Environmental Protection: Information on Federal Agencies' Expenditures and Coordination Related to Harmful Algae
Published: 2016-10-14T00:00:00

Fast Facts:
Harmful overgrowths of algae—called algal blooms—are a problem in all 50 states. These blooms can hurt aquatic plants and animals by producing toxins, consuming oxygen, and limiting light penetration in the water. People who eat affected seafood, drink the contaminated water, or breathe airborne droplets can get sick or even die. These blooms can also hurt the seafood industry, recreation, and tourism.
Twelve federal agencies reported spending roughly $101 million on research, monitoring, and other activities to address harmful algal blooms in fiscal years 2013-2015. Agencies coordinate in a variety of ways to share information and expertise.

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Harmful algal blooms are an environmental problem in all 50 states, according to EPA. While algae are essential to the ecosystem, providing food for all types of animals, these blooms can produce toxins that hurt the environment and local economies. Specifically, they can cause human illness or death from the consumption of seafood or water contaminated by toxic algae; harm aquatic and other animal species through neurological or liver damage or severe oxygen depletion; and hurt the seafood industry, recreation, and tourism. Harmful algal blooms occur naturally, but their prevalence, frequency, and severity are increasing—and this increase is influenced by climate, pollution, and human activities such as agriculture and wastewater, according to an interagency working group report.
The Drinking Water Protection Act included a provision for GAO to review federally funded activities related to harmful algal blooms. This report examines (1) how much federal agencies expended on these activities from fiscal years 2013 through 2015 and (2) how federal agencies coordinate their activities with each other and with nonfederal stakeholders. GAO collected information from federal agencies by using a questionnaire and interviewing agency officials.
GAO provided a draft of this report to the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services, and the Interior; EPA; NASA; and the Executive Office of the President for comment. Most of the agencies provided technical comments, which were incorporated as appropriate.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Twelve federal agencies reported expending an estimated total of roughly $101 million from fiscal years 2013 through 2015 to fund various research, monitoring, and other activities related to harmful algae—overgrowths of algae that can create toxic “blooms” in marine or freshwater environments. The agencies provided a mix of actual and estimated expenditure data and used different methods for collecting the data, making comparisons among agencies, and a federal total, inexact. Based on the data, the 5 agencies with the largest expenditures related to harmful algal blooms for this period—totaling roughly $86 million—were the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, $39.4 million; National Science Foundation (NSF), $15.4 million; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), $14.5 million; U.S. Geological Survey, $9 million; and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), $8 million. According to agency officials, these 5 agencies funded efforts to research and analyze harmful algal blooms; forecast, monitor, and respond to their occurrence; and investigate human and ecological health effects. In addition, other agencies expended millions of dollars funding activities to address harmful algae. For example, from fiscal years 2013 through 2015, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported expending nearly $2 million on research to improve the detection of algal blooms using satellite imagery.
Federal officials reported that their agencies coordinate in a variety of ways with each other and with nonfederal stakeholders to share information, expertise, and opportunities for collaboration on activities to address harmful algae. For example, since 2014, an interagency working group has been the primary, government-wide mechanism through which federal agencies coordinate such activities, develop plans for future work, and identify any gaps in federal activities and capabilities. In addition, federal officials reported that agencies participate in numerous groups, task forces, and other coordination efforts led by federal agencies, states, international organizations, or academics. Furthermore, federal officials reported a number of interagency partnerships directly related to their harmful algae work, such as NIEHS' and NSF's collaboration since 2005 to jointly fund research projects.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: Harmful algal blooms (HAB)—overgrowths of algae in marine or  freshwater environments, like the one that began in May 2016 in Lake  Okeechobee, Florida’s largest lake—are an environmental problem in all  50 states, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  While algae are essential to the ecosystem, providing food for all types of  animals, HABs can produce toxins, and even non-toxic blooms can hurt  the environment and local economies. Specifically, HABs can cause  human illness or death from consumption of seafood or water  contaminated by toxic algae; harm aquatic and other animal species  through neurological or liver damage or severe oxygen depletion  (hypoxia); and hurt the seafood industry, recreation, and tourism. While  HABs and hypoxia can occur naturally, their prevalence, frequency, and  severity are increasing—and this increase is influenced by climate,  pollution, and human activities such as agriculture and wastewater, which  can produce runoff laden with excess nutrients, according to a report by  HAB outbreaks in the United States with significant environmental and  economic effects include blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) in the Great  Lakes, “red tide” on the Gulf of Mexico coast, and “brown tide” in the mid- Atlantic states. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric  Administration (NOAA) and EPA websites, marine and freshwater HABs  cause millions of dollars per year in economic losses in the United States.  HABs reduce tourism, close beaches, and decrease the catch from both  recreational and commercial fisheries, among other impacts. In the  summer of 2015, NOAA pronounced a bloom from central California to  Alaska to be the largest and most severe marine HAB recorded along the  West Coast in at least 15 years. This HAB event resulted in massive  economic losses because of closures of recreational and commercial  shellfish harvesting areas in three states. For instance, shellfish  managers shortened or closed the razor-clam season in parts of  California, Oregon, and Washington, and closed the southern Washington  coast to Dungeness crab fishing—the largest-ever shutdown of that  state’s multi-million-dollar industry. In addition, elevated levels of a  potent neurotoxin, domoic acid, caused by this HAB event were the  highest ever reported for anchovies, mussels, and crabs, exceeding  regulatory limits by 10 times or more.
In 2011, a then-record bloom of toxin-producing Microcystis in Lake  Erie—a source of tourism and recreation for Ohio and Michigan, and  Toledo’s primary drinking water supply—caused an estimated economic  impact of roughly $71 million in lost property values, tourism, recreation,  and water treatment. Three years later, another Microcystis bloom in  Lake Erie disrupted the municipal water system, causing about 500,000  Toledo residents to be advised not to drink their tap water for 4 days and  incurring an estimated $65 million in economic losses.
The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act  (HABHRCA) is the key law regarding federal HAB activities. HABHRCA  designates roles and responsibilities for federal agencies to maintain and  enhance marine and freshwater HAB programs, conduct research,  develop and submit to Congress various reports, and carry out  coordination and other functions through an interagency working group.  The IWG-HABHRCA, established in October 2014 to carry out several  activities under the law, consists of the following 14 federal agencies:
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and  Agriculture (NIFA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service  (NRCS);
Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management  (BOEM), National Park Service (NPS), and U.S. Geological Survey  (USGS);
Department of Defense’s Department of the Navy (Navy) and U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE);
Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease  Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA),  and National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental  Health Sciences (NIEHS);
National Science Foundation (NSF); and
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
NOAA and EPA are designated by HABHRCA as having primary  responsibility for administering a national HAB and hypoxia program for  marine and freshwater bodies, respectively. Because federal agencies  do not generally receive appropriations dedicated specifically for HAB- related activities, the extent and nature of their HAB-related expenditures  are not readily available to Congress or the general public.
The Drinking Water Protection Act includes a provision for us to review  federally funded HAB-related activities and to report within 90 days. We  provided you with preliminary information on November 6, 2015. This  report provides additional information on (1) how much federal agencies  expended on activities related to marine and freshwater HABs, and the  types of activities funded, from fiscal years 2013 through 2015; and (2)  how federal agencies coordinate their HAB-related activities with each  other and with nonfederal stakeholders.
For both objectives, we reviewed HAB-related laws; federal agencies’  reports on HABs; our prior work on ocean acidification, the Great Lakes,  water quality, climate change, and interagency collaboration (a list of  related products is included at the end of this report); and other relevant  documents. To identify how much federal agencies expended on activities  related to marine and freshwater HABs for fiscal years 2013 through  2015, we conducted interviews and collected information from agency  officials; and we identified 17 agencies that have conducted research,  monitoring, response, or other HAB-related activities for this period.  These agencies include the 14 participating in the interagency working  group, plus 3 additional agencies: the Department of the Interior’s Fish  and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Executive Office of the President’s  Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and Office of Science and  Technology Policy (OSTP).
To identify the types of activities the agencies funded in relation to marine  and freshwater HABs, we conducted interviews with and requested data  from the 17 relevant agencies on their HAB-related expenditures in fiscal  years 2013, 2014, and 2015. To gather expenditure data, we developed  and distributed a questionnaire that asked the 17 agencies to identify their  HAB-related research, monitoring, or other activities at the program and  project levels. To assess the accuracy and completeness of the  expenditure data and to learn of any data limitations, we conducted a  data reliability assessment through written questions and follow-up  interviews, as necessary, with agency officials. Our questions asked for  officials to specify if the associated activities were single-purpose in  addressing HABs only, or if they addressed multiple purposes including  HABs. Of the 17 agencies we contacted, 12 provided HAB-related  expenditure data for fiscal years 2013 through 2015, which we  determined were sufficiently reliable for the purpose of producing a rough  estimate of federal HAB-related expenditures and are presented in this  report.
Even with the efforts we made to ensure the reliability of the data, each of  the agencies had its own methods for collecting HAB-related expenditure  data. For example, some agencies collected data from their databases  using key word searches, while other agencies relied on subject matter  experts to identify HAB-related activities and submit expenditure data.  Some agencies provided actual expenditure data, whereas other  agencies provided estimated expenditure data or obligated funding data.  In addition, we asked agencies to identify whether their HAB-related  activities were (1) single-purpose in addressing HABs only, (2) multi- purpose including HABs, or (3) a mixture of both. The lack of a  standardized approach to collecting HAB-related expenditures across the  agencies means that any comparisons among agencies and any  estimated federal total are inexact. In addition, our questionnaire asked  the agencies for information on (1) their key activities regarding HABs; (2)  the purposes of these activities; (3) the specific statutory provisions  authorizing these activities; and (4) the funding mechanisms used, such  as grants or contracts.
To determine how federal agencies coordinate their HAB-related activities  with each other and with nonfederal stakeholders, we collected and  analyzed information from the agencies through interviews and our  questionnaire on (1) their participation with each other and nonfederal  stakeholders in interagency working groups or other mechanisms to  share information and coordinate on HABs research, monitoring, or other  activities; (2) efforts taken by federal agencies to minimize duplication;  and (3) gaps, if any, in federal HAB-related activities. Among other things,  we also reviewed the official notes from a nongeneralizable sample of 21  IWG-HABHRCA twice-monthly meetings, starting from the group’s  creation in October 2014 through July 2016. In addition, through our  correspondence with federal agencies and our own web searches, we  identified agencies’ publicly accessible websites describing HABs and  HAB-related activities. See appendix I for more information on our scope  and methodology.
We conducted this performance audit from September 2015 to October  2016 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to  obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for  our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe  that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings  and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: Algae are natural components of marine and freshwater flora, performing  many roles that are vital for the health of ecosystems. Most algae are not  harmful, and the proliferation of algae generally provides the energy  source to fuel food webs. However, when certain conditions are  favorable, algae can rapidly multiply, causing “blooms” and increasing the  risk of toxin contamination of water. When algae bloom in significant  numbers and produce toxic or harmful effects, such events are termed  HABs. The risk is especially great for blooms caused by some species of  cyanobacteria, historically known as blue-green algae, which typically  occur in freshwater but may also appear in marine environments.  Cyanobacterial HABs are of special concern because of their potential  impacts on drinking and recreational waters. Toxins produced by  cyanobacteria (cyanotoxins) can cause allergic and respiratory issues,  attack the liver and kidneys, or affect the nervous system in mammals,  including humans. Cyanobacterial HABs can also cause detrimental  effects on aquatic ecosystems. High biomass blooms, whether of toxic or  nontoxic species, can accumulate as thick scums and mats, which  decompose, causing excessive oxygen consumption—which, in turn,  leads to an increased mortality rate in local fish, shellfish, invertebrate,  and plant populations because of hypoxia. Cyanobacterial HABs may  also adversely affect some types of flora and fauna because they cause  decreased light penetration. Figure 1 shows a satellite image of the then- record-setting cyanobacterial HAB in Lake Erie in September 2011 (an  even larger Lake Erie HAB set a new algal biomass record in 2015),  overlaid on a map of the lake’s tributaries. This image shows the algal  bloom (in green) covering the entire western basin and beginning to  expand into the central basin of Lake Erie, where it continued to grow  until October 2011.
subsections: section_title: Marine HABs and Health Impacts
paragraphs: Coastal waters of the United States are subject to most of the major HAB  impacts and poisoning syndromes. Marine HAB impacts on animals and  plant life include fish kills, shellfish mortalities, widespread marine  mammal mortalities, and loss of submerged vegetation. Specifically,  some types of harmful algae produce potent toxins that cause illness or  death in humans and marine organisms—fish, seabirds, manatees, sea  lions, turtles, and dolphins are some commonly affected animals. Other  types of harmful algae are nontoxic to humans but cause harm to fish and  invertebrates by damaging or clogging their gills or by forming such large  blooms that the death, and subsequent decay, of the algae lead to  hypoxia in the bottom waters of marine environments, forcing animals to  either leave the area or die. Birds can also get sick by eating algae,  drinking contaminated water, or eating contaminated fish or shellfish.
Exposure to marine HAB toxins can occur through direct contact by  swimming (dermal exposure); breathing in aerosolized toxins (toxins in  water turned into tiny airborne droplets or mist); or eating toxin- contaminated seafood, including shellfish and finfish. Impacts on human  health through contaminated seafood include amnesic shellfish poisoning,  ciguatera fish poisoning, diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish  poisoning, and paralytic shellfish poisoning—illnesses that have been  reported in the United States. Two major groups of marine algae— diatoms and dinoflagellates—produce HAB toxins that cause these  syndromes. According to NOAA’s website, the toxins that cause these  syndromes have been found in U.S. marine waters, and these syndromes  have adverse human health impacts, as follows:
Amnesic shellfish poisoning, which is caused by several species of  Pseudo-nitzschia that produce the toxin domoic acid, produces  gastrointestinal and neurological effects. Mild cases arise within 24  hours of consumption of contaminated shellfish. Symptoms include  nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. In more severe  cases, neurological symptoms occur, which include headaches,  hallucinations, confusion, short-term memory loss, respiratory  difficulty, seizures, coma, and, in extreme cases, death. These toxic  species have been found on the Pacific Northwest coast from Canada  to mid-California and the Atlantic northeast coast of Canada, as well  as the Gulf of Mexico.
Ciguatera fish poisoning is the most common seafood-toxin illness  reported in the world, and certain algal species have caused this  syndrome in many tropical and subtropical regions with coral reefs in  the United States, including Caribbean and Pacific Islands, Florida,  and the Gulf of Mexico. Ciguatoxins are transferred through the food  chain from small toxic algae to large fish, such as grouper, and  produce gastrointestinal, neurological, and cardiovascular symptoms  that usually begin developing within 12 to 24 hours of eating  contaminated fish. Gastrointestinal symptoms include diarrhea,  abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting occur, and neurological  symptoms include numbness and tingling of hands and feet,  dizziness, altered hot/cold perception, muscle aches, and low heart  rates and blood pressure. In extreme cases, death occurs through  respiratory failure.
Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning is a gastrointestinal illness that has  been reported worldwide. Symptoms usually occur within 30 minutes  to a few hours after consumption of contaminated shellfish. Symptoms  include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. A full  recovery is expected within 3 days, regardless of medical treatment,  but long-term exposure may promote tumor growth in the digestive  system. Various species of Dinophysis and their related toxins, which  cause this syndrome, have been found along the Texas Gulf coast  and the Chesapeake Bay.
Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning produces gastrointestinal and  neurological symptoms within 3 to 6 hours of ingestion of  contaminated shellfish. Milder cases may include symptoms of  headaches, diarrhea, and muscle/joint pain and commonly occur  when beachgoers are exposed to toxic aerosols produced by wave  action. Symptoms include irritation of the throat and upper respiratory  tract, causing asthma-like effects. More severe effects are altered  perceptions of hot and cold, difficulty breathing, or double vision.  Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning is caused by Karenia brevis, a toxic  dinoflagellate found in the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of  Florida. Karenia brevis “red tides” are typically characterized by  patches of discolored water, dead or dying fish, and toxic aerosols.
Paralytic shellfish poisoning symptoms include tingling sensations  or numbness, headaches, fever, rash, dizziness, and gastrointestinal  illness. In severe cases, symptoms include muscular paralysis,  respiratory difficulty, and choking sensation. Despite the severity of  this toxin, victims generally begin to recover within 12 to 24 hours of  intoxication. In some severe cases, victims may die from paralysis  and respiratory failure. A number of species of the dinoflagellate  Alexandrium, which produce a group of toxins (called saxitoxins)  responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning, have been observed  along the northeast and west coasts of North America, including  Alaska. Another species associated with this syndrome, Pyrodinium  bahamense, has also been found in Florida. The United States has  reported persistent problems with cases of this syndrome since the  mid-1960s.
Each of these syndromes is caused by different species of toxic algae  that occur in various coastal waters of the United States and the world.  According to the U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms’ website,  there are virtually no human populations that are free of risk, in part  because of an increase in interstate and international transport of  seafood. CDC officials stated that records of these syndromes are  incomplete because their diagnosis is difficult, physicians might not  always report cases to their health departments, and reporting to CDC is  voluntary; however, CDC estimates that 15,910 cases of ciguatera fish  poisoning occur in the United States annually. According to NOAA  officials, the recent emergence of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning in U.S.  waters, the massive domoic acid-producing bloom on the West Coast in  2015, and the rapid expansion of cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater  indicate that HABs are an increasing threat in the United States.  However, FDA officials stated that controls are in place to prevent  contaminated seafood from entering interstate commerce.
Beyond human health threats, NOAA officials noted, marine HABs can  have other deleterious impacts. For example, massive fish kills drive  away tourists, require costly beach cleanup, and impact fisheries  management. Some HABs kill or weaken young stages of shellfish,  damaging shellfish aquaculture and impairing shellfish restoration.  Furthermore, NOAA officials stated, water discoloration and accumulation  of algae on beaches affects tourism and property values. Many of these  effects can have serious economic impacts on communities in coastal  areas that depend on marine resources for their livelihoods.
section_title: HAB Occurrences in the United States
paragraphs: HABs have occurred in all 50 states in the past decade in marine waters,  freshwaters, or both. According to the U.S. National Office for Harmful  Algal Blooms’ website, all 50 states have been affected by cyanobacterial  HABs, typically in many different lakes, rivers, streams, reservoirs, and  other freshwater sources. In addition, 23 states have been affected by  “golden algae” blooms caused by Prymnesium parvum. Furthermore, the  dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum blooms along the mid-Atlantic coast;  and brown tides caused by the rapid population growth of a minute alga,  Aureococcus anophagefferens, have decimated multiple fisheries and  seagrass beds in mid-Atlantic estuaries for three decades. A  generalized map appears in figure 2, depicting marine and freshwater  HAB occurrences—as well as locations where HAB poisoning syndromes  affecting human health have been reported, or where the associated  toxins have been detected in fish and shellfish tissue extracts or marine  algae samples—in the United States from 2006 through 2015.
section_title: HAB Causes and Human Influence
paragraphs: HABs were recorded as early as the 16th century, according to NOAA’s  website, but human activities seem to play a role in the increased  occurrence of some blooms. In general, HAB growth is enhanced when  environmental conditions are optimal for a given species. These  conditions may include natural phenomena, such as unusually high water  temperatures; extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, floods, or  drought; or sluggish water circulation that allows biomass to accumulate.  One way that human activities may contribute to HABs is by supplying  nutrients to aquatic ecosystems at a rate that “overfeeds” the algae that  exist naturally. These nutrients (mainly nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon)  can originate as runoff from lawns and farmland or wastewater  discharges from municipalities and industry. Human activity may also  influence HABs through ecosystem disturbances such as water flow  modifications or the introduction of new species.
section_title: Twelve Federal Agencies Reported Expending Roughly $101 Million from Fiscal Years 2013 through 2015 on Various HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: Twelve federal agencies expended an estimated total of roughly $101  million from fiscal years 2013 through 2015 to fund various HAB-related  activities—such as research and analysis, forecasting, surveillance and  monitoring, outreach, and response—according to data reported by the  agencies. Based on the data, the 5 agencies with the largest HAB- related expenditures for this period—totaling roughly $86 million—were  NOAA ($39.4 million), NSF ($15.4 million), EPA ($14.5 million), USGS  ($9.0 million), and NIEHS ($8.0 million). According to agency officials,  these 5 agencies provided internal and external funding for research on  and analysis of HABs; forecasting, monitoring, outreach and response  efforts; and investigations of human and ecological health effects, as  follows:
NOAA developed and provided capabilities to predict, detect, monitor,  and respond to marine and Great Lakes HAB events. NOAA  competitively funded additional research on HAB ecology, monitoring,  prediction, mitigation, and control.
NSF funded HAB-specific and broader research that contributed to  the understanding of algal blooms. It also funded workshops and  activities that built and facilitated international collaboration on HAB- related research.
EPA funded internal research on HABs and their toxins, focused on  four main areas: water quality, human and ecological health effects,  monitoring and analytical methods, and drinking water treatment. It  performed outreach to other federal agencies, state agencies, and  academia regarding HAB-related activities.
USGS developed laboratory analysis and field testing to detect and  quantify HABs, researched causal factors, and developed early  warning systems for HABs.
NIEHS supported peer-reviewed research grants to develop  approaches to enhance prediction of HAB events and understand the  effects of HAB toxins on human health.
In addition, other agencies—such as FDA, CDC, and NASA—expended  millions of dollars funding activities to address HABs, associated with  their respective missions. For example, from fiscal years 2013 through  2015, NASA reported expending nearly $2 million on basic and applied  research to use satellite imagery to improve the detection of algal blooms.
Table 1 provides the estimated HAB-related expenditures for the 12  agencies that provided expenditure data for fiscal years 2013 through  2015. The agencies reported actual or estimated expenditure data, or a  mix of both; and a few agencies also provided some obligated funding  data. Four agencies—NASA, NIEHS, NSF, and USGS—provided actual  expenditures. NIFA officials provided estimated expenditures and  reported that the identified NIFA funding does not include multi-purpose  capacity awards that relate, in part, to HABs. Other agencies, such as  NOAA, Navy, USACE, CDC, FDA, NPS, and EPA, provided mostly actual  expenditures but also included some estimated HAB-related  expenditures. For example, the identified EPA funding does not include  multi-purpose nutrient reduction projects, nutrient monitoring,  phytoplankton community monitoring, or assessment of nutrient reduction  projects intended, in part, to support reductions in HABs. A few other  agencies—CDC, NIEHS, and NSF—also provided some obligated  funding data for a portion of their HAB-related activities for fiscal years  2013 through 2015.
As previously discussed, we identified 17 agencies that have conducted  research, monitoring, or other HAB-related activities in fiscal years 2013  through 2015. Table 2 provides 17 agencies’ key activities related to  HABs, consistent with their missions and expertise, in fiscal years 2013  through 2015.
Appendix II provides more detailed information on federal agencies’ key  HAB-related activities, expenditures, and specific statutory provisions  authorizing such activities.
section_title: Federal Agencies Reported Coordinating HAB- Related Activities in a Variety of Ways
paragraphs: Federal officials reported that their agencies coordinate in a variety of  ways with each other and with state, international, and academic  stakeholders to share information, expertise, and opportunities for  collaboration on HAB-related activities. Federal officials also reported that  part of the purpose of this coordination is to reduce unnecessary  duplication and to leverage resources. Since 2014, the IWG-HABHRCA  has been the primary, government-wide mechanism though which federal  agencies coordinate their activities, develop plans for future work, and  identify remaining gaps related to federal HAB activities and capabilities.  In addition, federal agencies participate in numerous groups, task forces,  and other coordination efforts led by federal agencies, states,  international organizations, or academics (see table 3 for examples of  these efforts). Furthermore, federal officials reported a number of  partnerships between two or more federal agencies (federal interagency  partnerships) directly related to their HAB work in recent years. For  example, NIEHS and NSF have collaborated and provided joint funding  for some HAB-related research projects since 2005.
Appendix III provides more detailed information on federal agencies’  HAB-related coordination.
Most of the federal agencies within the scope of this review maintain  information on their public websites regarding HABs and HAB-related  research, monitoring, and other activities. Agency officials reported that  they maintain such information on their websites to coordinate with each  other and with nonfederal stakeholders on their HAB-related activities,  reduce duplication, and raise public awareness, among other purposes.  For example, EPA has compiled information on freshwater cyanobacterial  HABs, including causes and prevention, detection, health and ecological  effects, control and treatment, research by EPA and other federal  agencies, new policies and regulations for toxins produced by  cyanobacteria (cyanotoxins) at the state and international levels, and  guidelines and recommendations.
Appendix IV provides more detailed information on federal agencies’  HAB-related websites.
section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: We provided a draft of this report to the Departments of Agriculture,  Commerce, Defense, Health and Human Services, and the Interior; EPA;  NASA; NSF; and the Executive Office of the President for review and  comment. None of the agencies provided formal, written comments, but  all except USDA and Navy provided technical comments, which we  incorporated as appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional  committees; the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Health  and Human Services, and the Interior; the Administrators of EPA and  NASA; the Director of NSF; the Chief of Staff, Executive Office of the  President; and other interested parties. In addition, the report is available  at no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.
If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact  me at (202) 512-3841 or gomezj@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices  of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last   page of this report. GAO staff who contributed to this report are listed in  appendix V.
section_title: Appendix I: Objectives, Scope and Methodology
paragraphs: This report examines (1) how much federal agencies expended on  activities related to marine and freshwater harmful algal blooms (HAB),  and the types of activities funded, from fiscal years 2013 through 2015;  and (2) how federal agencies have coordinated their HAB-related  activities with each other and with nonfederal stakeholders.
For both objectives, we reviewed HAB-related laws; federal agencies’  reports on HABs; our prior work on ocean acidification, the Great Lakes,  water quality, climate change, and interagency collaboration (a list of  related products is included at the end of this report); and other relevant  documents.
To identify how much federal agencies expended on activities related to  marine and freshwater HABs, and the types of activities funded, for fiscal  years 2013, 2014, and 2015, we conducted interviews with and requested  data from officials from the 17 relevant agencies on their HAB-related  expenditures for this period, and we found that 12 agencies’ expenditure  data were relevant and sufficiently reliable for the purpose of producing a  rough estimate of federal HAB-related expenditures. We started with  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials because of their lead  roles, as designated by the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research  and Control Act (HABHRCA), in administering a national HAB and  hypoxia program for marine and freshwater bodies, respectively; and we  interviewed and collected information from additional agencies as they  were identified by other agencies. An interagency working group (IWG- HABHRCA), established to implement aspects of the law, consists of the  following federal agencies:
EPA;
Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and  Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS);
Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management  (BOEM), National Park Service, and U.S. Geological Survey;
Department of Defense’s Department of the Navy (Navy) and U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers;
Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease  Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and National  Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health  Sciences;
National Science Foundation (NSF); and
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
In addition to these 14 agencies that participate in the interagency  working group, we identified 3 additional agencies, based on our  interviews, as having HAB-related expenditures in fiscal years 2013  through 2015: the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service  and the Executive Office of the President’s Council on Environmental  Quality (CEQ) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). To  gather expenditure data, we developed and distributed a questionnaire  that asked the agencies to identify their HAB-related research,  monitoring, or other activities. We asked the agencies to provide  expenditure data for these activities at the program and project levels. To  assess the accuracy and completeness of the expenditure data and to  learn of the agencies’ definitions of HAB-related activities and any data  limitations, we conducted a data reliability assessment through written  questions and follow-up interviews, as necessary, with agency officials.  Our questions asked officials to specify if the associated activities were  single-purpose in addressing HABs only, or if they addressed multiple  purposes including HABs. Of the 17 agencies we contacted, 12 provided  HAB-related expenditure data for fiscal years 2013 through 2015, which  we determined were sufficiently reliable for our purposes and are  presented in this report. For informational purposes, we present more  detailed tables in appendix II for each of the agencies’ HAB-related  expenditures, but we did not independently verify these amounts.
Even with the efforts we made to ensure the reliability of the data, each of  the agencies had its own method for collecting HAB-related expenditure  data, and therefore the numbers presented for each agency may differ  compared to a scenario in which a single, standardized method was  used. For this reason, comparisons of HAB-related expenditures from one  agency to another are inexact. For example, agencies such as NOAA and  NSF each utilized a database to track actual expenditures or obligated  funding for HAB-related activities, whereas agencies such as Navy relied  on subject matter experts or staff estimates. Some agencies provided  actual expenditure data, while other agencies provided estimated  expenditure data or obligated funding data.
In addition, we asked agencies to identify whether their HAB-related  activities were (1) single-purpose in addressing HABs only, (2) multi- purpose including HABs, or (3) a mixture of both. While we believe the  data are sufficiently reliable for the purpose of producing a rough estimate  of HAB-related expenditures, the lack of a standardized approach to  collecting HAB-related expenditures means that any federal total should  be regarded as a rough estimate, and any comparisons among agencies’  expenditures should be regarded as inexact. In addition, our  questionnaire asked the agencies for information on (1) their agencies’  key activities regarding HABs; (2) the purposes of these activities; (3) the  specific statutory provisions authorizing these activities; and (4) the  funding mechanisms used, such as grants, contracts, or interagency  agreements.
To determine how federal agencies coordinate their HAB-related activities  with each other and with nonfederal stakeholders, we collected and  analyzed information from the agencies through interviews and our  questionnaire on (1) their participation with each other and nonfederal  stakeholders in interagency working groups or other mechanisms to  share information and coordinate on HABs research, monitoring, or other  activities; (2) efforts taken by federal agencies to minimize duplication;  and (3) gaps, if any, in federal HAB-related activities. As warranted, we  sent the agencies follow-up requests for clarification or elaboration. We  also received and reviewed the official notes from a nongeneralizable  sample of 21 IWG-HABHRCA twice-monthly meetings, starting from the  group’s creation in October 2014 through July 2016. In addition, we  attended, in person or by phone, the following events to observe federal  agencies’ efforts to coordinate HAB-related activities with each other and  other stakeholders:
Biennial conference of HAB experts and researchers, “Eighth  Symposium on Harmful Algae in the U.S.,” led by HAB researchers  from the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project and  University of Southern California; the conference was held in  November 2015 and attended by more than 250 federal and state  officials, academic researchers, non-profit organization  representatives, and industry representatives;
A nongeneralizable sample of five IWG-HABHRCA twice-monthly  meetings from February through July 2016, based on our availability;  and
Three webinars focused on HABs and hypoxia in the Great Lakes,  two of which were organized by the IWG-HABHRCA in February 2016  and one of which was organized by the Inland HAB Discussion Group  in March 2016.
In addition, through our correspondence with federal agencies and our  own web searches, we identified agencies’ publicly accessible websites  describing HABs and HAB-related activities. We conducted a general web  search, and searched each of the agencies’ websites, using the terms  “algae blooms” and “algal blooms.” Based on the search results, we  identified websites that were broad or national in scope and that  appeared to be maintained by the agency on an ongoing basis (as  opposed to being a one-time news release or document). We then asked  each of the agencies to review our results for their particular agency, to  verify that we had identified the appropriate websites and to refer us to  any additional HAB-related websites (maintained by the agency) that met  our criteria.
We conducted this performance audit from September 2015 to October  2016 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing  standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to  obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for  our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe  that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings  and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
section_title: Appendix II: Federal Agencies’ Key Harmful Algal Bloom-Related Activities, Expenditures, and Authority
paragraphs: Appendix II includes additional information for federal agencies that  reported expenditures for activities related to harmful algal blooms (HAB)  from fiscal years 2013 through 2015 and specific statutory provisions  authorizing such activities. We present detailed tables for each of the  agencies’ HAB-related expenditures for informational purposes, but we  did not independently verify these amounts.
subsections: section_title: (1) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, for more than 40 years, CDC has provided  epidemiology and surveillance support to states and other partners,  enabling them to take public health action to address non-infectious  water-related concerns. In the late 1990s, CDC began to address public  health issues associated with HABs. In the past several years, CDC has  been involved with a number of HAB-related activities, including the  following:  collaborating with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric  Administration (NOAA) to engage citizen scientists to identify and  report freshwater HAB events;  collaborating with NOAA to improve a module to forecast  cyanobacterial blooms; providing technical assistance and expert guidance to states that  convening a workgroup to identify surveillance indicators and  measures for bloom events and public health consequences; developing health surveillance definitions for reporting HAB-related  human cases of illnesses, animal cases of illness, and HAB events;  creating the One Health Harmful Algal Bloom System, a nationally  available, online system for health agencies and their animal and  environmental health agency partners to report HAB-related illnesses  in animals and people, and the environmental conditions associated  with the HABs; providing resources to state health departments to build capacity for  HAB-related illness surveillance; and  creating a CDC website about HAB-associated illnesses  (http://www.cdc.gov/habs/).
In addition, the agency’s Division of Laboratory Sciences provides  laboratory support for public health responses to chemical threat agents.  For example, this division provides assistance to state and local  laboratories responding to regional events by identifying people exposed  to certain toxins from marine and freshwater HABs.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditures from fiscal years 2013  through 2015, CDC expended a total of roughly $1.7 million on public  health surveillance, waterborne disease prevention, and health  promotion, as follows: $566,828 in fiscal year 2013, $524,004 in fiscal year 2014, and $573,776 in fiscal year 2015.
For CDC’s expenditures, see table 4.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, CDC’s authority to address HABs is  provided under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), and some activities  receive funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Sections 301(a) and 317(k)(2) of the PHSA, as amended, authorize  public health activities research and other activities and authorize  grants to states and other entities for public health purposes.
EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) provides annual  funding to CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic  Infectious Diseases through an interagency agreement. One purpose  of the center is to build waterborne disease prevention capacity in the  Great Lakes states to inform and evaluate GLRI activities. This  includes systematic detection and descriptions of HABs and  associated human and animal health effects and environmental  impacts. The National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious  Diseases works closely with subject matter experts in CDC’s National  Center for Environmental Health to address three main efforts: (1)  rebuilding and launching of public health surveillance for HABs, (2)  state waterborne disease prevention capacity-building, and (3) health  promotion. Through partnering with other federal agencies, CDC aims  to connect these data to better describe the occurrence and health  consequences of HABs.
section_title: (2) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, EPA’s mission is to protect human health  and the environment. To accomplish this mission, the agency develops  relevant policy and guidelines, conducts research, provides assistance  through grants and other agreements, educates the public, and creates  partnerships. EPA’s Office of Water (OW), Office of Research and  Development (ORD), and EPA regions, as well as the Gulf of Mexico  Program Office and the Great Lakes National Program Office, have been  working together to protect public health from HABs, including toxin- producing cyanobacteria. From fiscal years 2013 through 2015, EPA’s  research on HABs and their toxins focused on four main areas:
Water quality research: Explores the interrelationships among nutrient  inputs, temperature effects, land use, and runoff and how these  parameters affect the timing, distribution, and magnitude of HABs and  toxin production.
Human and ecological health effects research: Provides information  on human exposure to HAB toxins (e.g., dermal vs. ingestion) and  food-chain bioaccumulation and allergenic aspects of toxins produced  by cyanobacteria (cyanotoxins). ORD continues to develop and  optimize analytical procedures for measuring HAB toxins in drinking  and source waters, including the qualitative and quantitative analysis  of microcystin toxins, which are also being examined for toxicity  levels.
Monitoring/analytical methods research: Includes small-scale  monitoring, such as surface water and real-time water quality  monitoring, to large-scale monitoring using satellite imagery. The  ultimate objective for monitoring research is to provide communities  and utilities with early warning detection methods to better manage  consequences from HABs.
Drinking water treatment research: Provides results on optimizing  drinking water treatment strategies and timely response to HAB  events, such as the Toledo, Ohio, incident in August 2014 caused by  a toxic bloom in Lake Erie.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditure data from fiscal years 2013  through 2015, EPA expended a total of roughly $14.5 million on HAB- related activities across various research efforts, as follows: $3.2 million in fiscal year 2013, $5.6 million in fiscal year 2014, and $5.7 million in fiscal year 2015.
For specific HAB-related expenditures, see table 5, highlighting activities  by OW, the regions, and ORD.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, EPA’s authority to address HABs is  provided by three statutes and as a part of annual appropriations for the  Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI).
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) has a goal of ensuring that  public drinking water is safe and requires EPA to establish legally  enforceable standards for public water systems to limit the levels of  specific contaminants that can adversely affect public health. Under  the SDWA, EPA is proposing in its 4th Candidate Contaminant List  and its 4th Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule the evaluation  and monitoring of several cyanotoxins that may be present in drinking  water systems.
The Drinking Water Protection Act (Pub. L. No. 114-45), enacted on  August 7, 2015, amended the SDWA in 2015 by adding Section 1459,  which directs EPA to develop and submit a strategic plan for  assessing and managing risks associated with algal toxins in drinking  water provided by public water systems. The act requires the strategic  plan to include steps and timelines to assess human health effects  and to identify a list of algal toxins, health advisories, treatment  options, analytical and monitoring approaches, causes of HABs,  source water protection, and collaboration and outreach.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes the basic structure for  regulating discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States  and for regulating quality standards for surface waters. Under the  CWA, EPA has implemented pollution control programs and has  reviewed, approved, or promulgated water quality standards to restore  and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the  nation’s waters. Section 303(d) of the CWA requires states to identify  those waters that are not meeting applicable water quality standards  (impaired waters or impairments) and for which the state must  establish Total Maximum Daily Loads for pollutants.
Some states have identified algal toxins and cyanobacteria  hepatotoxic microcystins as causing recreational use impairments for  source water on the most recent 303(d) list, and Total Maximum Daily  Loads have been approved to address impairments to aquatic life,  recreation, and subsistence fishing uses caused by cyanotoxins.  Section 426 of Pub. L. No. 114-113, enacted in December 2015,  formally established the GLRI to carry out programs and projects for  Great Lakes protection and restoration. GLRI action plans outline  such activities for the GLRI, which include implementation of activities  to reduce nutrient and sediment loadings such as voluntary  agricultural practices; tracking; voluntary, incentive-based, and  regulatory approaches to reduce nutrient losses; education; and other  implementation of watershed management and green infrastructure  projects. GLRI partners will also assess the extent to which HABs are  affected by various factors and the relationship between algal blooms  and hypoxia. In addition, in 1972, the United States and Canada  signed the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to restore, protect,  and enhance the water quality of the Great Lakes to promote the  ecological health of the Great Lakes Basin. The countries signed  another Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1978, which was  amended several times. For example, most recently, in 2012, the  nations added provisions to the agreement to address the effects of  climate change, among other things.
section_title: (3) Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, FDA is responsible for protecting public  health by ensuring that human and animal drugs are safe and effective;  biological products do not threaten public health; there are reasonable  assurances that medical devices are safe and effective; food is safe,  wholesome, sanitary, and properly labeled; cosmetics are safe and  properly labeled; and the public health and safety is protected from  products that emit radiation. FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied  Nutrition, in conjunction with the agency’s field staff promotes and  protects the public health by ensuring that the nation’s food supply is  safe, sanitary, wholesome, and properly labeled, and that cosmetic  products are safe and properly labeled. FDA’s role and expertise in  conducting activities focused on toxin-producing cyanobacteria and algae  and public health concerns related to HABs are mission relevant and  focused on products regulated by the agency.
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition regulates products that may  be affected by harmful algae, their toxins, or both, including seafood,  dietary supplements, and bottled water. Most of FDA’s HAB activities  focus on seafood, with fewer dedicated efforts on dietary supplements. To  date, there have been no specific HAB activities focused on bottled water.  FDA HAB-related activities include research program management,  project management, domestic and international compliance and  enforcement, regulation development and policy, emergency response  and recovery, risk assessment, education and outreach, consumer  education, postmarket monitoring and surveillance, domestic regulatory  partnerships, international standards development, trade and  partnerships, industry and academic collaboration, international  collaboration and outreach, recalls, administrative activities, economic  adulteration, and employee training. FDA awards small contracts to  external entities in cases where it would be more cost-effective than the  agency performing the work, FDA does not have the expertise or  capability to conduct the work needed, or FDA can achieve more through  collaboration and contributions to other’s work.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditures from fiscal years 2013  through 2015, FDA expended a total of roughly $7.4 million on internal  and external activities, as follows: $2.1 million in fiscal year 2013, $2.7 million in fiscal year 2014, and $2.6 million in fiscal year 2015.
For FDA’s expenditures, see table 6.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, FDA’s authority to address HABs and their  toxins is provided under multiple statutes, including the Federal Food,  Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); the Public Health  Service Act (PHSA) (42 U.S.C. 243); and 21 C.F.R. part 123 (Fish and  Fishery Products), specifically 21 C.F.R. § 123.6 (Seafood Hazard  Analysis and Critical Control Point Plan) and 21 C.F.R. § 1240.60  (Molluscan Shellfish). Seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point  is a preventive system of hazard control implemented by processors to  help ensure the safety of their products and reduce the risk of illness for  consumers. Seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point requires  that processors identify and control for species- and process-specific  hazards, which would include biotoxins produced by HABs.
FDA is designated by the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research  and Control Act of 1998 (Pub. L. No. 105-383 § 603(a), 112 Stat. 3447,  3448) as one of the federal agencies that shall participate in an  interagency task force on HABs and hypoxia to develop reports and  assessments for Congress. The act was most recently amended in 2014  by Pub. L. No. 113-124, 128 Stat. 1379.
section_title: (4) National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, the purpose of NASA's Earth Science  Division is to develop a scientific understanding of the Earth and its  response to natural or human-induced changes, and to improve  prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards. A major component  of NASA’s Earth Science Division is a coordinated series of satellite and  airborne missions for long-term global observations of the land surface,  biosphere, solid earth, atmosphere, and oceans. This coordinated  approach enables an improved understanding of the Earth as an  integrated system.
NASA also supports Executive Order 13547 that established the National  Ocean Policy, a policy for the stewardship of the ocean, coasts, and  Great Lakes. NASA participates in many interagency working groups,  including the Interagency Working Group on the Harmful Algal Blooms  and Hypoxia Research and Control Act. NASA research supports the  working group’s scientific objectives when possible and relevant to the  agency mission.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditures from fiscal years 2013  through 2015, NASA expended a total of roughly $2.0 million on HAB- related activities across various monitoring efforts and research-related  activities, as follows: $344,003 in fiscal year 2013, $230,545 in fiscal year 2014, and $1.4 million in fiscal year 2015.
For specific HAB-related program expenditures, see table 7.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, NASA’s authority to address HABs is  provided under the NASA Authorization Act, 51 U.S.C. §§ 20112 and  20113, which authorizes NASA’s Earth science research. Table 7  includes specific HAB-related expenditures organized by program and  project: (1) NASA Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry, (2) NASA Health  and Air Quality Applications, (3) SERVIR (an acronym for the Spanish  words meaning Mesoamerican Regional Visualization and Monitoring  System), (4) Digital Earth Virtual Environment Learning Outreach Project,  (5) Applied Remote Sensing Training, (6) Research and Analysis, and (7)  Center for the Advancement of Science in Space HAB research grant  project.
section_title: (5) Department of the Navy (Navy)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, the Navy’s mission is to maintain, train, and  equip combat-ready naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring  aggression, and maintaining freedom of the seas. The Office of Naval  Research coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and  technology programs of both the Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. The  Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for  the Navy and Marine Corps and conducts a broad program of scientific  research, technology, and advanced development. Some NRL research,  capabilities, and techniques are useful when applied to other fields,  including HAB and hypoxia research performed by other agencies, such  as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental  Protection Agency, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.  Thus, NRL provides expertise and experience to other agencies for a  variety of research purposes, including HAB and hypoxia research.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditures from fiscal years 2013  through 2015, Navy expended a total of roughly $1.0 million on HAB- related activities across various monitoring and research-related  activities, as follows: $343,000 in fiscal year 2013, $353,000 in fiscal year 2014, and $353,000 in fiscal year 2015.
For specific HAB-related program expenditures, see table 8.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, Navy’s authority to address HABs is  provided under 10 U.S.C. § 5013, which authorizes the Secretary to be  responsible for, and have the authority necessary to conduct, all affairs of  the agency. In addition, 10 U.S.C. § 7921 authorizes the Secretary to  maximize the safety and effectiveness of all maritime vessels, aircraft,  and members of the armed forces by means of (1) marine data collection,  (2) numerical weather and ocean predictions, and (3) forecasting of  hazardous weather and ocean conditions.
section_title: (6) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, HABs are a primary focus of NIEHS- supported research activities in marine and freshwater environments.  There are two overarching themes associated with the NIEHS HAB  grants portfolio: (1) supporting research on the health effects associated  with exposure to HAB toxins; and (2) supporting research that reduces  human exposure to HAB toxins.
To accomplish this mission, NIEHS has solicited and funded grant  applications in collaboration with the National Science Foundation, with a  specific focus on marine and freshwater HABs. NIEHS has also  supported peer-reviewed, unsolicited research grant applications to  develop novel approaches to enhance prediction of HAB events and to  better understand the adverse impacts on human health associated with  exposures to HAB toxins. Additionally, NIEHS has supported research  conferences that allow investigators to share published and unpublished  research results, and has provided training opportunities for pre- and  post-doctoral investigators to help advance this scientific field and  develop the next generation of HAB investigators.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditure data, NIEHS expended a total  of roughly $8 million from fiscal years 2013 through 2015 on HAB-related  projects and activities, as follows: $1.9 million in fiscal year 2013, $3.3 million in fiscal year 2014, and $2.8 million in fiscal year 2015.
Table 9 identifies specific HAB-related expenditures, organized by (1)  toxicity, (2) detection, and (3) communication.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
section_title: (7) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, NIFA is the extramural funding agency for  the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and provides leadership and  funding for programs that advance agriculture-related sciences. Since the  Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 directed its creation, NIFA  has taken strides toward enhancing the impact of food, agriculture,  natural resources, and human sciences on environment and human  health. NIFA applies an integrated approach to ensure that  groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and  technologies reach the people who can put them into practice. NIFA  invests in and supports initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of  agriculture. The agency does not conduct research internally, but  provides funding for research, extension, and education activities through  competitive grants program and capacity programs.
In terms of human health and HABs, NIFA sponsors work that supports  agriculturally relevant projects and the agency’s human health areas  focus on food safety. Most of NIFA’s related work focuses on the impacts  of HABs on aquaculture and ecology-related HABs research. NIFA  provides funds to eligible institutions through competitive grants, capacity  grants, and noncompetitive grants and agreements.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditures from fiscal years 2013  through 2015, NIFA expended a total of roughly $393,968 on initiatives  that focus on the impacts of HABs on aquaculture and ecology related  research, as follows: $200,000 in fiscal year 2013, $144,000 in fiscal year 2014, and $49,968 in fiscal year 2015.
For NIFA’s expenditures, see table 10.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, NIFA’s authority to address HABs is  provided under a variety of statutes, as follows:
7 U.S.C. 301 authorizes tribal research grants that support agricultural  research addressing high-priority concerns of tribal, national, or  multistate significance. Grants support investigative and analytical  studies in the food and agricultural sciences. Funds are awarded on a  competitive basis.
Section 7406 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008  (Pub. L. No. 110-246) amended section 2(b) of the Competitive,  Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act as amended (7 U.S.C.  450i(b)) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive  grants to promote research in food, agriculture, and related areas.  Under that authority, USDA established the Agriculture and Food  Research Initiative as a competitive grant program to provide funding  for fundamental and applied research, education, and extension to  address food and agricultural sciences.
Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act, as amended  and codified at 7 U.S.C. 450i(c), authorizes the Secretary of  Agriculture to make grants, for periods not to exceed 3 years, for  special emphasis awards to facilitate or expand promising food and  agricultural research, extension, or education programs.
section_title: (8) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
subsections: section_title: Agency Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, NOAA’s mission is to understand and  predict climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge  and information with others, and to conserve and manage coastal and  marine ecosystems and resources. The Harmful Algal Bloom and  Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act of 2014 designates  NOAA as the lead federal agency in addressing HABs occurring in ocean  and coastal waters and the Great Lakes. NOAA programs improve the  understanding of HABs and their impacts and develop tools for HAB and  toxin detection, forecasting, and response. NOAA addresses the  continuum from research to operations through a mix of in-house  expertise and competitive awards to partners in academia, industry, and  state and local governments.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency officials, from fiscal years 2013 through 2015, NOAA  expended a total of roughly $39.4 million on HAB-related activities across  various extramural and intramural programs, as follows: $9.8 million in fiscal year 2013, $14.0 million in fiscal year 2014, and $15.7 million in fiscal year 2015.
For specific HAB-related program expenditures, see table 11.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, NOAA’s authority to address HABs is  provided under a variety of statutes, including HABHRCA, the National  Sea Grant College Program Act, and the Integrated Coastal and Ocean  Observation System Act of 2009. Table 11 includes NOAA HAB-related  expenditures organized by (1) intramural HAB expenditures supporting  HABHRCA for HAB forecasting, detection, and event response; (2)  program management, coordination, and ship time; (3) HABHRCA-named  competitive research on monitoring, response, prevention, control, and  mitigation; and (4) other competitive research programs (e.g., those  administered by the National Sea Grant College Program and the  Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Program). Additional  information on these statutes follows.
HABHRCA recognizes NOAA as the lead federal agency on HABs  occurring in ocean and coastal waters and the Great Lakes.
The National Sea Grant College Program Act specifically included  “university research on the biology, prevention, and forecasting of  harmful algal blooms” within its authorization of appropriations for  NOAA competitive grants through fiscal year 2014. HAB-related  research is conducted by Sea Grant College-funded scientists, as  described in table 11.
The Integrated Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2009  authorizes NOAA, other federal agencies, and nonfederal partners to  provide coastal and ocean observations, technologies, and data  management and communication systems. These can help address  HABs.
section_title: (9) National Park Service (NPS)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, NPS responds to HAB events that have an  impact on human or animal health, at the request of park units. The  agency’s response efforts are limited to identifying hazards; consulting on  management strategies; arranging for diagnostic testing of specimens;  and connecting the park unit with additional public health resources, such  as state health departments and the Environmental Protection Agency.  The agency’s response activities are intended to assist park managers in  developing appropriate partnerships and effectively preventing and  addressing HABs on-site; communicating agency-wide strategies;  understanding the severity of the problem; and implementing  management strategies that minimize the risk to aquatic life, the public,  and employees. In addition, NPS is developing a website to assist parks  with HAB response activities, update staff on the current scientific  understanding of HABs, and allow the agency to track HABs within park  units. NPS officials reported that the website should be completed and  available to the public by the end of calendar year 2016.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditures from fiscal years 2013  through 2015, NPS expended a total of roughly $112,945 on website  development, identifying HAB concentrations, and performing disease  outbreak investigations, as follows: $50,000 in fiscal year 2013, $50,000 in fiscal year 2014, and $12,945 in fiscal year 2015.
For NPS’ expenditures, see table 12.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, NPS’ authority to address HABs is provided  under the National Park Service Organic Act, as amended, 54 U.S.C. §  100101(a); Title II of the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of  1998, 54 U.S.C. §§ 100701-100706; and NPS Management Policies.
The National Park Service Organic Act, as amended, 54 U.S.C. §  100101(a), authorizes the agency to conserve and provide for the  enjoyment of the scenery, natural and historical objects, and wildlife in  national park system units in such manner and by such means as will  leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.
Title II of the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998, 54  U.S.C. §§ 100701-100706, authorizes the agency to enter into  cooperative agreements with colleges and universities, including land  grant schools, in partnership with other federal and state agencies to  conduct research, monitor and take inventory of long-term trends in  the condition of national park resources, make parks available for  scientific study, and integrate study results into management  decisions.
NPS Management Policies (2006), section 4.6.3, states that the  agency will “work with appropriate governmental bodies to obtain the  highest possible standards available under the Clean Water Act for  the protection for park waters; take all necessary actions to maintain  or restore the quality of surface waters and ground waters within the  parks, consistent with the Clean Water Act and all other applicable  federal, state, and local laws and regulations; and enter into  agreements with other agencies and governing bodies, as  appropriate, to secure their cooperation in maintaining or restoring the  quality of park water resources.”
section_title: (10) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, NRCS is an agency within the Department  of Agriculture with a mission of improving the health of our nation’s  natural resources while sustaining and enhancing the productivity of  American agriculture. The agency provides voluntary assistance through  partnerships with private landowners, managers, and communities to  protect, restore, and enhance the lands and waters upon which people  and the environment depend. NRCS provides two broad categories of  conservation assistance—financial and technical.
NRCS offers financial and technical assistance through several programs  to help agricultural producers make and maintain conservation  improvements on their land. The Conservation Stewardship Program  encourages eligible agricultural producers to address natural resource  concerns and improve and conserve the quality and condition of natural  resources, such as soil and water. The Environmental Quality Incentives  Program provides technical and financial assistance to help eligible  agricultural producers implement conservation practices that sustain food  production while addressing soil, water, and air quality natural resources  concerns, among other things. NRCS also works with partners to  leverage additional conservation assistance for agricultural producers and  landowners in priority conservation areas.
Although NRCS does not directly track HABs as a resource concern or  track HAB-related activities through its financial management systems,  the agency does have specific, multi-purpose initiatives designed to  improve the water quality of areas where HABs and hypoxia are of critical  concern, such as within the Gulf of Mexico. These initiatives address  other resource concerns such as improving wildlife habitats, soil health  and erosion, air quality, and limited water availability. Thus, the  expenditure amounts included in table 13 fund assistance programs to  improve water quality, which includes but is not limited to HABs.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditures from fiscal years 2013  through 2015, NRCS expended a total of roughly $208 million on various,  multi-purpose conservation assistance programs to improve water quality,  which includes but is not limited to HABs, as follows: $57 million in fiscal year 2013, $66 million in fiscal year 2014, and $85 million in fiscal year 2015.
For NRCS’ multi-purpose expenditures to improve water quality, see table  13.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, NRCS’ authority to offer financial and  technical assistance to producers to address water quality issues, such  as HABs, is provided under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act,  which authorizes and reauthorizes NRCS’ voluntary conservation  programs. Table 13 includes multi-purpose expenditures to improve water  quality, including HABs, organized by the following agency initiatives: (1)  Chesapeake Bay Watershed Initiative, (2) Gulf of Mexico Initiative, (3)  National Water Quality Initiative, (4) Bay Delta Initiative, (5) Illinois  River/Eucha-Spavinaw Watersheds Initiative, and (6) Mississippi River  Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative.
section_title: (11) National Science Foundation (NSF)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, the NSF is responsible for advancing  science and engineering in the United States across a broad and  expanding spectrum of disciplines. NSF’s mission is to promote the  progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity and  welfare; to secure the national defense; and other purposes. To achieve  its mission, NSF funds discovery, learning, innovation, and research  infrastructure to boost U.S. leadership in all aspects of science,  technology, engineering, and mathematics research and education. NSF  investments span all scientific and engineering disciplines. While NSF  does not have a specifically mandated area of research, NSF-supported  activities may include: research focused on HABs such as the Oceans  and Human Health Initiative; research that may have a broader scope  than HABs but contributes to the understanding of HABs; education and  community planning activities (workshops) related to HABs; activities that  build and facilitate international collaboration; and infrastructure that may  have multiple uses, including supporting activities focused on HABs.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditures from fiscal years 2013  through 2015, NSF expended a total of roughly $15.4 million on HAB- related activities across various monitoring and research-related  activities, as follows: $4.7 million in fiscal year 2013, $5.0 million in fiscal year 2014, and $5.7 million in fiscal year 2015.
For specific HAB-related program expenditures, see table 14.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, NSF’s authority to address HABs is  provided under the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as  amended, 42 U.S.C. § 1861 et seq. Table 14 includes specific HAB- related expenditures organized by NSF organizations: (1) NSF-wide  investments; (2) Directorate for Geosciences; (3) Directorate for  Biological Sciences; (4) Directorate for Engineering; and (5) Office of  International Science and Engineering.
section_title: (12) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
subsections: section_title: Agency’s Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, USACE operates and manages more than  300 water projects, which include public recreation and environmental  stewardship responsibilities on 12 million acres, including more than 4  million acres in aquatic systems. USACE conducts research on HABs and  other aquatic invasive species under two, directly funded research  programs: the Aquatic Plant Control Research Program and the Aquatic  Nuisance Species Research Program. These research programs aim to  (1) provide science-based guidance on developing or using new  technologies for managing, preventing, and monitoring aquatic invasive  species; (2) improve the efficacy and diversity of available management  options; (3) reduce the impacts of aquatic invasive species on federally  listed (threatened and endangered) species; (4) reduce operations and  maintenance costs associated with aquatic invasive species  management; and (5) develop solutions regarding these species based  on field needs.
Additionally, USACE makes efforts to reduce negative impacts on wildlife  resources, most notably bald eagles. The agency noted that the increase  of hydrilla—an invasive plant—has been an ongoing issue for all aquatic  habitat resource-based agencies. Avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM), a  disease produced by a toxin that comes from cyanobacteria, attacks  birds’ nervous system and has been linked to hydrilla. The highest  concentrations of cyanobacteria that produce AVM are found on hydrilla,  which is increasing in acres at lakes and reservoirs throughout the  southeastern and south central United States, but the toxin-producing  algae also persist on other native, submerged plants. This problem has  been most evident to USACE at lakes and reservoirs in its Southeast and  Southwest Divisions. Since 1998, 84 bald eagle deaths are suspected to  have been caused by AVM at J. Strom Thurmond Lake bordering Georgia  and South Carolina. Additional funds have been directed toward removing  hydrilla at these USACE projects where AVM has been confirmed to  reduce AVM-related mortalities.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency officials, from fiscal years 2013 through 2015,  USACE expended a total of roughly $1.7 million on HAB-related activities  across various response efforts and research and technology-related  activities, as follows: $300,000 in fiscal year 2013, $543,000 in fiscal year 2014, and $862,000 in fiscal year 2015.
For specific HAB-related program expenditures, see table 15.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, the following statutes authorize USACE to  address HABs:
The River and Harbor Act of 1958, section 104, as amended,  authorized the Aquatic Plant Control Research Program, which is the  research component of the Aquatic Plant Control program.
The Non-Indigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention & Control Act of  1990 authorized the Aquatic Nuisance Species Research Program,  and the National Invasive Species Act of 1996 reauthorized the  program.
section_title: (13) U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
subsections: section_title: Agency Mission and Key HAB-Related Activities
paragraphs: According to agency officials, USGS HAB science is focused on (1)  developing analytical laboratory and field methods to detect and quantify  blooms and associated toxins and taste-and-odor compounds; (2)  understanding causal factors, environmental fate and transport of  cyanotoxins, and ecological processes; and (3) developing early warning  systems for potentially harmful blooms. Studies range in scale from  individual water bodies to those that are regional or national in scope, and  are conducted in collaboration with a variety of local, state, federal, and  tribal partners.
section_title: HAB-Related Expenditures
paragraphs: According to agency-provided expenditure data from fiscal years 2013  through 2015, USGS expended a total of roughly $9 million on HAB- related activities across various monitoring and research-related  activities, as follows: $2.3 million in fiscal year 2013, $2.7 million in fiscal year 2014, and $4.1 million in fiscal year 2015.
For specific HAB-related program expenditures, organized by science  centers, see table 16.
section_title: Legal Authority to Address HABs
paragraphs: According to agency officials, USGS’ authority to address HABs is  provided under a variety of statutes. Additional information on these  statutes follows.
USGS is directed to classify the public lands and examine the geological  structure, mineral resources, and products within and outside the national  domain under the Organic Act of March 3, 1879, as amended, 43 U.S.C.  § 31 et seq. The statute establishes the Office of the Director of the  United States Geological Survey under the Department of the Interior.
The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015,  provides the USGS water resources mission area with funding for use in  matching states’, municipalities’, and tribes’ contributions to cooperative  water efforts. The act authorizes USGS to use its appropriations “to  perform surveys, investigations, and research covering topography,  geology, hydrology, biology and mineral water resources of the United  States, its territories and possessions.” Jointly funded programs  (programs that may be matched up to 50 percent by federal dollars) are  considered when the study is mutually advantageous to USGS and  localities, states, and tribes. These cooperative, jointly funded programs  are reviewed and renegotiated annually to ensure that they respond to  the needs of localities, states, and tribes and to the USGS’ national  priorities. This authority appears in USGS’ annual appropriations bill  language, which states that “no part of this appropriation shall be used to  pay more than one-half the cost of topographic mapping or water  resources data collection and investigations carried on in cooperation with  States and municipalities.”
section_title: Appendix III: Federal Agencies’ Harmful Algal Bloom-Related Coordination
paragraphs: Appendix III provides information on federal agencies’ reported  coordination related to harmful algal blooms (HAB).
subsections: section_title: Federal Agencies Reported Coordinating HAB- Related Activities in a Variety of Ways
paragraphs: Federal officials we interviewed reported that their agencies coordinate in  a variety of ways with each other and with nonfederal stakeholders to  share information, expertise, and opportunities for collaboration on HAB- related activities. Specifically, federal agencies reported participating in  numerous groups, task forces, and other coordination efforts led by  federal agencies, states, international organizations, or academics, as  described below. Since 2014, the Interagency Working Group on the  Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (IWG- HABHRCA) has been the primary, government-wide mechanism through  which federal agencies coordinate their HAB-related activities, develop  plans for future work, and identify remaining gaps related to federal HAB  activities and capabilities. In addition, federal officials reported a number  of partnerships between two or more federal agencies (federal  interagency partnerships) directly related to their HAB work in recent  years, of which we provide examples below.
Federal officials also reported that part of the purpose of this collaboration  is to minimize duplication and to leverage resources in HAB research,  monitoring, response, and other activities. For example, as part of their  administrative reviews prior to awarding grants, the National Institute of  Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Centers for Disease  Control and Prevention (CDC) review grant proposals to ensure that there  is no overlap or duplication of effort with other federally funded research.  In addition, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials reported that  their agency assisted the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of  Infectious Diseases by expanding the use of a validated analytical  method for detecting saxitoxin in seafood to identify the toxin’s potential  use as a threat agent. In this manner, FDA officials stated, the U.S. Army  leveraged existing, federally funded resources to adapt a HAB toxin  analytical method to enhance medical capabilities to detect such threat  agents.
subsections: section_title: Groups, Task Forces, and Other HAB-Related Coordination Efforts
subsections: section_title: Federal-Led Efforts
paragraphs: Great Lakes Interagency Task Force  Chaired by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Great Lakes  Interagency Task Force brings together 11 cabinet and other federal  agency heads to coordinate the restoration of the Great Lakes. Created  by a May 18, 2004, executive order, the task force, among other things,  coordinates the development of consistent federal policies, strategies,  projects, and priorities pertaining to the restoration and protection of the  Great Lakes. According to EPA officials, since 2009, the task force has  overseen the implementation of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative  (GLRI), a federal-led effort to carry out programs and projects for Great  Lakes protection and restoration. In particular, the task force has  overseen the development of comprehensive, multi-year action plans that  identify goals, objectives, measurable ecological targets, and specific  actions for five GLRI focus areas. EPA officials also stated that hundreds  of millions of dollars have been allocated since 2010 for a wide array of  projects intended to reduce nutrient loads in the Great Lakes—nutrients  that can fuel HABs. For example, EPA officials reported that in response  to the 2014 drinking water incident in Toledo, Ohio, nearly $12 million in  GLRI funds was provided to federal and state agencies for projects  intended to reduce and monitor HABs in the western basin of Lake Erie.
Formed and facilitated by EPA, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and  CDC, this informal discussion group shares information through free  webinars (1 to 2 times per year) among federal, state, local, and industry  stakeholders about HAB research, monitoring, human and ecological  health risk assessment, education, and outreach. According to EPA’s  website, the group was created out of an expressed need by federal  researchers and state agencies to bridge a communication gap with  respect to inland HABs, and the group has been meeting periodically by  conference call since May 2011.The group had its genesis from earlier  efforts such as the International Symposium on Cyanobacteria Harmful  Algal Blooms meeting sponsored by EPA in 2005, the Harmful Algal  Blooms-Related Illness Surveillance System sponsored by CDC, and  USGS efforts assisting states with sample collection and study design  guidance.
As the primary, government-wide mechanism for sharing information and  coordinating HAB-related activities, this interagency working group was  created after the 2014 reauthorization of the Harmful Algal Bloom and  Hypoxia Research and Control Act (HABHRCA) to convene relevant  federal agencies to discuss HAB and hypoxia events and to develop  related reports and assessments for Congress. Co-chaired by the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and EPA, the  group meets twice per month to share information and coordinate HAB- related research, monitoring, and other activities. For example, the group  convenes regularly scheduled briefings that aim to stimulate and enhance  interagency collaboration on HABs, ranging from toxin testing to shellfish  management. Between July 2015 and June 2016, several agencies (EPA,  NOAA, FDA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USGS, and CDC) made  presentations on their HAB-related activities to the group. Furthermore,  the group held a half-day meeting in October 2015 that focused, in part,  on reducing duplication across the federal government.
This interagency working group is also responsible for developing reports  to Congress mandated by HABHRCA’s reauthorization in 2014 that  collectively identify progress, plans for future work, and remaining gaps  related to HABs and hypoxia. To develop the first such report—Harmful  Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Comprehensive Research Plan and Action  Strategy: An Interagency Report, released in February 2016—the IWG‐ HABHRCA coordinated with local, state, tribal, and federal government  entities and consulted with stakeholders. As part of this effort, the IWG- HABHRCA held a series of webinars in April 2015 focused on different  U.S. geographic regions, which were designed to initiate conversation  between federal representatives and stakeholders on HABs and hypoxia.  Agenda topics included regional priorities for HABs research, needs for  handling HAB and hypoxia events, and communication methods used to  educate the public. The group held a similar series of webinars in  February 2016 that were tailored to the Great Lakes to promote  discussion and solicit stakeholder feedback.
To operate more efficiently, NOAA officials stated, the group also  organized four subgroups to provide focus and expertise on key aspects  of the HABHRCA-required reports to address specific issues related to  HABs, hypoxia, the Great Lakes, and “engagement” (strategies,  webinars, and other materials, such as informational documents). The  group is overseen by the National Science and Technology Council’s  Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology, which is co-chaired by  the Office of Science and Technology Policy, NOAA, and the National  Science Foundation (NSF). The subcommittee is responsible for  developing coordinated interagency strategies and advancing national  ocean science and technology priorities, among other things.
Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force  (Hypoxia Task Force)
Formally known as the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed  Nutrient Task Force, the Hypoxia Task Force convenes federal agencies  led by EPA, 12 states, and a national tribal representative to address  hypoxia in the Mississippi River and the northern Gulf of Mexico.  Specifically, a team of federal and university researchers and agricultural  extension educators from the 12 states along the Mississippi and Ohio  Rivers has partnered with the task force to increase efforts to manage  complex natural resource management issues. The group is working to  (1) expand and encourage the use of science-based nutrient  management and other practices that help to reduce nutrient losses; (2)  identify opportunities for states to share information; and (3) create a  network of leaders, including farmers, who strategize about agricultural- based nutrient losses. According to EPA officials, in December 2014, the  Hypoxia Task Force issued nutrient reduction strategies to target  nutrients from all sources that flow into the Mississippi River and  contribute to Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. EPA officials also stated that over  20 peer-reviewed publications describing the ecosystem mechanisms  regulating nutrients and hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico were  published, and hypoxia modeling and monitoring workshops were  conducted in 2011, 2012, and 2013. In August 2015, the Hypoxia Task  Force released its first biennial report to Congress, as required by the  HABHRCA amendments of 2014, to report on continued progress toward  reducing nutrient loads to the northern Gulf of Mexico, summarize lessons  learned in implementing nutrient reduction strategies, and describe any  adjustments to its strategies for reducing Gulf hypoxia.
A cabinet-level body that oversees the implementation of the National  Ocean Policy, the council was established as a result of an executive  order. In April 2013, the council released the National Ocean Policy  Implementation Plan, which described specific actions—including four  related to HABs—for federal agencies to take. These actions are intended  to translate policy goals into on-the-ground changes to address key  challenges, streamline federal operations, save taxpayer dollars, and  promote economic growth. According to Natural Resources Conservation  Service (NRCS) officials, the Water Quality and Sustainable Practices on  Land subgroup of the council’s Interagency Policy Committees reports on  the status of 36 implementation plan action items, including the 4 actions  related to HABs:
2014 – Develop, working with the seafood industry, new rapid- assessment methods to detect HAB toxins, petrochemicals, industrial  and residential chemical contaminants, microbial contamination, and  spoilage in seafood. (NOAA, FDA, and EPA were the designated  implementing agencies.)
2014 – Improve infrastructure, including availability of standards and  probes, shared-use facilities, monitoring platforms, and training, to  develop the expertise necessary for state-of-the-art national  capabilities for HAB monitoring and detection and improving accuracy  of HAB forecasting. (NOAA, FDA, National Institute of Standards and  Technology, and USGS were the designated implementing agencies.)
2014 – Provide more reliable models for HAB forecasts and  coordinated training for state and local officials to improve regional  capabilities for HAB monitoring, assessment, forecasting, and  response. (NOAA and CDC were the designated implementing  agencies.)
2015 – Develop and deploy rapid, field-based detection systems for  various HAB-causing species and their toxins. (NOAA, FDA, and  USGS were the designated implementing agencies.)
One Health Harmful Algal Bloom System (OHHABS)
CDC collaborates with federal agencies, such as EPA, USGS, NOAA,  and FDA, and many state governments on OHHABS, an electronic  system for voluntary reporting of HAB-related illnesses and events.  Launched in June 2016, this surveillance system is accessible to health  departments and their designated animal health and environmental health  partners and collects data on HAB events and associated cases of  human and animal illness. OHHABS is an example of CDC’s “One  Health” surveillance—an approach that recognizes that human, animal,  and environmental health are interconnected, and that these three health  communities can more effectively address many linked health challenges  by working together.
section_title: State-Led Efforts
paragraphs: Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC)
The ISSC was formed in 1982 to foster and promote shellfish sanitation  through the cooperation of state and federal control agencies, the  shellfish industry, and the academic community. According to FDA  officials, cooperative partners in the ISSC include FDA, NOAA, EPA,  CDC, state agencies, industry, tribes, and other nations. To ensure the  safety and sanitation of bivalve mollusks (e.g., oysters, clams, mussels,  and scallops) in interstate commerce, proposals are submitted to the  ISSC for adoption into the National Shellfish Sanitation Program. For  example, FDA officials stated that the agency submits proposals on  validated detection methods from the agency’s HAB toxin projects for  inclusion in the program; such methods must be adopted by the program  in order for states to be allowed to use them for regulatory purposes.  Additionally, this cooperative program adopted guidance levels for  biotoxins that are acceptable in bivalve mollusks. FDA officials stated that  having this arrangement enables the agency to expend its federal funds  primarily on development and validation of methods for detecting HAB  toxins in shellfish, while state programs focus on implementing those  methods to monitor and make decisions about shellfish harvesting bans  when necessary.
Ohio Lake Erie Phosphorus Task Force II   In 2012, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with  the Ohio Lake Erie Commission, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and  the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, reconvened the Ohio Lake  Erie Phosphorus Task Force as a Phase II effort. The purpose of this task  force’s second phase was to reduce phosphorous loading and associated  HABs in Lake Erie and surrounding watersheds by (1) developing  reduction targets for total and dissolved reactive phosphorus that can be  used to track future progress and (2) developing policy and management  recommendations based upon new and emerging data and information.  As members of this task force or its subcommittees, NOAA, EPA, and  other federal agencies (Agricultural Research Service, NRCS, and  USGS) contributed relevant information and expertise. For example, a  NOAA model showing the relationship between nutrient loads and the  size and duration of a bloom were central to the task force’s  recommended nutrient load targets for the Maumee River watershed, a  tributary to Lake Erie. Additionally, EPA officials stated that the agency  provided $122,429 via a grant to the Ohio Environmental Protection  Agency to reconvene this task force and build upon its 2010 report and to  broaden participation to include agribusiness representatives and crop  consultants.
section_title: International Efforts
paragraphs: Beginning in late 2015, the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes  scientists from the United States and Canada (initially coordinated by  USGS’ Great Lakes Science Center) launched a 2-year effort to create a  HABs Collaboratory. The overall goal is to create a collective laboratory  (“collaboratory”) to enable science-based information-sharing among  scientists, as well as between scientists and federal, state, and local  decision-makers working on HABs in the Great Lakes.
The HABs Collaboratory partnership model builds on similar coordination  efforts to address certain invasive species in the Great Lakes. Initially, the  effort will focus on the three GLRI priority watersheds (Saginaw  River/Bay, Maumee River/western basin of Lake Erie, and Lower  Fox/Green Bay). HABs Collaboratory efforts will include (1) establishing  the HABs Collaboratory by identifying and engaging the appropriate  scientists and managers, (2) developing a common knowledge basis of  current science and science needs, and (3) developing strategies for  transmitting key scientific information to managers and for getting  management feedback to support science-based decisions.
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United  Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s  Intergovernmental Panel on Harmful Algal Blooms (IPHAB)
IPHAB aims to foster effective management of, and scientific research on,  HABs to understand their causes, predict their occurrences, and mitigate  their effects. In 2015, IPHAB reviewed progress on harmful algae  priorities and initiatives in partnership with other international  organizations, such as the International Council for the Exploration of the  Sea and the International Maritime Organization, according to NOAA  officials. IPHAB meets every other April and generates a 2-year work plan  that must be endorsed by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic  Commission the following June, NOAA officials stated, and IPHAB  typically addresses topics of broad interest where global coordination will  accelerate the  science needed to support the management of HABs.  According to officials from NOAA—which chaired the panel from 2010 to  2014 and leads the U.S. delegation to IPHAB—these collaborative efforts  include the following:  rapid progress on HAB detection method development and  technology transfer;  synthesizing information on the likely impacts of climate change on  HAB distributions and impacts;  collaboration on improving HAB forecasting capabilities;  identification of HAB threats to finfish aquaculture;  coordination of international testing standards to support international  commerce in fish and shellfish; documentation of HAB taxonomy online to serve as a global resource  for identification of HAB species; and  forging connections with health and food organizations (e.g., the  World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization  of the United Nations) to better address the impacts of HABs on  human health and food security.
International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)
ICES is an intergovernmental organization whose main objective is to  increase the scientific knowledge of the marine environment and its living  resources and to use this knowledge to provide unbiased, non-political  advice to authorities. According to NOAA officials, the United States has  been a member of ICES since 1912 and, in recent years, has  strengthened its leadership role, particularly in the advisory committees  on marine pollution and on fisheries management, to direct the  organization's work toward issues and concerns of U.S. interest. NOAA  officials also reported that U.S. representatives participate in many of the  ICES advisory and standing committees. Each ICES member country has  two delegates, NOAA officials stated, and the current U.S. delegates are  from NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and from academia.
According to ICES’ website, the organization considers both how human  activities affect marine ecosystems and how ecosystems affect human  activities. In this manner, ICES aims to ensure that best-available science  is accessible for decision-makers to make informed choices about the  sustainable use of the marine environment and ecosystems. To achieve  this objective, ICES prioritizes, organizes, delivers, and disseminates  research needed to fill gaps in marine knowledge related to ecological,  political, societal, and economic issues. ICES delivers scientific  publications, information, and management advice requested by member  countries and international organizations and commissions.
To address HABs specifically, the Working Group on HAB Dynamics  serves as a forum for ICES and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic  Commission to review and discuss HAB events and to provide advice and  updates on the state of HABs annually, according to NOAA officials. This  working group also facilitates interaction among scientists working in  diverse areas of HAB science and monitoring and provides a forum for  discussing various approaches to HAB research. Serving as a liaison to  the working group on behalf of NOAA, agency officials stated, the U.S.  National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms interacts with federal and  academic colleagues to compile annual reports of HAB events in the  United States and to update decadal maps for all U.S. HAB events.
International Joint Commission (IJC)
The IJC is an international organization created by the Boundary Waters  Treaty, signed by Canada and the United States in 1909. According to  NOAA officials, the IJC has set up more than 20 boards, made up of  experts from the United States and Canada, to help it carry out its  responsibilities; the Great Lakes Water Quality Board, Great Lakes  Science Advisory Board, and Health Professionals Advisory Board  periodically address and coordinate research related to HABs in the Great  Lakes. For example, NOAA serves on the Great Lakes Science Advisory  Board and provides advice on HAB and hypoxia research, which the IJC  uses to identify needs and recommendations for water quality work in the  Great Lakes region. In turn, NOAA uses IJC recommendations to inform  the agency’s goals, products, and services.
section_title: Academic-Led Effort
paragraphs: Established to provide a collective voice for the academic, management,  and stakeholder communities, this committee’s mission is to facilitate  coordination and communication of HAB activities at a national level. Its  activities include:  fostering communication between all components of the HAB  community and communicate these activities through the U.S.  National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms (located at Woods Hole  Oceanographic Institution), biennial National HAB Conferences (most  recently held in November 2015), and listservs and websites;  responding to requests from Congress or federal and state entities for  information or guidance on HAB issues; and  raising the visibility and understanding of HAB issues nationally.
Co-chaired by researchers from an academic institution and a non-profit  marine research institution, the committee’s formal and ex-officio  members include NOAA, EPA, CDC, FDA, NIEHS, NSF, and USGS. The  committee was formed after the need for better coordination within the  HAB research and management communities—and for enhanced  communication with federal agencies—was identified in Harmful Algal  Research and Response: A National Environmental Science Strategy  2005-2015, a report published in 2005 with support from NOAA’s  National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.
section_title: Federal Interagency Partnerships
paragraphs: Through our interviews with agency officials and their written responses  to our questionnaire, we identified a number of partnerships between two  or more federal agencies directly related to their HAB work in recent  years. This list is not comprehensive but is intended to illustrate  examples of federal interagency, HAB-related partnerships beyond the  coordination efforts discussed above. Additional examples of such  partnerships are identified in the IWG-HABHRCA report to Congress,  Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Comprehensive Research Plan and  Action Strategy: An Interagency Report.
subsections: section_title: Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) Project
paragraphs: EPA leads this multi‐federal agency project with USGS, NASA, and  NOAA to use remote-sensing ocean color satellite data to develop an  early warning system to protect the environment and human health. A  collaborative effort officially launched in October 2015, of CyAN’s is to  support the environmental management and public use of U.S. lakes and  estuaries by providing the ability to detect and quantify algal blooms and  related water quality using satellite data records. Specifically, NOAA  officials stated, NOAA currently uses remote sensing and modeling to  monitor and forecast HABs in larger bodies of water, such as Lake Erie  and along ocean coasts. CyAN aims to expand these monitoring and  detection capabilities to provide data that the federal partners can use to  improve HAB monitoring products and extend them to smaller lakes and  reservoirs throughout the United States. In this manner, NOAA and EPA  officials added, the partnership is building on, rather than reinventing,  HAB detection techniques developed by NOAA and applying those  techniques to other freshwater systems. In 2015, according to the CyAN  Project’s website, the agencies began using ocean color satellite data to  help develop an early warning indicator for algal blooms in freshwater  systems and an information distribution system for expedient public  health advisories. The project will initially focus on selected states—,  including Ohio, Florida, California, Vermont, New Hampshire,  Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island—for the first year, and  then will expand to all 48 continental states.
According to NIEHS officials, the two agencies meet periodically to  exchange information and coordinate research efforts on human health  effects of cyanotoxins. Prior discussions have focused on toxicology  research needs for microcystins, cylindrospermopsin, and anatoxins that  could be addressed by the National Toxicology Program, an interagency  program based at NIEHS.
Beyond their collaboration on the working group focused on OHHABS,  FDA officials reported that these two agencies have a regularly scheduled  conference call to discuss foodborne HAB surveillance, specifically. This  collaboration is aimed at sharing information and reporting events,  ensuring consistency in case definitions, and eliminating duplication of  effort.
section_title: Interagency Group on HABs Research
paragraphs: According to EPA officials, EPA, CDC, USGS, NOAA, and FDA share  expertise and develop methods to detect HAB-associated toxins in  biological specimens.
These two agencies collaborate and provide joint funding for some HAB- related research projects. According to NIEHS officials, this active and  ongoing collaboration has been in effect since 2005 between NIEHS’  Oceans and Human Health Program and NSF’s Division of Ocean  Sciences. For example, NIEHS officials stated, the two agencies  collaborated in supporting eight HAB-related projects whose grantees  were conducting research on health effects of HABs as well as research  on developing novel strategies for forecasting HAB events, as of March  2016. NIEHS officials also stated that there are clear boundaries in terms  of what each agency supports in each grant that corresponds to the two  agencies’ different missions. This collaboration, in NIEHS officials’ view,  fosters the transdisciplinary approaches of these grants and addresses  questions that cut across the specific areas of research that each agency  typically supports.
section_title: USGS and National Park Service
paragraphs: USGS has assisted the National Park Service with collecting and testing  water samples and ensuring that appropriate and necessary research is  conducted within national park units to inform protection of wildlife and  human health. For example, from 2012 to 2013, USGS collected samples  from 4 Lake Michigan beach sites at Sleeping Bear Dunes National  Lakeshore and from 16 inland lakes across three national park units in  Michigan and detected microcystins at several sites. The results of this  study provided baseline information to park managers and scientists  about the occurrence, types, and levels of algal toxins that had not  previously been observed.
section_title: Appendix IV: Federal Agencies’ Harmful Algal Bloom-Related Websites
subsections: section_title: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
paragraphs: HAB-Associated Illness (http://www.cdc.gov/habs/): Provides a brief  description and links to frequently asked questions; illness and  symptoms; sources of exposure and risk factors; factors that promote  HAB growth; how to stay healthy and prevent illness; publications, data,  and statistics; health promotion materials; and One Health Harmful Algal  Bloom System (OHHABS), an electronic system for voluntary reporting of  HAB events and associated cases of human and animal illness.
Technical Assistance in State and Local Response to HABs  (http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hsb/cwh/technical_hab.htm): Briefly describes  that public health representatives may consult and receive technical  assistance from CDC to develop their responses to HAB events, and  provides recent examples of such assistance given to state and federal  agencies.
section_title: Department of the Navy (Navy)
paragraphs: Commercial Space-Borne Hyperspectral HAB Products  (http://www7333.nrlssc.navy.mil/view_project.php?project=ruhul_algal_bl oom): Briefly describes and provides images from the Naval Research  Laboratory’s work using space-borne sensors to develop more reliable  detection, quantification, and identification of HABs to help mitigate health  risk and economic damages. Navy describes these sensors as ideal tools  for HAB detection because of their spatial coverage and low cost.
section_title: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
paragraphs: Cyanobacterial HABs   (https://www.epa.gov/nutrient-policy-data/cyanohabs): Contains links to  information on what freshwater cyanobacterial HABs are, causes and  prevention, detection, health and ecological effects, control and  treatment, research by EPA and other federal agencies, news, policies  and regulations for toxins produced by cyanobacteria (cyanotoxins) at the  state and international levels, and guidelines and recommendations.
Epidemiology & Health Effects of Cyanobacteria  (https://www.epa.gov/water-research/epidemiology-health-effects-cyanob acteria): Briefly describes EPA research on (1) drinking water treatment  safety; (2) characterizing cyanobacterial toxins; (3) determining toxigenic  properties; (4) cyanobacteria, nutrients, and land use; (5) disease  outbreaks related to toxic algal blooms; and (6) development and  application of a fiber optic array system for detection and enumeration of  potentially toxic cyanobacteria.
Inland HAB Discussion Group   (https://www.epa.gov/nutrient-policy-data/inland-hab-discussion-group):  Describes the group and provides links to webinars dating back to  October 2012 and contact information for CDC, U.S. Geological Survey  (USGS), and EPA.
Nutrient Pollution – HABs  (https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/harmful-algal-blooms): Contains  links for more information on causes, effects, “what you can do to help”  (volunteer to monitor waterbodies), preventing nutrient pollution (in your  home, yard, community, and classroom), webinars, videos, and national  and state resources.
section_title: Executive Office of the President
paragraphs: National Ocean Council  (https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/oceans): Provides  information on the council and the National Ocean Policy; the National  Ocean Policy Implementation Plan to address challenges facing the  ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes (including four action items  related to HABs); the final recommendations of the Interagency Ocean  Policy Task Force; and marine planning, a science-based tool that  regions can use to address specific ocean management challenges and  advance their economic development and conservation objectives.
Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology  (https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/nstc/oceans):  Briefly describes the subcommittee’s purpose and provides links to  documents and reports, such as the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia  Comprehensive Research Plan and Action Strategy: An Interagency  Report to Congress in February 2016; a scientific assessment of hypoxia  in U.S. coastal waters from 2010; older scientific assessments of marine  and freshwater HABs from 2008; a HAB management and response  assessment and plan from 2008; and a national assessment of efforts to  predict and respond to HABs in U.S. waters from 2007. As previously  stated, the subcommittee oversees the Interagency Working Group on  the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (IWG- HABHRCA) and is co-chaired by the Office of Science and Technology  Policy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),  and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
section_title: Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
paragraphs: Bad Bug Book  (http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/CausesOfIllnes sBadBugBook/): Provides current information about the major known  agents, including HAB toxins, that cause foodborne illness. Each chapter  in the book is about a pathogen—a bacterium, virus, or parasite—or a  natural toxin that can contaminate food and cause illness. The book  contains scientific and technical information about the major pathogens  that cause these kinds of illnesses. A separate “consumer box” in each  chapter provides non-technical information about what can make a  person sick and, more important, how to prevent illness. The second  edition of the Bad Bug Book was published in 2012 by FDA’s Center for  Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
Seafood (http://www.fda.gov/Food/PopularTopics/ucm341987.htm):  Provides access to content about seafood, including fish and shellfish,  from across the Food section of fda.gov. Grouped according to target  audiences, these links include access to up-to-date consumer information  and advice, guidance documents, regulation, and science and research  content. Some information accessible on this page relates to, but may not  be specific to, HAB toxins.
section_title: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
paragraphs: Citizen Scientists Track Algal Blooms  (https://re.grc.nasa.gov/citizen-scientists-track-algal-blooms/):  Encourages general aviation pilots, functioning as citizen scientists, to  help develop an early warning system to alert communities of ensuing  algal blooms along the coastline. Provides an opportunity for pilots to  obtain high-resolution aerial images and videos as they fly over  potentially affected waterways.
section_title: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
paragraphs: Database of Environmental Health Science Research Funded by  NIEHS (http://tools.niehs.nih.gov/portfolio/index.cfm/): Allows users to  search for research funded by NIEHS using key words (e.g., algal  bloom). The site also lists some active HAB research grantees, and  provides links to their published research findings, through the “Search  By Topic” option under the “Oceans and Human Health Centers” row in  the “Center And Center-Like Programs” table. Other HAB research  grantees can be identified using a keyword search.
HABs (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/algal-blooms/index.cfm):  Briefly describes what HABs are, why HABs occur, how people are  exposed, health effects, and other impacts. Also provides information on  NIEHS efforts to (1) study potential long-term health effects of low-dose  exposure to HAB toxins, (2) develop rapid detection of HABs to help state  officials protect public health with minimal economic impacts to fisheries  and recreational areas, (3) improve prediction, and (4) study a compound  produced by certain HABs that can help to remove mucus from the lungs  and may have potential as a treatment for cystic fibrosis.
Oceans and Human Health  (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/centers/oceans/index.cfm):  Briefly describes how oceans can affect human health in many ways,  such as by eating toxin-contaminated seafood, swimming in or drinking  toxin-contaminated water, and breathing airborne HAB toxins; NIEHS  and NSF jointly funded research on marine-related health issues,  including techniques for more accurate and earlier detection of HABs;  and other relevant NIEHS efforts. The site also provides links to program  highlights and publications.
section_title: National Park Service
paragraphs: Oceans – Water Quality  (https://www.nps.gov/subjects/oceans/water-quality.htm): Briefly  describes various threats to water quality, including plastics, solid waste,  chemical waste, toxic waste, HABs, disease, oil spills, and noise.
section_title: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
paragraphs: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative   (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/home/?cid=n rcsdev11_023903):  Briefly describes, among other things, that (1) the  Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was launched in 2010 with  NRCS as one of a number of federal agency partners; (2) GLRI helps  NRCS accelerate conservation efforts on private lands located in  targeted watersheds throughout the Great Lakes region by working with  farmers and landowners to combat invasive species, protect watersheds  and shorelines from non-point source pollution, and restore wetlands and  other habitat areas; (3) the lakes suffer from pollution—caused by urban  runoff and sprawl, sewage disposal, agriculture, industry, and other  sources—that damages the aquatic ecosystems and poses risks to  human health; and (4) algal blooms in Lake Erie have underscored the  importance of continued conservation efforts.
Great Lakes HABs and Hypoxia  (http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/res/HABs_and_Hypoxia/): Allows access to  NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory resources,  such as Water Quality and Monitoring Data from field monitoring and  continuous, real-time observations in western Lake Erie and two other  lakes; Lake Erie HAB Bulletins—which provide biweekly forecasts— dating back to July 2009; near-real-time information on the presence of  microcystin in western Lake Erie; hyperspectral and satellite images;  and an experimental “Western Lake Erie HAB Tracker,” a tool that  combines remote sensing, monitoring, and modeling to produce daily 5- day forecasts of bloom transport and concentration. The site also  provides links to frequently asked questions, publications, a HAB photo  gallery, and a Hypoxia Warning System that is under development to  provide information to drinking water managers in the central Lake Erie  basin.
Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) – HABs and Hypoxia  (https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/ott-habs-hypoxia/): Describes IOOS’ Ocean  Technology Transition Project awards related to HABs and hypoxia.  IOOS' Ocean Technology Transition Project works with scientists and  industry to make operational technologies to monitor ocean conditions  that can affect human health. IOOS has funded four such projects in  support of HAB and hypoxia detection and monitoring.
National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) – Harmful  Algal Blooms (https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/research/habs/default):  Provides an overview of HABs and links to NOAA’s NCCOS research  programs (Ecology and Oceanography; Monitoring and Event Response;  and Prevention, Control, and Mitigation), forecasting, HABHRCA,  sensors, marine biotoxin impacts, rapid response, and other related  topics.
National Ocean Service – Harmful Algal Blooms  (http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hab/): Provides links to NOAA’s  forecast for red tide in Florida, a West Coast HAB update, HAB forecast  bulletins, research, “ecoforecasting” services, and additional information.
NCCOS – Our Research Projects  (https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects): Allows access to NCCOS’  research projects; users can search by title, a project’s primary  contact(s), keyword or phrase in the project’s description, research area  (including HABs), or regional area.
NCCOS – Phytoplankton Monitoring Network  (https://products.coastalscience.noaa.gov/pmn/): Promotes a better  understanding of HABs through volunteer monitoring, provides resources  for current and prospective volunteers, and allows volunteers to submit  new data and view historical data.
NOAA Harmful Algal Bloom Operational Forecast System   (http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/hab/overview.html): Houses NOAA’s  HAB operational forecast system, which aims to assist HAB mitigation  through early detection and forecasting in the Gulf of Mexico; and  provides links to local beach condition reports in Florida and Texas,  bulletins, health information, and other resources.
Northwest Fisheries Science Center – HAB Research Partnerships  (https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/hab/research/research_partnerships/):  Provides information on the SoundToxins partnership, a phytoplankton  and toxin monitoring program that provides early warning for HABs in  Puget Sound; a Pacific Northwest HAB forecasting bulletin; and the  Olympic Region Harmful Algal Blooms Partnership.
Northwest Fisheries Science Center – Wildlife Algal-Toxin Research  and Response Network for the U.S. West Coast  (https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/efs/warrnwest/): Hosts a  West Coast-wide surveillance program that monitors for domoic acid,  saxitoxin, and the toxins responsible for diarrhetic shellfish poisoning.  The sampling network consists of federal, state, public, private, and  academic partners and the major marine mammal stranding networks.
Award Search Database (http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/): Provides  access to a searchable database of award abstracts for all NSF-funded  research projects, dating back to 1989. The database is searchable using  key terms (such as algal bloom), title, abstract, names, institutions,  programs, and other information associated with an award.
section_title: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
paragraphs: Aquatic Nuisance Species Research Program  (https://el.erdc.dren.mil/ansrp/ansrp.html): Provides USACE managers  and operational personnel with information on aquatic nuisance species,  including basic life history and ecological information, risk assessment  tools, preventative strategies, and cost-effective and environmentally  sound management options. The program is an expansion of USACE’s  Zebra Mussel Research Program and provides information not only on  zebra mussels, but on all aquatic nuisance species fauna, including HAB  species. The program’s main objective is to conduct interdisciplinary  research on the prevention, control, and management of aquatic  nuisance species that affect USACE projects and public facilities.  Reports from research conducted on HAB species can be found in the  website’s Technology Transfer section.
Louisville District  (http://www.lrl.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Water-Information/HA Bs/): Provides contact information for reporting signs of a potential HAB  in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and the Ohio River; and information on HAB  conditions, cyanobacteria threshold values, what HABs are, and what  causes them to form.
BioData – Aquatic Bioassessment Data for the Nation  (https://aquatic.biodata.usgs.gov/landing.action): Provides an online  database of biological community and physical habitat (“bioassessment”)  data, which includes information on the occurrence of algal species,  collected by USGS scientists in stream ecosystems across the nation.  The database contains data from over 15,000 fish, aquatic  macroinvertebrate, and algae community samples as part of USGS’  mission to describe and understand the Earth.
Cyanobacterial Blooms: Tastes, Odors, and Toxins  (http://ks.water.usgs.gov/cyanobacteria): Provides information from  USGS’ Kansas Water Science Center on water-related research lecture  series, current study areas, and relevant publications dating back to  2002.
Drinking Water Exposure to Chemical and Pathogenic  Contaminants: Algal Toxins and Water Quality  (http://health.usgs.gov/dw_contaminants/algal_toxins.html): Provides an  overall description and links to algal toxin studies, fact sheets, USGS  algal-related studies, methods, and protocols.
USGS Publications Warehouse (https://pubs.er.usgs.gov): Provides  access to over 130,000 publications written by USGS scientists over the  past century (including those on algal blooms and toxins), and is  searchable using key terms.
Water Quality Portal (http://www.waterqualitydata.us/): Integrates data,  including HAB and hypoxia data, collected by over 400 state, federal,  tribal, and local agencies for this cooperative effort by USGS, EPA, and  the National Water Quality Monitoring Council.
section_title: Appendix V: Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact
section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, Diane Raynes (Assistant  Director), Josey Ballenger, Mark Braza, Leah English, and Richard  Johnson made major contributions to this report. Ellen Fried, Carol Henn,  Karen Howard, Mae Liles, and Sarah Veale also made contributions to  this report.
section_title: Related GAO Products
paragraphs: Aquatic Invasive Species: Additional Steps Could Help Measure Federal  Progress in Achieving Strategic Goals. GAO-16-49. Washington, D.C.:  November 30, 2015.
Climate Change: HHS Could Take Further Steps to Enhance  Understanding of Public Health Risks. GAO-16-122. Washington, D.C.:  October 5, 2015.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: Improved Data Collection and  Reporting Would Enhance Oversight. GAO-15-526. Washington, D.C.:  July 21, 2015.
Ocean Acidification: Federal Response Under Way, but Actions Needed  to Understand and Address Potential Impacts. GAO-14-736. Washington,  D.C.: September 12, 2014.
Managing for Results: Implementation Approaches Used to Enhance  Collaboration in Interagency Groups. GAO-14-220. Washington, D.C.:  February 14, 2014.
Clean Water Act: Changes Needed If Key EPA Program Is to Help Fulfill  the Nation’s Water Quality Goals. GAO-14-80. Washington, D.C.:  December 5, 2013.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: Further Actions Would Result in More  Useful Assessments and Help Address Factors That Limit Progress.  GAO-13-797. Washington, D.C.: September 27, 2013.
Water Quality: EPA Faces Challenges in Addressing Damage Caused by  Airborne Pollutants. GAO-13-39. Washington, D.C. January 24, 2013.
Managing for Results: Key Considerations for Implementing Interagency  Collaborative Mechanisms. GAO-12-1022. Washington, D.C.: September  27, 2012.
Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations: EPA Needs More Information  and a Clearly Defined Strategy to Protect Air and Water Quality from  Pollutants of Concern. GAO-08-944. Washington, D.C.: September 4,  2008.
Climate Change: Agencies Should Develop Guidance for Addressing the  Effects on Federal Land and Water Resources. GAO-07-863.  Washington, D.C.: August 7, 2007.
Environmental Information: Status of Federal Data Programs That  Support Ecological Indicators. GAO-05-376. Washington, D.C.:  September 2, 2005.
Environmental Protection: Coordinated Federal Efforts Are Being  Undertaken to Address Harmful Algae. GAO/RCED-99-192. Washington,  D.C.: June 30, 1999.