The NewsRoom
Release: #3992
Date: May 14, 2009

MMS Awards Grant to Alaska to Study Natural Hazard Impacts

Provides funding for second grant award to Alaska through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program

ANCHORAGE – The Minerals Management Service (MMS) has awarded a grant for $209,200 to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources through the Coastal Impact Assistance Program (CIAP) for a project that will evaluate natural hazards and their impacts on six coastal communities. This is the second grant awarded to Alaska through the CIAP program.

Identified by the state as an important component of the Alaska Coastal Management Program, the focus of the study will be to identify local natural hazards, such as active faults, earthquakes, erosion, flooding, and landslides and assess how those hazards may affect future development in the coastal communities. The communities being evaluated are Kivalina, Koyukuk, Newtok, Shaktoolik, Shishmaref, and Unalakleet.

“MMS is committed to working with Alaska and its coastal communities to provide key information that will protect its citizens and the environment,” said MMS Alaska Regional Director John Goll. “This study will provide supporting documentation that will guide community planners’ choices to prevent damage, injuries, and environmental impacts from natural hazards.”

The grant will fund the first of three phases of the four-year project, with funding allocated in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 for the later phases.

Alaska’s CIAP plan was approved by the Minerals Management Service on September 30, 2008. The CIAP was created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Through the program, MMS will provide $250 million in grants annually, from 2007-2010, to six eligible Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas producing states – Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Alaska, California, and Mississippi. The funding to Alaska included $37.5 million for each of the fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

Contact:

Nicholas Pardi (202) 208-7746

MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for America
U.S. Department of the Interior

Last Updated: 05/14/2009, 08:28 AM Central Time