U S Government Accountability Office

Kachemak Bay Ferry U S Government Accountability Office

" In 2002, the Seldovia Village Tribe proposed building a year-round ferry that would serve several isolated communities on the south shore of Alaska's Kachemak Bay. Federal funding for a ferry was subsequently included in the Department of Transportation's appropriations, transferred to the Department of the Interior, and then provided to the tribe through agreements under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, as amended. The tribe's ferry began operating in May 2010, amid community concerns about significant changes in the ferry's design and operation from the original proposal and its effect on existing private tour boat businesses. GAO was asked to examine (1) the history of the Kachemak Bay ferry project; (2) the roles of federal agencies in funding and overseeing the ferry project and associated dock projects; and (3) concerns and challenges, if any, regarding the continued operation of the ferry. GAO analyzed documents and interviewed federal agency officials and tribal and community representatives. "