Army Corps of Engineers: Better Data and Planning Needed to Combat Aquatic Invasive Species

What GAO Found

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sponsors watercraft inspection and decontamination stations through a 50-50 cost share agreement with states participating in its Watercraft Inspection and Decontamination Program. The Corps itself does not build, operate, or oversee these stations, many of which were built before the program was authorized in 2014, according to some state officials. State entities principally perform these functions.

Corps program officials told GAO that watercraft inspection and decontamination stations have been effective in helping prevent the introduction of quagga and zebra mussels into the Columbia River Basin. While these stations may have had some effect on reducing the mussels' spread, the extent of their effectiveness is unclear largely because of unreliable data. For example, the Corps does not have readily available data on the exact locations of these stations, nor does it systematically collect inspection-related data such as the number of interceptions of watercrafts infested with quagga or zebra mussels. Without a system to collect timely, accurate, and consistent data, the Corps is limited in its ability to assess the effectiveness of its program.

GAO found that the Corps faces several major challenges in its program, including inadequate strategic planning. For example, the Corps does not have a strategic approach for managing the program or for expanding it across all river basins and waterways it is to protect under the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (WRRDA), as amended. Specifically, the Corps has not defined goals for all activities, identified long-term outcomes and near-term measurable results, and aligned goals across organizational levels. A more strategic approach in program planning would improve the Corps' ability to successfully expand the program.

Why GAO Did This Study

Quagga and zebra mussels have spread rapidly across the country since they were first discovered in the late 1980s and, according to Corps officials, have spread to every major river basin in the U.S. except the Columbia River Basin in the northwest. The mussels typically are spread by recreational watercraft such as boats, canoes, and Jet Skis that have been in infested waters. Once established in a water body, the mussel species are extremely difficult to eradicate because they have no natural predators in the U.S. and rapidly reproduce.

GAO was asked to examine efforts the Corps has undertaken to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species into the Columbia River Basin by recreational watercrafts. This report provides information on the Corps' Watercraft Inspection and Decontamination Program and its role in helping to prevent the introduction or spread of quagga and zebra mussels—the aquatic invasive species of greatest concern to the Corps—as well as program challenges and opportunities for improvement.