Eight county beaches were certified (June 2000) by the US Clean Beaches council for haveing clean, safe and enviromentally conscious beach management programs. Recipients of the "Blue Wave Award" include Treasure Island) where the St. Petersburg's municipal beach is located), Fort Desoto park, St. Pete Beach, Sand Key, Clearwater Beach, Caladesi Island, Honeymoon Island and Fred Howard Park. Two of these beaches - Caladesi Island and For de Soto park - were raned No. 6 and 8 respectively in a 1999 survey of 650 U.S. beaches. St. Petersburg area beaches draw 4.5 million overnight visitors annually. Contact: Clean Beaches Council at 202/537-9166 or CVB at 464-7200