NOT SURE OF THE SHORE ACTIVIST GROUP SUES EPA TO FORCE QUICKER LAB TESTS, FIND POLLUTERS OF LOCAL BEACHES.

Byline: BRENT HOPKINS Staff Writer

TOPANGA STATE BEACH -- Surfer Matt Abe has paddled through brown clouds of sewage, felt growths pop up on his legs, endured cuts on his hands throbbing with infection.

Some days, when he climbs onto his surfboard and the tide isn't quite right, his eyes sting, his nose hurts, his ears ring.

But the 43-year-old actor has been surfing since he was 8, and it's something he's not about to give up -- no matter how sick it makes him.

``It's a soul thing. You're not supposed to go out in the water after the rain,'' he said. ``But the waves are just so good, you've gotta go.''

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the waves he seeks rank among the most polluted in the state.

And after 16 years of lambasting government agencies for neglecting polluted beach waters, the NRDC has put some teeth into its complaints, filing a lawsuit Thursday that is aimed at cleaning up the toxic bacteria and sewage that foul the coastline.

The Santa Monica-based environmental group sued the federal Environmental Protection Agency, alleging that it has failed to both properly monitor beach water and protect swimmers from bacteria and polluted runoff. As a result, the NRDC charges, a simple dip in the ocean can lead to gastroenteritis, dysentery, hepatitis and respiratory problems.

``A day at the beach should not be followed by a night in the bathroom,'' said David Beckman, a senior attorney for the NRDC. ``Or worse, a night in the hospital.''

In an effort to raise public consciousness, the group also released its annual Testing the Waters guide discussing beach closures. Last year, closings and warnings climbed 25 percent throughout the state, with Los Angeles County recording the highest levels.

Dangerous amounts of bacteria from unknown sources and sewage spills kept beaches in the county closed or under advisory more than 2,200 cumulative days in 2005, the worst in the state for the third consecutive year and the highest in six years.

Though the EPA would not address the lawsuit directly, the agency released a statement defending itself.

``EPA is working diligently in partnership with states to increase public awareness and improve water quality to make beaches safer for swimming,'' the statement read.

``Additionally, EPA is developing new technologies to yield faster test results. With the new tests, local health agencies will be able to act more quickly to provide important information to protect the health of beachgoers.''

In Los Angeles County, the waters off the slice of Will Rogers State Beach near Santa Monica Canyon exceeded California's public health standards 77 percent of the time, ranking it among the nation's worst.

Malibu Beach, Topanga State Beach and the stretch of Will Rogers near Temescal Canyon also earned dishonorable mentions for going over the limit more than one-third of the time.

The group hopes to use the lawsuit to force the EPA to adopt quicker tests, which agencies could then use to track contamination to the source. Currently, test results lag one to two days before they're posted, making pollution detection difficult.

``When you come to the beach,'' said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who attended the news conference and pledged support for the lawsuit, ``your biggest worry should be whether you have enough sunscreen, not whether you'll get some bacterial infection.''

To do its part, the city built runoff shelters to catch polluted water and divert it to sewage-treatment plants. Beckman said additional diversion and swifter response to bacterial outbreaks would enable environmental agencies to root out contamination at the source upstream.

Though he checks online water quality reports before hitting the beach with his 3-year-old son, Max, photographer Frank Langen wasn't overly concerned about the potentially toxic muck creeping onto Will Rogers beach. The Santa Monica resident wasn't sure whether he'd let Max go in the water once he learns to swim, but said he'd brave it himself.

``We're all gonna die from something,'' said Langen, 44. ``I'd probably go in because I survived the way it was back here in the '70s, but we've definitely got to change our habits.''

A sinus condition he attributes to swimming through polluted water was enough to worry Mike Parise, 52, but not enough to get him out of the surf altogether. He's been at it since his teens and has a shark tattooed on one of his biceps, a mermaid on the other.

He loves surfing so much he bought property in Nicaragua just so he could find better waves. And he's getting to the point where he's tiring of donning a wet suit locally so he can swim through sewage.

``I used to swim in it and think, `Hey, survival of the fittest,''' the West Los Angeles resident said. ``But I worry about it now. You start thinking about the consequences.''

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

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CAPTION(S):

photo, box, map

Photo:

(color) Frank Langen of Santa Monica visits Will Rogers State Beach, one of Los Angeles County's dirtiest beaches.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

Box:

Surf's up and so is sickness

SOURCE: National Resources Defense Council

Map:

Beach report card

SOURCE: National Resources Defense Council

Gregg Miller/Staff Artist