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EPA funds awarded to monitor beach water quality in American Samoa

American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency logo
Source: Office of the Congresswoman

Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Aumua Amata welcomed the availability of $300,000 in federal grant funds for American Samoa from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“Federal funding through grants and other sources is essential for our islands to have important services,” said Aumua Amata. “I appreciate this funding to help provide clean, healthy and accessible beach and shoreline recreational areas.”

Specifically, the grant was authorized by Congress under the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act and is available to the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA).

“Thank you to the EPA and Director Scott Pruitt for this federal support for American Samoa,” continued Congresswoman Amata. “This grant is available to ensure proper monitoring of these areas and keep our people safe as we enjoy our beautiful islands.”

EPA is making these funds available upon application to strengthen the Territory’s monitoring and notification programs, and then make these monitoring results readily available to the public. This grant is a portion of the EPA funding plan for states and territories throughout the Pacific Southwest region for beach monitoring and reporting. The program is intended to protect beach goers from pollution by collecting water samples at recreation locations, providing outreach to citizen groups, and posting advisories following any concerns such as sewage spills or high bacterial counts.

“Thank you to AS-EPA Director Ameko Pato and the staff involved in this work,” concluded Amata. “Grants such as these often involve significant effort in research, writing, fact-checking and details so that these services can be funded.”