As also directed by OPA, the interagency committee was to develop a  research plan that:  identified member agencies’ roles and responsibilities;   assessed the current status of knowledge on oil pollution prevention,  response and mitigation technologies, and effects of oil pollution on the  environment; identified significant oil pollution research gaps, including an assessment  of major technological deficiencies in responses to past oil discharges;    established research priorities and goals for oil pollution technology  development related to prevention, response, mitigation, and  environmental effects;    estimated the resources needed for federal agencies to conduct the oil  pollution research and development program and timetables for  completing research tasks; and  identified, in consultation with the states, regional oil pollution research  needs and priorities for a coordinated, multidisciplinary program of  research at the regional level. The interagency committee prepared the  original research plan and, in 1992, submitted it to Congress and the  National Research Council—created under the auspices of the National  Academy of Sciences and through which the academy provides most of its  advice—for their review and comment. Federal Agencies Have Conducted Oil Pollution Research, but with a Limited Coordination Role by the Interagency Committee

According to our analysis of interagency committee reports, federal  agencies have conducted at least 144 research projects on oil pollution  prevention and response since 2003, but the interagency committee had a  limited role in facilitating the coordination of agency efforts. The  interagency committee established a joint research plan in 1997 that  identified oil pollution risks and research priorities, but it has not updated  that plan in light of changes in the oil production and transportation  sector. According to the interagency  committee’s documentation, the committee conducted a 2-year voluntary  interagency effort to address the National Research Council’s  recommendations. For example, after  reviewing the interagency committee’s first draft research plan, the  National Research Council noted the interagency committee should, as  part of its activities, comprehensively review and evaluate past and  present oil pollution research to help guide federal research efforts and  avoid duplication. The interagency committee followed this  recommendation, in part, by capturing the results of some member  agencies’ oil pollution research in its biennial reports to Congress, but it  did not assess whether completed research contributed to advancing the  1997 research priorities; rather, the reports provided only summaries of  research projects. Without such an assessment, Congress may be less able  to provide oversight on the contributions of federal research to prevent  and respond to oil spills. Specifically, according to Coast Guard documents, in  September 2010, the interagency committee chair began to inventory  research projects and categorize them according to the 1997 plan’s  research priorities. In addition, while OPA did not require the interagency committee to revise  its research and technology plan, the National Research Council noted in  its review that a comprehensive research plan should be continually  reassessed. However, the interagency committee has not revised its 1997  research plan. Interagency Committee Has Taken Limited Actions to Foster Communication and Coordination among Member Agencies and Nonfederal Stakeholders

As directed by OPA, the interagency committee was to coordinate a  comprehensive program of oil pollution research among the member  agencies, in cooperation and coordination with industry, universities,  research institutions, state governments, and other nations, as appropriate. According to some member agency officials, however, the interagency  committee had taken limited action to foster communication among  member agencies between 1997 and 2009, when the interagency  committee chair proposed updating the 1997 plan. Although the  interagency committee’s meetings have occurred once or twice annually  for the past 2 years, they occurred irregularly before then, according to  some agency officials. Additionally, member agencies were not consistently represented in the  interagency committee. In October 2010, to better communicate with interagency committee  member agencies, among others, the Coast Guard launched the  interagency committee’s Web site, which includes transcripts from past  public meetings and biennial reports to Congress. In addition,  the Department of Homeland Security concurred with our  recommendations and provided a formal response, which we reprinted in  appendix II.
Why GAO Did This Study

Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act in 1990 (OPA). Among other things, OPA established the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research (interagency committee) to coordinate an oil pollution research program among federal agencies, including developing a plan, having the National Academy of Sciences review that plan, and reporting to Congress on the interagency committee's efforts biennially. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and fire led to the largest oil spill in U.S. history, raising new concerns about the effects of oil spills. GAO was asked to assess the extent to which the interagency committee has facilitated the coordination of federal agencies' oil pollution research. (The Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, House Committee on Science and Technology, now retired; and Representative Woolsey initiated this request.) In part, GAO analyzed committee documents and biennial reports and interviewed agency officials and nonfederal research entities.

What GAO Found

Federal agencies have conducted at least 144 research projects on oil pollution since 2003, but the interagency committee has played a limited role in coordinating this research, according to GAO's analysis of interagency committee reports and documents. For example, agencies conducted research on identifying the toxicity of nonpetroleum oils recovering oil from the sea floor. The interagency committee issued a research plan mandated by OPA in 1997 that set research priorities. This plan, however, did not fully address the recommendations on a draft plan made by the National Research Council, the organization through which the National Academy of Sciences provides most of its advice. For example, the National Research Council noted that the interagency committee should review and evaluate past and present oil pollution research to help guide federal efforts and to avoid duplication. The interagency committee has captured some member agencies' oil pollution research in its biennial reports to Congress, but it has not evaluated whether past research has advanced the 1997 research priorities; instead, the reports summarized projects. Without such an assessment, Congress may be less able to oversee the contributions of federal research to preventing and responding to oil spills. In addition, although OPA did not require that the interagency committee revise its 1997 plan, the National Research Council noted the need to continually reassess a comprehensive research plan. However, the interagency committee has not done so; consequently, the plan does not reflect changes in the oil production and transportation sectors since 1997, such as a significant increase in deepwater drilling. In September 2010, the interagency committee chair began to inventory completed research and categorize research projects according to the 1997 plan's research priorities, and the chair told GAO that the interagency committee will begin to update the 1997 plan in 2011. OPA also directed the interagency committee to coordinate a comprehensive research program of oil pollution research among the member agencies, in cooperation with external stakeholders, such as industry, research institutions, state governments, and universities. An interagency member official told GAO that the committee helped foster interagency cooperation between two agencies comparing two types of testing to determine the effectiveness of certain chemicals in dispersing oil in sea water; However, more generally, the interagency committee took limited action to foster communication among member agencies between 1997 and 2009, when the chair proposed updating the 1997 plan, according to some member agency officials. Although the interagency committee's meetings have occurred once or twice annually for the past 2 years, they occurred irregularly before then. Additionally, member agencies were not consistently represented in the interagency committee. In October 2010, to better communicate with interagency committee member agencies, among others, the interagency committee launched a Web site, which provides transcripts from its past public meetings and biennial reports to Congress.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends, among other things, that the interagency committee coordinate efforts to evaluate the contributions of completed research and provide, in its 2012 biennial report to Congress, an update of its efforts to revise its research plan. The Department of Homeland Security concurred with our recommendations.