The U.S. Coast Guard faces a shoreside maintenance facility backlog of an estimated $2.6 billion as of mid–Fiscal Year 2021.
However, aging and deteriorating Coast Guard infrastructure has been on the U.S. government’s radar and attention for some time as noted in this September 2019 General Accounting Office (GAO) report. Worse, half of the Coast Guard’s infrastructure is past its intended service life—and that was reported in FY2018.
With the continuous annual U.S. budget strains from the War on Terrorism and nation-building, peer-nation challenges, and seasonal natural disaster relief aid; a global COVID-19 pandemic producing a slow U.S. economy, online student learning, hospitalizations, and U.S. government-funded vaccinations; illegal migration at the border, climate change, defense readiness and modernization programs, government program cost overruns, and tax cuts, the U.S. government finds itself with pressing financial demands and not enough money to address many issues, including aging maritime shore infrastructure. Nonetheless, one member of Congress has forwarded legislation to tackle the shortfall in the Coast Guard’s aging infrastructure.
I asked the U.S. Coast Guard’s Public Affairs Department in September 2021 on to shed some light as to what aging and unsatisfactory infrastructure issues they have. Lieutenant (junior grade) Sondra-Kay Kneen, Coast Guard media relations, replied with answers taken from various U.S. Coast Guard personnel and sources.
Can the Coast Guard provide details and answers as to why base infrastructure wasn’t fixed and funded over the years, and if there were any studies and how long ago that was?
Ensuring the U.S. Coast Guard is Always Ready remains the Service’s top priority. This requires a mission ready total workforce, capable assets, modern systems, resilient infrastructure, and sufficient funding to execute missions and sustain operational capabilities.
The Coast Guard is committed to ensuring the safety and resiliency of our facilities in order to meet mission demands. However, like all Federal Agencies operating within the reality of a constrained fiscal environment, the Coast Guard makes strategic tradeoffs each year to prioritize the most critical near-term operations and direct support activities while maintaining momentum on recapitalization efforts for capital assets and infrastructure.
Over the last 5 years, the Coast Guard has invested over $1 billion in major repair, maintenance, and recapitalization projects for our most critical shore infrastructure facilities. However, with a shore infrastructure recapitalization and maintenance backlog totaling nearly $3 billion, additional investment is required.
Does most of the Coast Guard budget go toward training, operations, readiness, vessels, and new acquisitions, and not infrastructure? Why and why not?
On average, over 75 percent of the Coast Guard’s annual discretionary budget funds the operating expenses necessary for the Service to perform its eleven statutory missions. The remainder of the Coast Guard’s budget includes the funds required to acquire new vessels, aircraft, and infrastructure, as well as conduct research and development activities, and provide the Service’s contribution to the Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund.
Can the USCG provide me with some examples of minor and major infrastructure issues and how easy and hard they are to repair?
Infrastructure issues across the Coast Guard vary greatly in their scope and complexity. In general, minor infrastructure repairs include routine and preventative maintenance, such as roof repairs or scheduled inspections. Minor repairs may be accomplished through a blend of organic Coast Guard maintenance and repair efforts, and contracted maintenance activities. Major repairs generally require extensive environmental remediation efforts, or demolition and construction of failing facilities. Examples of major repairs include dredging projects, pier construction, and station rebuilds following damage from disasters.
One such example of an infrastructure issue is illustrated by a recent recapitalization project at Station Tillamook Bay, OR. The facility had a 35-year-old boat haulout structure and system that was condemned. The Coast Guard prioritized the project and built a new system with a covered boat mooring and work spaces required for direct operational and maintenance support for the Station’s four boats.”
Coast Guard Station Tillamook Bay photographed from the air. The small-boat station is located in Garibaldi, Oregon, and has served mariners in the bay and along the coast since 1908. U.S. Coast Guard (Trevor Lilburn)
Can the Coast Guard provide some examples of how its crumbling infrastructure is affecting its mission?
The core of Coast Guard mission success resides in its extraordinary people – a talented and diverse workforce, ready to protect and defend America’s maritime domain. Ensuring the availability of adequate housing for our Service members and their dependents remains a top concern that directly affects Service readiness.
The Coast Guard owns and maintains over 3,200 family homes, the majority of which are sparsely located in groups of ten or less and often in remote locations. These remote locations create some challenges for maintenance and repair; however, we have recently formed Housing Assistance Teams with trained personnel capable of deploying to housing sites across the country to address maintenance concerns and improve the quality of our housing.
Additionally, we continue our efforts to recapitalize housing where it is most needed. The Fiscal Year 2022 President’s Budget includes funding to complete a housing project in Houghton, MI that will provide members of Station Portage with reliable and safe housing.
The Coast Guard’s sustainable housing project for the crews of the remote Coast Guard Station Jonesport, Maine, and the USCGC Moray (WPB-87331) is completed ahead of schedule, 8 June 2021. Since beginning in 2017, the project constructed 12 housing units (5 Duplexes & 2 Handicap Accessible Units), maintenance building, and associated roads, utilities, and site-work. U.S. Coast Guard
Can the Coast Guard provide some examples of how it plans to address the crumbling infrastructure issues and when?
With a shore infrastructure recapitalization and maintenance backlog totaling nearly $3 billion and limited resources, the Coast Guard prioritizes projects that address health and safety concerns first and foremost. Additionally, we consider impacts to critical operations or mission continuity, opportunities to improve resiliency and reduce infrastructure vulnerabilities from possible weather or seismic events, and life-cycle cost avoidance/reduction opportunities.
While we have made progress in improving our infrastructure, we still have facilities that were initially intended to be temporary but have since become permanent, do not meet operational requirements, and do not adequately accommodate gender equities for today’s Coast Guard. These are not the workplaces our people deserve and the Coast Guard is addressing those highest priority projects now.
For example, in Fiscal Year 2021, Congress appropriated $363 million to address the most critical shore infrastructure needs and the Fiscal Year 2022 President’s Budget supports 14 additional projects focused on shore forces readiness and Aids to Navigation infrastructure recapitalization and improvements, as well as survey and design activities for future projects aimed at reducing the significant backlogs for shore infrastructure maintenance and recapitalization.
Can the Coast Guard provide some examples of building new replacement infrastructure versus repairing the old infrastructure?
In some cases it is advantageous for the Coast Guard to build new facilities rather than repair old infrastructure. Constructing new buildings, piers, bulkheads, and other facilities allows the Coast Guard to increase facility resiliency and capitalize on new technologies that improve efficiencies.
Examples of these projects include:
- A hurricane-hardened Sector building in Houston, TX replaced the inadequate and deteriorating facility that previously performed this function. When Hurricane Harvey struck the Gulf Coast of Texas in 2017, the then-recently constructed Sector Command Center remained operational, organizing the mobilization and deployment of 1,400 personnel, 34 helicopters, 69 shallow water assets, and seven aircraft in response efforts that saved or assisted over 11,000 lives.
The Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston building on 7 March 2014, just days after the last group of people moved into the recently-finished building. U.S. Coast Guard (Andrew Kendrick)
- Following damage to Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook, NJ, due to Hurricane Sandy, the Coast Guard determined that constructing a new facility was more advantageous to the American public than repairing the older and significantly damaged infrastructure. The new Station in Sandy Hook was rebuilt to modern building code and improved climate resiliency standards to ensure the Coast Guard can continue providing critical services in times of crisis.”
U.S. Coast Guard logistics crews inspect Coast Guard Sandy Hook facilities after Hurricane Sandy devastated the area near Sandy Hook, N.J. Several Coast Guard facilities were destroyed after flooding over the area. U.S. Coast Guard (Luke Clayton).
The Coast Guard Sandy Hook base sign becomes surrounded by flood waters on 1 November 2012, after Hurricane Sandy devastated the area near Sandy Hook, N.J. Coast Guard facilities were destroyed after flooding over the area. U.S. Coast Guard (Luke Clayton)
New floating docks, significant dredging, brand new pilings and new breakwater barriers mark the notable dock work finished this summer [2017]. That work is part of a $45 million renovation well underway at Station Sandy Hook [after Hurricane Sandy swept through in 2012]. Additional construction includes the creation of an immense, two-bay boathouse [pictured here]; a two-story, multi-mission building; and a 10-lane firing range, all on site,’ said Chief Petty Officer Jeremy Mitchell. The new boathouse [shown above] under construction is located on the same footprint as the previous one. (Photo and reporting by Jay Cook, The Two River Times, 3 September 2017).
