South Florida Ecosystem Restoration: An Overall Strategic Plan and a
Decision-Making Process Are Needed to Keep the Effort on Track
(Testimony, 04/22/99, GAO/T-RCED-99-157).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the South Florida
Ecosystem Restoration Initiative, focusing on: (1) how much and for what
purposes federal funding has been provided for the restoration of the
South Florida ecosystem; and (2) how well the restoration effort is
being coordinated and managed.

GAO noted that: (1) it estimated that over $1.2 billion in federal funds
was provided for this effort from fiscal year (FY) 1993 through FY 1999;
(2) over 75 percent of the federal expenditures from FY 1993 through FY
1998 have been made by agencies within the Department of the Interior
and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; (3) the federal funding provided
to date represents only a down payment; (4) while no official cost
projection for the total restoration effort has been made, a major
component, the implementation of the Central and Southern Florida
Project Comprehensive Review Study, is estimated to cost an additional
$7.8 billion, which will be shared equally by the federal and state
governments; (5) the Restudy is designed to substantially increase the
amount of water that is delivered to natural areas while enhancing
agricultural and urban water supplies; (6) according to the executive
director of the South Florida Ecosystem Task Force, at least $2 billion
beyond the $7.8 billion will be needed to complete the restoration
effort; (7) this money will be used to acquire additional lands,
construct other infrastructure projects, and eradicate exotic plant
species; (8) consequently, the restoration effort, which is expected to
take at least 20 years to complete, could cost at least $11 billion; (9)
the Task Force, a group that brings together representatives of federal,
state, and local agencies and affected tribes, is responsible for
coordinating the participating entities' implementation of the
initiative; (10) however, a strategic plan that clearly lays out how the
initiative will be accomplished and includes quantifiable goals and
performance measures has not yet been developed; (11) in addition, the
Task Force is a coordinating body, not a decisionmaking body, and thus
is limited in its ability to manage and make decisions for the overall
restoration effort; (12) as GAO's review indicates, even with the
coordination efforts of the Task Force, two ongoing infrastructure
projects that are integral to the restoration effort are taking longer
and costing more than planned, in part because the federal and state
agencies involved are unable to agree on components of these projects;
and (13) given the scope and complexity of the initiative and the
difficulties already being encountered, additional delays and cost
overruns are likely in the future, and the accomplishment of the
initiative's overall goals is at risk.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-RCED-99-157
     TITLE:  South Florida Ecosystem Restoration: An Overall Strategic
	     Plan and a Decision-Making Process Are Needed to
	     Keep the Effort on Track
      DATE:  04/22/99
   SUBJECT:  Financial management
	     Federal aid to states
	     Federal/state relations
	     Water resources conservation
	     Strategic planning
	     Cost overruns
	     Environmental policies
	     Performance measures
IDENTIFIER:  South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Initiative
	     Central and Southern Florida Project Comprehensive Review
	     Study
	     Everglades (FL)
	     Lake Okeechobee (FL)
	     Florida Bay (FL)

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Cover
================================================================ COVER

Before the Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies, Committee
on Appropriations, House of Representatives

For Release
on Delivery
Expected at
10 a.m.  EDT
Thursday
April 22, 1999

SOUTH FLORIDA ECOSYSTEM
RESTORATION - AN OVERALL STRATEGIC
PLAN AND A DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
ARE NEEDED TO KEEP THE EFFORT ON
TRACK

Statement of Victor S.  Rezendes, Director,
Energy, Resources, and Science Issues,
Resources, Community, and Economic
Development Division

GAO/T-RCED-99-157

GAO/RCED-99-157T

(141319)

Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

============================================================ Chapter 0

Mr.  Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

Restoring the South Florida ecosystem is one of this administration's
most significant environmental initiatives.  The South Florida
Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, first established in 1993 by
federal interagency agreement and later expanded to include state,
local, and tribal representatives by the Water Resources Development
Act of 1996, has responsibility for coordinating the participating
entities' implementation of this long-term, complex effort.  We are
here today to discuss our report,\1 which is being released today, on
(1) how much and for what purposes federal funding has been provided
for the restoration of the South Florida ecosystem and (2) how well
the restoration effort is being coordinated and managed.  This work
was requested by you and the Chairpersons of the Senate Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources; the Subcommittee on Interior and
Related Agencies, Senate Committee on Appropriations; and the
Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Emergency Management,
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. 

In summary, Mr.  Chairman, we estimate that over $1.2 billion in
federal funds was provided for this effort from fiscal year 1993
through fiscal year 1999.  Over 75 percent of the federal
expenditures from fiscal year 1993 through fiscal year 1998 have been
made by agencies within the Department of the Interior and the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers.  The federal funding provided to date
represents only a down payment.  While no official cost projection
for the total restoration effort has been made, a major component,
the implementation of the Central and Southern Florida Project
Comprehensive Review Study, commonly referred to as the Restudy, is
estimated to cost an additional $7.8 billion, which will be shared
equally by the federal and state governments.  The Restudy is
designed to substantially increase the amount of water that is
delivered to natural areas while enhancing agricultural and urban
water supplies.  According to the executive director of the Task
Force, at least $2 billion beyond the $7.8 billion will be needed to
complete the restoration effort.  This money will be used to acquire
additional lands, construct other infrastructure projects, and
eradicate exotic plant species.  Consequently, the restoration
effort, which is expected to take at least 20 years to complete,
could cost at least $11 billion. 

The South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, a group that
brings together representatives of federal, state, and local agencies
and affected tribes, is responsible for coordinating the
participating entities' implementation of the initiative.  However, a
strategic plan that clearly lays out how the initiative will be
accomplished and includes quantifiable goals and performance measures
has not yet been developed.  In addition, the Task Force is a
coordinating body, not a decision-making body, and thus is limited in
its ability to manage and make decisions for the overall restoration
effort.  As our review indicates, even with the coordination efforts
of the Task Force, two ongoing infrastructure projects that are
integral to the restoration effort are taking longer and costing more
than planned, in part because the federal and state agencies involved
are unable to agree on components of these projects.  Given the scope
and complexity of the initiative and the difficulties already being
encountered, additional delays and cost overruns are likely in the
future, and the accomplishment of the initiative's overall goals is
at risk. 

Our report recommends the development of (1) an overall strategic
plan for the restoration effort that will outline how the restoration
of the South Florida ecosystem will occur and will identify the
resources needed to achieve the restoration, assign accountability
for accomplishing actions, and link the strategic goals established
by the Task Force to outcome-oriented annual goals and (2) a
decision-making process for resolving conflicts. 

--------------------
\1 South Florida Ecosystem Restoration:  An Overall Strategic Plan
and a Decision-Making Process Are Needed to Keep the Effort on Track
(GAO/RCED-99-121, Apr.  22, 1999). 

   BACKGROUND
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:1

The South Florida ecosystem extends from the Chain of Lakes south of
Orlando to the reefs southwest of the Florida Keys.  This vast
region, which is home to more than 6 million Americans, a huge
tourism industry, and a large agricultural economy, also encompasses
one of the world's unique environmental resourcesï¿½the Everglades. 
For centuries, the Everglades provided habitat for many species of
wading birds and other native wildlife, which depended upon the water
flow that moved south from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay in a broad,
slow-moving sheet before human intervention.  However, the wetlands
of the Everglades were generally viewed as an unproductive swamp to
be drained for more productive uses.  In recent decades, engineering
projects, agricultural activities, and urbanization have diminished
the historic broad, slow flow of water and have reduced the
Everglades to about half its original size.  These changes have also
had a detrimental effect on the environment.  Wildlife populations
have declined significantly, and some scientists believe that the
reduced flow of freshwater into Florida Bay may be hastening its
environmental decline. 

To address the deterioration of the ecosystem, the administration, in
1993, made the restoration of the Everglades and the South Florida
ecosystem one of its highest environmental priorities.  The South
Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force was established by a federal
interagency agreement to promote and facilitate the development of
consistent policies, strategies, priorities, and plans for addressing
the environmental concerns of the South Florida ecosystem.  The Task
Force consisted of assistant secretaries from the departments of
Agriculture, the Army, Commerce, and the Interior; an assistant
attorney general from the Department of Justice; and an assistant
administrator from the Environmental Protection Agency.  The Water
Resources Development Act of 1996 formalized the Task Force and
expanded its membership to include state, local, and tribal
representatives.  To accomplish the restoration of the South Florida
ecosystem, the Task Force has established the following goals: 

  -- Get the water right--This means restoring more natural
     hydrologic functions while providing adequate water supplies and
     flood control. 

  -- Restore and enhance the natural systemï¿½Restoring lost and
     altered habitats will involve acquiring land and changing
     current land uses, as well as halting the spread of invasive,
     exotic species and recovering threatened and endangered species. 

  -- Transform the built environmentï¿½This will involve balancing
     human needs with those of the natural environment and will
     require the development of lifestyles and economies that do not
     have a negative impact on the natural environment and do not
     degrade the quality of life. 

Participants in the restoration effort include 13 federal agencies,\2
7 Florida agencies and commissions, 2 American Indian tribes, 16
counties, and scores of municipal governments.  Representatives from
the state's major industries, the commercial and private sectors, and
environmental and other special interest groups also participate in
the restoration effort. 

--------------------
\2 Ten of the 13 agencies are within 5 federal departments. 

   OVER A BILLION DOLLARS IN
   FEDERAL FUNDING HAS BEEN
   PROVIDED TO RESTORE THE SOUTH
   FLORIDA ECOSYSTEM
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:2

Federal funding for the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration
Initiative does not come from a single source.  In addition to funds
appropriated directly by the Congress for projects managed by the
U.S.  Army Corps of Engineers and for restoration activities
designated in the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act
(Farm Bill), the federal agencies participating in the initiative
determine their contributions and allocate funds from their own
appropriations.  Because the agencies account for these funds
independently, no complete and consolidated financial data on the
initiative are available. 

Nevertheless, on the basis of the financial data we obtained from
five primary agencies involved in the restoration effort, we estimate
that from fiscal year 1993 through fiscal year 1999, over $1.2
billion in appropriated funds has been provided to the South Florida
Ecosystem Restoration Initiative.\3 As figure 1 shows, funding for
the initiative has increased from about $85 million in 1993 to $238
million in 1999. 

   Figure 1:  Federal Dollars
   Appropriated for the
   Restoration of the South
   Florida Ecosystem, Fiscal Years
   1993-99

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  1996 appropriations include $200 million from the Farm Bill
for additional restoration activities. 

Through fiscal year 1998,\4 federal departments and agencies
obligated about $883 million for various restoration activities, of
which $684 million was spent by the agencies or distributed to the
state and other nonfederal entities for restoration activities in
South Florida.  The restoration activities can be grouped into six
major categories:  (1) land acquisition; (2) management of federally
owned facilities or natural resources, such as national parks,
wildlife refuges, and a national marine sanctuary, which may affect
or be affected by the restoration initiative; (3) science-related
activities, such as mercury contaminant studies; (4) infrastructure,
such as the construction of water control structures; (5) water
quality and habitat protection, such as the Corps' wetlands
permitting program; and (6) information management and assessment,
such as coastal mapping.  As figure 2 shows, the major activities
being conducted are in area/natural resources management (32
percent), land acquisition (31 percent), science (15 percent), and
infrastructure (11 percent).  Some of these categories, particularly
area/natural resources and science, include activities that may be
considered normal agency operations and would take place with or
without the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Initiative. 

   Figure 2:  Share of Federal
   Obligations, by Category,
   Fiscal Years 1993-98

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  Total obligations for fiscal years 1993-98 are $883 million. 
The individual dollar amounts noted above may not total because of
rounding. 

The federal funding provided to date represents only a down payment. 
While an official cost estimate for the total restoration effort has
not been made, the implementation of the Central and Southern Florida
Project Comprehensive Review Study, a major component of the
restoration initiative known as the Restudy, is estimated to cost
$7.8 billion.  These costs will be shared equally by the federal and
state governments.  The Restudy, which will propose modifications to
the existing Central and Southern Florida Project, is designed to
substantially increase the amount of water that is delivered to
natural areas while enhancing agriculture and urban water supplies. 
Additional efforts will be needed to complete the restoration
initiative.  According to the executive director of the Task Force,
at least $2 billion more will be needed to acquire additional lands,
construct other infrastructure projects, and eradicate exotic plant
species.  Consequently, the restoration effort, which is expected to
take at least 20 years to complete, could cost at least $11 billion. 

--------------------
\3 We asked each agency to provide data on the funds provided for the
initiative--appropriations from fiscal year 1993 through fiscal year
1999 and obligations and expenditures through fiscal year 1998 (the
latest year for which complete data are available). 

\4 Obligation data are available through fiscal year 1998 and should
be compared with appropriations through fiscal year 1998.  Through
fiscal year 1998, $966 million had been appropriated and $883 million
obligated. 

   AN OVERALL STRATEGIC PLAN AND A
   DECISION-MAKING PROCESS WILL
   HELP THE RESTORATION INITIATIVE
   STAY ON TRACK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3

Critical to guiding an endeavor as complex as the South Florida
Ecosystem Restoration Initiative is a strategic plan that outlines
how the restoration will occur, identifies the resources needed to
achieve it, assigns accountability for accomplishing actions, and
links the strategic goals of the initiative to outcome-oriented
annual goals.  Such a plan for the South Florida Ecosystem
Restoration initiative has not yet been developed.  In addition,
although the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force is
responsible for facilitating and coordinating the initiative, it is
not a decision-making body.  However, as our review of two integral
projects indicates, the coordination efforts of the Task Force and
the other groups are not always sufficient to prevent schedule delays
and cost overruns.  Unless these issues are resolved, there is little
assurance that the initiative will stay on track and be accomplished
in a timely and efficient manner. 

      SOUTH FLORIDA ECOSYSTEM
      RESTORATION INITIATIVE LACKS
      A STRATEGIC PLAN
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3.1

While the Task Force has published several documents and is in the
process of developing other strategies and plans to address specific
restoration issues, it has not yet developed an overall strategic
plan to guide the restoration effort.  The documents published by the
Task Force--An Integrated Plan for South Florida Ecosystem
Restoration and Sustainability:  Success in the Making, The Annual
Interagency Cross-Cut Budget, the Integrated Financial Plan, and
annual reports ï¿½ provide information on the restoration activities of
the participating agencies.  Although these documents contain some of
the components of a strategic plan, none, taken either separately or
together, contains all the components that we believe are needed to
successfully manage the initiative.  A strategic plan that contains
goals and a strategy for achieving the goals would provide focus and
direction to the restoration effort and provide a benchmark for
measuring performance.  In addition, having a strategic plan with
measurable goals and performance measures would also provide the
Congress, the state of Florida, and the other participants with a
sense of what can be achieved with the level of resources committed. 

As mentioned earlier, this initiative has many federal, state,
tribal, and local stakeholders.  Because of the large number of
stakeholders, we believe that it is even more important that specific
measurable goals and a strategy for achieving the goals be clearly
articulated in writing.  In addition, with the number of stakeholders
involved, turnover is inevitable.  For example, just recently there
have been key changes in the representatives from the South Florida
Water Management District and the chairman of the Governor's
Commission for a Sustainable South Florida has submitted his
resignation.  If an overall strategic plan were available, new or
replacement representatives could more quickly gain an understanding
of what is needed to complete the initiative successfully. 

      COORDINATION HAS NOT
      PREVENTED SCHEDULE DELAYS
      AND COST OVERRUNS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 0:3.2

Restoring an ecosystem as vast and complex as the South Florida
ecosystem will require extraordinary cooperation.  The South Florida
Ecosystem Restoration Task Force, established to coordinate the
development of consistent policies, strategies, plans, programs, and
priorities, is the first partnership of its kind and coordinates
restoration activities with federal, state, and local agencies,
affected tribes, and the general public.  However, the Task Force is
a coordinating body, not a decision-making body.  Our review
indicates that even with the coordination efforts of the Task Force
and the other groups, two ongoing infrastructure projects that are
integral to the restoration effort are taking longer and costing more
than planned, in part because the agencies involved have not been
able to agree on components of the projects.  Both the Modified Water
Deliveries project and the C-111 project, which are intended to
restore natural hydrologic conditions in Everglades National Park,
are more than 2 years behind schedule and together could cost about
$80 million more to complete than originally estimated. 

Federal and state officials told us that the agencies involved in the
restoration effort have multipurpose missions that differ and
sometimes conflict.  As a result, reaching consensus can be
difficult.  However, agency officials noted the Modified Water
Deliveries and C-111 projects are at critical junctures and if the
participating agencies cannot resolve their disagreements, the
success of these projects may be jeopardized.  Furthermore,
Florida-based agency officials commented that without some entity or
group with overall management responsibility and authority to resolve
such differences, problems such as the ones encountered in
implementing these two projects could continue to hinder the
initiative. 

Mr.  Chairman, restoring the South Florida ecosystem is a complex,
long-term effort involving federal, state, local, and tribal
entities, as well as public and private interests.  Given the scope
and complexity of the initiative and the difficulties already being
encountered, our report recommends that the Secretary of the
Interior, as Chairperson of the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration
Task Force, in conjunction with the other members of the Task Force

  -- develop an overall strategic plan that will (1) outline how the
     restoration effort will occur, (2) identify the resources needed
     to achieve the restoration, (3) assign accountability for
     accomplishing actions, and (4) link the strategic goals
     established by the Task Force to outcome-oriented annual goals
     and

  -- work with the organizations and entities participating in the
     restoration effort to develop and agree upon a decision-making
     process to resolve differences in order to accomplish the
     initiative in a timely and efficient manner. 

The Department of the Interior responded to our draft report on
behalf of the five federal agencies that we asked to comment.  In
responding, the agencies agreed with the importance of strategic
planning but believed that our report did not adequately acknowledge
the substantial planning efforts that have already taken place and
are ongoing.  The agencies also pointed out that the Task Force is in
the process of developing a plan much like the one called for in our
report.  Our report discusses and describes in some detail the
documents published by the Task Force that provide information on the
restoration effort, including the goals, activities, and
accomplishments of the agencies.  While we do not list all of the
various strategies and plans developed by the agencies involved in
the restoration effort, we do mention key planning efforts currently
under way.  However, as we mention in our report, an overall
strategic plan that integrates all of the various documents and
planning efforts of the Task Force has not yet been developed. 
Although a strategic plan is being developed, as the agencies
observe, it is not expected to be complete until 2001.  Furthermore,
on the basis of our conversations with the project leader responsible
for developing this plan, we do not believe that it will include all
of the components needed for an overall strategic plan such as we
called for in our report. 

The federal agencies also stated that our recommendation for the Task
Force to work with the organizations and entities involved in the
restoration effort to develop and agree upon a decision-making
process to resolve conflicts is unrealistic and of questionable
legality.  Because we recognized that the restoration effort involves
federal, state, tribal, and local governments and entities that have
various missions and authorities, our recommendation was that the
Task Force's members work with the organizations and entities
participating in the restoration effort to develop and agree upon a
decision-making process to resolve conflicts in order to accomplish
the initiative in a timely and efficient manner.  Our recommendation
does not envision the creation of another body to decide conflicts or
issues among the participants in the restoration of the South Florida
ecosystem.  Rather, what we have in mind is the establishment of a
process, such as is employed in mediation and conciliation, to
resolve conflicts and problems within the existing legal authorities
and structures.  As stated in the report, without some means to
resolve these disagreements in a timely manner, problems such as
those encountered in implementing the two projects discussed in our
report could continue to hinder the initiative.  In addition, the
South Florida Water Management District, a key player and member of
the Task Force, stated that the development and implementation of a
conflict resolution process is very workable and would benefit the
restoration effort. 

We also identified other issues in areas such as land acquisition,
water quality, and science that may impede the progress of the
restoration effort in the future.  At this time, we have not reviewed
these issues and do not know if there is any validity to the concerns
raised. 

This concludes our statement.  We will be happy to respond to any
questions from you or other Members of the Subcommittee. 

*** End of document. ***