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Open Recommendations (18 total)

Emergency Alerts: NOAA Should Take Additional Actions to Help Ensure Tsunami Alerts Reach Those at Risk

GAO-23-105961
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The NOAA Administrator should assess the extent to which NOAA Weather Radio coverage extends to populated areas at risk of tsunamis, and publicly communicate the results of the assessment. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Emergency Alerts: NOAA Should Take Additional Actions to Help Ensure Tsunami Alerts Reach Those at Risk

GAO-23-105961
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The NOAA Administrator, in collaboration with FCC and FEMA, should clarify and document the agencies' responsibilities and a decision-making process for determining how to use IPAWS to deliver tsunami alerts to EAS. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

NOAA Acquisitions: Fully Aligning Procedures with Best Practices Could Improve the Reliability of Cost Estimates

GAO-23-105808
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Administrator of NOAA should establish agency-wide policy and guidance that is aligned with best practices in GAO's Cost Guide. (Recommendation 1
Open
The Department of Commerce's action plan dated October 10, 2023, states that NOAA agrees with this recommendation and will take the following actions for implementation. The plan aims to have a NOAA-wide Working Group, led by the Office of the Financial Officer and the Acquisitions and Grants Office, oversee the development and implementation of internal cost-estimate guidance in NOAA offices using a risk-based approach that incorporates GAO's 12-step procedures for specific programs. NOAA expects to complete the guidance by September 30, 2024.

NOAA Acquisitions: Fully Aligning Procedures with Best Practices Could Improve the Reliability of Cost Estimates

GAO-23-105808
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Administrator of NOAA should require each office within NOAA to have documented cost estimating procedures that are fully aligned with the best practices established in its agency-wide policy and guidance. (Recommendation 2)
Open
The Department of Commerce's action plan dated October 10, 2023, states that NOAA agrees with this recommendation and will take the following actions for implementation. Taking a risk-based approach, NOAA will require that its offices utilize Commerce's newly developed cost- estimate guidance and GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment guide. This effort will be led by NOAA's Office of the Chief Financial Officer and aims to develop and implement NOAA procedures that strengthen Commerce's released cost-estimate procedures. NOAA expects to complete and implement its plan by September 30, 2024.

Water Quality: Agencies Should Take More Actions to Manage Risks from Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia

GAO-22-104449
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Administrator of NOAA and the Administrator of EPA, in collaboration with the members of the working group, should coordinate the development of a more comprehensive body of information on the costs and benefits of mitigation, control, and prevention actions for use by state, local, and tribal governments. (Recommendation 6)
Open
NOAA and EPA agreed with this recommendation. In late 2022, the agencies stated that they will work together and in collaboration with the working group members to identify the resources and information needed to determine the costs and benefits of mitigation, control, and prevention actions. They also stated that they will build on efforts to engage state, local, and tribal governments in workshops, webinars, trainings, and other venues and to provide expertise, support, and assistance, including funding to assist with mitigation, control, and prevention activities.

Water Quality: Agencies Should Take More Actions to Manage Risks from Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia

GAO-22-104449
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3 Open Recommendations
2 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Administrator of NOAA and the Administrator of EPA, in collaboration with the members of the working group, should develop performance measures to assess the working group's efforts, including the extent to which the recommended goals from the Research Plan and Action Strategy have been achieved. (Recommendation 2)
Open
NOAA and EPA agreed with this recommendation and in late 2022 stated that they will work together, in collaboration with the working group members, to develop formal performance measures. They anticipate the measures will be complete by December 2024. We will continue to follow up on the agencies' efforts.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Priority Rec.
The Administrator of NOAA and the Administrator of EPA, in collaboration with the members of the working group, should develop a national goal for the group focused on efforts to prevent HABs and hypoxia. (Recommendation 5)
Open
NOAA and EPA agreed with this recommendation. In February and March 2023, the two agencies stated that they will work together, in collaboration with the working group members, to develop a national goal focused on prevention, building on the information provided in the 2016 and 2017 Research Plans and Action Strategies for the U.S. and Great Lakes. The agencies stated that this work will be completed by December 2023. We will continue to follow up on the work as it is completed.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Priority Rec.
The Administrator of NOAA and the Administrator of EPA, in collaboration with the members of the working group, should document and define what a national HAB and hypoxia program would entail, including identifying the program's resource needs. (Recommendation 1)
Open
In February and March 2023, NOAA and EPA stated that they will work together and with the other agencies in the working group, to define a national program, identifying goals, objectives, milestones, and resource needs. The agencies also stated that their efforts will build on the information in a coordinated planning document the working group has already prepared. Both agencies said the efforts would be completed in late 2024. We will continue to follow up on the agencies' efforts and progress.

Alaska Native Issues: Federal Agencies Could Enhance Support for Native Village Efforts to Address Environmental Threats

GAO-22-104241
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The Administrator of NOAA should review NOAA's programs identified in this report and, where the agency determines it feasible and appropriate, implement relevant changes to address program characteristics that are not established in statute that pose obstacles to Alaska Native villages' obtaining assistance, including characteristics we identified and others that NOAA may identify. NOAA should also document its review, any related consultation with tribes, and any changes made to its programs. (Recommendation 7)
Open
In December 2022, NOAA described actions the agency has taken to assess the characteristics that pose obstacles for Alaska Native villages for the National Coastal Resilience Fund. Specifically, NOAA has reviewed the relevant legislative authority and updated its program guidance to clarify that a nonfederal cost share is not required for program applicants. NOAA estimated that it would complete the remaining actions to fulfill this recommendation by October 2023. We will continue to monitor NOAA's actions in response to this recommendation and evaluate them when complete.

Sexual Assault and Harassment: NOAA Has Made Substantial Progress in Prevention and Response but Could Further Improve Its Processes

GAO-21-560
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The administrator of NOAA should ensure that future updates to the agency's sexual harassment and sexual assault prevention and response policy are consistent with all relevant legal requirements in the 2017 NDAA. (Recommendation 1)
Open
As of February 2022, , the agency stated that it is actively collaborating with stakeholders to modify its Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment (SASH) policy to incorporate all relevant legal requirements, including implementing a process that will ensure future updates are consistent with legal requirements. NOAA anticipates the updated policy will be finalized in the first half of 2022.
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