Coastal Pollution
Environmental Impacts of Federal Activities Can Be Better Managed Gao ID: RCED-91-85 June 5, 1991Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined whether: (1) federal agency activities affecting coastal areas were undergoing required environmental reviews; and (2) such reviews ensured that all major environmental impacts were considered in the decisionmaking process.
GAO found that: (1) such federal activities as highway construction, harbor or river dredging, and federal land transfers had significant impacts on coastal zones; (2) coastal zone management officials noted that the environmental review processes provided adequate information to assess the environmental impacts of proposed federal activities; (3) state and federal coastal zone officials disagreed on whether certain federal agency activities were subject to environmental review requirements and on the adequacy of environmental reviews involving indirect impacts; (4) comprehensive plans that addressed regional environmental goals and the infrastructure needed to support growth could help officials in assessing the cumulative impacts of federal activities in coastal regions; (5) significant growth-related problems occurred in coastal areas where there was no comprehensive planning, or where such planning took place only after significant development occurred; (6) states with comprehensive plans for coastal areas were better equipped to assess the long-term, cumulative impacts of proposed activities; and (7) although coastal zone management statutes encouraged states to develop comprehensive plans, there was little guidance available to states on developing or using comprehensive plans to assess cumulative impacts.
RecommendationsOur 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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