Long Island Sound Restoration: Improved Reporting and Cost Estimates Could Help Guide Future Efforts
Fast Facts
Long Island Sound, an estuary in one of the nation's most densely populated areas, provides many economic and recreational benefits. However, development and pollution have degraded water quality and led to hypoxia, low levels of dissolved oxygen that increase mortality of fish and other species.
A federal-state partnership funded restoration projects and created a plan and cost estimates to restore the Sound. However, current reports and estimates do not provide complete information about how progress will be measured or what restoration will cost.
We recommended steps to improve the partnership's progress reports and cost estimates.
Long Island Sound Stewardship Areas with Ecological and Recreational Values
This map of Long Island Sound shows 33 Stewardship Areas.
Highlights
What GAO Found
The Long Island Sound Study (the Study) is a federal-state partnership formed in 1985 to restore Long Island Sound. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and officials from Connecticut and New York provide oversight for the Study, which includes federal and state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other groups. GAO found the following:
Progress toward 1994 Plan. The Study established an initial plan for the Sound in 1994 and has collected data on certain indicators of the Sound's health and published progress reports on its website. However, the Study has not comprehensively assessed progress against the 1994 plan. In the absence of such an assessment, GAO interviewed Study members who generally agreed that moderate progress has been made in achieving goals for five of the six problem areas in the 1994 plan. Without a comprehensive assessment, it is not possible to determine the extent these views reflect actual progress.
Reporting Progress for the 2015 Plan. The Study's 2015 management plan identifies 20 long-term targets and associated numerical indicators that will be used to measure future progress. The Study has also updated the format for pages on its website to provide more consistent progress reports for these targets. However, the reports do not yet fully incorporate leading practices for performance reporting that GAO has previously identified. For example, they do not include evaluations of goals that are not met for 15 targets. By ensuring that leading practices are fully incorporated into the Study's performance reporting efforts, EPA can help the Study better assess and report on future progress.
Estimating Costs of Restoration. The Study has estimated that the future costs of restoration will be at least $18.9 billion through 2035. However, the current estimates are understated because they do not include the costs of all activities that will be needed to accomplish the 2015 plan, and they do not reflect the uncertainty associated with some of the costs. By capturing the full costs and uncertainties in cost estimates, the Study can provide decision makers critical information needed to allocate resources effectively.
A Salt Marsh in the Long Island Sound Watershed 
Why GAO Did This Study
Long Island Sound, an estuary bordered by Connecticut and New York, provides numerous economic and recreational benefits. However, development and pollution have resulted in environmental impacts, such as the degradation of water quality. EPA partnered with both states to create the Study to restore and protect the Sound. The Study developed a comprehensive conservation and management plan in 1994 and updated the plan in 2015.
GAO was asked to examine federal efforts to restore the Sound. This report examines, among other objectives, (1) what is known about the progress made toward achieving the 1994 plan, (2) how Study members plan to measure and report on progress toward achieving the 2015 plan, and (3) estimated costs of the restoration. GAO reviewed Study plans, reports, and data. GAO also interviewed 12 Study members—including federal and state agency officials—and representatives of 5 Study work groups about restoration efforts and progress made.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that EPA work with the Study to ensure that it fully incorporates leading practices into its performance reporting efforts and that its cost estimates include the full range of activities as well as those for which there is uncertainty. EPA agreed with GAO's recommendations and highlighted steps the agency will take to meet the recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Protection Agency | The Director, working with the Study, should ensure that as the Study finalizes its reporting format, it fully incorporates leading practices of performance reporting. (Recommendation 1) |
In June 2020, the Long Island Sound Study (Study) stated that it has incorporated two leading practices of performance reporting into the reporting format for its progress reports: evaluating performance compared to a plan and reviewing performance for a preceding period of time. Documentation of this can be found on the Long Island Sound Study website, where the progress of Ecosystem Targets is evaluated compared to a plan and for a preceding period of time, when data are available. As of October 2021, the Long Island Sound Study's online reporting and tracking system is also completed and, according to EPA officials, in full use by the Study. EPA officials said that data have been added to the online tracking and reporting system to show progress in carrying out the 2020-2024 implementation actions. The officials also said that data will be added to the tracking and reporting system about every 6 months to allow the Study to evaluate progress toward goal implementation. The online reporting and tracking system addresses the third and final leading practice of reporting recommended to the Study, which is to evaluate actions for unmet goals. By tracking the 2020-2024 implementation actions, the Study will be able to explain why goals are not being met and create plans and schedules to achieve the goals. The Study website is available at https://longislandsoundstudy.net/program-implementation-and-progress. With the progress reports and online tracking system in place, the Study has fully incorporated the three leading practices of performance reporting. We consider this recommendation closed.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | The Director, working with the Study, should develop cost estimates that include analyses of uncertainties for each of the targets in the 2015 plan. (Recommendation 2) |
In June 2020, the Study reported that it had hired a contractor to develop a report including the range of costs, including uncertainty bounds, needed to attain each of the targets in the 2015 plan. The contractor has completed its study. Cost estimates for each ecosystem target were developed by adding up the existing cost ranges for each of the implementation actions in the 2015 plan. The report is posted and accessible to the public on the Long Island Sound Study website (https://longislandsoundstudy.net/2019/11/addressing-gaos-recommendations-liss-performance-reporting-and-cost-estimating/). The report contains recommendations for the Study to continue estimating costs in future reports. According to EPA officials, as the Study updates the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) implementation actions for the period 2020-2024, the cost ranges for the implementation actions will be updated as well. This information will be contained in the CCMP supplemental documents. The Study will also update the Ecosystem Target cost estimates using the updated ranges. Officials said that the study is implementing most of the contractor report recommendations with modifications to best fit the needs of the program. We consider this recommendation closed.
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| Environmental Protection Agency | The Director, working with the Study, should estimate the range of potential costs for all implementation actions and include the estimates in future supplements to the 2015 plan. (Recommendation 3) |
In January 2021, the Long Island Sound Study (Study) completed the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan Update for 2020-2024 and posted it on the Study website. The website includes Technical Supporting Documents that indicate the range of cost estimates for each Implementation Action. See the 2020-2024 Update and associated Technical Supporting Documents: https://longislandsoundstudy.net/2021/01/ccmp-implementation-actions-supplemental-documents/. GAO considers this recommendation closed.
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