The Corps Does Not Track All Construction Projects and Studies on Its Backlog

The Corps’ report of a $62 billion backlog list of more than 1,000 projects  is incomplete because the agency does not track all of its authorized  construction projects and studies. Specifically, the Corps does not enter  all authorized projects and studies into its databases because of the  absence of a policy to do so. Without having complete information on its backlog, the Corps does not  know the full extent of unmet water resources needs of the nation, and  Congress does not have complete information to make informed  decisions on project and study authorizations and appropriations. Corps headquarters officials told us that the agency does not have a  policy instructing district offices to enter projects that are authorized but  have not been appropriated funds into their databases, and it is left to the  discretion of the district offices to do so. Officials at the 15 other  district offices told us they enter projects into the Corps’ databases only  after funds are appropriated. However,  federal standards for internal control call for agencies to document  internal control in management directives, administrative policies, or  operating manuals and be readily available for examination. We also  have previously found that it is important to have agencywide policies and  procedures to help ensure consistent treatment, especially if employees  are geographically dispersed. The Corps’ reported backlog does not include studies. Corps officials  stated the agency does not track a backlog of all authorized studies, nor  does it have a policy instructing districts to do so, due to manpower and  resource constraints. Without having this data, the Corps cannot comply with the requirement  to submit a list to Congress identifying studies for deauthorization that  have not had funds appropriated for 5 fiscal years. Without having a complete backlog list of projects and studies, it is  difficult for the Corps to know the full universe of unmet water resources  needs in the country. Corps headquarters officials  said that once the new database has been implemented, district or  headquarters officials will be required to enter data on new construction  projects following authorization. However,  federal internal control standards call for agencies to have mechanisms in  place to appropriately document transactions and other significant events. The Corps Has Not Identified All Projects and Studies for Deauthorization or Complied with Statutory Deauthorization Requirements

The Corps has not identified all eligible construction projects and studies  for deauthorization and has not complied with statutory requirements to  notify Congress of all projects and studies eligible for deauthorization. As  discussed earlier, the Corps does not require its district offices to enter all  authorized projects into its databases; therefore, the agency is unlikely to  identify as eligible for deauthorization those projects that are excluded  from the database and have not had funds obligated for 5 fiscal years. The Corps Has Not Identified All Projects Eligible for Deauthorization Due to Limited Data

As discussed earlier, not all projects are included in the Corps’ databases  because the agency does not have policies and procedures in place to  enter all authorized projects; therefore, some projects that have not had  obligations in 5 fiscal years are unlikely to appear on the Corps’ list of  projects eligible for deauthorization. Officials we interviewed from 5 of the 16 Corps district offices in  our review said they do not attempt to identify and add projects to the  draft list because they were not aware that they were to do so. The Corps Cannot Demonstrate It Has Consistently Notified Congress of Projects That Meet Deauthorization Eligibility

Current federal statute requires the Secretary of the Army to transmit to  Congress a list of authorized projects or separable elements of projects  that have had no obligations during the previous 5 full fiscal years. Without having a mechanism to compile data  on studies or a documented policy and procedures in place to  deauthorize studies as noted in federal internal control standards,Corps cannot comply with deauthorization requirements for studies  specified in statute, and the agency, Congress, and nonfederal sponsors  have incomplete information on what is feasible to address the water  resources needs of the country. To ensure that the Corps meets the statutory requirements related to  deauthorization of incomplete water resources studies, we recommend  that the Secretary of Defense direct the Secretary of the Army to direct  the Chief of Engineers and Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps  of Engineers to take the following three actions:
Establish a mechanism for tracking all authorized studies and  establish and implement a written policy to ensure all authorized  studies are tracked. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report examines (1) the extent to which the Corps tracks data on its  backlog of construction projects and studies, and (2) the extent to which  the Corps identifies construction projects and studies eligible for  deauthorization, and meets statutory deauthorization requirements. We also interviewed officials from a nonprobability sample of 16 of 38  Corps domestic civil works district offices to determine how district offices  track data on studies and projects and implement the deauthorization  process.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Corps reports having a backlog of more than 1,000 authorized water resources construction projects in its Civil Works Program that it estimates to cost more than $62 billion to complete, as of June 2014. Federal statute requires the Corps to identify for deauthorization projects that have had no obligations for 5 years and studies that have had no appropriations for 5 years. Once a project or study is deauthorized, it must be reauthorized to begin or resume construction or study.
GAO was asked to review the Corps' construction backlog and deauthorization processes. This report examines (1) the extent to which the Corps tracks its backlog of construction projects and studies, and (2) the extent to which the Corps identifies construction projects and studies eligible for deauthorization, and meets statutory deauthorization requirements. GAO reviewed legislation, Corps policy, guidance, and documentation of its backlog and deauthorization process. GAO interviewed Corps headquarters officials and officials from 16 of the Corps' 38 domestic civil works districts, selected based on geographical representation and number of projects.

What GAO Found

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) backlog list of authorized water resources construction projects is incomplete because the agency does not track all authorized projects and the list does not include studies. Specifically, GAO found that the backlog does not include some projects that were authorized but were not appropriated funds. Corps headquarters officials said that the agency does not have a policy instructing its district offices to enter into their databases projects that are authorized but have not been appropriated funds and that it is up to the discretion of the district offices to do so. Corps officials also stated that the agency does not include studies on its backlog, nor does it have a policy instructing district offices to track studies. Federal internal control standards state that agencies are to document internal controls in management directives, administrative policies, or operating manuals to help ensure consistent treatment. Officials at 15 of 16 district offices told GAO that they enter projects into the databases only after funds are appropriated. The Corps has begun to take steps to include all authorized projects in a new agency database; however, this database will not include studies. Federal internal control standards call for agencies to have mechanisms to appropriately document transactions and other significant events. Without written policies requiring districts to track all projects and studies and a mechanism to track studies, the Corps may continue to have an incomplete backlog list. The absence of a complete backlog list of projects and studies will likely make it difficult for the Corps to know the full universe of unmet water resource needs of the country, and Congress to make informed decisions when authorizing projects and studies, and appropriating funds.
The Corps has not identified all eligible construction projects and studies for deauthorization and has not complied with statutory requirements to notify Congress of all projects and studies eligible for deauthorization. The agency is unlikely to identify those projects that have been excluded from the databases and had no funds obligated for 5 fiscal years, because, as discussed above, the Corps does not require districts to enter all authorized projects into its databases. Officials GAO interviewed from 5 of 16 districts said they likely would not identify and add projects to the draft deauthorization eligible list because they were not required to do so. Moreover, the Corps has not complied with statutory requirements to notify Congress of all projects that have not had obligations in 5 fiscal years. Specifically, the Corps cannot demonstrate it transmitted a list of projects eligible for deauthorization 8 times in the 12 years it was required to do so since 1997. Corps headquarters officials said that the process and communication mechanisms for deauthorizing projects are not in Corps policies or procedures. Without documented policies and procedures consistent with federal standards for internal control, the Corps may continue its inconsistent publishing of deauthorization lists. In addition, the Corps has not complied with requirements to identify studies for deauthorization because officials have said the agency does not have the policies and procedures in place to do so. Without having the data, as discussed above, or policies and procedures in place to identify studies for deauthorization, the Corps and Congress will not have complete information to make decisions when prioritizing the water resources needs of the country.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends, among other things, that the Corps establish and implement policies to ensure projects and studies are tracked; establish a mechanism to track studies; and develop and implement policies to identify projects and studies that meet deauthorization criteria, and notify Congress. The Department of Defense concurred with the recommendations.