quality conditions for local beaches. Visitors can access advisories for beach bathing and review community-specific actions that help keep local beaches, coastal waters, and lakes, streams, and rivers clean and safe.

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