Recommendation: The U.S. commissioners of the International Joint Commission should work with the Canadian commissioners to update the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence River Board communications plan and ensure that the plan incorporates best practices for public relations efforts, in particular defining target audiences and developing mechanisms to monitor and inform adjustments to strategies, and generally accepted principles for communicating risk-related information. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: International Joint Commission--United States and Canada
Status: Open

Comments: The International Joint Commission (IJC) agreed with our recommendation. IJC stated that it intends to develop an updated communications plan that incorporates best practices for public relations efforts by December 31, 2020. We will continue to monitor IJC's actions in response to this recommendation.

Recommendation: The U.S. commissioners of the International Joint Commission should work with the Canadian commissioners to develop and enter into written agreements with entities that the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Adaptive Management Committee identifies as having information or resources that the committee needs to effectively monitor and evaluate the impacts of Plan 2014. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: International Joint Commission--United States and Canada
Status: Open

Comments: The International Joint Commission (IJC) agreed with our recommendation. IJC is compiling a list of entities with which it shares information to explore formal data and information sharing arrangements with them. We will continue to monitor IJC's actions in response to this recommendation.

Recommendation: The U.S. commissioners of the International Joint Commission should work with the Canadian commissioners to ensure that IJC fully incorporates the key elements and essential characteristics of the adaptive management process into a comprehensive adaptive management strategic plan for Plan 2014. (Recommendation 3)

Agency: International Joint Commission--United States and Canada
Status: Open

Comments: The International Joint Commission (IJC) agreed with our recommendation. IJC plans to produce a comprehensive adaptive management strategic plan that fully incorporates the key elements and essential characteristics of the adaptive management process by December 31, 2020. We will continue to monitor IJC's actions in response to this recommendation.

Recommendation: The NMFS Assistant Administrator for Fisheries should work with the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico councils, and other councils as appropriate, to develop documented processes for conducting allocation reviews. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: National Marine Fisheries Service
Status: Open

Comments: Commerce and NOAA agreed with this recommendation and stated that NOAA's NMFS will work to implement it to the extent possible. We will continue to monitor NMFS' efforts to do so.

Recommendation: The NMFS Assistant Administrator for Fisheries should work with the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico councils, and other councils as appropriate, to specify how the councils will document their allocation reviews, including the basis for their allocation decisions, whether fishery management plan objectives are being met, and what factors were considered in the reviews. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Commerce: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: National Marine Fisheries Service
Status: Open

Comments: Commerce and NOAA agreed with this recommendation and stated that NOAA's NMFS will work to implement it to the extent possible. We will continue to monitor NMFS' efforts to do so.

Recommendation: The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard should direct the chair of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research, in coordination with member agencies, to systematically review its membership to determine whether any additional agencies should be involved in coordinating oil spill research and that the most appropriate offices within member agencies are represented. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard
Status: Open

Comments: In October 2020, the U.S. Coast Guard informed GAO that the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (ICCOPR) review of non-member agencies was complete and that the formal process to invite the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for membership has been initiated. To formalize membership, a majority of current ICCOPR members must approve USGS by vote, which is expected. This will be followed by a letter of invitation from the Coast Guard Commandant to USGS making the membership official.

Recommendation: The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard should direct the chair of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research, in coordination with member agencies, to coordinate with the relevant Natural Resource Damage Assessment trustee councils to help ensure that the interagency committee's research informs and supports the councils' damage assessment and restoration efforts. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Homeland Security: United States Coast Guard
Status: Open

Comments: In October 2020, the Coast Guard informed GAO that the ICCOPR FY 2022-2027 Research and Technology Plan will include a process to engage Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) trustees. Once updated and finalized, ICCOPR will execute this plan to coordinate with the NRDA trustee councils.

Recommendation: The Secretary of the Interior should notify all participating entities to ensure they are aware of the Interim Federal Action Plan and their role in it. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: The 2020 OMB Crosscut Budget states that the implementation of the Delta Plan has been conducted by the Delta Plan Interagency Implementation Committee, which was created in 2013, and includes participation and leadership from federal agencies at the regional and DC headquarters levels. It also states that the Council is primarily responsible for coordinating federal activities in the Delta. This language clarifies the role of federal agencies in relation to the Council and the Delta Plan, as we recommended. However, in December 2019, Bureau of Reclamation officials stated that they were not aware of any communication of federal agencies' role. We will continue to monitor this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Chair of CEQ should notify all participating entities to ensure they are aware of the Interim Federal Action Plan and their role in it. (Recommendation 4)

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Council on Environmental Quality
Status: Open

Comments: The 2020 OMB Crosscut Budget states that the implementation of the Delta Plan has been conducted by the Delta Plan Interagency Implementation Committee, which was created in 2013, and includes participation and leadership from federal agencies at the regional and DC headquarters levels. It also states that the Council is primarily responsible for coordinating federal activities in the Delta. This language clarifies the role of federal agencies in relation to the Council and the Delta Plan, as we recommended. However as of January 2020, CEQ officials had not provided an update on this recommendation, although Bureau of Reclamation officials stated that they were not aware of any communication of federal agencies' role. We will continue to monitor this recommendation.

Recommendation: The Secretary of the Interior should coordinate with appropriate state entities to obtain and report the information available to meet the requirements under section 105 of the Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act (CALFED Act). (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of the Interior
Status: Open

Comments: In October 2019, Interior reported that the California Delta Stewardship Council (a state agency) had met twice and asked Reclamation to develop a template on financial detail for the Science Tracker, the Council's web-based tracking system. The Council compiles and reports on funding information and progress for federal and state agencies. The template will be used by a subgroup of agencies to collect their 2019 expenditures and this will be put into the Science Tracker in preparation for a February 15, 2020 reporting date. The subgroup is working on establishing common accounting and reporting protocols, supporting web-based tracking, and coordinating a review of science in the Delta.

Recommendation: The Director of OMB should coordinate with appropriate state entities to obtain and report the information available to meet the requirements under section 106 of the CALFED Act. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, OMB staff did not provide an update. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The Director of OMB should direct staff to update OMB's written guidance for federal and state agencies on submitting data for the budget crosscut reports OMB is required to submit under section 106 of the CALFED Act. (Recommendation 7)

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: As of January 2020, OMB staff had not provided an update on this recommendation. When we confirm what actions the agency has taken, we will provide updated information.

Recommendation: The EPA Region 10 Administrator should work with the management conference on future updates to the CCMP to help prioritize among the indicators that currently lack measurable targets and ensure that such targets are developed for the highest priority indicators where possible. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Environmental Protection Agency
Status: Open

Comments: EPA agreed with this recommendation, and in June 2019 EPA provided GAO with a written update on the status of actions being taken in response to the recommendation. EPA stated that the leader of the management conference, the Puget Sound Partnership, has initiated an effort to review and revise the Puget Sound recovery vital signs, including updating their associated indicators and targets. EPA estimated that this effort will be completed in fiscal year 2021 for use in the 2022 comprehensive conservation and management plan (CCMP) update. In December 2019, EPA stated that work is ongoing. We will continue to monitor the status of this effort and will assess the extent to which it addresses our recommendation.

Recommendation: The Director of OMB should provide, concurrent with any future climate change funding reports to Congress, funding information for federal programs with fiscal exposure to climate change. This information should include costs to repair, replace, and improve the weather-related resilience of federally-funded property and resources; costs for federal flood and crop insurance programs; and costs for disaster assistance programs. (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: In a July 2018 letter, OMB reiterated its disagreement with this recommendation, as described in the Agency Comments and Our Evaluation section of the report. OMB also stated that it does not anticipate providing funding information for federal programs with fiscal exposure to climate change concurrent with future climate change reports to Congress. We continue to believe that OMB would have better assurance that it was providing policymakers with the information necessary to make climate change spending trade-offs, if in addition to the funding information for science, technology and international assistance it has previously reported to Congress, OMB also reported funding information for programs whose costs were likely to increase due to climate change impacts. In July 2019, the Disclosing Aid Spent to Ensure Relief Act or the DISASTER Act passed the House and was referred to the Senate. If enacted, this legislation would require OMB to annually report to Congress on all disaster-related assistance provided by the federal government, which includes all federal obligations related to disaster response, recovery, mitigation efforts, and administrative costs associated with these activities for specified agencies and programs. As of October 2020, the legislation has not progressed in the Senate. We will provide updated information regarding this recommendation when it becomes available.

Recommendation: The Director of OMB should provide, concurrent with any future climate change funding reports to Congress, a detailed analysis of federal climate change programs it considers to be fragmented, overlapping, or duplicative. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Executive Office of the President: Office of Management and Budget
Status: Open

Comments: In a July 2018 letter, OMB reiterated its disagreement with this recommendation, as described in the Agency Comments and Our Evaluation section of the report. OMB also stated that it does not anticipate providing a separate, detailed analysis of federal climate change programs that it considers to be fragmented, overlapping, or duplicative. We continue to believe that because OMB collects and reports information on federal climate change funding, OMB is uniquely situated to conduct an assessment of potentially fragmented, overlapping, or duplicative programs across the full range of agencies engaged in climate change activities and that by providing this information to Congress in conjunction with future funding reports, OMB could help decision makers more effectively target limited resources. As of October 2020, OMB has not provided a climate change funding report to Congress since the issuance of our April 2018 report.

Recommendation: To ensure that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has accurate information about federal water resources feasibility studies and construction projects led by nonfederal sponsors, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Secretary of the Army to direct the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to establish documented guidance for accurate recording of transactions and other relevant information related to these projects.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD concurred with the recommendation and in May 2008, the Corps reported that it developed implementation guidance for (1) nonfederal sponsor-led feasibility studies (ER-1165-2-209, dated February 4, 2016) and (2) construction projects (ER-1155-2-504, dated July 12, 2017). The Corps also reported that it established a Project Delivery Team to develop documented guidance for accurate recording of transactions and other relevant information related to nonfederal sponsor-led federal water resources projects, but it has not yet determined an estimated completion date for this effort. In August 2019, DOD informed GAO that the Civil Works Integration Division Deputy was evaluating the Corps' corrective action plan for the recommendation. We will continue to monitor the Corps' progress.