March 24, 2004

The Department of Environmental Quality’s Water Division is pleased to announce that a total of $244,873 of federal grant funds have been awarded to 19 applicants. These grant funds were allocated to the DEQ by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as authorized by the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act, and will be used to monitor 216 public Great Lakes beaches located in 33 counties. The DEQ received applications from local health departments and nonprofit entities requesting a total of $378,800. Grant recipients received either full or partial funding for their beach monitoring proposal and will post their beach monitoring data on the DEQ Beach Monitoring Web site at www.deq.state.mi.us/beach/.

The recipients of these funds are:

• The Bay County Health Department was awarded $11,082.38 in grant
  funds to monitor 1 beach in a state park and 5 local beaches on
  Saginaw Bay.

• The Berrien County Health Department was awarded $23,104 in grant
  funds to monitor 1 beach in a state park and 18 local beaches on Lake
  Michigan.

• The Central Michigan District Health Department was awarded $13,899
  in grant funds to monitor 8 local beaches on Saginaw Bay.

• The Chippewa County Health Department was awarded $10,944 to
  monitor 1 beach in a state park and 8 local beaches on Lake Huron
  and Lake Superior.

• The District Health Department #2 was awarded $10,944 to monitor 3
  beaches in state parks and 6 local beaches on Lake Huron.

• The District Health Department #4 was awarded $15,808 to monitor 2
  beaches in state parks and 11 local beaches on Lake Huron.

• The District Health Department #10 was awarded $24,999.50 to
  monitor 3 beaches in state parks and 20 local beaches on Lake
  Michigan.

• The Huron County Health Department was awarded $10,944 to monitor
  3 beaches in state parks and 9 local beaches on Lake Huron and
  Saginaw Bay.

• The Macomb County Health Department was awarded $4,864 to
  monitor 4 local beaches on Lake St. Clair.

• The City of Marquette was awarded $6,080 to monitor 5 local beaches
  on Lake Superior.

• The Muskegon County Health Department was awarded $15,000 to
  monitor 4 beaches in state parks and 8 local beaches on Lake
  Michigan.

• The Northwest Michigan Community Health Agency was awarded
  $15,649.65 to monitor 3 beaches in state parks and 23 local beaches
  on Lake Michigan.

• The Ottawa County Health Department was awarded $10,246.33 to
  monitor 2 beaches in state parks and 7 local beaches on Lake
  Michigan.

• The Public Health, Delta & Menominee Counties was awarded
  $12,937.18 to monitor 13 local beaches on Lake Michigan.

• The Sanilac County Health Department was awarded $8,512 to monitor
  7 local beaches on Lake Huron.

• The St. Clair County Health Department was awarded $17,024 to
  monitor 2 beaches in state parks and 12 local beaches on Lake Huron
  and the St. Clair River.

• The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay was awarded $15,808 on
  behalf of the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department and the
  Grand Traverse County Health Department to monitor 1 beach in a
  state park and 12 local beaches on Lake Michigan and Grand Traverse
  Bay.

• The Wayne County Health Department was awarded $3,651 to monitor
  3 local beaches on Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River.

• The Western Upper Peninsula District Health Department was awarded
  $13,376 to monitor 2 beaches in state parks and 9 local beaches on
  Lake Superior.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised March 24, 2004 by Pat Watson