Decades of industrial  activity in the region have left a legacy of contamination, such as from  polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), in the sediments that make up the beds  of rivers and harbors in the Great Lakes Basin. EPA Made Funding Available to a Range of Recipients, Guided Activities through a GLRI Action Plan, Created a Monitoring Process, and Issued Accomplishment Reports

When Congress made funds available for the GLRI in fiscal year 2010,  the conference report accompanying the appropriations act directed EPA  to develop a comprehensive, multiyear restoration action plan for fiscal  years 2011 through 2014, to establish a process to ensure monitoring and  reporting on the progress of the GLRI, and to provide detailed, yearly  program accomplishments beginning in 2011. GLRI Funding

As discussed in our July 2015 report, in fiscal years 2010 through 2014,  $1.68 billion of federal funds was made available for the GLRI, and as of  January 2015, EPA had allocated nearly all of the funds, about $1.66  billion. Also, as of January 2015, Task Force agencies had expended  $1.15 billion for 2,123 projects (see fig. Task Force agencies conduct GLRI work themselves or by awarding  funds to recipients through financial agreements, such as grants,  cooperative agreements, or contracts. Potential recipients of GLRI funds  include federal entities; state, local, or tribal entities; nongovernmental  organizations; academic institutions; and others, such as for-profit  entities, agricultural producers, or private landowners. Monitoring and Reporting on Progress

In response to the conference report’s direction to establish a process to  ensure monitoring and reporting on the progress of the GLRI, EPA  created the Great Lakes Accountability System (GLAS) in 2010 to collect  information for monitoring GLRI projects and progress. Task Force’s Process for Identifying GLRI Work and Each Agency’s Share of Funding Has Evolved to Emphasize Interagency Discussion

The process for identifying each agency’s GLRI work and share of GLRI  funding has evolved since fiscal year 2010 to emphasize interagency  discussion. Task Force agreement on scope and funding for agencies’ work. The three priority issues, which  aligned with three of the five focus areas in the 2010-2014 Action Plan,  were (1) cleaning up and delisting Areas of Concern located entirely or  partially in the United States, (2) preventing and controlling invasive  species, and (3) reducing phosphorus runoff that contributes to harmful  algal blooms. For 2015, EPA officials said that the  Task Force began creating additional subgroups to identify work and  funding for all five of the focus areas in the 2015-2019 Action Plan, not  just the three priority issues. Information on GLRI Project Activities and Results Is Available from Individual Agencies

In July 2015, we reported that the Task Force, as part of its oversight of  GLRI, makes some information on GLRI projects available for Congress  and the public in two ways: annual accomplishment reports and the GLRI  website. Each of the five Task Force agencies we reviewed collected information  on its projects, including activities and results of the projects they funded,  although this information is not collected and reported by EPA. For another project, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission  reported results in the form of improved methods for capturing sea  lamprey, an invasive species, which is a parasite that was a major cause  of the collapse of lake trout, whitefish, and chub populations in the Great  Lakes during the 1940s and 1950s. For example, a  single lamprey can kill up to about 40 pounds of fish in its lifetime. For the 11 remaining projects, recipients reported results that can be  indirectly linked to restoration; that is, the results may contribute to  restoration over time. These included results such as simulations and  data for helping decision makers make better restoration decisions in light  of climate change, as well as education and outreach tools to increase  awareness of invasive species.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Great Lakes, which contain much of North America's freshwater supply, provide economic and recreational benefits to millions of people. They face significant stresses, however, that have caused ecological and economic damage. Decades of industrial activity in the region, for example, left a legacy of contamination that resulted in the United States and Canada identifying, since 1987, 43 Areas of Concern.
The GLRI was created in 2010 to, according to EPA, accelerate efforts to protect and restore the Great Lakes. It is overseen by a Task Force of 11 federal agencies that is chaired by the EPA. EPA was directed, in a conference report, to develop a restoration action plan, establish a process to ensure monitoring and reporting on progress, and provide detailed yearly accomplishments.
This testimony is based on GAO reports issued in September 2013 and July 2015. It focuses on (1) GLRI funding, action plans, and reports; (2) the process used to identify GLRI work and funding; and (3) information available about GLRI project activities and results. For the 2015 report, GAO reviewed a sample of 19 GLRI projects funded by the five Task Force agencies that received the majority of GLRI funds, among other things.

What GAO Found

As GAO reported in July 2015, of the $1.68 billion in federal funds made available for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in fiscal years 2010 through 2014, nearly all had been allocated as of January 2015. Of the $1.66 billion allocated, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the other 10 Great Lakes Interagency Task Force (Task Force) agencies expended $1.15 billion for 2,123 projects (see fig.).
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Status of GLRI Funds, FY 2010-2014
Task Force agencies can either conduct work themselves or enter into financial agreements, such as grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts with others, such as federal entities; state, local, and tribal entities; nongovernmental organizations; and academic institutions. To guide restoration work, EPA and the Task Force have developed two consecutive multiyear restoration action plans. EPA also created a process to ensure monitoring and reporting on the progress of the GLRI, and EPA and the Task Force issued three accomplishment reports.
The process to identify each agency's GLRI work and funding has evolved to emphasize interagency discussion. In fiscal year 2012, the Task Force created subgroups to discuss and identify work on three issues: cleaning up severely degraded locations, called Areas of Concern; preventing and controlling invasive, aquatic species that cause extensive ecological and economic damage; and reducing nutrient runoff from agricultural areas. EPA officials said that the Task Force created additional subgroups to identify all GLRI work and funding in 2015.
In July 2015, GAO found that the Task Force has made some information about GLRI project activities and results available to Congress and the public in three accomplishment reports and on its website. In addition, the individual Task Force agencies collect information on activities and results, although this information is not collected and reported by EPA. Of the 19 projects GAO reviewed, 8 reported results directly linked to restoration, such as improved methods for capturing sea lamprey, an invasive species that can kill up to about 40 pounds of fish in its lifetime. The remaining 11 reported results that can be indirectly linked to restoration; that is, the results may contribute to restoration over time. These included results such as simulations and data for helping decision makers make better restoration decisions in light of climate change, as well as education and outreach tools to increase awareness of invasive species.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommended in 2013 that EPA improve assessments of GLRI progress, among other things. EPA agreed and has taken several actions. GAO is not making any recommendations in this testimony.