Coast Guard Has a Sound Process for Analyzing the Need for Boat Stations and the Results Identified Overlap and Unnecessary Duplication

The Coast Guard has a sound process for analyzing the need for boat  stations that is consistent with GAO’s Program Evaluation guidance,  which calls for choosing well-regarded criteria against which to make  comparisons in order to achieve strong, defensible conclusions. By applying these  criteria, the Coast Guard’s process identified overlapping search and  rescue coverage where three or more stations can respond to a single  SAR case within 2 hours, and unnecessary duplication where stations  could be closed without negatively impacting the Coast Guard’s ability to  meet mission requirements, such as its 2-hour SAR response standard. Coast Guard Used Its Station Optimization Process to Analyze Boat Stations and Identified Overlap and Unnecessary Duplication

In April 2013, the Coast Guard initiated its 9-step Station Optimization  Process to analyze its boat stations, and the results identified 18 stations  that could be closed because they provide overlapping and unnecessarily  duplicative SAR coverage. The Coast Guard considers some overlap or redundancy to be  necessary, to account for such things as operational challenges, boat  maintenance downtime, personnel training requirements, and the need  for surge capacity to respond to certain incidents. Further, as described in table 1, the process began with consideration of  all boat stations in the contiguous United States, included steps to ensure  that data were reliable and appropriate, clearly identified limitations of the  analysis, and conducted simulations to assess how well the Coast Guard  would be prepared to carry out its responsibilities under different closure  alternatives, such as whether a station closure reduces or changes the  Coast Guard’s ability to meet its response standard—all actions included  in our Program Evaluation guidance. Instead, the recommendations showed an effort to improve  operational efficiency and conserve Coast Guard resources. In 2017, the Coast Guard affirmed that its leadership believed that the  results of the 2013 study remained valid as station workloads have  remained relatively consistent. The Coast Guard held these meetings to explain why it was  necessary to optimize station locations and reallocate personnel from  closed stations to their adjacent stations; address overlapping SAR  coverage; and seasonally close unnecessarily duplicative stations. Officials stated that  the Coast Guard has not implemented the results of its sound process  because past station closure efforts have been met with resistance from  affected communities. By executing decisions to close stations based on the results  of its analyses and developing a plan with milestones to execute actions it  has identified to address unnecessary duplication, the Coast Guard will  be better positioned to follow through with both permanent and seasonal  closures of unnecessary stations, can improve its operational and training  proficiency by consolidating the remaining stations’ workloads to allow for  sufficient training, and may realize cost savings. DHS concurred with our second recommendation that the Coast Guard  establish a plan with target dates and milestones for closing boat stations  that it has determined provide overlapping search and rescue coverage  and are unnecessarily duplicative. To determine the extent to which the Coast Guard has taken actions to  implement the results of its analyses of its need for boat and air stations,  we analyzed Coast Guard documents and reports to identify proposals  put forth by the Coast Guard for permanently or seasonally closing  stations it has identified as overlapping and unnecessary.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Coast Guard, within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is charged with preventing loss of life, injury, and property damage in the maritime environment through its SAR mission. It maintains over 200 stations with various assets, such as boats and helicopters (depending on the station), along U.S. coasts and inland waterways to carry out this mission, as well as its other missions such as maritime security. Resource limitations and changes to operations require the Coast Guard to periodically reexamine the need for these stations. GAO was asked to review these efforts.
This report addresses, among other objectives, the extent to which the Coast Guard has (1) a sound process for analyzing the need for its boat stations and (2) taken actions to implement its boat station process results. GAO reviewed Coast Guard laws, standards, and guidance; analyzed Coast Guard data on station locations and SAR coverage; and analyzed the process and criteria used to evaluate its station needs and compared it with established evaluation design practices and internal control standards. GAO also interviewed Coast Guard officials.

What GAO Found

GAO found that the U.S. Coast Guard has a sound process for analyzing its boat stations that includes clear and specific steps for analyzing the need for stations using terms that can be readily defined and measured. In 2013, following this process, the Coast Guard and its contractor identified 18 unnecessarily duplicative boat stations with overlapping coverage that could be permanently closed without negatively affecting the Coast Guard's ability to meet its 2-hour search and rescue (SAR) response standard and other mission requirements. The process was designed to ensure the Coast Guard met or exceeded requirements to maintain SAR coverage and to account for such factors as boat downtime and surge capacity to respond to certain incidents. Further, the boat station analysis did not consider potential SAR responses by the Coast Guard's air stations and facilities, which can provide additional overlapping coverage. Coast Guard officials said that the closures would, among other things, help improve operations by consolidating boat station caseloads to help ensure personnel were active enough to maintain training requirements.
In 2017, the Coast Guard affirmed that its leadership believes the 2013 study remains valid, but so far the agency has not taken actions to implement the closures identified by its sound process. Instead, the Coast Guard is recommending conversion of some year-round stations to seasonal stations that would operate during the summer. Coast Guard officials stated that seasonal closures are preferable to no action, given its limited resources, the significant overlapping SAR coverage, and potential to improve operations. However, permanently closing unnecessarily duplicative stations may better position the Coast Guard to improve its operations. It could also achieve up to $290 million in cost savings over 20 years, if stations were permanently closed.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making three recommendations, including one recommendation that the Coast Guard close unnecessarily duplicative stations that its analysis identified. DHS concurred with the recommendations and stated it plans to act to eliminate unnecessary duplication.