Murkowski Scores Major Wins for Alaska in Interior Appropriations Bill

07.29.24

Murkowski Scores Major Wins for Alaska in Interior Appropriations Bill

Washington, D.C. - Last week, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) moved forward substantial investments towards Alaska clean water and wastewater infrastructure projects through the Senate Appropriations Committee. Murkowski, who serves as Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Subcommittee, was able to direct these investments in the Interior-Environment Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Appropriations Act. The bill passed overwhelmingly from the full committee, and next heads to the Senate floor for consideration.

"Clean drinking water is a basic necessity - no exceptions. I am proud to use my leadership position on the Interior Appropriations Committee to champion investment towards running water and wastewater infrastructure across Alaska," said Senator Murkowski. "From Wasilla to Unalaska, these upgrades will ensure communities have clean, reliable drinking water for years to come."

"There are a number of other critical Alaska priorities this spending bill funds, including a proactive mitigation strategy to fight wild fires, upgrades to landfills around the state, shelters in rural communities for domestic violence survivors, as well as cleaning for contaminated lands that were transferred to Alaska native villages by the federal government."

FY25 Interior-Environment Appropriations Bill Highlights

The U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies oversees a vast array of departments and agencies that have footprints in Alaska. They include, but are not limited to, the Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Indian Health Service (HHS), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Forrest Service (USDA), and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Supporting local government

Senator Murkowski believes the most effective form of government is local government. She has sought to support boroughs and cities across Alaska by ensuring that Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) was fully funded. The PILT program provides financial compensation to local governments across Alaska that contain federal lands that are not subject to state or local taxation. The revenue helps local governments fund everything from firefighting and police protection, to the construction of public schools and roads.

Detecting landslides
Landslides are becoming more and more prevalent in Alaska as we deal with the effects of climate change. Senator Murkowski recognizes the needs for more technology to help with detective and safety measures to protect Alaskans. She was able to secure $1.5 million for the USGS Prince William Sound and Southeast landslide program, a $1 million increase from last year along with language that supports ongoing warning work for the region. She also secured $1 million for the deployment, operation, and maintenance of landslide detection and monitoring systems in high-risk areas.

Alaska Native Vietnam Era Veterans Land Allotment Program extension
Senator Murkowski has been working to ensure that the Alaska Native Vietnam veterans are given the lands they deserve. She included an authorizing provision in the bill to give the BLM an additional five years to implement the law that provides those that missed their chance to receive their allotments while deployed an opportunity to select allotments in the areas they have hunted and fished for millennia.

Ensuring consultation with tribes over Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve

When the DOI closed off 13 million acres of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A) in direct defiance of the law, they did so without meaningful consultation with Alaska Natives and tribal entities on the North Slope. Senator Murkowski included report language requiring BLM to consult tribes and Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) entities during the implementation of the NPR-A rule.

Restoring Alaska

Since coming to the Senate, Murkowski has made it a priority to ensure BLM addresses the remediation and cleanup of legacy wells in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve. She was able to secure $18.5 million to address the next site on the list.

Senator Murkowski has made it a priority to ensure cities like Fairbanks have the resources and tools they need to improve their air quality. She directed $1 million towards the EPA to improve its wood stove testing and certification program, along with language noting the agency's failures with the program.

Many communities in rural Alaska rely on aboveground storage tanks to store oil used for heating. Senator Murkowski recognized this priority by ensuring the EPA Aboveground Storage Tank Grant Program was funded at $3 million, the first time the grant has received funding since FY 2005. The grant provides funding to the State of Alaska and Denali Commission to repair, upgrade, and replace aboveground oil storage tanks at Alaska Native villages.

When ANCSA was signed in 1971 to settle Native claims to public lands through the conveyance of land to Alaska Native regional and village corporations, some of the lands transferred were contaminated with arsenic, asbestos, lead, and mercury. To hold the federal government accountable and rectify this injustice, Senator Murkowski worked with the EPA to create the Contaminated ANCSA Lands Assistance Program. This year, she oversaw the funding of $22 million to the program to clean up and remediate the lands, improving the health and safety of Alaska communities.

In addition to programmatic funding to help Alaskans, Murkowski was able to secure investments specific to 34 Alaska communities, projects that have been requested and prioritized by local governments and organizations:

• Wrangell: $10 million for upgrades to the wastewater treatment plants to help Wrangell's facility meet Alaska Water Quality Standards.
• Sitka: $11.25 million for the design and construction of a new wastewater disinfection system to help meet standards required by Section 401 of the Clean Water Act and Alaska Water Quality Standards.
• Fairbanks: $3 million to expand the Fairbanks North Star Borough's infrastructure for air quality improvement
• Unalakleet: $1 million to overhaul Unalakleet's sanitation facilities. The current facilities are insufficient for the community and the entire system requires upgrades.
• King Cove: $2 million for King Cove's solid waste facility. The current landfill is nearing the end of its utility and supplemental funding is required to construct new facilities.
• Teller: $600,000 for the Teller landfill. These funds will go towards building much-needed capacity and purchase new processing equipment for the project.
• Skagway: $1.5 million for the demolition of the dilapidated ore terminal in Skagway to allow for expanded access to the dock area.
• Bristol Bay: $3.86 million for the collection and backhaul of 900 tons of scrap metal waste that is at risk of leaching toxins into Bristol Bay, which could negatively affect clean drinking water access and subsistence resources.
• Cordova: $361,000 to build a perimeter fence around the Cordova landfill to secure the site from wildlife. Bears are currently entering the site and digging up refuse, posing environmental risks and threats to the safety of the community.
• Prince William Sound: $250,000 to rehabilitate the beach at Cannery Creek Hatchery, Unakwik Inlet, and Prince William Sound. Currently there is 18 miles, or 192,000 pounds of high-density polyethylene pipe littering the beach.
• Hoonah: $5.1 million to replace the Icy Strait Point wastewater treatment facility. These new facilities will help Hoonah handle the influx of wastewater from cruise ships.
• Homer: $650,000 to replace approximately 1,200 feet of drinking water supply line in Homer's water utility system to mitigate impacts on public health and safety if the line is damaged or broken. The current 58-year old section of cast iron piping is brittle and corroded.
• Angoon: $2 million to replace the water and sewer lines in Angoon, which has had multiple cases of collapsed sewer mains and blockages that cause overflows into homes and public areas.
• Yakutat: $2.5 million to upgrade Yakutat's sewer system. The current lift stations, screening and treatment equipment have caused sewage overflows into the ocean.
• Unalaska: $3.4 million to replace Captains Bay drinking water line. The current water line has delivery issues, requiring water to be trucked in and placed under a boil water notice.
• Girdwood: $3 million to construct a new well that will increase production capacity to meet the current and future clean water demands for the community.
• Metlakatla: $1 million to upgrade the wastewater treatment facility in Metlakatla, which has surpassed its design life.
• Statewide: $3.5 million for development of inter-agency partnerships that will help develop mitigation strategies to proactively fight forest fires in Alaska.
• Statewide: $1.85 million for planning, environmental reviews, and design work for a continuous trail route from Seward to Moose Pass, providing new recreational opportunities for Alaskans and tourists.
• Statewide: $1 million for a need's assessment for safe homes in rural communities for domestic violence survivors in villages without shelter.
• St. Paul Island: $250,000 for the rehabilitation of three historic buildings on St. Paul Island.
• Anchorage: $5 million to replace a utility well built prior to the Safe Drinking Water Act that has reliability and quality concerns. The funding will decommission the well and construct new water mains, install fire hydrants, and reconnect current residents.
• Statewide: $300,000 to carry out a field study in assessing the efficiency and affordability of baghouse filters onto the stacks of open burn boxes used in rural Alaska landfills.
• Nelson Lagoon: $2.83 million to replace the 600,000-gallon clean water and drinking water storage tank which has become overly corroded.
• Ketchikan: $2.3 million for the design and replacement of the failing Tongass Avenue water main replacement.
• Soldotna: $900,000 for the Soldotna Utility Department to upgrade one of the ground-water wells and address contaminants and improve drinking water quality.
• Craig: $3 million to replace up to five miles of aging water line.
• Anchorage: $2.9 million to construct and expand the public water distribution system to include neighborhoods in Anchorage (56^th & Cordova and Patricia Subdivisions)
• Gustavus: $596,000 for critical improvements to the aging composting facility in Gustavus.
• Seward: $4 million to replace water mains in Seward that are made of asbestos-line pipes that are over 60 years old.
• Whittier: $1.59 million to upgrade the wastewater lift stations that are near imminent failure.
• Wasilla: $1.93 million for the design and build of a water system interconnecting with the Mat-Su Borough and the City of Palmer to increase redundancy for water security.
• Statewide: $200,000 for Uqapiaqta Iñupiatun Adult Fluency Program to carry on the Iñupiaq language. This funding will support staff assistance, bringing elder language speakers in, and material development.
• Statewide: $1.23 million to Alaska Department of Fish and Game to support polar bear conservation and subsistence harvest management.

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