Page 1 GAO-25-107851 Coast Guard Shore Infrastructure
The U.S. Coast Guard, a maritime military service within the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), has $24.5 billion of shore infrastructure assets such
as boat stations and piers to support its missions, according to Coast Guard
data. In 2019, we reported that Coast Guard data showed about 45 percent of
the Coast Guard's shore infrastructure was beyond its expected service life and
that the Coast Guard faced infrastructure project backlogs of at least $2.6 billion.
We also found that the Coast Guard partially met or did not meet six of nine
leading practices for managing public sector maintenance backlogs—such as
establishing goals, baselines, and measures to track the effectiveness of
maintenance and repair efforts. Although the Coast Guard has taken some steps
to address five of the six recommendations we made in 2019, Coast Guard
assets continue to deteriorate.
We were asked to review issues related to Coast Guard shore infrastructure. We
are examining the extent to which the Coast Guard addressed our 2019
recommendations related to managing the condition of its shore infrastructure.
We are also providing information on the nature and condition of Coast Guard
shore infrastructure and its project backlogs.
• The Coast Guard faces a growing backlog of shore infrastructure projects
that will cost at least $7 billion to address as of June 2024, according to
Coast Guard data, more than double the amount we reported in 2019. Nearly
half of the Coast Guard’s shore infrastructure is beyond its expected service
life.
• In 2019, GAO made six recommendations to help the Coast Guard better
manage its shore infrastructure. As of February 2025, the Coast Guard has
fully addressed two of those recommendations and taken steps toward
addressing three others. For example, the Coast Guard is in the process of
systematically assessing the condition of its shore infrastructure. Coast
Guard officials expect these assessments to improve the process of
prioritizing shore infrastructure projects. However, the Coast Guard has not
yet fully implemented tools and analyses—such as models to predict
investment outcomes, analyze trade-offs, and make resource decisions—that
could help reduce the costs of maintaining its shore infrastructure. The Coast
Guard has not addressed the recommendation to include supporting details
about competing priorities and trade-offs in congressional budget requests
and related reports.
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Shore Infrastructure: More Than
Reportedly Needed to Address
Assets
-25-107851
Report to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
