Coast Guard

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Coast Guard's progress in carrying out its statutory environmental responsibilities.

GAO found that: (1) since 1987, the Coast Guard has identified many additional potential hazardous waste locations; (2) the Coast Guard estimated that of the 20 locations requiring cleanup, relatively minor action at 16 locations will cost about $1.1 million; (3) the Coast Guard has begun cleaning up hazardous waste at two locations, and is investigating the other two locations to determine the types and levels of contaminants that are present; (4) the Coast Guard is responsible for paying its portion of the investigation and cleanup costs for sites that are primarily public and private landfills; (5) the Coast Guard believes its past and current appropriated funding levels, averaging $6.8 million annually, are adequate for hazardous waste cleanup activities and compliance with environmental laws; (6) the Coast Guard's field commands are not reporting information to the headquarters program office on environmental violations at its facilities that handle waste; (7) the Coast Guard and other federal agencies are responsible for ensuring that their facilities comply with environmental pollution control laws and for ensuring that they request sufficient funds for compliance; and (8) despite the reporting requirements, complete information on violations and the costs incurred in correcting them was unavailable because field offices failed to report most relevant data on environmental violations and related costs.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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