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Tribute to Clean Ocean Action

Date: Jan. 31, 2006
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Environment


TRIBUTE TO CLEAN OCEAN ACTION -- (Extensions of Remarks - January 31, 2006)

SPEECH OF
HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.
OF NEW JERSEY
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2006

* Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the work of the volunteers for Clean Ocean Action, an organization that has made tremendous efforts to clean up the Jersey Shore over the past 22 years.

* Clean Ocean Action, COA, was established in 1984 by individuals with a deep-rooted concern for the environment and a strong desire to help clean up our oceans and beaches. Today we can say with certainty that the waters of the New York/New Jersey Bight have benefited greatly from the efforts of COA, its volunteers, and the many citizens who have participated in COA activities.

* In the late 1980s, medical waste and other trash washing up on the Jersey Shore closed our beaches for an entire summer. Off our coast, eight separate ocean dumpsites collected all kinds of foul waste. COA and its volunteers helped lead the charge, in conjunction with Federal and State efforts, to keep trash off our beaches and close the dumpsites, and we can see the results every day.

* More than 30,000 Clean Ocean Action volunteers gather for biannual beach cleanups that have removed millions of pieces of trash and debris that typically wash up on our shores. COA compiles statistics on the trash collected during their sweeps, providing a very valuable tool to determine the leading source of debris pollution on our beaches and in our coastal waters.

* Having spent much of my career in elected office working on policies to protect our oceans and our coastline, I am keenly aware of the contributions that this organization have made to the Jersey Shore. The efforts of groups like the COA, and their unpaid volunteers often pass with little notice, but we all benefit from their work and we should support their efforts.

* Mr. Speaker, Clean Ocean Action is holding a brunch to thank its volunteers for their hard work. I urge my colleagues to join me in also thanking these volunteers as well as the hard-working staff that has done so much to clean up the Jersey Shore and protect the New York/New Jersey Bight.

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