Acid Rain

Delays and Management Changes in the Federal Research Program Gao ID: RCED-87-89 April 29, 1987

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed recent management changes and program delays in the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program (NAPAP).

Through fiscal year 1985, NAPAP spent $6.7 million developing its research results for the general public; however, it delayed its first assessment report because management underestimated the time and staff needed to review and approve the document. GAO found that centralized management made the research program stronger; however, management changes contributed to communication problems between NAPAP task groups and hampered program effectiveness. GAO also found that: (1) NAPAP reduced its efforts to evaluate the economic effects of acid rain since 1985 and included only minimal economic effects information in its first assessment; (2) disagreements among participating agencies on major issues and the large number of agency reviews contributed to delays in issuing key assessments; and (3) NAPAP annual reports were issued late and did not include policy recommendations.

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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