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The Natural Resources Defense Council says in Wednesday's report that there were 20,341 days on which ocean, bay and Great Lakes beaches were closed or were the subject of health advisories.
That's the fourth year in a row that the number has topped 20,000.
Rain plays a big role in flushing pollutants into the oceans, but last year it was relatively dry in California, Hawaii and from Delaware to the southeastern states and the Gulf of Mexico.
The NRDC also says some of the overall decline was due to decreased funding for monitoring.
Wetter than usual conditions increased closings and advisories in the Great Lakes, New England and the New York-New Jersey region.
NEW YORK AND TRI-STATE AREA NEWS
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