GLNPO is further responsible for  coordinating the agency’s actions both in headquarters and in the regions  to improve Great Lakes’ water quality. Many Federal and State Programs Fund Restoration Activities in the Great Lakes Basin

About 200 programs—148 federal and 51 state—fund restoration activities  within the Great Lakes Basin. Most of these programs, however, involve  the localized application of national or state environmental initiatives and  do not specifically focus on basin concerns. However, basin-specific information was available on some of  these programs. Officials from  seven federal agencies identified 33 Great Lakes-specific programs that  had expenditures of $387 million in fiscal years 1992 through 2001. In lieu of such a plan,  organizations at the binational, federal, and state levels have developed  their own strategies for the Great Lakes, which have inadvertently made  the coordination of various programs operating in the basin more  challenging. Other Great Lakes strategies address unique environmental problems or  specific geographical areas. Although there are many strategies and coordination efforts ongoing, no  one organization coordinates restoration efforts. Ultimate responsibility for coordinating Great Lakes restoration programs  rests with GLNPO; however, GLNPO has not fully exercised this authority. To improve coordination of Great Lakes activities and ensure that federal  dollars are effectively spent, we recommended that the Administrator,  EPA, ensure that GLNPO fulfills its responsibility for coordinating  programs within the Great Lakes Basin; charge GLNPO with developing, in  consultation with the governors of the Great Lakes states, federal  agencies, and other organizations, an overarching strategy that, clearly  defines the roles and responsibilities for coordinating and prioritizing  funding for projects; and submit a time-phased funding requirement  proposal to the Congress necessary to implement the strategy. Recent assessments of overall progress, which rely on a mix  of quantitative data and subjective judgments, do not provide an adequate  basis for making an overall assessment. To fulfill the need for a monitoring system called for in the GLWQA and to  ensure that the limited funds available are optimally spent, we  recommended that the Administrator, EPA, in coordination with Canadian  officials and as part of an overarching Great Lakes strategy, (1) develop  environmental indicators and a monitoring system for the Great Lakes  Basin that can be used to measure overall restoration progress and (2)  require that these indicators be used to evaluate, prioritize, and make  funding decisions on the merits of alternative restoration projects.
Why GAO Did This Study

The five Great Lakes, which comprise the largest system of freshwater in the world, are threatened on many environmental fronts. To address the extent of progress made in restoring the Great Lakes Basin, which includes the lakes and surrounding area, GAO (1) identified the federal and state environmental programs operating in the basin and funding devoted to them, (2) evaluated the restoration strategies used and how they are coordinated, and (3) assessed overall environmental progress made in the basin restoration effort.

What GAO Found

There are 148 federal and 51 state programs funding environmental restoration activities in the Great Lakes Basin. Most of these programs are nationwide or statewide programs that do not specifically focus on the Great Lakes. However, GAO identified 33 federal Great Lakes specific programs, and 17 additional unique Great Lakes specific programs funded by states. Although Great Lakes funding is not routinely tracked for many of these programs, we identified a total of about $3.6 billion in basin-specific projects for fiscal years 1992 through 2001. Several disparate Great Lakes environmental strategies are being used at the binational, federal, and state levels. Currently, these strategies are not coordinated in a way that ensures effective use of limited resources. Without such coordination it is difficult to determine the overall progress of restoration efforts. The Water Quality Act of 1987 charged EPA's Great Lakes National Program Office with the responsibility for coordinating federal actions for improving Great Lakes' water quality; however, the office has not fully exercised this authority to this point. With available information, current environmental indicators do not allow a comprehensive assessment of restoration progress in the Great Lakes. Current indicators rely on limited quantitative data and subjective judgments to determine whether conditions are improving, such as whether fish are safe to eat. The ultimate success of an ongoing binational effort to develop a set of overall indicators for the Great Lakes is uncertain because it relies on the resources voluntarily provided by several organizations. Further, no date for completing a final list of indicators has been established.